Just checking and found that Scourie, for a single room with ensuite, is £125 per night B&B! Inchnadamph is, I believe closed.

Tents begin to look very appealing.

 

Inchnadamph is open. I'm there now for a week. [emoji106]

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Wtf are they smoking???
Never in a million years would I pay that to stay there even if I could afford it.

 

Are you sure that wasn’t the price for your total stay ? I booked 3 nights in Whitby yesterday and we did a double take when we’d selected a room as the figure of £330 came up next to a picture of the room . On the next screen that was shown as the Grand Total .

 

Are you sure that wasn't the price for your total stay ? I booked 3 nights in Whitby yesterday and we did a double take when we'd selected a room as the figure of £330 came up next to a picture of the room . On the next screen that was shown as the Grand Total .

Just had a look, £139 per night.
You were quite correct 👍
Still wouldn't pay that for BnB though, there has to be cheaper options nearby.

 

Must be good wacky baccy up there 😀

 

Generally speaking a lot of hotels in Scotland have had major improvements carried out in the last few years and have got much more expensive. Some are undoubtedly pricing many traditional users out of using them.

 

this seems to be the case in England and Wales too, gone are the days of the £50 night above a pub, now the rooms have granite bathrooms and goose down comforters for £100 a night or more.

i looked into glamping thinking a teepee etc would be cheaper, nope they are even more expensive, even for a 'shepherds hut' with no running water or bog, its usually a £100 too.

i've found that the cheapest option now is most likely the nearest Premier Inn or Travelodge in large towns, 20 or so miles away from where i want to fish 🙁

 

Blame the North Coast 500 !!

 

Not just the NC 500. Check out the old traditional climbers haunts. Kingshouse, Clachaig, Sligachan, Fife Arms etc. prices through the roof. Believe Invergarry,Cluanie Inn and Torridon gone the same way.
Wish I hadn't succumbed to pressure from my wife and got rid of my wee Romahome campervan. It was ideal for fishing trips to Lochinver etc.
A few times I've got as far as getting the old Haston Alpiniste rucksack out and packing tent and sleeping bag for a trip but I'm afraid that at 70 it's a case of 'the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' and the camping gear is soon unpacked and put away until the next time!

 

Most of the what were known as fishing hotels that I am familiar with in northern Scotland could not survive if they were to rely on fishermen alone
Some of those mentioned by Len 1 were no better than bothies in the old days
The NC 500 has changed all that, the boys with their hot hatches and super cars expect a higher standard and are prepared to pay for it
I’m not sure if the regular fisherman can’t or won’t pay the new prices but at least there are hotels available
They are businesses after all
I spent last week in a very shabby hotel with very mediocre food and the bill was over £1k add to that the cost of the fishing and a tank full of fuel and a weeks trip is not cheap
Martin

 

Most of the what were known as fishing hotels that I am familiar with in northern Scotland could not survive if they were to rely on fishermen alone
Some of those mentioned by Len 1 were no better than bothies in the old days
The NC 500 has changed all that, the boys with their hot hatches and super cars expect a higher standard and are prepared to pay for it
I'm not sure if the regular fisherman can't or won't pay the new prices but at least there are hotels available
They are businesses after all
I spent last week in a very shabby hotel with very mediocre food and the bill was over £1k add to that the cost of the fishing and a tank full of fuel and a weeks trip is not cheap
Martin

Name and shame.

Jim

 

I'm not paying £100 to sleep in a bed other people have slept and shagged in, disgusting concept gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

 

I stayed at the Cluanie Inn in April
Back then diesel was 207p when it was generally around 180p in most other places
The pumps weren’t exactly busy but there was a steady stream of customers throughout the day
If you find yourself in that part of the world and need fuel you would gladly pay whatever they need to charge
The place is now owned and run by Indians. They were excellent as was the food. A genuine welcome and desire to please
I was there back in the 90s to do the South Cluanie ridge, a big day out on the hills
Unfortunately by the time we got back to the hotel we had just missed last orders for supper
On asking if they could put something together for us, even a sandwich we were told no
They did add that a lot of people got caught out as we had
So after 11 hours mountaineering it was crisps for supper
Sadly I’ve come across that sort of attitude far too many times but I think it’s maybe changing
Martin

 

I stayed at the Cluanie Inn in April
Back then diesel was 207p when it was generally around 180p in most other places
The pumps weren't exactly busy but there was a steady stream of customers throughout the day
If you find yourself in that part of the world and need fuel you would gladly pay whatever they need to charge
The place is now owned and run by Indians. They were excellent as was the food. A genuine welcome and desire to please
I was there back in the 90s to do the South Cluanie ridge, a big day out on the hills
Unfortunately by the time we got back to the hotel we had just missed last orders for supper
On asking if they could put something together for us, even a sandwich we were told no
They did add that a lot of people got caught out as we had
So after 11 hours mountaineering it was crisps for supper
Sadly I've come across that sort of attitude far too many times but I think it's maybe changing
Martin

Had the same experience at the Tomdoun Hotel. I had done Ladhar Beinn in one round trip. Kinlochhourn to hill and back non stop. Arrived at hotel a few minutes after nine PM. People were still being served but they refused to serve me any food other than some crisps. Scottish hospitality at it's best!

 

I just book an airbnb or cottage when I head north and it works out far cheaper, It’s costing around £400 a head all in when we go for eight days this September. Great fishing and it isn’t really any hardship doing a bit of grub and having a few bottles instead of heading for the pub.

 

I have also noticed a sharp rise in he cost of Highland Hotels and B&Bs. Even some humble B&Bs are looking for £120+. A combination of NC500 and staycations. On the positive side there are numerous options, including SC, on Airbnb and Booking com which can be booked by the night rather than a week which works out well for short or multi location trips.

 

"So after 11 hours mountaineering it was crisps for supper"

Oh for the days of the heated pie rack on the end or under the pub counter. ....
A packet of Golden Wonder, a steak pie on a paper plate and a pint of 'eggy smelling' Bass ...
Bliss.

 

JUST CHECKED THEIR WEBSITE NOWHERE NEAR £500 A NIGHT?
Why not give them a phone and see if you can get a deal out of them.

 

Blame the North Coast 500 !!

If your doing the NC 500 and arrive at Altnahara your lost. However if anyones up for some nonsense put a NC500 sign at the top of the loch hope road pointing down, would love to hear the excuses of the fannys renting these super cars explain why the arse has been ripped out of it 😉

 

I drove down that road today. Luckily I have an elderly 4WD not a super car!!

 

I stayed at the Cluanie Inn in April

I was there back in the 90s to do the South Cluanie ridge, a big day out on the hills
Unfortunately by the time we got back to the hotel we had just missed last orders for supper
On asking if they could put something together for us, even a sandwich we were told no
They did add that a lot of people got caught out as we had
So after 11 hours mountaineering it was crisps for supper
Sadly I've come across that sort of attitude far too many times but I think it's maybe changing
Martin

am i right in thinking that it was the lack of even a sandwich after a long cold hard day and a couple of pints that got our Jeremy fired from Top Gear a few years back ? 🤔

And I do find it odd that anywhere not on the grid doesn't have its own power these days, wind and solar is so easy to rig up, and it doesn't even need for it to be that sunny to produce 50%.

 

If I remember correctly it was the cold sandwiches which caused the beating. They were expecting hot meal and got sandwiches. I may be wrong though.

Maybe new owners invested in some solar, but solar alone will not be enough for hotel like that and wind cannot be relied on. The nearest grid connection for the Cluanie Inn was at the other end of Loch Cluanie, at the dam. That's about 7 miles and I recall that the cost of connecting to the grid back in early 2000s was about £300k.

I suppose that wind and solar combined with battery storage could be a solution for a place like that, but I have no idea of costs involved and energy requirements. This hotel had 15 bedrooms and Clubhouse with another 3, serving up to 120 covers on lunch and dinner in the summer plus staff accommodation so I gather that energy consumption is pretty high. I believe that there was an extension added by the new owners as well.

Cheers,
Sebastian

 

As long as the accommodation is clean and comfortable a few £100 / night is fine and it does help keep the riff raff away. It's just market forces. But if it's value for money and fishing that is beyond mediocre you are after Scotland is not a good choice.

 

Didn't I see you at the Travel Lodge in Falkirk ?

 

Just checking and found that Scourie, for a single room with ensuite, is £125 per night B&B! Inchnadamph is, I believe closed.

Tents begin to look very appealing.

Tents are not appealing in midge land.

 

I think if I had a supercar I'd maybe head to the south of France, at no point would rain, single track roads and midges figure in that vision.

 

Ahh, but the Mclaren owners club go for days out in UK.
Thet were heading back to Inverness after the day trip, to regroup and do the Lecht to Braemar next day!

 

It’s the likes of Evo and other car mags creating this whimsical vision of driving Nirvana on the NC500 when reality is far from it these days as they’ve promoted it so much it gets hammered. I’m into my cars and couldn’t be less interested in doing the NC500 for driving enjoyment, some good roads up there but most are ruined by motorhomes and people doing 30mph under the speed limit taking pictures etc.

Plus you’ve got the 🔔 ends that treat it like a racetrack, seen some really dangerous driving the last few years. Most places like that end up with average speed cameras in no time and ruin the road for everyone.

 

These roads simply were not designed for the volume of traffic.
Highland Council are toiling to keep them repaired, there’s nothing you can do except Chucky in repairs or close for total re surface, idiots cry about either.
Motor homes and caravans need banned, morons in super cars need to think about what they are doing.
There are way better roads to play on than the Bealach Na Ba ffs get a grip. Too busy thinking they are Clarkson.
The only people making money out of the NC500 is Tesco.

 

Yeah I’d rather wring the neck of the VX220 or an Elise than something as capable as a McLaren. The limit of those cars is way higher than what you can use on the road.
They’re hardly the last word in driving dynamics these days either, entirely disconnected with electric power steering and a massive safety net of electronics to keep you on the road.

 

Has the soaring cost of road fuel impacted on the numbers of NC500 tourists this year? I wonder what the MPG of those huge motorhomes is.

 

Bout the same as a McLaren I'd imagine, no fuel price worries there, the car has to be driven

 

I have quite often overtaken Ferrari and similar exotica when they are “doing” the NC500…….


In my Subaru Forester with winter tyres and snow on the roads 😀

 

I have quite often overtaken Ferrari and similar exotica when they are "doing" the NC500…….

I imagine they would also make way for a beat up old Landy pulling a rusty trailer. But we mustn't be too bitter, the NC500 has been a massive success and brought a whole new tourist stream to the north that just was not there before. If accommodation prices are to be taken as a guide it would appear to have been a shot in the arm for the hotel trade, perhaps had it happened 20 years ago fewer would have gone out of business.

 

Back in the real world from the other side unless you are taking around £100 a night for accommodation you are not going to last long. Insurances for public liability, council taxes, pat testing, electric /oil and capital equipment and my time all need to be paid for. Agents take their whack too. The prices reflect what the uk market situation is.

 

That would be considered reasonable here.

I once got a room in Preston for 15 quid, woman wanted paid in advance 'in case I did a runner' I paid and she gave me a key, I opened the door and there was 8 beds in the room😳

 

There were campers dumping their chemical toilets into Loch Ba on Rannoch Moor not long ago, I believe it was in the news. I couldn’t believe the mess the last time I fished around there, I don’t go fishing to see human waste not far from the road with bog roll scattered around it, not been back since.

I know I’m not a local but the highlands hold a special place for me and to see it being abused by people who feel entitled to do so really pisses me off. It’s the same crowd that hang dog **** from their local parks trees because the bags are biodegradable.

 

It's the same crowd that hang dog **** from their local parks trees because the bags are biodegradable.

I think anyone found doing that should be forced to mow some long grassland and bramble at a local dog-walking spot (in autumn, for a nice bit of leaf cover) using a brush-cutter strimmer and no face mask. They'd soon realise that leaving little bags of dog excrement all over the place wasn't an acceptable thing to do!