I will be journeying with friends to these spots in the Scotland Highlands in May/Jun 2024, and am on the lookout for great local pubs where we will be staying!!
Please send your recommendations & comments in/near these locations:
- Inverness
- Nairn
- Dornoch
- Portree
- Lochboisdale (South Uist island)
- Glencoe
- Aberdeen
I very much look forward to hearing from you!
Ron
are you familiar with the Good Pub Guide or CAMRA?
Unless it is given by a local, and a local who likes a pub, any info here on this site is outdated before the laptop boots up. The best thing is in the place you are stopping, ask. Especially in a B&B.
They should knownthe:
Places with the best food
Best music
Best atmosphere
and above all
Best avoided
In my opinion as a local there are no decent pubs in Portree. I'd suggest either the Edinbane Inn in Edinbane, or the Old Inn in Carbost. Both have good food and sometimes live music.
I'm not aware of a single pub in Lochboisdale. It's really just a ferry terminal and tiny village (actually a fairly depressing little place - much nicer places on South Uist to Stay). There's a pub called the Polochar Inn a few miles away and the Am Politician on Eriskay - a few more miles away.
Jacqui (Skyegirl)
Thanks Jacqui! Very much appreciated. I checked the web sites, and think they we'll check them out!!
Hi Ron -
I second Skyegirl’s recommendation of The Old Inn at Carbost. Popped in there a few times on the way home from a day in the Black Cuillin for a livener, anaesthetic, nerve steadier or ‘special medicine’ dependent on how you look at it!
I don’t think you can go through Glencoe without a stop in the Hikers Bar at the Clachaig Inn. I have very fond memories of there. Gets packed, mind.
We only stayed very briefly in Inverness but the Hootananny was very convivial. Lots to go at in Inverness though, there may be better. Or indeed worse!
Ian
If you're interested in hearing music, we had a GREAT time at Gellions in Inverness. We had dinner elsewhere and then ventured over...the musicians were fantastic!
When I'm looking for a good bar, music tends to enter the equation. When in Ireland, I mean genuine "sessions" as opposed to lots of sing along "bar music". In Scotland, we've found fewer sessions, but it still guides my choices of bars and what towns I decide to stay in. I use https://thesession.org/sessions and Facebook.
At MacGregors in Inverness, we sat amongst at least 20 locals participating in a genuine session, including an 11 year old prodigy on the fiddle.
We spent three nights in Portree a few years ago and after seeing a sign for "trad music" for a different bar each night, and struggling for a good seat, we saw the same two musicians all three nights. Although they were good musicians, we get tired of Dirty Old Town and pop covers, so we left during setup the second and third nights.
Way back in 1997, we stayed in a hostel in Glasgow and on the desk clerks advice went to a nearby bar that was huge, loud, pop music, and everyone but us was drinking Bud Light. We got odd looks for ordering Guinness. It was "popular with locals" but not for us.
