Highlands & Islands
Over 2005 several CAMRA members from the Keighley & Craven branch have been on holiday to various parts of Scotland. Here described are some of their experiences:Fred and Jenny Baker:
Towards the end of May we went camping in Kinlochleven, home of Atlas brewery. The village is located at the head of Loch Leven, on the West Highland Way between Glencoe and Fort William. It was developed in the 1900's when the North British Aluminium Company built a hydroelectric scheme and smelter in the area. The smelter closed in June 2000, since when the village has become a centre for small business and tourism. Atlas brewery is housed in the old Carbon Factory, where large anodes of carbon were produced for use in the electolysis process of aluminium smelting. The village proved to be a very good spot to be based for both walking and drinking.
We enjoyed walking in the bluebell woods above the village, visiting the famous Grey Mare's Waterfall (one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Scotland), and up into the Mamore hills. We also used the West Highland Way one day to trek over to Glencoe and walked down the Glen to visit The Clachaig Inn. This is a well known Real Ale outlet and here we tried Atlas Latitude, Fraoch (Heather Ale), and Orkney Raven, all in good condition.
On some of the wetter days, of which there were a few, we travelled on the bus to visit various hostelries. There is a regular bus service between Fort William and Kinlochleven. In Fort William itself we found the best real ale in the Nevisport Bar and in the Grog and Gruel, both of which are Good Beer Guide pubs and sell a range of different beers, mostly from Scottish breweries. One of our favourite bars in the area was at the Nether Lochaber Hotel in Onich, near the slipway to the Corran ferry. Once a temperance hotel, not allowed to sell alcohol, the bar is built onto the back with it’s own entrance. The beers here were Black Cuillin and Hebridean Gold from the Skye brewery. We arrived at 12.45pm on a Sunday, expecting the bar to be open, it wasn’t, but fortunately we didn’t have to wait long as it opened at 1.10pm, when the ferry arrived. Another fine real ale outlet we found was the Laroch in Ballachulich village. We visited this pub 3 times. They had one handpump with a beer from Atlas brewery, which varied, but was in good condition each time. They had Nimbus on our first visit then subsequently the beer was Latitude.
Back in Kinlochleven the bar we ended up in each evening was at the Tailrace Inn. Only a few hundred yards from Atlas brewery this sold 2 Atlas beers, Three Sisters Scottish ale and Atlas Latitude, a pale ale. We also tried the Mamore Lodge Hotel, nestled amongst the trees on the hillside to the north of Kinlochleven. On our visit there wasn’t any real ale available, although we understand they do normally sell one real ale. Never the less it was worth the visit for the view.
For more details about some of the places mentioned see the following web sites:
Ian and Anne Berry:
The Northern Highlights
Our contribution is from July 2005 when we went to the far north of mainland Scotland in search of good beer, scenery and wildlife, not necessarily in that order.
We’d like to start with our thanks to the Inverness & Highland branch of CAMRA for their newsletter and comprehensive website, which provided us with useful information on good pubs and campsites.
Our first stop was at Onich (just south of Fort William on the west coast). There are 2 Good Beer Guide (GBG) pubs, so there was an instant attraction. We stayed in a cabin at Inchree Holiday Centre, because there wasn’t a campsite that accepts tents, but we’ve heard that Bunchree Caravan Site is excellent. The Four Seasons Bar at the Inchree Centre appeared to mainly serve Atlas Brewery beers – Three Sisters was on when we were there. We had some language difficulty as none of the staff spoke English, Scottish or Yorkshire. Obviously, we also visited the Nether Lochaber Hotel by the Corran Ferry, where the friendly landlord dispensed mainly Isle of Skye beers. From Onich we drove to the end of Loch Leven to find where Atlas comes from – Kinlochleven and the Tail Race Inn, in particular.
Next to Applecross, where the Applecross Inn overlooks the scenic Applecross Bay. The pub specialises in local seafood and the beers come from Isle of Skye Brewery. We camped 200m from the pub, 175 of which were vertical. It’s remote and a good place to chill out – in good weather.
Northwards to Gairloch, where we had stayed before. The campsite at Strath is friendly and has good views – the people in charge come from Foulridge. The campsite is about 2 miles from the Old Inn at Gairloch which has been in the GBG for years and deservedly so. You can now break your walk by stopping at the Loch Inn, which looks uninspiring from the outside but serves a range of Isle of Skye beers inside. Where the footpath from the sea front level climbs back to the road it's to the left.
The campsite at Scourie is superbly located overlooking the bay. Unfortunately, this also meant the tent was somewhat exposed, worrying when the shipping forecast warns of a force 9 for the Hebrides. We were a little disappointed with the GBG pub the Scourie Hotel, which was only selling beers we can get at home from the Enterprise Inn guest list when we were there. From here we took the “ferry” (aka a tin bath with an outboard motor) to Handa Island, which is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Our knowledge of seabirds improved on this holiday, we now know our guillemots from our razorbills!
Finally made it to the north coast at Durness, which has lovely beaches but is a beer desert. Dare I say it, there is more to life than beer! [Hum IB]
It was an interesting drive south from there to Inverness, through remote countryside. We camped at Bunchrew, we’d been here before and it is nice, on the banks of the Beauly Firth. The Clachnaharry Inn, which regularly wins awards from the local CAMRA branch is between Bunchrew and Inverness on the main road and bus route. You can sit outside at the back overlooking the railway line, if you want. We caught the bus into Inverness and visited most, if not all, of the GBG pubs and the Dickens Restaurant recommended by the campsite owner. The restaurant served food that was an interesting blend of oriental and Scottish, we wouldn’t have been surprised to see Haggis Chow Mein on the menu – is this what they call “fusion food”? The best pint was from the Wetherspoons in a former cinema building.
In the search for good beer in particular, we stayed at the Benleva Hotel in Drumnadrochit (Loch Ness Monster territory), which made a pleasant change from sleeping in tent. Since we returned we have learned that it has been voted branch Pub of the Year. The staff there were very friendly, the food was good and they knew their beer. The beers kept changing, but while we were there they were serving beers from An Teallach (we checked the spelling), Cairngorm and Isle of Skye breweries. Didn’t see the monster – must not have drunk enough!
Our itinerary wasn't well organised, hadn’t noticed 2 GBG pubs close together on the Black Isle. The pubs sounded interesting, and there was a Camping and Caravanning Club site between them. For anyone who hasn’t been to a CCC site before, beware, they tend to be fairly regimented, expensive but very clean. Fortunately, they let us on, and we had a view overlooking the Moray Firth. The added bonus is that just along the coast from there at Chanonry Point, is a popular spot for dolphin watching from the shore. While we were there they were filming for the BBC TV series “Coast”. The Plough Inn at Rosemarkie is an evening stroll away. There is a friendly small front bar, then behind is an extensive eating area. The Anderson at Fortrose is a similar distance away, appealing to a different clientele with an Art Deco feel. Both establishments had their appeal selling a variety of different quality beers. The Anderson prides itself on the number of Belgian beers and Scottish whiskies available, and the barman was very knowledgeable. Although we were only a couple of miles away, we were surprised that we didn’t see any Black Isle Brewery beers for sale on draught.
As far as beer was concerned, we thought our last stop was the best, perhaps because it was a pleasant surprise. We had been to many of the other places before as we tend to navigate by the GBG. By the end of the holiday we had visited most of the GBG pubs in the Inverness and Highland CAMRA branch area, and still managed a bit of walking and wildlife.
Lynda & Doug Smith:
The Isle of Bute and the CAMRA Scottish Pub of the Year
A great place to get away from it all for a few days and relax with great views and a peaceful atmosphere. I would recommend it to anyone.
We discovered the Isle of Bute when in Scotland on two consecutive weekends as we decided to stay there for a few days between Paisley Beer Festival and the CAMRA AGM in Glasgow. We booked our stay at the Port Royal Hotel at Port Bannatyne, the home of the Russian Tavern and holder of the current Scottish Pub of the Year title.
Bute is a real ale desert but this was more than made up for at the Russian Tavern with four casks serving local beer on gravity from the bar. Cask cider, authentic soft drinks, draught German lager and Russian bottled beers were also available. The food has got to be mentioned too as it is made from local ingredients, all freshly cooked and based on Tsarist recipes. It is wonderful to say the least.
Check out:-
Mick Farrar:
The experience I had with Scottish ales is as follows. The Mishnish in Tobermory on the Island of Mull was selling Deuchar’s IPA and Old Speckled Hen at £2.70 a pint. When I politely asked for a top up the landlord thought it was full enough with a half an inch head. The quality of the beer was quite good.
I also sampled the new brewery’s beer on the island but have forgotten the names. It produced a pale gold beer but I found it to be like a home brew and was not impressed. I sampled it in both Tobermory and Dervaig. It had only been brewing for a couple of weeks. Perhaps with more experience the beer could improve.
On Islay I drank the Finlaggan and Black Rock beers which were both on draught at the Ardview Arms in Port Ellen. We found the beer on quite good form in this pub. Afraid we did not rate the beer at Jollies Bar in Bowmore and we also sampled it at the Port Charlotte Hotel. We were quite pleased to find the bottled versions on sale on the ferry from Kennacraig.
