Facilities in and around Lochcarron

Shopping

Lochcarron is a small village and there's no huge shopping centre – but you should be able to get all you need from day to day nearby.

Main Street, Lochcarron

On Main Street you'll find the Lochcarron Food Centre which is a supermarket, newsagent, hardware shop and post office; and the butcher's shop, which sells a range of high quality meats as well as fish and local seafood, deli products, eggs and many other food items. Lochcarron Garage has a shop offering food and non-food essentials.

On the road out of Lochcarron West End, towards Ardaneaskan, you'll find Lochcarron Weavers at Mid-Strome. This is worth a visit for knitwear and tartans, and is renowned worldwide for its kiltmaking.

Main Street, Lochcarron

On the road towards Kyle of Lochalsh, a mile or so beyond Strathcarron, is the Carron Pottery with craft shop and art gallery.

For some things there's no alternative to going to town. The nearest chemist is at Kyle of Lochalsh, about 25 miles away, although the Lochcarron Food Centre does stock a good range of over-the-counter medicines. If you are looking for a wide variety of shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs, theatre and cinema, an hour and ten minutes' drive will take you the 65 miles to Inverness: the capital city of the Highlands and the major urban centre in the area.

A trip to Kyle of Lochalsh or to Inverness takes you through some beautiful scenery. If you don't feel like driving, you can make either journey by train from Strathcarron station, which is 3½ miles from Lochcarron village, or take the twice-weekly bus to Inverness from the village hall.

Eating out

On Main Street you'll find the Rockvilla Hotel, Lochcarron Hotel and Waterside Cafe, serving a wide variety of meals, in pleasant and relaxing surroundings. The hotels are open throughout the year. The cafe isn't open every day out of season.

Further afield there's the Strathcarron Hotel, just by the station at Strathcarron. At Kishorn the Kishorn Seafood Bar serves superb fresh seafood from April until October.

Further yet, but definitely not to be missed on any visit to the area, is the Applecross Inn. The journey over the Bealach na Ba might be daunting but the welcome and the food at the Inn will make up for it – and you can always return by the coast road if you can't face the hill. Applecross also offers a pleasant eatery at the Potting Shed in the walled garden.

The other restaurant we're familiar with nearby is the Ledgowan Lodge Hotel, out at Achnasheen: excellent meals in a relaxed atmosphere at an impressive traditional country house.

Other facilities

The post office is at Lochcarron Food Centre on Main Street. This is closed on Wednesday afternoons but the post office at Strathcarron station is open then.

There's a Bank of Scotland on Main Street opposite the shinty field at Battery Park. This has a cash machine that doesn't seem to charge for withdrawals, but this will depend on your bank. (Barclays and NatWest accounts definitely aren't charged.) The nearest Royal Bank of Scotland is at Kyle of Lochalsh – but a mobile RBS unit visits Lochcarron every Friday.

Petrol and diesel are available at the Lochcarron Food Centre and the Lochcarron Garage, both on Main Street. LPG is available at the Lochcarron Garage, but the garage is closed on Sundays. Car hire (and cycle and kayak hire) is available from Lochcarron Garage.