South Ballachulish

Tying up to the pontoon below the architecturally desperate Isles of Glencoe Hotel (ph 01855 811770) is a bit like coming to rest in a slate quarry, which of course is exactly what this was, indeed most of Ballachulish was. Behind the not at all bad information centre you can walk round the old quarry which started production in the late 17th Century and dwindled to nothing by 1955, and ponder on the whereabouts of all the slate that once came out of this place – here and Easdale must have roofed most of Scotland until recently (now it the dull uniform foreign slates from Spain, China and other countries). A small track to the left towards Glencoe leads in a few minutes to a rather remarkable slate arch built in 1822, now in the care of Historic Scotland. This was used to transport the slate from the quarry to the shore and so on to boats, before the railway was built.

The unexciting village has a few shops, and the mountaineering minded could quite easily do the splendid Ballachulish horseshoe, but that would take most of the day. The golfers might like to try the Ballachulish House 8-hole course.

You can get a meal and a drink in the hotel (not that I have felt encouraged to do so), and maybe a bath too if you asked – there is small swimming pool which might do instead! And there is a small adventure playground for the kids just up from the pontoons, and a nice view of Eilean Munde, surprisingly close, close enough to see the grave stones if you know what you are looking for.

But in truth this is hardly an attractive place to stop, too much noise form the very busy road is another minus.