Strathcarron Hotel, Strathcarron

Hotel & Restaurant *** Highlands & Western Isles pub opening and food service times currently vary nearly on a day-to-day basis, mostly dependent on establishments' access to bar and waiting staff. Hence you will almost certainly see different times than those published here. Please DO NOT send updates to either opening or food service times, as trying to hit a moving target is a waste of our very limited resources. Instead, overall opening and restaurant times will be updated at the next full survey. Your understanding is appreciated. We welcome notifications of 'dog friendliness' however four legs good, two legs better. As you might imagine for a website called WhatPub, the main aim is to highlight the quality of ales. Thus, please include an assessment of a pub's beer(s) when you notify us of its cynophile status! ***.

NB: Open to residents only November to February.

A single hand pumps offer rotating ales from the nearby Strathcarron Brewery just a few hundred meters away and are available all year round (2022 note: may be bottle conditioned real ales only in low seasons).

Take your beers outside to one of the trestle tables, and you may even catch one of the excursion trains which chug the spectacular Kyle Line from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh. If arriving by train on a scheduled service it is but a short (20m) walk to the pub.

The Hotel has always been a 'destination' for motor bikers who can always expect a warm welcome. Don't worry, cyclists and walkers are equally welcome! Breakfasts are available from 7 until 9 to non-residents.

Some notes about the Hotel itself:-

The Strathcarron Hotel has had an interesting 150 year history. When it opened on 19th August 1870 the Kyle Line only ran from Dingwall to Stromeferry. The hotel was built to create a demand for its services and for passengers to explore the Highlands. The section onto Kyle of Lochalsh was opened on 2nd November 1897.

The line was nearly closed in 1963 because of Dr Beeching's recommendations, and then again in 1970, but was reprieved on both occasions. When the railways were nationalised in 1948, the hotel became a British Transport Hotel, but with the decline of rail use, and preference for holidays abroad, the hotel was sold off in the 1980s.

Today, the Kyle line is rightfully considered one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world. The Strathcarron Hotel, a family run business, is as busy as ever and still attracts the traveller, although many more arrive by road than by the three or four daily scheduled services in each direction. The line also has occasional steam and Pullman excursions.

Although close to the railway line, there are only a handful of trains a day and you are unlikely to be disturbed in your sleep, although the absolute quiet interrupted only by the wildlife can be deafening!