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Queen Victoria Once Spent a Week Painting at This Highland Hotel Below Ben Nevis
Inverlochy Castle, a Victorian baronial mansion on a wooded estate below Ben Nevis near Fort William, has been a hotel since 1969, more than a century after Queen Victoria spent a week there sketching the glen.
By BigTravel.in Editorial Team · · 2 min read
Inverlochy Castle sits on a wooded estate a few miles from Fort William, in the shadow of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest peak. Despite its name, it isn't the historic fortification most visitors picture: the mansion was built in 1863 for William Frederick Scarlett, 3rd Baron Abinger, to a design by the London architect George Hesketh, and took its name from the far older Inverlochy Castle, a 13th-century stronghold whose ruins still stand on the banks of the River Lochy nearby, unrelated in architecture but sharing the estate's history. In 1889, the Edinburgh architect MacVicar Anderson extended the house with a four-storey tower and turret, along with then-novel amenities including electric lighting and a hot water system.
A week that made the house famous
During a stay near Balmoral in 1873, Queen Victoria spent a week at Inverlochy sketching and painting the surrounding glen, later writing in her journal that she had never seen a lovelier or more romantic spot. The royal visit gave the estate a reputation it has traded on ever since, and the house remained a private residence for decades afterward, passing through several owners as Highland estates of its size became increasingly costly to keep up through the early twentieth century.
From private house to hotel
The estate was sold in 1944 to Joseph Hobbs, a Canadian entrepreneur who also owned the nearby Ben Nevis Distillery. It was his son who eventually converted the mansion into a hotel, opening it to guests in 1969, more than a century after Queen Victoria's stay. The building's oak-panelled rooms, hand-painted ceilings and formal grounds have been kept largely intact through that transition, giving the hotel a lived-in, private-house character rather than the feel of a purpose-built resort.
Getting there
Fort William, the nearest town, sits on the West Highland Line with direct rail connections from Glasgow, and is around a three-hour drive from Edinburgh or Glasgow by road. Inverness Airport, roughly ninety minutes away, is the closest airport with regular flights from London and other UK cities.
Traveller tips
- The 13th-century ruins of the original Inverlochy Castle, a separate historic monument, stand near the River Lochy a short drive away and are open to the public.
- Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, is within view of the estate and a popular day walk from Fort William for prepared hikers.
- The West Highland Line's Fort William-to-Mallaig stretch, used by the Jacobite steam train, is one of the UK's most scenic rail journeys and starts nearby.
- Spring and early autumn tend to bring clearer Highland weather than midsummer, though conditions can change quickly year-round.
Where this is
Fort William, Scotland
