Nevis Range Mountain Experience, near Fort William in Lochaber, is delighted to announce its new partnership with Scotland’s leading hospitality group, Cobbs. This epic union between the hospitality experts of Loch Ness and the adrenaline junkies of Nevis Range allows the active tourism destination to reach new levels of adventure experience and the best of highland hospitality.
From December 2022, the Snowgoose and Pinemarten cafés at Nevis Range will operate under Cobbs management in line with their other dining establishments. The hotel under construction at the Nevis Range base station will join and strengthen the network of Cobbs hotels in the Scottish Highlands! To round off the partnership, Cobbs will occupy one of the retail spaces at the Nevis Range base station and operate a gift and souvenir shop to ensure that all visitors can take home fantastic memories of their trip to the Scottish Highlands!
With the Nevis Range Hub Development project – a 26-bedroom hotel, bar and restaurant, bike shop, gift shop, and a covered courtyard with event space – due for completion in early 2023, the variety of products and services offered by Nevis Range is ever-increasing! This new chapter for both companies will ensure that every Nevis Range visitor has an enhanced experience taking advantage of the curated knowledge of the hospitality sector and industry experience that Cobbs bring to the party.
Since opening in 1989 Nevis Range has been welcoming guests to indulge in their mountain pursuits right in the heart of the Highlands. As a business, Nevis Range offers year-round mountain access to 200,000 skiers, snowboarders, climbers, bikers, hillwalkers, and sightseers across all age groups, a large number of whom visit for a great quality coffee with a stunning mountain view across Lochaber.
The Cobbs group manages a range of businesses from hotels to cafés to bakeries. They operate across Scotland with everything from quaint tearooms and a bustling café in Edinburgh’s trendy Marchmont area, to four highly successful hotels in the Loch Ness, area including the Loch Ness Lodge, Loch Ness Clansman, Loch Ness Country House, and Loch Ness Drumnadrochit Hotel. Through all of their hospitality ventures the Cobbs team has been a true driving force for tourism in Loch Ness, the Great Glen and throughout the Highlands, building their empire under the ever-watchful eye of the Loch Ness Monster.
Chris O’Brien, managing director of Nevis Range, commented on the partnership with the Cobbs Group: “The entire team and I at Nevis Range are tremendously excited. The Monster expertise of Cobbs combined with our Adventure Mountain will take us to a new level.
“Not only do we combine our collective knowledge, we also bring together an entire Great Glen Experience with Nevis Range acting as the gateway to partnerships right the way up the Glen, with all of the incredible businesses operated by Cobbs. I’m sure all of our customers will enjoy the addition of Great Glen Gin as well.
Collaboration is the best way to grow Scottish tourism, working together in this fashion represents better value for our existing customers and will open up opportunities for thousands of new visitors to the Great Glen!”
Nevis Range are confident to be embarking on this new era bolstered with the industry experience and knowledge of Willie Cameron (Loch Ness Marketing, Cobbs), known locally as ‘Mr Loch Ness’, Fraser Campbell (Cobbs), and Daniel Campbell (Redbox Coffee and Tea).
Fraser Campbell, director of the Cobbs Group, added: “The association with Nevis Range is one of the most exciting business proposals that Cobbs has engaged with. Monster meets Mountain covering both ends of The Great Glen is one of the most inspiring and entrepreneurial tourism and outdoor visitor attraction prospects in Europe from 2023 onwards.”
Willie Cameron, business development director, Cobbs Group (‘Mr Loch Ness’), said: “The directors of Cobbs are delighted to be involved with the team at Nevis Range on this exciting new project to enhance the visitor experience at their end of The Great Glen.
The marriage of Monster meets Mountain is a marketing coup for The Highlands of Scotland and will benefit visitors and locals alike under the banner of sustainable tourism and conscious travel. As the two venues are only 50 miles apart we will give them an all-encompassing experience from downhill mountain biking, skiing, and great local food and drink, along with whisky and gin tasting, storytelling, walking, and of course a cruise and a little bit of monster hunting.”
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Digital links
Nevis Range
Website http://www.nevisrange.co.uk | Twitter https://twitter.com/TheNevisRange
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nevisrange | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NevisRange/
Cobbs
Website https://www.cobbsbakery.co.uk | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CobbsCakes
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cobbs.group | Twitter https://twitter.com/CobbsCakes
The Cobbs Team
Fraser Campbell started his career with British Transport Hotels working in Kyle of Lochalsh, Newcastle, and Cornwall, and spent time in Germany with Inter Continental Group. Prior to purchasing his own hotel in Craigellachie, Fraser was General Manager of the private members club in Edinburgh-The Royal Overseas League at 100 Princes Street.
After a spell in Alyth, he and his late wife Jackie ended up as hoteliers at The Drumnadrochit Hotel at Loch Ness where he also founded The Loch Ness Coffee Company. Twenty-two years ago he founded Cobbs which has become one of the biggest hospitality groups in The Highlands. His co-directors were Willie Cameron and Angus Macmaster along with the late Jackie Campbell and eventually to be joined by Willie’s nephew Rory Cameron.
Fraser is a Highland Tourism Ambassador and took Cobbs to Highland Business of the year!
Willie Cameron is known locally as Mr Loch Ness! This title is well-deserved as he has been at the forefront of promoting Highland Tourism around the Loch Ness area and beyond for 26 years.
Willie has many strings to his bow, being a fabulous public speaker, Highland Tourism ambassador, business development director, mentor and motivator, editorial writer for press, and festival coordinator. Willie is an advocate for local development to better the area and fly the flag for the Highlands in every facet of his life.
Daniel Campbell is an integral part of the Cobbs team and has added to its portfolio most recently with the birth of Great Glen Gin in 2020. Great Glen is one of Scotland’s newest and, proudly, its smallest craft distillery, which recently won the Best Newcomer at the Scottish Gin Awards.
Daniel also runs Redbox Coffee in Edinburgh which has been built on the promise of respecting the farmers who grow their green beans and tea leaves, and their customer base who trust their branded offerings, striving to grow to be green together. They source ethically and continuously strive to be the market leader in Scotland’s environmentally friendly coffee solutions.
The Nevis Range Team
Chris O’Brien – Managing Director
Hand-reared in Scotland, Chris joined the Business in 2017 as Commercial Manager, bringing a track record of achievement executing national and international strategic marketing campaigns across the Sports, Leisure, and Hospitality sectors.
Chris is known throughout the Scottish tourism industry as a passionate advocate of sustainable tourism and strives to ensure that the highlands of Scotland becomes the adventure capital of the world!
Currently a Director of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, Director of Highland Tourism CIC, and a former Destination Manager of Outdoor Capital of the UK, Chris has overseen the transformation of Nevis Range to a carbon neutral, fair work, living wage, ethical and inclusive company!
John Sutherland – Activities Director
John studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design graduating with an Honours degree in design. John has worked with art departments on several major films and adverts, and latterly on location as a mountain safety specialist.
As Activities Director John is responsible for the quality of experience delivered in all customer-facing activities at Nevis Range, including Bike Tracks, Snowsports, and Tree Adventure.
John has been involved with the development of Nevis Range from an early age and has worked on the mountain as a ski instructor, leading to an in-depth knowledge of the business and a desire to see the continued success of the company as an all-year-round visitor destination.
The Nevis Range Mountain Experience
The Nevis Range Mountain Experience lies 7 miles north of Fort William, and south of Spean Bridge.
It was opened in 1989 to develop a skiing/tourism facility on the mountain of Aonach Mor in the shadow of Ben Nevis. The development was undertaken due to a demand for skiing in Scotland that was inadequately served by existing facilities.
Nevis Range Mountain Experience is a year-round mountain resort comprising:
- All-year-round mountain gondola visitor attraction
- Winter snowsports area with equipment hire and Snowsports School.
- All-year-round mountain biking with 48km of cross-country mountain biking as well as downhill mountain bike trails with gondola access. Home to a round of the Mountain Bike World Cup
- Self-service Snowgoose restaurant & bar (gondola top station) and Pinemarten café bar (gondola base station) serving locally served produce prepared on site.
- Mountain walks to scenic viewpoints
- Forest walks
- Gift shop
The Nevis Range Mountain Gondola, unique in Britain, was originally constructed to transport skiers and snowboarders to the slopes. Today, the gondola whisks some 200,000 visitors each year to 650m where they can eat at the Snowgoose restaurant, walk out to the mountain viewpoints, or simply enjoy the stunning highland scenery. The gondola is also widely used by hillwalkers, climbers, paragliders, and hang gliders on their journey to the clouds. There are 74 Gondolas in total and each one takes up to 6 adults.
The Cobbs Group
Cobbs is a truly Highland company. In 2002 they took over a farmhouse bakery in the Loch Ness-side village of Drumnadrochit and inherited a lovely range of traditional home-baked cakes which were already proving popular with customers throughout the Highlands of Scotland.
Originally, production was just for their own Cobbs outlets but demand from other visitor attractions and coffee shops soon enabled the business to grow. They rapidly outgrew their original farm kitchen and now are based in larger premises in the village. They still use many of the original recipes but of course, nowadays they are making them in much larger quantities.
Their team of 30 wonderful bakers and decorators work hard, night and day, creating hand-made cakes that are sent far and wide to customers all over Scotland and the north of England.
The Cobbs group are proud to operate four hotels in the Highlands – Loch Ness Country House Hotel, Loch Ness Clansman Hotel, Loch Ness Drumnadrochit Hotel and Loch Ness Lodge.
They also have a portfolio of cafes numbering 19 establishments ranging from a lovely tearoom at Inverness Botanics to a bustling cafe in Edinburgh’s trendy Marchmont area.
The company takes its name from John Cobb who was a gentleman well-known in the local area. He was a speedster who, in his boat, Crusader, attempted to break the World Water Speed Record on Loch Ness in 1952. Sadly, Cobb did not survive the attempt but his name proudly lives on through their business.
