Where To Stay In Kinlochleven

Stew and I lived in the Scottish Highlands for 18 months. We lived in Kinlochleven, near Glencoe. If you’ve been watching travel videos of Scotland’s best, I guarantee you’ve come across videos in the Glencoe area.

Our 18 months in Scotland were a dream come true. During our time here we explored the Scottish Highlands and its major cities like Oban and Inverness. Fort William became our local big supermarket and we walked the mountains around Kinlochleven.

In this article

• Kinlochleven Hotel Recommendations
• Sights Within the Village

Kinlochleven Hotel Recommendations

Kinlochleven is stunningly beautiful and you could easily spend two to four nights here without leaving. Although small, Kinloch has an abundance of hikes, wild swimming spots and great eateries.

By staying in Kinlochleven you’ll be into the remoteness of Scotland but close enough to explore more of The Highlands. Glencoe Ski Resort, Fort William and Ben Nevis are a short drive away. Plus Inverness is only about two hours away. You could easily plan a two or four-day itinerary in the Scottish Highlands and use Kinlochleven as your base. There are sleeping options for every budget.

The Highland Getaway

Before we moved to Kinlochleven Stew and I hiked West Highland Way, which runs through Kinlochleven. We stayed at The Highland Getaway.

The Highland Getaway is central to everything in Kinlochleven. It’s directly opposite the Co-Operative store, too. Although the Getaway is a pub your rooms are located just next door so you won’t find noise from the pub distracting at all. Plus, pubs in remote villages don’t get rowdy anyway! The pub itself is wholesome and cosy. We’ve eaten there for dinner several times. Portions are large and comforting, which, after a long hike is just what you need.

Our stay at the Highland Getaway had us super excited about the incredible water pressure in Kinlochleven. The showers in this hotel are the best. Super powerful, hot running water, just bliss!

The rooms are clean, nicely decorated and staff friendly. The Highland Getaway is a popular choice and does book up fast so whether you’re looking for a room or somewhere to eat, get a booking in asap.

MacDonald Hotel and Cabins

MacDonald Hotel and Cabins is a fantastic stay. What’s really nice about their offer is that there’s something for every budget and traveller. Whether you want a fancy room or a night in nature, Macdonald Hotel and Cabins can host you!

They have a hotel bar, The Stag Bar and also the Bothy Bar, which is in the bar area. Our first meal in Kinlochleven was in the Bothy Bar. It was the hotel we checked out at when we came to view our home. We went for pizza and a burger and it was delicious. The food was only half as good as the view of Glencoe though! I sent my parents a text of the view from The Bothy Bar when I announced that I was moving to Scotland.

Since we’ve had the most experience with The Highland Getaway and MacDonald Hotel and Cabins they would be my go-to hotels, but with Kinlochleven being on West Highlwand Way, hotels can fill, fast! Some great alternatives are Tailrace Inn (we’ve eaten here, too) and Tigh na Cheo. Tigh na Cheo comes recommended, not by me, but I had a good chat with a West Highland Way hiker when I was taking the train to London once. He’d completed his hike and spoke highly of his stay in Kinloch.

Sights Within Kinlochleven’s Village

For a small village, Kinlochleven is incredibly well facilitated. It is a beautiful village with a small co-op store for essentials, a gym and nearby pubs. Likely , if youre coming all the way to Kinloch you’ll be more interested in the stunning scenary and nature.

We’ve pinned all the places listed below on a map so you can easily see where everything is.

Wild Swim Spots

Loch Leven Wild Swimmers will be happy to invite you along for a swim in wild waters (say Hello to Katie from me!).

My absolute favourite place for wild swimming is River Leven. The map above has a pin showing where you can get in, amongst other perfect sights in Kinlochleven.

Zoe wild swimming in her favourite spot in Kinlochleven. 

Also pinned on the map, Seagulls Island. I never did manage to swim out there but I used to run up to this spot and found once I arrived I’d take a picture everytime. It’s a view point that you simply don’t get bored of.

Seagulls Island is a popular viewpoint. this picture doesn’t do it justice. People are always parked here. It’s a popular sea swim.

Hiking

Hiking in Kinlochleven deserves its own blog entirely, but you can get to some beautiful places from the doorstep. In a matter of minutes you can joint West Highland Way and take a leisurely hike to Fort William (one of my favourite places on earth). Or, you can walk mountains as high as 3,000 feet. There are a couple munros nearby by, too!

Any hike from Kinlochleven will take you up to some breathtaking views. This image was taken at the top of one of the Munros.

The Bench

Just two miles from my house, there’s a bench with the most majestic view that Kinlochleven has to offer. I take everyone who visits here and love to pop along myself for a little immersion in nature. The silence is golden and I just adore the view and the way the mountains frame the river.

I find myself frequently walking that way, taking a view deep breaths at the view before returning home.

Picture taken by my friend, Jade Ionntton who visited us a couple of weekends and enjoyed this view both times.

Gray Mares Waterfall

Gray Mares waterfall is another favourite spot. All my visitors have walked here with me. It’s a short walk, maybe a mile, but certainly one with a reward when you get there. If you are hiking West Highland Way and feel tired, I recommend that you do what you need to do, to get yourself to Gray Mares!

Gray Mares waterfall is just about a mile out the village. Worth a visit. We take all our visitors here.

Deer

There’s every chance you’ll get treated to some deer sightings while in Kinlochleven. We find they make themselves most known to the villagers in October to March. They come down from the mountains looking for food. Don’t be too surprised if you find one in the garden or walking in the street. It never gets old!

Stew and I find we see a lot of deer on this short walk, so maybe try walking that way as you pass through the village. You might fall lucky. It’s usefully to the start point of the wild swim spot, too!

You can expect to see deer in Kinlochleven all year round, but especially as the weather gets colder.

Ice Factor

Ice Factor, Europe’s Biggest Ice Climbing Wall which feels like an unbelievable place to have located in a small village, but once you get up here and see the mountains you can imagine exactly why it’s here. The Scottish Highlands are a climbers dream!

Winter months attract mountaneers, winter climbers and of course winter sports like skiing and snowboarding.

What’s Near Kinlochleven?

If you’re looking to get out and explore the area from Kinlochleven, there’s plenty nearby. Glencoe is only a few miles away, home to some incredible views and worthy hikes. When I see Scotland travellers and video inspiration on Instagram or TikTik these videos are often shot in and around Glencoe.

Glencoe Mountain Resort

If you’ve arrived in winter then you might be thinking about skiing and snowboarding. If that’s the case Glencoe Mountain Resort is where you’ll want to be! If it’s summer and your into biking, then Glencoe Mountain Resort will have you covered, too.

Neptune Staircase

If you’ve got a bit of time to explore then we’d highly recommend taking a trip over to Neptune Staircase. We’ve visited Neptune Staircase three times. Once we walked through on a 22 mile walk. It was lovely, but at the time we were not really walking fit and we found it rather hard work, although it is mostly flat.

Nevis Range Mountain Resort

Nevis Range Mountain Resort is a cool place to visit. You can bike down there, too and there’s a cable cart that will take bikers up so they can speed down the hill. Or, if you fancy a trip on a cable cart, some nice views and a cafe I recommend heading here. We took our mums when they visited us.

Fort William

I know the picture below is exactly the picture you don’t put on your blog, but this means something to me. It was taken in Wetherspoons, Fort William, the day after West Highland Way. It was pouring all day so we came here for tea and ended up staying all day and enjoying the famous Weatherspoons pitchers. We had a great time. Fort William’s Wetherspoons is super-special to me. Every time I go, I’m doing something cool: walking up Ben Nevis, Winter Climbing, moving 400 miles from home. Enjoying the moment with my love.

I really picked a day to write this blog. Currently, our beautiful house in the highlands is packed up. tomorrow we drive to Inverness to pick up our van and on Friday we leave the place we called home for 18 months so we can continue our cycling trip around the world. I hope you do go to Kinlochleven and I hope you fall head over heels in love with it as we did. If you go, will you send me a photo? Enjoy the most beautiful village in the world.

Post written by: Zoe Ashbridge