FIELDFACTS LOCHABER
‘Your horizons can contract when living somewhere as remote as this’
ACCOMMODATION Arisaig House Tel: 01687 450730 www.arisaighouse. co.uk Ardnamurchan Estate Tel: 01972 510208 www.ardnamurchan estate.co.uk Caledonian Discovery Tel: 01397 772167 www.caledoniandiscovery.co.uk Cuil Moss Cottage Tel: 07595 601799 www.ardgourestate. co.uk Glenborrodale Castle Tel: 01972 500275 www.glenborrodale castle.com Glenfinnan House Hotel Tel: 01397 722235 www.glenfinnan house.com Glen Nevis Holidays Tel: 01397 702191 www.glen-nevis.co.uk Hunting Tower Lodge Tel: 01397 700079 www.huntingtower lodge.com Knoydart House Tel: 01687 460012 www.knoydarthouse. co.uk Kilcamb Lodge Hotel Tel: 01967 402257 www.kilcamblodge. co.uk Kingairloch Estate Tel: 01967 411242 www.kingairloch.co.uk Loch Sheil Hotel Tel: 01967 431224 www.lochshielhotel. com Lochview Guest House and self catering apartments Tel: 01397 703149 lochview.co.uk Springwell Holidays Tel: 01855 821257 www.springwell holidaycottages.co.uk ACTIVITIES Ice Factor Tel: 01855 831100 www.ice-factor.co.uk Snowgoose Mountain Centre Tel: 01397 772467 www.highlandmountain-guides. co.uk RESTAURANTS Boat House Restaurant @ Kingairloch Estate Tel: 01967 411242 www.kingairloch. co.uk Crannog Seafood Restaurant Tel: 01397 705589 www.crannog.net VISITOR ATTRACTIONS Crannog Cruises Tel: 01397 700714 www.crannog.net Ardnamurchan Distillery Tel: 01972 500285 www.adelphidistillery. com
of a mountain usually – but the local colleges put on courses for complete beginners. I like it that people are keeping it alive, and especially that young people are taking an interest.
The arts are very vibrant in this part of the world. Lots of writers live here or come for inspiration – Alexander McCall Smith lives nearby, for instance – which is why we have the Three Lochs literary festival every second year. I’m very much into fairy tales and local mythology.
It’s not like the 1700s, when Glencoe was universally perceived as a savage wilderness, but living in this remote corner of Lochaber still has its challenges. You can’t just pop out to the shops, and you soon find out who will and will not deliver here – for many companies even Fort William is too far. After a while Fort William feels like a metropolis in which Morrisons is our equivalent of Selfridges’ food hall. People go to Oban for a dash of civilisation and Inverness for their Christmas shopping. Your horizons can contract living somewhere as remote as this, and you definitely become better at planning life. But it’s worth it; the upsides so outweigh the small inconveniences.
Above: Brooke with her beloved Ben Nevis in the background.