Look out for our very own Mike Dunthorne who'll be co-ordinating the start of the marathon at Whitebridge.

If you're going along to cheer the runners along, why not pop along and try out our WoW balls at Bught Park, by the River Ness. We've got the WoW Ball pool on the go, which can take 4 wobbling WoW ballers at a time!  You'll be in good hands with Ade and Steve there to look after you.

Good luck to all the runners and we hope to see some WoW-ballers!!

We've got a couple of great venues near Inverness, both are great fun but one makes it a bit easier to avoid the difficulties if you don't like the look of something.  In the Aviemore area we have another great gorge swimming venue near Grantown on Spey and a wonderful gorge walking venue suitable for families and those that don't want things to be quite as full on!

We've recently taken stag groups, corporate groups, officer cadets and school children into the gorges, and the summer is just beginning.

This year's US celebrity is American Footballer, Jeremy Shockey of the Carolina Panthers. It'll interesting watching this monster of an athlete 'running' up the Boc Beag event route!!

We wish all the teams the best of luck, but in the meantime we've still got lots to do in preparation for the event.

Find out more about the Drambuie Pursuit

Highlands join top 20 global destinations

The Scotsman Published Date: 12 January 2011 (By Jane Bradley)

IT IS the home of the Loch Ness monster and boasts Scotland's largest national park, but remains a largely hidden gem - attracting fewer than 500,000 foreign visitors a year.

There are hopes that National Geographic's recommendations will substantially boost the number of overseas visitors to the Highlands.

But now the Scottish Highlands has been named as one of the world's top 20 destinations by an influential travel magazine - highlighted alongside exotic hotspots such as Laos in south-east Asia, Papua New Guinea and the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada.

National Geographic Traveller - the travel arm of international publication National Geographic listed the region as one of its 20 Best Trips of 2011. The accolade was handed out after senior editor Norie Quintos visited Aviemore in October, where she addressed the Adventure Travel World Summit.

Ms Quintos was so impressed with the Highlands that she selected it as one of her choices for the prestigious list, which is published by the magazine annually.

"I was enveloped by the rough-and-tumble Highland history of clans and kings - made all the more atmospheric by the stunning quality of light on the moors, especially after rain," said Ms Quintos, editor of the magazine's Smart Traveller section.

Tourism chiefs hope the accolade could boost visitor numbers to the Highlands from the US, where the magazine is published. Currently, just 15 per cent of overseas tourists visiting the Highlands come from North America - just 690,000 a year.

Alan Rankin, chief executive of Visit Cairngorms, Scotland's newest national park, said: "In this area, we have not traditionally attracted the North American market - a lot of our overseas visitors come from Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.

"But, certainly, with exposure of this nature in that market, the number of visitors from the US can only increase."

Among the activities highlighted by National Geographic are hiking in Leanachan Forest, kayaking on Loch Insh and skiing at Nevis Range. The magazine also encourages readers to experience a Highland Games. "Anyone who has ever visited the Highlands won't be surprised to learn that it has captured the imagination of National Geographic and we hope that those readers who have not already experienced Scotland will be encouraged to put this country at the top of their list of places they have to visit," said Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of tourism body VisitScotland.

Sally Dowden, owner of Aviemore-based Speyside Wildlife, which hosted Ms Quintos, said: "It is great to see that National Geographic has given this endorsement to the Highlands. Not only is the scenery fantastic, but this part of the world is at the top of a lot of people's must-see destinations in terms of watching wildlife."

WHAT THE MAGAZINE SAID:

Fierce Bronze Age warriors, Vikings and Gaelic-speaking clans all have called the rugged Highlands home. Today, the primeval landscape north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault attracts outdoor enthusiasts drawn to the mist-shrouded mountains, shimmering lochs, sheer cliffs and sandy beaches.

Cairngorms National Park - the United Kingdom's largest thanks to the incorporation of Highland Perthshire - offers recreation at every speed, from hiking in Leanachan forest to kayaking in Loch Insh and the Insh Marshes Nature Reserve. At Nevis Range - site of the 2011 Mountain Bike World Cup - experienced bikers can take the UK's only mountain gondola, which rises 2,132ft up the slopes of Aonach Mor, to ride the 3.4-mile single-track Nevis Red Route down. To experience more traditional sports like caber toss, tug-of-war and piping competitions, cheer on the tartan-clad participants during Highland Games from May to mid-September.

We are very happy to announce that we've just attained our Green Tourism Business Scheme Gold Award. We've been working hard to attain the award and have just received the great news this week.  We're extremely happy with the outcome of all our efforts, although understand that the award doesn't mean we can sit back and relax now.  The challenge for us now is to maintain the Gold Award, but with lots of things on our Green to-do list, we won't be left idle!!

Boots N Paddles are always keen to 'put something back' into the communities that we operate in and the wonderful environment that we rely on so much.  We get many requests for donations and regretably have to turn some down to focus on issues or projects that are closest to our hearts.

In 2010 we have supported charities, environmental bodies and local schools to the tune of over £1500 and have carried out six litter picks and environmental clean-up exercises.

Every little bit counts.

The Inner Moray Firth area of the Scottish Highlands is a true mecca for open canoeing. Within 30 miles of Inverness there are five fantastic canoe touring rivers for you to explore with us by canoe. We've just announced the first our 2011 trips and you can find out more by clicking here.

In the lead up to the World Adventure Travel & Tourism Conference in Aviemore next week, Mike will be entertaining 8 adventure and tourism journalists (on behalf of Visit Scotland) for the next 3 days. He'll be taking them by canoe up through the Great Glen, and at the end of each day they'll be taken back to the Lovat Hotel in Fort Augustus. Call that a job?!!

Find out more about the ATTA conference in Aviemore - click here

In 2010 we've also been involved in the long-running and successful Drambuie Pursuit again (2011 looks like a goer again too), plus the BG Energy Challenge (Intelligent Sports).  We're also helping out at the upcoming First Monster Challenge and the Baxter's Loch Ness Marathon.

We're looking forward to more events in 2011.  Keep us in mind for your events too - we've got local knowledge, experience and the muscle (if required!) to help you too.

Two of the Boots N Paddles' freelance team (Ginge Lee and Keith Dickinson) are about to embark on an amazing challenge to raise money in support of the 'Help for Heroes' Charity. They'll attempt to cycle 2000 miles from Vancouver to Mexico in 22 days!!

If you'd like to support the challenge or find out more, check out their website for more details.

Good luck guys.

http://www.cycling4heroes.com/

We've just issued our first Keeping In Touch newsletter to our customers, past and present. The newsletter will go out 4 times a year and aims to keep subscribers up to date with what's going on at Boots N Paddles and the outdoor industry in the Highlands.

If you'd like to find out more click here

Over the last few months we've been working away on developing a new Boots N Paddles website and at last, it's arrived (with some expert guidance from Adrian Robbins of Robbins Associates).

We've taken into account the ever-changing needs of our customers and hope that the new website will prove to be much more informative, providing a user-friendly experience for all that choose to browse its pages.

We've also provided access to some of our activity photos on our flickr site, or you could leave us a comment on our Facebook page. Through time we'll be uploading more videos to our YouTube website too.

We really hope that we've got it right, but are always open to constructive feedback. If you would like to give us your thoughts, we've tried to make this as easy as possible for you: you can do so by using the 'Add a comment' link at the bottom of each website page, or you can simply email us using the email address on the enquiry page. Maybe you could even phone us?

We hope you enjoy the new website.

Boots N Paddles was very pleased to announce the opening of TreeZone in March 2010; the new aerial assault course on the Rothiemurchus Estate in Aviemore.  TreeZone (which is operated as a separate business by our sister company) is a family-friendly high ropes course that includes both a children's route and a more challenging one for older children and adults.  The main course finishes with an exhilarating 100 metre zip wire, which promises to take your breath away.  TreeZone is aimed at attracting familes, schools and youth groups, or groups of friends or individuals that just fancy a bit of fun.

Scott Armstrong, VisitScotland Area Director said:

“VisitScotland is delighted to see the opening of TreeZone as it introduces a new type of visitor experience to the Highlands and provides visitors with the opportunity to have a real adrenaline buzz in a truly beautiful area.  We are sure it will prove to be highly popular and we wish this new venture every success”

Boots N Paddles' Director Mike and TreeZone were also featured on BBC's Landward programme as part of a series of features about the Rothiemurchus Estate in March.

Follow this link to find out more.

Having worked closely with Drambuie and event organisers Event22 on the Skye to Inverness adventure race on 4 previous occasions, Boots N Paddles have again helped deliver another successful event in 2010.  By all accounts, all agree it's been the most successful event to date.  Fifteen teams battled it out in the beautiful Scottish Highlands on Saturday 8th May 2010.

After the event last year, Phil Parnell, CEO Drambuie said:

"I would like to thank you (Mike) and all the extended team at Boots N Paddles for playing their part in giving us a fourth successive Pursuit of extremely high standards. Your team become very much a part of the competing teams during the events, and contribute enormously to the atmosphere of competitive camaraderie, which is at the heart of the whole weekend."

Find out more here

Work is underway to launch a Caledonian canoe trail.
 
The action plan for the Great Glen Canoe Trail builds upon the success of the ‘Great Glen Ways’.  Marketed under the banner of Three Sustainable Ways – Boat, Bike, Boot – the ‘Great Glen Ways’ promotes the amenities of the Caledonian Canal, the Great Glen Way Long Distance Route and the Great Glen Mountain Bike Trails, to tourists across the UK and beyond.
 
The canoe trail will feature a wide range of practical and supportive amenities, such as paddler-friendly low level access pontoons at each of the canal’s locks and bridges, informal campsites with open side shelters, fire pits and composting toilets, and dedicated car parking facilities.
 
As well as the development of an interpretative plan for the route there will also be a website, a trail map, guidebook, promotional DVD and, it is hoped, a canoe festival.
 
Subject to funding, it is hoped the Great Glen Canoe Trail will be completed by spring 2012.  As a long-established operator in the Great Glen, this is very exciting news for us at Boots n Paddles, and we look forward to seeing the new developments take shape.

Keep up to date with progress on the Great Glen Canoe Trail Facebook Page

The Adventure Tourism World Summit coming to the Highlands in 2010: In October 2009, Boots N Paddles' Mike was been in Canada attending the Adventure Travel World Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec.  Although this conference obviously had some direct relevance to Boots N Paddles, the main objective of his trip was to work with Highland Council, Cairngorms National Park, VisitScotland and Aviemore & The Cairngorms DMO, to promote the Highlands as an awesome destination for adventure travel. 

We were extremely pleased to hear the president of ATTA (Adventure Tour & Travel Association) announce that the World Summit is going to be held in Aviemore in October 2010.  This is brilliant news for the Highlands and we are all looking forward to an amazing opportunity to showcase the Highlands to the whole world.

Congratulations to two members of our staff who recently had successes to shout about.  Part-time instructor Lee Craigie became the Scottish Women's Cross Country Mountain Biking Champion for 2009, while Ally Munro took second place in the 2009 Master's World Highland Games Championships for his age group.  Not bad, eh?