The Whitebridge Hotel, Whitebridge, Stratherrick, Inverness-shire
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE
The Whitebridge Hotel is a charming, homely and stylish Highland bolthole on the south shore of Loch Ness, around eight miles from Fort Augustus.
SLEEPING MATTERS
The two-star hotel has 12 en-suite bedrooms. The rooms are comfortable and individual, with some nice design touches – ours had an unusual table made of three classic old suitcases, which I've never seen before. The bed was big and comfy too.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The hotel serves traditional pub favourites in the cosy bar such as fish and chips, macaroni and cheese and, for the vegetarians, sweet potato, spinach and chick pea curry. I had the the steak and ale pie, which was up there with the best I've ever had, with the beef falling apart on my fork and the veg was crisp and fresh. My wife had a burger special. Both were top notch. Breakfast is served in an airy dining room and includes continental and traditional cooked Scottish fare. All food is home-made at the hotel.
There is a good range of beers, including West and beers from local breweries such as the Cairngorm, Cromarty and Loch Ness breweries.
The staff take coronavirus rules seriously, and wear masks and visors. Seats and tables are well spaced and there are plenty of hand sanitising stations.
DRINK IN THE SIGHTS
You are spoilt for choice for outdoor activities such as walking, fishing, hunting and exploring the south side of Loch Ness. We walked down to Foyers, which was a pleasant stroll of around three miles along farm roads, and forestry tracks to see the famous waterfall at Foyers, once known as Eas na Smùide, or the Smoking Falls. Eminent visitors included Dr Johnson, James Boswell, the Wordsworths, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and JMW Turner. Once the Falls were a destination on the ‘Scottish Romantic tour’. Robert Burns described it described as a “horrid caldron” and “dim-seen through rising mists” when he visited in 1787.
NICE TOUCH
There are quirky touches throughout the hotel, with lots of unusual objet d'arts scattered here and there to grab your attention such as old cigar boxes, photos and vintage mirrors. There are two outdoor seating areas to watch the world go by. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and were all Scottish and more than happy to suggest local sights and attractions.
ABOUT THE AREA
The Whitebridge is on the site of a former British Army King's House, where General Wade's troops were stationed to build a network of roads across the Highlands to stop any further Jacobite rebellions. A five-minute walk from the hotel takes you to the White Bridge – a hump back bridge, built in 1732, which pedestrians can still use to cross the River Fechlin. Say hello to the red squirrel that has made the trees in the riverside its home. The South Loch Ness trail, which is is 37 miles long and runs from the outskirts of Torbreck to Fort Augustus, passes through the village, which is more of a clachan really. If you get bored of all the peace and quiet Inverness is less than 30 (at times single-track) miles away if you fancy a day at the shops, but why would you?
Garry Scott
A double or twin rooms costs £90 per night per room bed and breakfast and a family room is £130. Stay for at least two nights in November and get 30% off by quoting Autumn30.
Visit www.whitebridgehotel.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here