Highland Perthshire prepares for a carnival Etape weekend
Last updated | 06/05/2008
Highland Perthshire is preparing to hold a spectacular weekend of events and entertainment based around the Etape Caledonia cycle race.
Visitors and spectators coming to the area to watch the UK’s only closed-road cycle event will have a huge choice of things to do and see over the weekend of Saturday 17 – Sunday 18 May.
The Etape takes place on the Sunday, and will see several thousand cyclists from all over the UK and beyond tackle the 81-mile route around Highland Perthshire. The start and finish line is in Pitochry.
The evening before the Etape a huge Pitlochry Pasta Ceilidh will be held to limber up for the next day’s exertions. The family event will feature a live band and as much pasta as you can eat. It will take place in a marquee next to the start/finish car park in Pitlochry. Tickets costing £5 (under-14s free) will be on sale at registration for the Etape on Saturday, and on the gate from 5.45pm on the Saturday evening.
The marquee will be busy again the following day, when it will host a variety of Etape entertainment. There will be cooking demonstrations with Nell Nelson, music from the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band and Fred the Fiddler and a battle re-enactment by the Hairy Highlanders group. Kids will be kept entertained by Silly McBee the Clown and a novelty bike show. There will also be stalls promoting all the areas within Highland Perthshire.
Acupuncture and sports massage will also be on offer in the Competitors’ Village Marquees from 9am-4pm.
Spectators will be able to watch the cyclists twice along the route by catching a special bus from Pitlochry to Kinloch Rannoch, and back again.
New Etape race viewing points have also been set-up at the House of Menzies and the Safari Lodge at Dull. The Upper Tay Paths Group has created a new route for walkers and cyclists to travel between Aberfeldy and Kenmore on the morning of the Etape and visit the businesses along the route without using the closed road. Free refreshments will be available at The Safari Lodge Farm Shop (bacon roll and coffee) and at the House of Menzies (scone and a coffee). Entertainment at these two venues will carry on well into the afternoon.
Many other local business and attractions are getting behind the event by offering visitors a host of activities over the event weekend.
Blair Atholl Castle will be hosting family Land Rover tours, a children’s tour of the castle, a falconry display and cake decorating workshops on Saturday 17 May to keep pre-race crowds entertained. On the Sunday the castle is holding a Behind Closed Doors Attic tour, showing visitors artefacts and rooms not normally seen.
The Courtyard deli, gift shop, restaurant and bar in Kenmore is having an ice cream extravaganza over the weekend to celebrate the Etape. From 9am-6pm on the two days they will be handing out free ice creams to race spectators.
On the Saturday a Fun Day is being held in Kinloch Rannoch, with a hog roast, music and entertainment. On the same day the Highland Perthshire market will pitch up at Mill of Logierait Farm near Ballinluig between 10am-2pm.
On the Sunday Victoria’s Restaurant in Pitlochry is opening from 6am so cyclists and spectators can fuel up for the day ahead.
Spectators can wind down after the event by taking part in a Bluebell Walk at Craig Wood, Dunkeld, hosted by Atholl Estates Ranger Service.
The Council’s Enterprise and Infrastructure Convener, Councillor John Kellas, said: “All of these events show how much local communities have embraced the Etape event. The weekend is shaping up to be one of the most spectacular in the Highland Perthshire calendar, and I am delighted that so many local businesses are getting involved and taking advantage of the opportunities offered to them by the Etape.
“There is a going to be a huge amount of fun and entertainment on offer for visitors, making the Etape an event for all the family and not just an event for cyclists. I am looking forward to a hugely successful few days. Last year the Etape brought many thousands of people to the area and we are expecting even more this time around.”
