Enjoy Your Stay at Fern Villa Guest House, Ballachulish near Glencoe

David and Catherine would like to welcome you to Fern Villa Guest House. With 5 ensuite rooms we offer comfy beds and tasty breakfasts.  We are situated in the centre of Ballachulish close to Glen Coe, 15 miles from Fort William and 33 miles from Oban.

We offer a range of cooked breakfasts including a traditional Scottish breakfast, 3 fish dishes and 4 vegetarian/vegan dishes. Breakfast is made to order and is served between 7.30am and 8.45am in our Breakfast Room.  Guests find that they don’t usually need lunch once they have had one of David’s breakfasts!

We were holders of Visit Scotland’s 3* Gold award and also their Taste Our Best award.  Sadly, Visit Scotland have now discontinued their accreditation scheme but we continue to meet their standards.

There is Guest Lounge with books and literature about the area where you are welcome to relax in the evening.  We have an open fire which we light on chilly evenings. 

We have free off-road parking for one car per room and free WiFi.

Over the years we have put our own mark on the house and each bedroom is individually decorated and furnished.  We provide a complimentary range of toiletries from the Highland Soap Company and a hospitality tray. 

Ballachulish is served by a supermarket, post office, patisserie, a fish and chip shop, bar/restaurant, café and gift shop, and a hotel for food.    

Some of the most iconic photographic locations in Scotland are on our doorstep.  If you want to head out early to catch the sunrise on Rannoch Moor then please talk to us about an early breakfast. Or a later one if you’d like to go out first and then come back in.  

Should you get wet while out on your adventures we have a drying room. We can get most things dry and ready for your next day out and about.

So if you are hankering to come to Scotland decide on some dates and check our availability.

We look forward to welcoming you to Fern Villa soon

How it Began

It all started in August 2005 while on a camping holiday on the Ardnamurchan. As you often do when you are on holiday we looked in the estate agent windows and saw B&Bs for sale. An idea was born.

Catherine’s parents were elderly and were needing more care which we couldn’t manage with our jobs. So when we got back from holiday we said to Mum “How do you fancy pooling resources and moving to Scotland and we’ll look after you?”  We got an immediate “Yes!”  Mum and Dad had been visiting Scotland since the 1940s so already loved it. 

Catherine and her Mum first came to view Fern Villa in October 2005, on pulling into the car park without getting out of the car Catherine phoned David and said “We’ll have it!” The house still gives us that special feeling.

In April 2006, only 8 months later, after selling 2 houses, 4 adults, 2 teenage children, 3 dogs and 2 cats moved lock stock and barrel to Ballachulish. Now there is just Catherine and David at Fern Villa, 3 new dogs and 1 new cat. The animals don’t live in the guest house but in our separate accommodation, however, you may occasionally see them if the gates aren’t shut properly and they make a dash to meet and greet you.  

On the first morning we had 10 guests for breakfast, we’d never done anything like this before but we kept calm and were perhaps a bit haphazard as we juggled guests and removal men. Some of the guests from those first few weeks still come back to us so we couldn’t have done that bad. 

And the rest as they say is history.