I think I'm booked . Well at least hope so , just waiting for confirmation.

This is the one I wanted but was pipped to the post on the same day for my dates http://www.self-catering-glencoe.co.uk/ .We are still going here but to a new property that is almost finished right night door , same owner and just about to go up for rental . The friendly owner has told me all about it, unfortunately no pics yet , Same spec etc , share the same garden but all new . so I've taken a bit of a chance with no pictures but i've been assurred that I wont be disappointed and reviews for all his cottages are excellent .

Want to thank everyone for all the help and links you have given me . I will be back for more no doubt as need to plan and find somewhere nice to stop for lunch on our way up from prestwick.

lyn x

Lyn, that one looks fabulous so presumably the new one will be as good - and a great location too!!

That looks fantastic, if the new one is anywhere near like that you`ll be well away! So pleased you`ve got booked in, now have a great time! Won`t be able to help re places to stop and eat, as we always take our own sandwiches and flasks, stingy, that`s us!

Read somewhere it's a short walking distance in either direction to glencoe or Ballachulish . Only problem the views dont sound as good from the new one as the one in the link blocks the view to the loch .

Won`t be able to help re places to stop and eat, as we always take our own sandwiches and flasks, stingy, that`s us

Probably would of done the same but in True Ryanair cheap flight style we only have our rollaway cabin cases so no room for sarnies .In actual fact might have to rethink that as can't see us getting enough in for a week in cold weather .

We arrive at prestick around 9.30 am so have a while to kill before getting cottage keys after 4pm . We will make the most of it and looking forward to stopping somewhere georgous on the way up for lunch before heading on to get some supplies in.

lyn

Well done! It's a lovely drive up especially after Glasgow. You'll pass close to Glasgow so I would stop at a supermarket there as further north there are only small shops till you get to Fort William, and you won't be going as far as that.
My favourite lunch stop is the Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum. It's on the left as you go into Tyndrum. There's a big shop/restaurant called The Green Welly a bit further on and most people stop there but I think the food at the Real Food cafe is much nicer.
Be sure and visit the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe while you're there.

There`s always
http://www.thegreenwellystop.co.uk
We`ve had a couple of good meals there in the past, and there`s shopping as well.

If you want a lovely meal with great views, Duck Bay Marina hotel on Loch Lomond is very good but maybe it's not far enough up for your stop.

Thanks for those ideas . We don't necessarily want to stop for lunch at our final destination , but it would be nice to choose something where we can sit and enjoy the scenary . That one in loch Lomond looks suberb Oklahoma .Ok a bit pricey but maybe something special . Do we actually come through Loch lomond or would we need to make a big detour for that .

Is Tyndrum fairly close to Glencoe and enroute too . I know it was mentioned earlier in the topic and it's somewhere I had in mind to have a look round or explore with some walking . This may sound a daft question as well but do you get many Pubs that do food or have restaurants in scotland like we have in England . I havnt seen any mentioned Yet in links or websites I've looked at and it's just occured to me that they may not be the norn in Scotland ..

Hi Lyn
You'll travel up the western bank of Loch Lomond. It's a busy road so the driver won't get the full benefit of the scenery but there are a couple of spots where you can pull off the road and admire the loch.
You 'll also pass through Tyndrum on the way to Glencoe.
Most pubs do food. Can I suggest you buy my favourite guide book? It's called Scotland the Best by Peter Irvine. I've lived in Scotland all my life and I use this book ALL the time, as do most of my friends. It's in a really handy format as it lists all sorts of stuff like best walks, best farm shops, best spooky places, best pubs, all by area.

Thanks Bridd . Just ordered a copy from Amazon .I'm a sucker for a guide book . You should see my bookcase .It's groaning under the weight of them.

You'll have no problems finding food at most pubs in rural areas in Scotland and you'll find that they'll serve it for much longer hours too compared to England. This is because most of them have rooms and take residential guests which means that they have hotel licences rather than a standard public house one. It was always a requirement of such licences that bona fide travellers must be provided with food and drink - a very handy way of circumventing the Sunday no drinking laws! Anybody wanting a drink just had to go to the hotel in the next village! I'm not sure whether this is still a legal obligation or not but certainly most still maintain the tradition.

I remember not that long ago 4 of us arriving at a hotel in early April in a remote area of Skye very late one afternoon and they were clearly still preparing for the season and we were the only visitors in sight. On asking if there was any chance of getting some food we were told by the manageress/owner that she could probably do us something cold and that she'd go and have a look at what was in the fridge. She came back and told us what she'd found in the fridge and asked us whether we'd like sandwiches or salads made up from the ingredients on offer. We settled on smoked salmon as well as some cold chicken (clearly sliced off a whole one) sandwiches and sat in the lounge while she prepared them and brought them through along with some salad garnish and crisps and said there were fresh scones to follow if we wanted them. Turned out that these were still warm from the oven - delicious!

In over 20 years living up here, the only rural hotel I've ever been refused food in because the kitchen was now closed, was in Plockton in mid-afternoon in the most well know one in the village at the height of the Hamish Macbeth visitior boom. We walked out, refusing to even have a drink and found a delightful little place in Strathcarron were we were told that the cook had just popped out for a key ingredient for that evening's menu if we didn't mind waiting for him to get back. Turned out it was for the Halloumi cheese to go with the lamb chops which he was happy to cook for us there and then because 'we'll be starting the high tea service at 4.00pm anyway but if you can't wait we can do you cold cuts if you'd prefer to get on your way sooner'. We had the lamb and halloumi which we still rave about.

You'll find that many country and small town hotels will drift fairly seamlessly through service of morning coffee and cakes into lunch followed by afternoon tea and/or high tea before the main dinner service and in some cases light bar suppers. The kitchen is often open from 10.00am until midnight with just the menus changing as the day progresses! I think it's because most are small family run hotels where they haven't forgotten what service is. The small hotel and bar the end of my street seems to serve food as long as there are still people wanting to eat it

SM

Hi Lynn

Do we actually come through Loch Lomond or would we need to make a big detour for that

You don't go through it as it is a bit cold and the water does funny things to the engine seriously though you will drive past it.

From Prestwick follow the A77/M77 up to Glasgow then follow signs for M8 Glasgow Airport / Erskine Bridge and then follow signs for Dumbarton / Loch Lomond out on the A82 past Dumbarton and follow A82 signs for Balloch / Loch Lomond and follow the A82 all the way sign posted Fort William.

The Duck Bay is OK but as you mention pricey, us local don't use it a much better option is just next door and it is called The Cruin.
The easiest way to find it is follow signs for Duck Bay and drive passed the font of the hotel and enjoy the views of the Loch and when you get to the end of this small stretch of road go through the lodge gates in front of you and follow the road around until you reach the Cruin, stunning views and good food await you http://www.thecruin.com/default.asp

Another alternative is to travel up the road for another 10 miles and go in to the small picturesque village of Luss, this was the setting for 'Take the High Road' if you received that, there are some small nice places to eat there.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/luss/luss/index.html

My final suggestion would be to try this one, The Drovers Inn at the head of the Loch (Inverarnan by Ardlui), don't expect stunning views or modern interior, it is what I suppose you could call 'rustic' very old rustic at that even you if you don't want to eat there stop and have a look at the interior.

http://www.thedroversinn.co.uk/

The Times has an article http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/where_to_stay/scotland/article2265938.ece

Graham

Yes the Cruin is good too still with great views

You'll find that many country and small town hotels will drift fairly seamlessly through service of morning coffee and cakes into lunch followed by afternoon tea and/or high tea before the main dinner service and in some cases light bar suppers. The kitchen is often open from 10.00am until midnight with just the menus changing as the day progresses

Basically I'm going to be eating all day long then SMa . Sounds good to me .I can cope quite easily with that.

The cruin looks good too Graham and the spooky place has a good menu . Actually we prefer rustic but maybe that is going a bit too far for us .I bet the boys would love it though and my youngest is a sucker for a good ghost story. I can only find pics of the rooms though .I'm just getting an error message for the times link Graham. I suppose the best views are reserved for the more swanky places but old country pub style is good for us ..

I have a little while left to decide yet of course but i know If I don't do the research now it will get left and then we will end up at mcdonalds .

and then we will end up at mcdonalds

Follow signs for Balloch turn right at the roundabout just before Duck Bay

Stop it Graham . Nice to know where it is though , just in case.

Just getting ready for our forthcoming week in Glencoe . We are off saturday I've copied and pasted all the important bits from here and really looking forward to it . Just wanted to thank everyone again for all the help and I'll let you all know how it went in a week or 2.

lyn

Make sure you pack warm clothes. We had minus temperatures last night around Glasgow and there are roads closed in Grampian because of snow.

Thanks Elaine . Had heard it was cold .Better pack the hats' N gloves too.