A shot of Lagangarbh, yes That wee white house

Back in March I was contacted by National trust for Scotland via my website looking for permission to use a photo I’d taken form an earlier insta-meet. It would be used in the newly refurbished eco-friendly visitor centre in the heart of Glencoe.

I figured since that insta-meet was hosted by NTS at their Lagangarbh property it was the least I could do.

Come early may, I received an email invitation to the opening of the Glencoe Visitor Centre. This was the perfect excuse to take a day off work and drive up to the event.

Summer traffic

What I hadn’t realised, was the Friday of the event was a busy day on the roads. The tourists were out in strength and that weekend would be the same weekend Nevis Range hosted the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

The narrow loch-side road just can’t cope and I crawled all the way. It also didn’t help there was a fair amount of road works on the go at the same time.

The official opening

The invite said 12 noon start and I arrived only 20 minutes late. The event seemed to be underway but I was in time for the main announcements to open the new centre. It had been open for a while, but this was official. After the speeches, we were invited to watch a short film in the small cinema. ‘The Glen Revealed’ was a great little movie revealing the history of the glen, as well as all it has to offer today. It also featured the voice talent of none other than Rory McCann of Game of Thrones fame.

Once I’d watched the film, I returned to the main room which was filled with exhibits from residents and mountaineers of the past. The walls were adorned with interpretation boards and stories of climbers, rescue services and historical figures. 

I inspected my image which had been blown up to around 1.5 metres high with information on the Lagangarbh Hut, it read as follows:

Lagangarbh Hut nestles beneath Buachaille Etive More near the river Coupall.

While the National Trust for Scotland owns Lagangarbh, it has been occupied and maintained by the SMC since 1946 as a base for the club’s adventures in the Glen.

The Hut Dates back to the 19th century and was original a crofting home with thick walls built to withstand the battering gales.

Apparently the young and talented but rebellious climber, Dougal Haston, angered the SMC authorities by revamping the interior in the style of American pop artist Jackson Pollock in the 1960s. Sadly, no sign of this paint job remains.

I circled the room taking in the information as well as the delicious canapés laid out for us. One of the boards talked about the story of Davy Gunn, I recognised the name as we is involved in ski patrol activities at Glencoe Mountain Resort and has commented on some of my social media posts.

Davy has been part of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue team, helping it develop from the  70s to the finely tuned organisation it is today.

I was lucky enough to bump into Davy, put a face to the name and say hello.

Glencoe MRT is partly funded by the Scottish Government, but the service is mostly funded by the generosity of the public. If you would like to donate, please visit the teams just giving page: www.justgiving.com/glencoemountainrescue

After just one more smoked salmon and cream cheese vol au vent, it was time to leave.

I was very pleased with the way my photo came out. It held up well to the large format reproduction and the colours were pretty much as I had made them. I hope people like it along with all the other fantastic contributions on display.

The refurbished centre looks fantastic both inside and out. Nestled in beautiful birch woodland, the shop, cafe and entrance have all been overhauled and its all heated via an eco friendly bio-mass heating system.

If you’re passing through the amazing Glencoe valley, be sure to pop in and check out my picture.

You can find out more about the Glencoe Visitor Centre here.