Lock Keepers Cottage

The keeper's house, still beside the gates

Dochgarroch is a working lock on the Caledonian Canal, and this was the house the keeper who operated it lived in. It is let now by the family firm that runs the Loch Ness boats, whose pier is a one minute walk from the door, so what passes the windows is canal traffic waiting for the gates.

Downstairs is one open plan living and kitchen area with the wood burning stove in it, which is the room that makes the place work for a group rather than a couple. All three bedrooms are en suite, so nobody queues on a landing, and each has its own flat screen television. The kitchen has an electric oven and hob, a dishwasher, a table top freezer, and a coffee machine with pods, and there is a washer dryer for a week of wet walking gear. Towels and bed linen are provided, and a high chair and a cot are available.

Outside there is a garden at the front and an enclosed one at the back, plus storage for sports equipment. The An Talla shop and cafe is a minute away, open seven days from 9am to 4pm, so a forgotten pint of milk does not mean a drive into town.

Good to know

Features

Location

Where it puts you

Dochgarroch Lock is four miles out of Inverness, and the operator points out that you can walk in along the canal path rather than drive, which is unusual for a rural Highland cottage. That puts the castle, the river, and the restaurants at the end of a towpath. The same path is flat cycling in both directions, so a bike is worth bringing, and our cycling routes guide covers the wider Highland options.

The other direction is the water. The pier a minute from the cottage is where the operator's own Loch Ness sailings leave from, which is the rare case of a boat trip you can reach without moving the car.