West Of Inverness
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West of Inverness
West of Inverness, the Moray Firth becomes the Beauly Firth, a relatively quiet little corner despite its proximity to Inverness, as most traffic heading north crosses the Kessock Bridge on the main A9. The A862 west to Beauly offers a more scenic alternative, and the chance to visit a 13th-century priory, and a distillery. South of Beauly, the A831 leads to two of Scotland's most beautiful glens, Glen Strathfarrar and Glen Affric.
For a free online guide to walks in this area, visit Loch Ness & Glen Affric walks.
Beauly
The sleepy little market town of Beauly is 10 miles west of Inverness, where the Beauly river flows into the Firth. It's a lovely wee place - hence its name. According to local legend, when Mary, Queen of Scots stayed here, at the priory, in 1564, she was so taken with the place that she cried (in French, of course) "Ah, quel beau lieu!" (What a beautiful place!).
At the north end of the marketplace is the ruin of Beauly Priory, founded in 1230 for the Valliscaulian order, but like so much else of Scotland's ecclesiastical heritage, destroyed during the Reformation. Info - 11 June-30 Sep daily 0930-1830.
Sleeping and eating
The most expensive place to stay is The Priory Hotel, on the main street, Tel. 782309. Late Rooms Availability for Priory Hotel in Beauly
At the opposite end of the main street is the Lovat Arms Hotel, Tel. 782313, lovat.arms@cali.co.uk, which is the best place to stay. A relaxed and comfortable place with an excellent restaurant and great bar food, lots of tartan and the occasional ceilidh. A cheaper B&B option is Ellengowan, Croyard Rd, Tel. 782273 (open Apr-Oct).
The best food is at the Lovat Arms Hotel, which offers cheap meals in the bar or an expensive 4-course dinner in the restaurant. Otherwise, you could try the Beauly Tandoori on The Square, Tel. 782221, for a cheap curry; or the Friary for an even cheaper fish supper.
Transport
There are Inverness Traction buses, Tel. 239292, every hour to Beauly, and on to Muir of Ord, from Inverness and from Dingwall. There's also a Ross's Minibus service from Beauly 3 days a week, Tel. 761250.
Sights
Four miles east of Beauly, at Balchraggan just off the main Inverness road, is Moniack Castle Winery, where you can try a whole range of wines, including elderflower and birch. Info - Mon-Sat 1000-1700.
Four miles to the north is the Glen Ord Distillery, on the outskirts of Muir of Ord, just off the A832. Info - Mar-Oct Mon-Fri 0930-1700; Jul-Sep also Sat 0930-1700 and Sun 1230-1700. Tel. 01463-872004. Take a bus from Inverness or the train.
The River Beauly is one of Scotland's best salmon-fishing rivers, and five miles south of Beauly at Aigas is a fish lift, where you can watch salmon bypass the dam with the aid of technology. Info - Mon-Fri 1000-1500.
Glen Strathfarrar & Glen Affric
Southwest of Beauly are glens Affric and Strathfarrar. Glen Strathfarrar, the lesser known of the two, is unspoiled and considered by some to be the more beautiful. To get there, take the A831 nine miles south from Beauly to Struy and follow the signs. Access to the glen is restricted by the owners, Scottish Natural Heritage, to 12 cars at a time and you have to leave by 1900. The glen is also closed from mid-August to October. But once you're in there is a tremendous feeling of peace, and there's good climbing, fishing and walking. The little ungraded road runs for 14 miles all the way to the impressive Monar Dam at the head of the glen. Glen Strathfarrar can also be reached from Drumnadrochit, via Cannich.
The A831 continues south from Struy through Strathglass to the village of Cannich, gateway to glorious Glen Affric, a dramatic and beautiful gorge, with the River Affric rushing through it, and surrounded by Caledonian pine and birch forest (this is one of the few places where you can still see the native Scots pine). There are few, if any, more stunning sights in the Scottish Highlands and it's perfect for walking, or even just to drive through and stop for a picnic on a nice, sunny day.
Glen Affric reaches west into the very heart of the Highlands and is great for a spot of Munro-bagging. Beyond Loch Affric the serious walking starts. From Affric Lodge, nine miles west of Cannich, begins a 20-mile trail west to Morvich, near Shiel Bridge, on the west coast near Kyle of Lochalsh. This strenuous walk is for experienced hikers only, and takes around 10 hours. You can stop off halfway at one of the most remote youth hostels in Scotland, Glen Affric Youth Hostel, at Allt Beithe (no phone; open mid-March till end October).
There are also many shorter, easier walks around Glen Affric. There are some short, circular marked trails at the end of the road which runs west from Cannich almost to Loch Affric, and also from the car park at the impressive Dog Falls, 4€ miles from Cannich and a great place to stop for a picnic and swim. Cycling in the forests around Cannich is good too - you can hire bikes at Cannich Caravan and Camping Park.
Glen Affric can also be reached from Drumnadrochit by heading west on the A831 through Glen Urquhart to Cannich. Just before Cannich, on the road from Drumnadrochit, a single track road leads left (south), past the Caravan and Camping Park, to the tiny village of Tomich.
From here, it's a three-mile hike up a woodland trail to a car park. A few hundred yards down through the trees takes you to the lovely Plodda Falls. An old iron bridge affords a spectacular view of the waterfall as it plunges 150 yards into the foaming waters below.
Sleeping
There are several options in and around Cannich. One of the best hotels in the area is the Mullardoch House Hotel, in Glencannich, on the road to Beauly, Tel./Fax. 01456-415460. An excellent B&B is Kerrow House, in Cannich village, Tel. 415243, Fax. 415425, stephen@kerrow-house.demon.co.uk
There are also a couple of hostels: the SYHA Cannich Youth Hostel, Tel. 415244, open mid-Mar to end Oct; and the slightly cheaper independent Glen Affric Backpackers, Tel./Fax. 415263, which is open all year.
In the village of Tomich is The Tomich Hotel, Tel. 01456-415399, Fax. 415469. The price includes dinner, and it's a comfortable place with good food and free use of the nearby indoor heated pool; also great for fishing holidays. Near Tomich is the independent hostel Cougie Lodge, Tel. 01456-415459, which is open Apr-Sep and will pick you up from Tomich or Cannich if you phone ahead.
Transport
Highland Bus & Coach, Tel. 01463-233371, runs buses 3 days a week Mon-Fri from Inverness to Cannich and Tomich, via Drumnadrochit. There are also buses from Inverness to Cannich and Tomich, via Beauly (2 on Tue and Fri, and 1 on Sat).