Fern Villa Guest House, Ballachulish, Highland

28/08/2026

We serve a small selection of vegetarian/vegan breakfasts, but can always do with more inspiration. We would love to hear from you telling us what your favourite plant based breakfast is. Please leave us a comment.

25/08/2026

We had a nice walk from the house this morning once guests had gone out for the day. The weather was pleasant although a little chilly for August. You know where to come to escape the next heat wave! Lovely views down Loch Leven and we even spotted a heron doing a bit of fishing. Also saw the new Highland cows that the local hotel has installed. Got back to Fern Villa and started tackling the jungle that has formed after our mixed weather, nothing scorched here, all green and lush.

22/08/2026

Some great advice from Glenfinnan Monument National Trust for Scotland to avoid disappointment when you arrive and can’t find a parking space.

21/08/2026

Please sign if you can.

One of our ferry supporters has started a petition with 38Degrees. We are very grateful to those who have signed already.
If you have a moment - it's easy-peasy.
Link in the comments below.
Thank you for your support everyone.

Photo from Trish Brewster.

18/08/2026

A favourite stop off for lots of our guests and for us.

After more than six decades in family ownership, The Green Welly Stop has been placed on the market, marking the end of an era

16/08/2026

If you’re thinking about planning your wedding in the area then you’ll not go wrong booking The Enchanted Florist of Lochaber for your flowers. We’ve had beautiful flowers from them over the years for special days.

12/08/2026

Sadly too much cloud cover to see the eclipse. We were in the front garden armed with a colander and a piece of paper but sadly it was not to be.

08/08/2026

Today we were supposed to be on the Three Island Tour (Mull, Staffa and Iona) but having seen the weather forecast a few days ago and hearing that most of the puffins had left Staffa we decided to cancel it . Today was our final jaunt in our wedding anniversary week. We headed south of Oban and drove over ‘the bridge over the Atlantic’ onto the Isle of Seil. We drove the few miles to Ellenabeich where we had hoped to visit the slate museum (to see how it differed from Ballachulish slate) but sadly they don’t open on Saturdays. We noticed that they run trips from there to the Corryvreckan Whirlpool (the 3rd largest in the world) so that’s now on our bucket list for next year. Heading back I saw a sign for Ardmaddy Castle Gardens so we took the right turn down a very narrow lane and after just over a mile reached the car park. Thankfully it was a dry spell so we managed a very pleasant walk around the gardens, they must be amazing when everything is in full Bloom, the hydrangeas were still putting on a good show. We were able to buy some courgettes and potatoes from the garden which we’ll enjoy for our tea on Monday. Tomorrow, Sunday is our actual wedding anniversary so we’ll enjoy a lazy day and then head out to the Lochleven Seafood Cafe for a celebratory meal.

07/08/2026

We woke up to a dreich day so decided on some indoor local attractions. First was a scenic drive up to the Clan Cameron Museum at Achnacarry. It was extremely interesting learning about the history of Clan Cameron from their early beginnings in Lochaber to the present day and their involvement with Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Cause. The estate was a basic training centre between 1942 and 1945 and there is an interesting room dedicated to the men who trained on one of the toughest assault training courses in the world. A monument to these men can be seen just out of Spean Bridge. We took a short walk to view Achnacarry Castle which is the private home of the Clan Chief. We would like to have gone further to see the Beech Avenue and the ruins of the old castle but the heavens opened so we dashed back to the car. Our next stop was the West Highland Museum in Fort William where it would seem that everyone and their dog (literally) had gone to shelter. It was a bit cramped walking around with the amount of people so we will go again later in the year. It had plenty of rooms full of artefacts. The one I was most interested in seeing was The Secret Portrait (see photo) an anamorphic hidden painting of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, I had first seen this about 55 years ago. We had hoped to have grabbed something to eat but again all the cafes were overflowing so we headed home for an earlier end to the day than usual.