Ballachulish Travel Guide - Scotland

Ballachulish is a wonderful place to visit and spend a holiday, whether you are looking for scenic landscape, historic surroundings, or just the opportunity to relax and enjoy some of the best of what Scotland has to offer.

Famous for slate and water

One of the most famous aspects of Ballachulish and a big part of its history are the substantial slate quarries located just outside of town. This part of Lochaber, Highland is well known for the high quality of slate produced there; it is of such high quality, in fact, that the engravings in many slate gravestones from the quarry are still as fresh-looking and crisp as they were when they were originally done. The local quarries were also the source for the majority of slate used for roofing in Glasgow and Edinburgh during the 18^th century.

From the standpoint of water, Ballachulish is very popular because of its location at Caolas Mhic Phadraig (Patrick's Son's Narrows) near the mouth of Loch Leven. It is a beautiful area with stunning landscapes, but was also important to the local economy because of the Ballachulish ferry that transported people from the narrows to the head of Loch Leven. The ferry was the only way to make that journey for many centuries because there were no roads over that route.

Hotels, resorts, and hauntings

Ballachulish is also home to several wonderful hotels and resorts, most of which are older and housed in historic and interesting buildings. For instance, the Ballachulish Hotel (also known as Tigh Craig) is located at the southern end of the Ballachulish Ferry, near the narrows themselves. This is also the location of Ballachulish House, another historic and lovely building despite its mythic reputation of being haunted. Take a stroll down the drive leading up to the Ballachulish House and you'll understand why it is a favourite holiday spot for so many visitors.

As Ballachulish has grown in popularity, though, the older buildings have not been enough to meet the demand for accommodations. That is why there have also been a number of newer houses, holiday chalets, and hotels built in the area. The developers of these modern structures have done a nice job of designing them to fit in unobtrusively with the older historic structures, helping to preserve the spirit and pleasant feeling of Ballachulish.