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Chieftains, Clansmen, Adventurers - all men met at the “crossing of the waters” in this celebrated drovers Inn.
Over a hundred years ago the Hotel took its present fine form. Parts of the existing building date back to the 15th century and the current baronial facade was added in the 19th Century.
Set against the massive Ben Vair mountain range in a spectacular swirling lochside location, the building is a sentinel both to its own past and the rich history of the surrounding area. Visiting the Highlands, Queen Victoria commented in her diary on the “beautiful hotel” as she crossed the Ballachulish Ferry.
A ferry has run across the narrows for centuries with The Ballachulish Hotel on the southside and The Loch Leven Hotel on the northside acting as staging posts for travellers. The building next to the existing Hotel is a former stables and garage. The ferries finally ceased when the Bridge was completed in 1975.
A testimony to earlier times is a rock awash in the narrows known as Clach Phadruig or Peter’s Rock. This was named after a Viking who stepped onto it to try and save his son who was drowning. Local tradition has it that the sheltered waters of Loch Leven were much used by the Vikings.
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