Gathering In The Glens 2008 Event Cache

GITG 2008

This event is taking place on the English bank holiday weekend to allow those down south to attend. It is the weekend 22/23/24 Aug 2008.

For anyone who wants more info on what goes on at GITG then the first 2 event pages can be found here and here

As in previous years the the lodge should be available from evening on Fri 22nd until around noon on Sun 24th, with the main event being the Saturday night BBQ (details later)

THE LOCATION

The Glen Clova/Glen Doll area is situated bang in the middle of the Angus Glens, with Scott Lodge lying in the shadow of one of the highest points in Angus, the Munro Driesh. It lies 13 miles from civilisation (and a mobile phone signal!) at the head of Glen Clova. There are over 200 caches already set within 20 miles of the lodge with just a few more planned for this years event. Scott Lodge is in the middle of the some of the most spectacular scenery in Scotland with several hilltracks accessible from the door. For the not so energetic there are plenty of forest walks also on the doorstep (with a few caches dotted about!)

Scott Lodge is only a 30/40minute drive from the main Dundee to Aberdeen road (A90) which follows the Vale of Strathmore. Once you leave the A90 there are several pretty villages and interesting towns to explore, and obviously caches to find!

SCOTT LODGE

Scott Lodge is normally used as a weekend base for the Boys Brigade, and has recently been refurbished to a high standard with a well equipped kitchen, showers, drying room etc. The lodge is suitable for disabled persons with ramps/disabled toilet/shower etc.

Sleeping accommodation is in a dormitory with 24 beds, plus we have permission for camping on the small area behind the building.

Scott Lodge will be provided free to all cachers attending the event - all you will need to bring is your own sleeping bag/pillow, food and drink and all we ask is that you tidy up after yourself!

OTHER NEARBY ACCOMMODATION

..........if you don't fancy roughing it:-

Clova Hotel - approx 3 miles down the glen, does B&B (approx £45 pppn/£105 for family room) and has a bunkhouse (£11pppn/£18 inc breakfast)). Family rooms are available in the bunkhouse. We can also recommend the bar meals at the hotel. There are dog kennels on site, and well behaved dogs are welcomed in the climbers bar.

Royal Jubilee Arms- at Dykehead (approx 12 miles from Scott lodge but handy for caches!) also does B&B for £35 pppn (5- 12s 1/2 price and under 5s free if sharing) We have never been in the hotel so can't comment on how nice it is although it seems to be popular with bus tours.

Airlie Arms Hotel - in Kirriemuir (15 cache filled miles from Scott Lodge), B&B from £40. Another one we haven't visited for years so can't vouch for but it is a popular place for meals. Their online booking system doesn't seem very good (unless the hotel is full for the next 2 years!!), so if you want a room you would probably be better phoning them

Thrums Hotel - Kirriemuir. Rooms from £40. Again we haven't been there in years!

Drumshademuir caravan site - Just south of Kirriemuir (this is the closest caravan site to the event) £17 per night for caravans - £14 for tents

Kirriemuir Tourist Information has a list of B&Bs and hotels in the area. Contact Kirrie Tourist info on 01575 574097

The campsite marked on the OS map close to Scott Lodge is no longer open.

Booked into Scott Lodge (please let us know ASAP of any changes)

Any questions/suggestions/help needed either post a note on the page or email us

GATHERING IN THE GLENS CALENDARS

Mandy from Us 4 and Jess  is very kindly designing and printing one of her famous Calendars for Gathering in the Glens. The photos on the calendar are from the two previous GITG Events, scenery, people, animals and a few funny ones!! We have seen one of the pages and it looks great.

Check your order HERE

GUESS THE NAME OF THE TEDDY

Mandy has also donated a Teddy Bear and Deceangi has kindly donated an unregistered set of Travel Bugs that are hanging around the bears neck.

There will be a list of 50 names printed on a sheet of card and it will be £1.00 a go to guess it's name, the person who guesses the right name gets the bear and the TB.

If we can sell all the calendars and all the teddy names we will raise £100.00 towards the lodge and £100.00 to Barnardos.

The calendars take up a lot of Mandys time so please support her efforts as well as helping to support the event and do your bit for Barnardos by buying a calendar and guessing the Teddys name.

KIDS T-SHIRT COMPETITION

We are holding a T-shirt design competition  with a couple of small prizes on the Saturday (hopefully if we keep the kids busy they wont have their water pistols out..) We have plenty of fabric paint and pens (and a few overalls for the wee ones!!) but kids will need to bring a plain T-shirt with them. (Most supermarkets back to school ranges have really cheap ones!). Any adults wanting to participate are welcome to do so but don't expect a sweetie at the end of it!!

BBQ

We have decided this year with so many more people coming that to make it much easier for Ken our chef we will be supplying the BBQ food and asking everyone to pay a small amount per head to cover the cost. The cost will likely to be no more than £2 each and may be considerably less.

Can we also ask for some volunteers to give Ken a hand with the BBQs (We have at least 2 big BBQs this year!) Ken promises not to shout like Gordon Ramsay! Can everyone happy to lend a hand for half an hour please let us know ASAP (e-mail us)  so we have some idea of how many helpers we have before this weekend when we hope to get arrangements finalised.

Likewise anyone with special dietary needs who cannot eat the usual range of BBQ meats (burger/sausage/chicken/trout) please let us know so we can organise an alternative.

More details of the BBQ after the weekend!

WEEKEND PLAN

FRIDAY:- There will be someone at the lodge by mid afternoon on Friday. For anyone wishing to cook, there is a fully equipped kitchen (fridge/freezer/oven/hob/grill/microwave etc). The Clova Hotel is just 3 miles along the road and does bar meals (dogs allowed in bar) as well as having a restaurant ( the chilli burgers on the bar menu are great!) The Clova Hotel serves until 9pm on Fri and Sat (last orders 8.45) There are several carry outs/chip shops in the centre of Kirriemuir also.

If you are staying on the Friday night, you might want to bring some some nibbles/doritos/dips etc to share. Could those who are staying/visiting on the Friday let us know, just so we know how many to expect!

SATURDAY :- All day caching!

If there is anyone who is planning on doing any of the longer walks (Kilbo Path/Ministers Walk/Rollercoaster Ridge -to be published Wed ) and you require a lift to Glen Prosen to walk back to the lodge (or your car), please post a note on here or email us and we can arrange transport. If you want company on any of the longer walks also post here and someone may wish to join you!
There are also a variety of new caches for the not so energetic!!

There will be someone at the lodge all day, so if you finish caching early and just want to relax for a bit...

        PARKING

There is not enough space at the lodge to park all the cars we expect. The lodge is just over the bridge to the Glen Doll car park though (100m) and the head ranger does not mind us parking there. There is a £1.50 charge for the car park but the money from there goes back to the brilliant Ranger service. Can everyone who parks in the main car park please "sign in" their car when they get down to the lodge. Part of the service the rangers provide is checking that everyone has got off the hills safely at the end of the day so they need to know which cars are ours!

All gents who have a kilt are asked to wear it to the BBQ!!!

        The BBQ
The BBQ will run from approx 6pm - 8pm. Ken has again offered to supervise the cooking (thank you so much Ken) and we already have several volunteers to help him - if you fancy helping out for a while we would be glad of the assistance.  FFB is bringing enough trout to start a fish shop and we have been stocking up on other BBQ goodies.  Please don't bring any burgers/sausages as we have more than enough ! The cost per head for the BBQ won't be confirmed until later in the week once we have got the last of the fresh food, but definitely won't be more than £2

If the weather is good, the kids normally have a big waterfight- It might be sensible to bring spare clothes/wellies for them!

SUNDAY:- The organisers have to clean the lodge thoroughly before we leave, so can everyone please try to be out the building by noon. We don't mind sweeping down the floors and cleaning the kitchen and toilets, but can everyone please tidy up after themselves! - Thanks. If you are walking in the area and want to leave your car parked at the lodge or leave belongings in the entrance hall, we will probably be there until late afternoon.