The luxury kit, designed by Scotland Shop is worth over £70 and features a beautiful traditional blue tartan picnic rug from Pride of Scotland, and a gorgeous oversized wool tote bag in blue and red Morgan Modern tartan – perfect for carrying around your picnic goodies in style.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is sign up for the Visit Loch Ness newsletter, which you can do by adding your name in the Newsletter box on the left-hand side of the page.

You can find out more about self-catering accommodation in the Highlands and Loch Ness at the Cottages and Castles site, and don’t forget to check out the rest of Visit Loch Ness to find out about the great range of summer activities and attractions going on at the Loch this year.

Terms & Conditions

The free prize draw winner will be chosen by random on the last day of May and the lucky winner will be notified by email shortly after that.  Oversees winner will be charged postage, free delivery for UK winner.

]]> http://www.visitlochness.com/blog/2012/04/30/visit-loch-nesscottages-and-castles-picnic-kit-giveaway/feed/ 0 http://www.visitlochness.com/blog/2012/04/25/scotlands-greatest-camp-sites/ http://www.visitlochness.com/blog/2012/04/25/scotlands-greatest-camp-sites/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:24:11 +0000 AndyH http://www.visitlochness.com/blog/?p=316 When planning a camping holiday, it’s best to think of what you really want to get out of your time away. Do you want a lot of activities for yourself and your family or just want to take a break with friends; perhaps you want a serene holiday with a partner, whatever the reason for the trip, Scotland has it all. From breath-taking coastlines to rolling hillsides and amazing scenery Scotland has been a holiday destination for a long time. There are a wide range of experiences to choose from, from glamping (glamorous camping) to a real outdoorsman involvement.

For every camper’s needs here is a list of the best and brightest camping locations in this historic country.

Marthrown of Mabie in Dumfies is the perfect location for those travelling light. Reconstructed roundhouses that date back to the Iron Age house up to 16 guests and the central fire keeps you all toasty.

For more luxury, head for The Lazy Duck in Nethybridge. With an onsite sauna, swinging hammocks and a location next to the biggest natural park in the country, a couple could really find their feet here.

For a family camping experience why not go for Strathfillan Wigwams in Auchtertyre. Their welcoming wooden wigwams are great for a family time in the wilderness and house up to 6.

If you’re still stuck for ideas or none of these meet your camping needs, why not try researching camping and caravan sites from Pitch Up.

We, at Visit Loch Ness, have responded to our visitor's frequent requests for things to do and car touring routes from Loch Ness to surrounding parts of the Highlands by creating a website section containing a whole bunch of ideas for Days Out

We are expanding our list of ideas regularly and the featured days out include car tours, castles, distilleries, gardens plus dedicated pages for exploring the Caledonian Canal, The Great Glen Way and our newly created South Loch Ness Trail.

Having embarked on this, we realise just how central Loch Ness is for touring and how many things there are to do for holidaymakers staying here. We  will be adding more car tours, long and short, over the coming days so do check out frequently our Days Out section for new ideas.

If anyone out there has a great idea for a day out that we haven't covered, we would love to hear from you.   For any of your ideas that we publish, you might even find a special thank you through your door from us!!

The Great Glen Canoe Trail guide

This new guide book now available from Visitlochness.com  is an essential resource to help you plan your canoe journey through the Great Glen across Scotland. As well as the calm waters of the Caledonian Canal there are the challenging open waters of Loch Lochy and Loch Ness. Here you will find advice on how to deal with the conditions as well as food, equipment, safety, communication and rescue.

The best craft for the adventure are open canoes, sea kayaks or touring kayaks. There is advice on choosing the right craft, loading it, and the best ways of carrying it over portages.

The coast to coast route can normally be completed in three to five days. We have split the route into a five day expedition and each day is described in detail, including camping and other forms of accommodation. There are also numerous single day options and, for the more advanced paddlers, suggested routes that link stretches of river with lochs and canal sections.

Buy the Canoe Trail Guide

Author Biography: 

Having been born and brought up in Inverness, the Highland Capital, I have regularly travelled the Great Glen by boat, by boot and by bike. Being offered the opportunity to develop and promote what I now refer to as ‘my back garden’ has been a fantastic opportunity because I was already established in the local outdoor industry with my own paddlesport business and as a freelance instructor for Glenmore Lodge and other local activity providers.

The post of Project Officer for the Great Glen Canoe Trail was always going to be exciting and challenging, while working with five publicly-funded organisations has itself been interesting! The two year post has included everything from negotiating with local landowners and passing on key information to the canal’s lock keepers as well as supervising contractors’ work. It  has been non-stop and although my two years have passed very quickly I have made many friends and hopefully left a long-lasting legacy for all paddlers when they visit the Great Glen.

I do hope that my work and knowledge of the Great Glen, as demonstrated in this guidebook and online at www.greatglencanoetrail.info will help you to plan a safe journey through the Great Glen. It has been a privilege to promote the Scottish Highlands as a fantastic paddling destination during this project and I look forward to seeing and hearing all of your Canoe Trail adventures in the near future. Stay safe, respect and enjoy the trail!

Donald MacPherson

Bored with dark nights and post-Christmas abstinence? Us too! That’s why at Visit Loch Ness we’re giving you the chance to win a scrumptious luxury hamper from Scottish Hampers. Packed with delicious Scottish goodies, it’s the perfect antidote to the winter blues, and a well-deserved slice of gourmet indulgence after a month of January dieting.

To be in with a chance to win the gorgeous “Thistle” food hamper, and to stay up to date with the latest news, updates and events in and around Loch Ness, then all you have to do is sign up for our monthly newsletter before 29th Feb 2012. You can do this by entering your email address into the newsletter box which can be found at the bottom left of all Visit Loch Ness pages.

We’ll announce our lucky winner by email soon after the competition closing date of 29th February.

Postage overseas extra.

Scottish Hamper  prize draw winner has been announced

A delighted Visit Loch Ness prize draw winner was announced recently and Kay from Hove in East Sussex , the winner sent us the following email thank you.

Dear Visit Loch Ness,

I was so delighted to receive my lovely hamper from you. It was just like Christmas to delve in and find such wonderful foodstuffs…
I cannot thank you enough and I shall use the hamper for memorable picnics. One day I hope on the banks of Lochness.

Kay.xx

Some food for thought here gleaned from my experience - Social Media can work for big companies employing experts and using it as a part of their overall marketing strategy. It can work too for small business with owners who possess a thorough knowledge of their industry and who can personally dedicate lots of time logged into Facebook Twitter etc. But even with industry and product knowledge it requires a lot of skill and natural ability to engage the community without openly marketing the product.

My honest feeling about it is that hard earned money, or budget is far better spent on SEO and Pay Per Click where you can precisely measure ROI (Return On Investment). It is virtually impossible to get accurate ROI figure for paid social media work. Yes you may drum up 3,000 friends/followers on Facebook but if you look closely most of those "followers" will be either Social Media experts hoping to sell you even more SM! or friends of friends, acquaintances and other small businesses similar to your own, but how many of them will ever buy anything from you?

You might feel disapointed and wonder where all that money went if having paid a Social Media specialist to get you all these Facebook friends when you have empty rooms! .

In a nutshell, if you are paying for it make sure you are able to see a ROI at the end of the campaign. Above all beware of strangers bearing gifts! the SM market place is awash with advisors consultants specialists, experts! a word of mouth reccommendation is the least you should get before taking on  paying for Social Media work.

If you can do it yourself excellent, there is nothing to lose but time. If you are big company give it a go and if you dont get a reasonalble return you can cut it out of your budget and try something new, something like Google+ which looks set challenge Facebook and to change search forever by integrating it's social media into its search engine results. Now that sounds interesting!  

Check out - Visitlochness.com Google+ Page                   

When films like ‘Braveheart’ are released, they mark a huge rise in people’s awareness of the magic of Scotland and tourism increases greatly. Hopefully ‘Brave’ will have the same effect on the country’s tourism numbers, encouraging people to search for Scottish getaways after playing a game or two of Partypoker. Not that Scotland’s tourism industry needs a boost any more than any other area at the moment, as the Highlands and Islands especially have proved to be impressively resilient in recent difficult times for the tourism industry.

Some of the characters in this film will be voiced by Scottish actors and actresses, to ensure that it has an authentic feel. The heroine Merida will be voiced by Kelly Macdonald, a Scottish actress known for appearing in Trainspotting, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The film also features the voices of Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters and Billy Connolly. It was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Irene Mecchi. VisitScotland has announced that 2012 to 2014 will be the Winning years for Scotland, and this film will no doubt have something to do with that.

The area of the Scottish Highlands is an exceptionally beautiful part of the world and attracts millions of tourists every single year. In particular, it attracts many walkers, which means that it is a great area for getting out and about and active. Of course, any kind of active holiday you might embark upon requires some sort of travel insurance and the Scottish Highlands are no exception.

Cheap holiday insurance is easy to find – all you have to do is log on to a website like MoneySupermarket.com and for travel insurance compare the deals that are available and choose the best one for you. It is a very competitive industry at the moment, so you should have no problem finding a cheap deal to suit your requirements.

If you are planning a trip to the Highlands and are not suitably prepared in terms of equipment, for example, with unsuitable footwear and ankle support, you could end up being injured in the rough terrain of the hills. Getting injured is on nobody’s holiday wish-list, but accidents can happen. By taking this into account and covering yourself with suitable travel insurance, you won’t have to pay any unnecessary medical and travel expenses and will be able to enjoy your holiday in confidence and relaxation.

Hiking might not be one of the most dangerous activities in the world, but hikers sustain their fair share of injuries on terrain like that of the Scottish Highlands. Much like any other holiday, it is not worth your while to jet off without insurance because, after all, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Enjoy the best the Highlands have to offer without a worry on your mind.

The picture was taken on the circular walk starting and finishing at Inverfarigaig. It's a lovely route which traverses a great variety of terrains including the Falls of Foyers. All in all a thorououghly enjoyable walk which can if you like be shortened if weather turns bad or if yo just want a short walk. To get a detailed printable description of the walk go to our Interactive map and check it out or choose a different walk. This one though is my personal favourite due partly to the variety and interest of scenery throughout the route.  See our Loch Ness area walking maps