Email Inverour Guest House enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com  

Other places to stay in and around Spean Bridge

Inverour - our pretty 19th century bed and breakfast home. Nicely positioned in the centre of Spean Bridge village, near to Fort William, and Ben Nevis, we are surrounded by stunning views of the Nevis Range, and the Grey Corries.

Our position means we are ideally situated for touring the West Highlands, Skye, Mallaig Lewis and Harris are just a few to mention, there are many more.

Inverour Guest House Accommodation

Most of our 8 bedrooms are en-suite and all have colour TV’s, tea and coffee making facilities, hair dryers and radio alarms. We pride ourselves on our hearty breakfasts which are served in the attractive dining room – you can choose from traditional Scottish, continental or vegetarian. We also do packed lunches for your days out and about.

We prepare excellent packed lunches for your days excursion, if required. We will also do you an evening meal, but you will need to pre- arrange it with us should you wish to participate.

We are spoilt when it comes to eating out ! As we are right next door to Russell's Restaurant, two hundred metres from the Old Station Restaurant, and one mile from the Old Pines, so finding somewhere nice to eat is easy. We will gladly make a reservation for you just tell us where, you would like to eat.

We have a heated drying room for those of you who do enjoy the outdoors should you need it, a garage for safe storage of mountain bikes, canoes etc, and we have lots of private parking.

Free wi-fi
For those of you who really can't live without technology we have wi-fi available in certain rooms for our guests to use.

Peace and tranquility.
For those who just want to get away from it all, there are unlimited places to explore whether on foot, bike, or in the car. Peace and tranquility, are just a stone's throw away, we can point you to areas where you can spend the day in absolute solitude! with only a bird song, perhaps the cuckoo if the season's correct.

Then on your return you can relax in our comfortable lounge and conservatory. Bring yourself back a Wee Dram from one of the numerous Distilleries. Ben Nevis Distillery is just up the road.

Lots of amenities.
Spean Bridge village has a post office, tourist Information centre , woollen mill, whisky shop, general store, and two hotels, plus the local train station, where steam trains are known to pass through, and all this within walking distance of Inverour! Historians tells us Inverour was the original post office and School masters house, but that was a long time ago.

The area is a paradise for outdoor lovers and we welcome all types of enthusiasts. We can arrange many activities for you, such as Golf, pony trekking, quad biking, fishing, even white water rafting all are based in the area.

Glen Roy nature reserve is on our door step, with its abundance of wild life, from butterflies, to eagles, hedgehogs, to pine martins and of course its famous parallel roads, a geological wonderland, that has obtained a geopark status.

Things to do and see in the Area
Lochaber has been voted the Outdoor Capital of The UK, so when you choose to come to this area hopefully, you will be able to enjoy the great outdoors and what we have to offer. With spectacular scenery, you will need advice on what to see and do, and we will do our best to advise you, below are a few ideas.

Skye and Loch Ness
Inverour makes an ideal base for touring the West Highlands, as we are situated on the Road to the Isles, with Skye and Loch Ness, just to the west and north, and only a short scenic drive away. Glencoe is to our south, with the Cairngorm National Park and Aviemore to the east , these are all within approximately ninety minutes drive, so you really are spoilt for choice.

Places of Interest:
· The world famous Commando Memorial, built to commemorate the Commandos, who trained at Spean Bridge during World War II.
· Nevis Range - Take a trip up the Gondola; go skiing in winter! They have a new adventure here also the Zip wires are fun for all ages.
· High Bridge walk, see the old ruins of General Wades Road.
· At the turnoff to the A830 Road to the Isles there are the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle.
· Parallel Roads Roy Bridge a geological vision.

Loch Arkaig
Explore the wonders of this area where peace and tranquility abound, sea eagles soar, deer explore,and the chequered skipper hides, away.

Places to Eat:
There are a number of places to eat locally. Here are a few suggestions:

· Old Station Restaurant Spean Bridge
· The Old Pines, just past the Commando Monument
· Corriegour Lodge Hotel along Loch Lochy side
· Letterfinlay Lodge Hotel, with beautiful views overlooking Loch Lochy
· Glen Spean Lodge hotel
· Russels@ smiddy house which is next door

The History of the Commandos
The area around Spean Bridge and Achnacarry is where the Second World War Commando troops underwent extensive training prior to fighting in Europe.

In the summer of 1940 Winston Churchill decided that the country needed to have an elite force, and although this was not the first time Commandos had been used it was to be the first time that a specialists training centre was to be established, to ensure that an elite force was consistently, available for the armed forces.

Achnacarry was chosen as the location, and even up to the present day people pay homage to this area, its significance, and history. After arriving at the new training centre, the trainees were introduced to a new way of life, the skills they would learn would in fact stay with them for the rest of their lives, some of these lives would indeed be of a short nature such was the intensity of these troubled times.

During their training they were taught to use the latest weapons, equipment, survival skills in the extreme mountain conditions, to learn unarmed combat, night time manoeuvres, boat navigation to name just a few. A days training could consist of a run from Achnacarry to the summit of Ben Nevis 4,406 feet after all it is only 18 mile, Loch Arkaig and the river that feeds the Loch in full flood were an excellent training ground for the landing craft, and small boat skills to be developed, as they practiced assault landings.

The hours of darkness would provide them with even greater tests, sadly not everyone would survive. The training in darkness at Achnacarry made use of live ammunition, and the most realistic battle conditions, this said you can understand my statement.

The training that took place in this Highland hide away did not recognize rank, all received the same training, there were no privileges, all recruits from officers to
corporals, and all had just one ambition to achieve that Green Beret and to wear it with pride.

During the Second World War the commandos were awarded:
. 38 battle honours
. 8 Victoria Crosses
. 37 Distinguished Service Orders (9 with bars)
. 162 Military Crosses (13 with bars)
. 218 Military Medals.

Some of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War were encountered by the Commandos. The Commando Memorial all 17 feet of it stands over looking Spean Bridge, the three battle dressed Commandos proudly watch over the Glen where they trained, it was unveiled in 1952 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the Commando Association were given the Freedom of Fort William and Lochaber in 1993.

DIRECTIONS
You can find Inverour Guest House by the following methods:

By Road
From Fort William follow the A82 north to Spean Bridge (9 miles) on entering the village turn right onto the A86 and Inverour car park entrance is immediately on the right.

From Inverness follow the A82 south to Spean Bridge, on entering the village turn left onto the A86 and Inverour car park entrance is immediately on the right. On approaching from the East on the A86 turn left into the car park entrance just before the junction of the A82.

By Rail
From Spean Bridge station walk down into the village and turn right, walk over the river bridge turn right again and Inverour is the second house.

By Bus
Limited bus service from Fort William and Inverness. City link coaches available nationwide.

By Air
Nearest air port Inverness.

Email Inverour Guest House enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com