Torridon, Wester Ross · Hotel
A Victorian shooting lodge on the shore of Loch Torridon beneath the Torridon hills, with a serious kitchen and an outdoor activity programme.
Built in the 1880s as a shooting lodge for the first Earl of Lovelace, The Torridon sits in 58 acres of grounds where Loch Torridon meets the mountains of Liathach and Beinn Alligin. It is about an hour and a half's drive west of Inverness on roads that get progressively narrower, and the approach is a large part of the appeal. The house has been run as a hotel by the Rose family for decades and holds five AA stars.
There are 18 rooms in the main house, ranging from smaller doubles to master rooms with loch views, decorated in a country-house style that stops short of chintz. Original features — carved panelling, a zodiac ceiling in the drawing room, log fires — have been kept. A separate building, the Stables, offers simpler and considerably cheaper accommodation aimed at walkers and families, with its own bar and kitchen serving pub food.
The dining room holds three AA rosettes and works with produce from the hotel's own kitchen garden, along with west coast shellfish and Highland game. The whisky bar stocks several hundred bottles, which is a reasonable way to spend a wet evening. There is no spa or pool; the emphasis is on going outside. The hotel runs guided activities including sea kayaking, gorge scrambling, mountain walking and clay shooting.
It suits couples wanting a special occasion base, and walkers with money who want a comfortable end to a hard day on Liathach. It is not a budget option and it is genuinely remote — there is no shop or restaurant nearby, so plan to eat in. Book several months ahead for summer, and check opening dates in deep winter.