A Taste of Living in a Cold Chalet

Fort William/ Onich was our next stop after we left Callander or to be precise, the region of Stirling.

Together with Lochaber, Fort William are well known as 'Outdoor Capital of the UK'! and this was the day we arrived the Highlands of Scotland- which is very different from Lowlands, culturally and historically. When we were approaching the place, we gathered some information from Tourist Information Centre and learnt about Ben Nevis. Regrettably, it was more damp, gloomy and cold than when we just left Bracklinn Falls in the morning that day, we had to scrap the idea of having any outdoor fun.

Inevitably, I have equally fogging impression of Fort William, the Great Glen and the Lochs. All I can remember is the gloomy skyline and cold atmosphere.

Not only I learnt very little about For William prior to arriving this part of the trip, I took a bold attempt to select the place to stay without going through any booking platform (booking.com, expedia.com, etc) like the rest. Well, firstly the per-night-stay offer was too attractive to let go. Second, the idea of staying in a hamlet and having the panoramic mountain and loch views seemingly fun for the girls.

Inchree Chalet, Onich - approximately 20 mins drive away from Fort William, about 2 hours drive from Callander.

I booked a 2-Bedroom/ 4 Berth Chalets, with a shower room + toilet. The chalet unit included television, fridge, microwave, electric cooker, kettle, toaster, cutlery & crockery and cooking utensils, etc. 

Nice flower pot greeting us upon our arrival of the chalet unit (above), by the way.

We I had some form of expectation of staying a night in the chalet. My family got to rest in a cosy living space while I busy in cooking a storm in the kitchen.

Perhaps it was the weather, the chalet was not cozy to our like. It was like a cold house, with one of the heater in the bedroom not working. Supposedly, the unit was electrically heated throughout and fully carpeted (except the kitchen). In addition, the space was compacted with all needed furniture, moving space dwindled after we laid our two luggage on the floor. I decided not to work too hard to make ourselves at home eventually. I did not cook in the end and we ended up all squeezed into one room to sleep.

Picture below shows our rectangular chalet unit, with a patio and turf ground overlooking Loch Linnhe. 

After placed our luggage into the chalet, we went off to the town of Fort William to learn more of the place. We popped by Morrisons for groceries and petrol pumping, while driving around to see the town. With the help of the map, we came close to High Street and explore further by foot. Did I say it was cold? It was freezing cold! Geographically, at this part of Scotland and during this beginning of the summer, it was usually wetter, winds were prevalent, so temperature was lower. I was focusing on keeping warm. I had to do whatever I can to beat the coldness. I tried 'psycho' myself a lot that "it's summer, and see, people aren't wearing layers!" I also keep myself reminded about keeping ourselves hydrated at all time. The girls were not afraid of cold actually, then I had to unwrap them and carry their clothes. I was their porter basically. So, I forgot to snap picture of the visit at all!

Still, we had a great family time together to explore a new town. We shopped in the Mountain Warehouse because for its loud and clear "Sales" Sign calling us in- which I could not resist in the end to buy a wind breaker (to thicken myself for such weather), at half the price; and SC bought a walking stick for his mum. Lastly we randomly picked The Crofter for dinner.

Little Bomber loved almost all the Mac and Cheese served in most eatery places that we patronised. Whilst the big sister loved the chips.

Loch Linnhe view from our chalet. If only the weather permitted us to sip our coffee and chocolate milk at the patio in the morning.
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Address of Inchree Chalets and Rooms:
Onich, Nr Fort William, Highland Region, Scotland UK PH33 6SE

T. 01855 821287
E. stay@inchree.co.uk [this was the contact I used to correspond with the host]

There are 3 chalet types, I booked the 2-Bedroom/4 Berth Chalets at the price of £85

for one night stay,directly with the host; no breakfast included. Click here for the to-date tariff. 

What I like about the Inchree upon making the decision of booking:

1. No deposit was required prior to our arrival.
2. Very generous and flexible with changes to a booking. All I needed to do is just email the host if I need to make any changes. That, includes cancellation, foc.
3. Strategic location: I got to confirm the location from google map- it was not too far away from A82 Road, from Callander to Isle of Skye.

However, WIFI only provided in the reception and the pub/restaurant, not within the chalet unit.

One thing for sure, we did get the promised panoramic mountain and loch views from our unit.