The Lodge is currently closed until 30 June 2020.
We apologise for any inconvenience but we are along with the rest of the country taking steps to make us all safer.
Provisional bookings will be taken from 1 Jul 20 without commitment or a deposit being required. The situation will be reviewed on a monthly bases going forwards.
As of the 1st June 2019, the Rothiemurchus Lodge will also be available for use by the Scout Association, Girl Guide Association and other recognised Youth organisations outside the MoD family. Please contact the Lodge Manager for further details.
The Rothiemurchus Lodge is a gem set in the highlands near Aviemore.
Due to ongoing forestry works on the track leading to the lodge you may encounter logging lorries, please be patient.
The lodge has suffered a power outage.
If you have been trying to get intouch with the us over the last few days we have had no power due to downed cables .
We are on a generator now till Friday with limited power .
Please bare with us at this hectic time . Thank you .
Hello to all our supporters,
As another year comes to a close I write to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and send the best wishes of all on the Lodge Management Committee for 2019. We have had another successful year, blessed by the excellent summer and achieving ever higher percentages of occupation. In addition, we have continued our LIBOR funded investment in the buildings and immediate curtilage. Recent projects have included an upgrade to the decking areas and generally tidying up around the Nuffield Lodge as well as demolishing and rebuilding the rear corridor of the Nuffield. We are also beginning to reap the rewards of the solar panels. Sadly we have come to an end of the generosity offered by the banking industry through LIBOR, and subsequent work will now require new funding.
We are keen to see the provision of a classroom style space and are investigating a number of options. A suitably equipped room with IT and AV facilities is our ambition, but as indicated above, we also need to identify the funding! We are also in discussions with the Grant family as our landlords, over widening our potential markets to increase income, whilst in no way wishing to diminish the feel of this unique facility.
Finally, the Forestry Commission are felling a large area of the non-native forest around us and this will cause some inevitable damage to the access track. However, on completion of each phase, the track will be repaired to the same high standards at no cost, so please bear with us during this period.
As ever, I welcome direct feedback from all our visitors and do tweet or facebook (twitter @rothielodge or fb rothiemurchuslodge) your photos and experiences.
Thank you for your support
Chris Smith
Ex SNOW LION took place in the Cairngorm Mountain Range, Aviemore, Scotland over the period 2 – 11 Mar 18. Traditionally, Ex SNOW LION had only been open to all service personnel based in Scotland. However, after a review the Championships has widened its field, opening the event as a UK wide ‘Foundation Snow Sports Competition’, using the fantastic facilities that are here in the UK, this proved to be a huge success and saw new teams entering from the RAF and the Armed Forces Para Snowsport Team.
Ex SNOW LION has been opened to unit teams made up from skiers, snowboarders and telemark skiers who have not competed in Divisional championships or above, but have had some skiing experience on snow either racing or recreationally. This event has provided a fantastic opportunity for units to start to develop their ‘B’ teams, female teams or development squads in a competitive environment without the expense and organisational burden of travelling abroad for several weeks. Coupled, with creating an ideal first step for those units who may not have a snow sports background, to offer the opportunity and gauge interest and talent for potential future entry at Divisional level, hence why Ex SNOW LION was conducted post Divisional, Army, Inter-service competitions and Corps Championships.
The event consisted with the first 1-2 days of technique and race training through gates in the discipline of GS (and slalom for skiers) under race coaches. Followed by the next 4-5 days of racing including seeding GS and team and individual competitions (which encompassed the snowboarders). The final day concluded with a fun element, parallel slalom competition, ‘have-a-go’ trail session, which also included the snowboarders.
Accommodation and feeding for all teams was the well-appointed and recently renovated Rothiemurchas Lodge (bargain at £18ppp), which was a 10-minute drive to the ski centre and Funicular railway.
Ex SNOW LION in its new format has provided an excellent opportunity for units to start developing their young soldiers and snow sports racers of the future. There is still lots of work to be done in promoting this event to improve participation for 2019. Therefore, to capitalize on the success of this year’s event, if you think this is something your unit or Corps would be interested in, please keep an eye on the AWSA web site and MOSS site or contact any of the snow sports secretaries to find out more.
Exercise Highland Recovery is conducted twice a year by the Personnel Recovery Centre (PRC) Edinburgh at Rothiemurchus Lodge, situated at the foot of the beautiful Cairngorm Mountains. It is a low-level Adventure Training, Cultural and Educational exercise for Wounded, Injured and Sick Service Personnel (WIS SP).
The New Nuffield Lodge at Rothiemurchus is the perfect location for the exercise as it offers self-contained sleeping, cooking, dining and socialising facilities, as well as the newly opened disability suite which means all parties can be accommodated, regardless of their condition. There are four recently refurbished en-suite rooms for staff or any individual who may need the quiet and privacy of their own room. The bar area adjacent to the Nuffield Lodge is a great breakout venue for evening social events such as pool competitions and quiz nights.
The 2018 programme started with five days of activities from 26 – 30 March which included the exciting Zip-Line Trail at the Alvie Estate, Tree Top Zone at the Rothiemurchus Estate, Archery and Kayaking at Loch Insh and a tour of the Culloden Battlefield Centre. There are many more activities to enjoy in the local area, depending on the time of year, such as fishing, mountain biking and not forgetting the baby Polar Bear at the Highland Wildlife Park and, of course, skiing. Planning is already underway for the September 18 exercise, when we hope to be hosting a contingent of Danish WIS SP and hope to use the larger Union Jack Lodge as well as the Nuffield Lodge.
