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Aye. A real shame. They seemed like lovely folk and everything we ate/drank there was ace.
i even left my 5:10s in the car park, drove back to England. I spoke to them and they arrived in the post 2 days later. Wouldn’t take a penny off me for the P&P.
That's a real pity, my daughter really likes it at Glenlivet and the cafe and the folk in that worked there were always spot on.
I take it this means that the toilets will be closed until someone hopefully takes over the coffee still?
I think the toilets are still open. I'm sure my wife told me a friend of our's had their dog kept in there last weekend after it ran back to the car park halfway round the blue!
The people who ran the café did a good job and gave it a good crack. Here's hoping someone else can take it on.
Just been and done the red today with my eldest (and a very nippy ride it was too!).
Went for the customary cuppa and cake afterwards. Chatting to the guy in the Coffee Still cafe (not the owner) and apparently despite several people having shown an interest in taking over the business, they've all backed out after seeing the accounts. Apparently it's not made money for ages - even during this summer when the weather was lush.
Very sad to see the place on it's last day of trading with no sign of a future. And only us and another family in there to commiserate with them.
No idea if the toilets will be kept open once the cafe's closed down.
Reading between the lines of what the guy was saying, sounds like the estate (Crown Estate) has not really ssupported the business (advertising, sineage from main road, etc.).
Such a shame. A great resource now lost it would seem.
I've been a four or five times this year and I find it hard to believe it didn't make money in the summer it looked very busy on the weekends although having said that it was quiet through the week even during the holidays.
It's about a 90 minute drive for me and the coffee and cake at the end of a loop or two was great and although it sounds daft not sure I'll go as much without the coffee and cake.
A shame.
Like so many Scottish places, being a few miles 'off the beaten track' I think really harms.
I'm struggling to imagine the footfall outside of (nice weather) weekends and 6 weeks of summer can sustain a living income.
I'm not sure it's well signposted off busier roads nearby.
I've not seen race weekends or events happening there, but that may be reflection of adverts rather than lack of events or effort.
Even then, it seems between TV / film locations, particular Routes and lack of local promotion, Scotland has headed down a honey pot route. We encourage tourists to drive past wonderful places, to visit the 'crowning gems', forgetting nice places like this exist. No matter how nice the walks, trails or cafes, folk just won't go find it.
See Laggan Wolftrax with better location and seemingly more 'known' that has also had struggles.
How long had they been there?
Dont know anything about it but I can’t see why the Crown estate wouldn’t support the business? The more supported the “partnership” is, the better the business goes, the better the rental income for the crown estate.
Thats usually how it goes...
Hardly a surprise, as said above, not the busiest of places, and tbh lots of MTBers don't spend any money in trailhead cafes - me included at times, I've had my fair share of shite coffee and overpriced cake mix over the years.
Scotland has headed down a honey pot route. We encourage tourists to drive past wonderful places, to visit the ‘crowning gems’, forgetting nice places like this exist. No matter how nice the walks, trails or cafes, folk just won’t go find it.
You say that like it's a bad thing?
It's like like there is a large, urban, population centre nearby and it's not like local riders aren't already spoiled for choice (I've been in Aviemore for 5 years and to Glenlivet twice). Developments in the NE might also hit the number of riders next year.
IMHO Glenlivet cafe always suffered from its location. It's not on the way to anywhere, there isn't really any passing trade and those that might consider it could be easily put off by the trailhead cafe being up a steep, loose, gravel track - not exactly appealing for the blue rinse brigade who might wander in for tea and scones.
Laggan is signposted from the road - and it's a busier road.
You say that like it’s a bad thing?
Well, you can look at it two ways. If you (as a tourist / visitor) like quiet areas, the place to yourself then yes, having honeypot areas is great because you avoid them and go elsewhere. Albeit that "elsewhere" can sometimes take some finding as it's not well-known, not publicised - that's why it's quiet!
However if you're running a business then it's quite galling to see (often crap) places thriving because they're in a honeypot area while other businesses, even a few miles away, suffer quietly.
The North Coast 500 has gone this way - that road now is horrendously busy at times and suffering from increased nosie pollution; the cafes and B&Bs along it though are doing quite nicely. 5 miles off the route, there are no visitors all day, they've all been drawn to the "must-do" option.
I read a story on another forum of someone who set up a LEJOG-based B&B / cafe business and it failed due to being off the "recognised" route even though it was on a really nice road, lovely location. Far too many people followed the main road becasue "that was the way to go" without thinking about what other options might be available.
"Dont know anything about it but I can’t see why the Crown estate wouldn’t support the business? The more supported the “partnership” is, the better the business goes, the better the rental income for the crown estate."
crown using it as a *we are doing stuff* example to continue as they were
I have chatted with the guys at the cafe regarding this subject in the past as i straight out asked them how busy they get as like the guys above say although technically i live near by and often drive past on my way to the northern and wester cairngorms - i rarely stop in by due to the fact I'm usually on the way to or from bigger better trails - early morning or late at night
Its always struck me as a strange location for a trail center as its a fair trek from anywhere - where you have to pass great trails on the way - im not saying the Glenlivet trails are bad , just that theres no reason to drive past the others to get there other than variety.
its like the fire station cafe at tomintoul - i and some friends had semi seriously looked at it as an option when i was at risk of redundancy. - its a great facility with great potential - but WHO are your target market...... there isnt one. You have some cyclists in for a coffee and a scone in summer some motorcyclists in for a bacon roll and a coffee in summer, the bluerinse brigage may pop in . The bus tours tend to go to the hotels - and even then is a very seasonal target market confined to a coffee and a scone mostly.
There is no/limited regular passing trade to the area - and its sad because as you say you cannot move on the likes of the nc500 because the press covet it and people want to get matching photos for instabangers rather than finding their own gems.
Tomintoul - there is now an effort to promote the Snow Roads 200 as an alternative to the NC500, so possibilities exist. There is also an annual Walking Festival designed (in part) to promote the area as a year-round destination for all sort of walks, from mellow glens to the high summits. Things could change.
COULD but that was a big risk to take on as alot of ifs buts maybes and reliance on others to come on board - this was a few years back we looked at it and things are only starting to be implemented recently - thats why on the face it looks good value but your are paying for it in otherways.
as i said great facility - still needs quite the investment to make the necessary changes to even tempt those that pass in as its pretty dire fare atm.
When i do need a cuppa in the passing i do make the point to go up to the coffee still who do great coffee and get in good cake.
The problem is that the CE invests £100,000s into the trails, then wants to make that back from commercial operations, but the reality is in a place like Glenlivet, there are realistically no 'commercial' operations other than forestry. You're either doing it for the love, or you cut down trees for a living.
So, if the cafe ever was to be viable, it essentially needs to be on a peppercorn lease IMHO. That would give someone who wants to the chance to make it work. That drives the parking revenue etc. so there is some clawback for CE. Otherwise with the cafe gone its probably the beginning of the end.
I've been there once a few year ago at Easter and the cafe was great with the little pump track beside it. But it is in the back end of no where. I can't imagine how hard it would be to make it work for most of the year without more of a draw from other onsite facilities, events, accommodation etc. Best wishes to the owners with whatever they do next, they clearly were doing a lot right against some headwinds.
It's a pity, the people who ran the cafe were really nice and the coffee and food were great.
I think they were always onto a loser though - I've stayed a bike ride away from Glenlivet a couple of times a year for years now, but despite being in the area specifically to ride my bike (on my own and with my family who are all keen riders) I think I've been three times. If it was positioned somewhere between Glasgow and Edinburgh it'd be great, but unfortunately it's too close to vastly superior natural riding. It might sound harsh, but I've always found it to be a trail centre without any really good bits. Beyond the cafe there's nothing there that would draw me away from the Abernethy/Cairngorm/Burnside type areas - I like coffee and cake, but not that much. For me, it's ultimately the quality of the riding there that lets it down. It's OK but no better than that. Pity, because the estate's beautiful. As others have said, it's probably too far off the nearby 'main' road to draw in much in the way of non-bike passing trade.
I do like the pump track though - took me ages to figure out how to ride it properly.
You say that like it’s a bad thing?
This summer on holiday:
Glenfinnan - absolutely full to bursting, main road all but blocked, coaches using graveyard to park, thousands of people (and I do mean thousands) going to try and see a train trundle over a viaduct. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-45359275
Airsaig - same day, 15(?) miles away. We were *only* folk in the visitor centre / local crafts place / cafe that morning it seemed. Stunning place, amazing walks, beautiful beach. Businesses clearly struggling.
Invergarry same week - queues, and queues of traffic heading North to Skye and NC500. The road was regularly traffic jam'd back from the swing bridge at South Laggan. In Invergarry there was nothing open, hotel seemed empty, local shop happy to see some visitors and commented few stopped. Meanwhile at Invergarry, the route markings and path were overgrown and rotten at these falls - and even a local dogwalker did not know the falls were there!
It strikes me that local businesses (and so the future sustainability, employment etc) are all being put secondary to folks expectations of a quiet life or retirement. It does not help the future of our rural nation to ignore so much potential. That said, those who drive past may never stop unless is is cafe, tarmac and advertised via a film set with instagram options less than 200m from the car...
Not surprising it's closing. The trail is absolutely dire in comparison with Golspie and laggan.
And it's in the absolute middle of BF nowhere. Whoever managed the implementation needs a serious talking to
I've been to the trails/cafe once - I've done other rides in the area, too.
If you load up the Glenlivet Estate site and look at mountain biking, you see a blue and a red trail. That's it.
Glenlivet/CE used to produce a leaflet with about 6 or 7 rides detailed on it, but, on hitting the above webpage, nothing like that jumps out.
If they want it to be a success, they need to get together a reliable, available and detailed selection of routes to, in effect, make it a destination (the area, Tomintoul).
I'm not suggesting more "trail centre" trails (that would be great) but "natural" stuff.
I know there are routes nearby - I have ridden of few of them. However you'd have to be delusional to think a significant number of people will make a trip for ONE trail.
In the past, I've asked (on another website) if there are nearby routes (a little further south-Glenshee) and got "LOADS! Just follow your nose up GlenJustAboutMarkedOnTheMap!". I was grateful, but I had to do the "digging" to the get the routes.
Some (most) people might not bother.
They seemed a nice bunch at the cafe and I wish them well.
I’m not suggesting more “trail centre” trails (that would be great) but “natural” stuff.
Like what Dales bike centre does, works very well for them, I'd agree.
If DMBinS every actually do anything other than commissioning and publishing reports, having conferences and generally congratulating each other, maybe they'll get around to looking at that. There was a "plan" around 4 years ago to do exactly this in and around Glenmore - i.e. create a hub where "natural" trails exist.
That would be absolutely superb. Ergo, DmBollocks won't even think of it....
ah yes , DMB"those natural trails you have are illegitimate"S
lol, aye, Developing MTBing by trying to do away with trails. Roasters.
Just looked at DIMBITS website for the first time in ages. What a wasted resource. I clicked on a link hoping for some extra info on Glenlivet and you get an ebook thing that basically replicates the website.