The Bothy of Ballachulish

A bothy in the grounds of a laird's house

The Bothy is not on the village street. It sits in the grounds of Ballachulish House, the laird's house of the later 1700s that was once the seat of the Stewarts of Ballachulish, and Historic Environment Scotland lists the whole group at Category B, the house, the bothy, and the walled garden together. For a visitor that means a private drive and a garden rather than a neighbour on each side.

It is bigger inside than the word bothy suggests. The floor area is 130 square metres, laid out as two bedrooms, one with a large double and one with a double, a sofa bed in the living room for a fourth person, and two bathrooms, each of which has a bath as well as a shower. The living room, the dining area, and the kitchen run together as one space, with a fireplace at the heart of it. The kitchen is fitted rather than gestured at: oven, hob, dishwasher, microwave, fridge, kettle, toaster, and a coffee machine. There is a washing machine, and wifi throughout.

Outside there is a garden with furniture, an outdoor dining area, a barbecue, a picnic area, and a children's playground. The playground is the detail worth knowing, because it is what makes this work for a family with young children rather than only for two couples.

Good to know

Features

Location

Where it puts you

South Ballachulish sits on the far side of the bridge from the village, at the narrows where Loch Leven runs out into Loch Linnhe. Two roads leave from it. The A82 heads east into Glencoe and the glen itself, and the A828 runs south down the coast towards Appin and Oban.

The National Trust for Scotland's Glencoe Visitor Centre is just off the A82 near Glencoe village, and it is the sensible first stop of any week here, both for the exhibition on the 1692 massacre and for finding out what the hill is doing. North over the bridge, the A82 carries on up the side of Loch Linnhe to Fort William for the supermarkets and the railway station.