About Lochcarron and district
Looking south over Loch Carron
Lochcarron is a village of about 900 residents situated on the shores of Loch Carron in Wester Ross, on the west coast about 65 miles from Inverness.
Lochcarron harbour and Slumbay Island from the crofts above Lochcarron
Facilities
In and around the village there are restaurants, a cafe, pubs, shops, and garages. Car, bike and kayak hire is available at Locharron Garage. There is a nine-hole golf course at the east end of the village.
The local supermarket is the Lochcarron Food Centre on Main Street: this is good for all day-to-day needs and includes a newsagent, hardware shop and post office. Bellevue Apartment is above the local butcher's shop, of course, where we offer locally sourced organic meat and fish and seafood all year round.
The nearest chemist is at Kyle of Lochalsh, about 25 miles away, although the Lochcarron Food Centre stocks a range of over-the-counter medicines. For a wide variety of shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs, theatre and cinema, Inverness is 65 miles away, or an hour and ten minutes by car.
Looking towards Locharron village from the south side of the loch
A Bank of Scotland branch, with cash machine, is on Main Street opposite the shinty field at Battery Park. The nearest Royal Bank of Scotland is at Kyle of Lochalsh – but a mobile RBS unit visits Lochcarron every Friday.
Petrol and diesel are available at the Lochcarron Food Centre and the Lochcarron Garage, both on Main Street. LPG is available at the Lochcarron Garage, but the garage is closed on Sundays.
Activities
Lochcarron is an excellent centre for exploring the west coast. It's surrounded by highly varied and beautiful countryside, and the good local facilities make it a good base, yet it's peaceful enough for complete relaxation.
There are unlimited choices of walks through the hills around Lochcarron and further afield, including the Torridon range and the Isle of Skye.
Freshwater fishing
Sea and freshwater fishing are both available close by. Talk to Roddy in the butcher's shop downstairs about this – he handles the permits for freshwater fishing and will be delighted to advise on any fishing plans.
The loch is an excellent place for sailing and kayaking. There's a busy sailing club with races and training once or twice a week in the season, and the village offers a range of places to launch boats; apart from the sloping gravel beaches, there are three concrete slipways. There are also visitors' moorings opposite the Lochcarron Hotel for larger craft. For kayaking, the loch is a very pleasant place for a quiet paddle, with seals and seabirds visiting the islands. Inexperienced paddlers should avoid the banks at Strome Narrows, as the current can be very fast there. But the loch is big enough that you won't go there by accident!
Loch Kishorn seen from the Bealach na Ba (the Applecross road)