Outdoor & Sporting Activities
Loch Leven Hotel is situated in one of the most spectacular regions
of Scotland, rich in natural beauty and steeped in history, and
long-time favourite of film makers. The hotel is situated on the
north shore of Loch Leven, next to the Ballachulish Bridge.
Set amid vast peaks, rugged glens and deep sea lochs, the Glencoe
and Lochaber area is probably the finest in Scotland for
a wide variety of outdoor sporting and leisure pursuits, including:
Walking & Climbing
Glencoe and the Lochaber area is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts
and in particular those seeking walking breaks and climbing activities.
There are miles of unspoilt countryside and mountain areas offering
walking experiences for visitors of all abilities from beach, forest
and coastal walks to gentle hill walks right the way through to
Munro-bagging opportunities as well as the opportunity to climb
the UK's highest mountian Ben Nevis. The area is also very popular
for winter snow and ice climbing.
Glencoe
Walks information from Walk
Highlands offers over 450 free, detailed descriptions of walking
routes across the Scottish Highlands. Proper mapping and downloadable
GPS waypoints are available for every walk.
Cycling & Bike Hire
Fort William is quickly becoming know as the home of downhill mountain
biking with the world championships having been held at Nevis
Range in recent years. There is plenty for the thrill seeker
with black and red runs but for the majority of us looking for a
gentle cycle there is still plenty to experience. With miles and
miles of forestry tracks as well as purpose built SusTrans
Cycle Tracks (the newest being between Glenachulish and Kentallen)
you can enjoy a flat-ish cycle taking in the wonderful views of
the area. Cycle hire is available locally from CranKitUp
Gear.
Golf
Scotland is known as being the "home of golf" and Glencoe
and the surrounding area has much to offer the golfer. Although
we cannot claim that the local courses vie with Scottish courses
of international renown, they do offer a considerable challenge
to both the low- and high-handicap golfer:
- Fort William: 18 holes
- Spean Bridge: 9 holes
- Traigh
Golf Course, Arisaig: 9 holes
- Dragon's Tooth, South Ballachulish: 9 holes. This lovely course,
which opened in 2002 to much local acclaim, has greens to American
standard and is just over the Ballachulish Bridge. For around
£10 you can hire clubs and it has a nice, licenced club
house which also does a limited range of food. Tel: 01855 811
695 or email dragonstooth@live.co.uk
for tee time enquiries.
Sailing & Canoeing
Loch Leven is also an excellent choice for sailing &
canoeing, with equipment and tuition available locally. Yacht
charter is also available.
Fishing
Loch Leven & Loch Linnhe are sea lochs and as such, a permit
is not required to fish on these waters. There are lots of opportunities
to fish on the local rivers too with permits available from Ballachulish
Hardware Store (tel: + 44 (0) 1855 811 111). Wild fishing with your
very own ghillie is also available locally.
Indoor Climbing
The
Ice Factor in Kinlochleven, at the head of Loch Leven,
has every kind of climbing
experience under one roof where you can enjoy and develop your
skills safely whatever the weather.
Skiing and Snowboarding
The Loch Leven hotel is situated exactly half-way between the ski
slopes of White Corries
(Glencoe) and Nevis Range.
These ski destinations offer skiing and boarding for all abilities
and Nevis Range in particular offers nursery slopes and ski-schooling
facilities.
Watersports, Canoeing, Canyoning and Boat
Trips
Due to our location right on the lochside there is a plethora of
water based activities for your to enjoy. You can spend an afternoon
canoeing with Lochaber
Watersports, go canyoning or white water rafting with Vertical
Descents, jump on a high speed RIB for a wildlife adventure
with Sea Xplorer
or Sea.Fari
or charter a boat for a gentle cruise on the loch with Linnhe
Marina!
For the Artist and Photographer
The magnificent landscape of Glencoe and Loch Leven provides a
wonderful inspiration to artists and photographers alike, with its
ever-changing colours. For a sample of some wonderful landscape
photography click here.
For the Naturalist
This unspoilt area is home to a large variety of wildlife of interest
to all naturalists, and includes:
- red squirrel
- red deer
- roe deer
- stoats
- otters
- fox
- badger
- wildcat
- pine marten
- long-haired wild goats
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- golden eagle
- buzzard
- sparrow hawk
- kestrel
- merlin
- peregrine falcon
- heron
- cormorant
- swan
- bats
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Red squirrels, roe deer and wild goats are often seen in the woods
behind the hotel. There are also Cormorants roosting in the Ballachulish
Bridge at sun set, a Heronry in the tall pines across the 'Narrows'
and we have swallows and housemartins nesting in the hotel roofs.
Watch out for the seals, otters and porpoises in the loch and every
kind of seabird, Terns, Oyster Catchers, Guillemots, Shearwaters
and Gannets.
Other Local Attractions & Activities
If you're not the outdoors type, don't despair – there is
still plenty to interest you in this lovely area, including:
See also our Local
Heritage page.
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