Ben Nevis Holiday Park

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

Name: Ben Nevis Holiday Park
Reviewers: Laura and Liam Fletcher

We stopped off at Lowther Castle to break up our journey from Derbyshire on the Saturday. We found it extremely dog friendly, with dogs being allowed everywhere except the woodland adventure playground for children. There are a couple of walks around the estate, but we found the grounds were plenty big enough to wander around with the boys. Nearby, ice cream lovers will be reluctant to miss Abbott Lodge Jersey Ice Cream, which boasts over 40 flavours of delicious, home-made ice cream. Dogs are welcome across the farm, only not in the tearoom. 

As we neared Fort William, we stopped to get some food at the Drovers Inn (one of the most haunted pubs in the UK, although we didn’t see any ghostly events during our meal). Dogs are welcome both in and outside the pub, which does have rooms available should you wish to stay the night. I had the traditional haggis, neeps and tatties and Liam had the Drovers steak burger, both of which were lovely. 

On arriving at Ben Nevis Holiday Park, we found our lodge to be beautifully clean, modern and bright with large windows that had an amazing view of the Nevis mountain range.  There was a hamper with some treats waiting for us (tea, coffee, milk and biscuits). Outside, there was a decked area, where the hot tub was located as well as outdoor seating. We ate all of our meals here throughout the week  as the view was spectacular to say the least. Within a five-minute drive of the holiday park, there is a plethora of shops to cater to your needs:  Mountain Warehouse, Aldi, Home Bargains and Poundland just to name a few.

After spending the weekend  stocking up on some essentials alongside enjoying the view from the hot tub, we conquered Ben Nevis on the Monday. This was an early start since we arrived at the 

Glen Nevis Visitor Centre (which is also dog friendly) at 6.30am. This made sure we had a parking space and ample time to start our climb before it got too hot and busy. After reading several pieces of advice about taking dogs up the mountain, we kitted Klaus and Beorn out with sturdy dog shoes because of the shale near the top. However, this proved counterproductive because their feet could not grip over a lot of the more scrambly sections, which made the climb very tricky. 

In addition, both boys became hot and were far better once we removed the dog shoes. There was little in the way of shale and we are reluctant to advise that people use them for the climb. We took lots of water with us but there were plenty of streams and waterfalls for the boys to get a drink on the way up. The views during the climb and at the top were breathtaking. Although we are incredibly proud of our achievement and the time it took us (6 hours and 45 minutes altogether), the  ‘tourist path’ walk itself was difficult and is not to be taken lightly. After completing the climb, we treated ourselves to a well-earned McDonald’s – which can be found eight minutes from the lodge – in Fort William where Klaus and Beorn sat with us in the outdoor seating area.

For a less challenging day, we took the trip to the Nevis Range Mountain Gondola on Tuesday. Dogs are allowed everywhere. To begin with, we completed a walk from their website. We found it difficult to start due to poor signposting, but it was easy once we got going. Most walks start from the wooden cabin at the bottom of the car park. Then, we got the cable car up the north face of Aonach Mor – the eighth highest mountain in Britain – which took around 15 minutes. With our two large dogs, it was a little bit of a squeeze into the cable car but they behaved fantastically. The scenery was outstanding on the ride to the top and there were a couple of linear walks available once you got off the cable car. Furthermore, there is a restaurant at the top which is dog friendly in addition to the Pinemarten Cafe at the bottom of the gondola.

On Wednesday, we visited Dunstaffnage Castle and Chapel. This was just over an hour from our lodge at Ben Nevis Holiday Park. The castle was thoroughly dog friendly and has a lovely short walk through the woods to find the ruins of the family chapel. Entry was discounted with English Heritage membership, which was a nice bonus. During the return journey, we stopped at Ardchattan Priory Gardens. This is only open on Wednesdays and admission is £5 per person payable via an honesty box. There was no food available at either place, so we decided to have lunch at the Highland Soap Company in Fort William on our way back to the lodge. This is an absolute hidden gem with a cafe that serves amazing food. Dogs are welcome inside the shop and there is a range of items available to buy. We had not seen much advertising for this place, but it is well worth a visit.

The next day, we took the short drive (22 minutes) to the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre and viaduct – made famous by the Harry Potter films. The Jacobite steam engine itself is dog friendly, but we were advised that our two dogs were larger than the ‘medium-sized dogs’ recommended on the website, so we decided to do one of the walks near the viaduct and watch the train go past. We were surprised by how many people came to watch the steam engine pass. The Glenfinnan monument is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and, as a result, members get free entry to the tours on the days that they are running (dogs are not allowed inside the physical monument but are allowed in the grounds). Afterwards, we let the boys cool off with a swim in the freshwater Loch Shiel.

On Friday, we paid a visit to Glencoe Visitor Centre. There are several walks from the centre. We chose one which was a couple of miles and was very easy to follow because of the waymarked signposts. While we were there, we also visited the replica creel house which dogs are also allowed in. Inside the centre, there is a short film available showcasing how the creel house came together (the cinema area is also dog friendly). Furthermore, there is a fascinating exhibition examining how rock climbing and mountain rescue has changed over recent years in and around the Glencoe area. On our journey back to the holiday park, we stopped at the Glencoe Folk Museum. If you have a spare half an hour, it’s worth it. It showcases life in the area and provides in-depth historical information about life in Glencoe and has a small gift shop. Nearby, you will find the Glencoe Lochan trail which has some short walks in and around the woodland. We completed the yellow route, which provided a lovely trek through the woods.

On Saturday, after saying a fond farewell to Ben Nevis, we stopped at Cragside (Britain’s original smart home) on our way home. This is one of the more expensive National Trust properties, but it is well worth the money. The outdoor spaces and shops are dog friendly but, unsurprisingly, the house itself isn’t. There is a wide variety of different walks with varying difficulties throughout the vast grounds and gardens. We chose the ‘Gun walk’ which took us through some beautiful sections of the grounds and took around an hour and a half. It is a property where you could truly spend the whole day because there is so much to see. The visitor centre tearoom has benches by Tumbleton Lake where we sat and enjoyed a few snacks before completing the journey home. Overall, this was an incredible holiday, and we were sad to leave. 

The holiday park provided a fantastic base for all of our activities, and we would recommend this area of Scotland to everyone because there is simply so much to do.

Ben Nevis Holiday Park, review by Laura and Liam Fletcher and appears in DogFriendly magazine issue 80.  For more information on the DogFriendly magazine visit https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/magazine