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How to get to Lochcarron
(Last updated June 2009) Note:
this section includes some timetable information for public transport, but
for full time-tables, and/or links to downloads for timetable information,
see Public
transport in the Lochcarron area and some points beyond.
By car Lochcarron
lies on the A896 about 63 miles due west of Inverness and across the sea
from the Isle of Skye. By car Lochcarron is a 4-5 hours drive from
Edinburgh or Glasgow. The fast route is up the A9 through the Athol and
the Cairngorm mountains to Inverness. Edinburgh-Inverness is 154 miles,
Glasgow-Inverness is 175 miles. From Inverness take the A835 for Ullapool;
at the junction just beyond Garve turn left on to the A832 (going to
Gairloch) and drive through the wilderness of Strath Ban to Achnasheen. At
Achnasheen turn left at the roundabout on to the A890, and follow it for
18 miles – driving through some very sparsely inhabited countryside –
to the junction at the head of Loch Carron. Carry straight on, which now
turns into the A896 (going to Kishorn, Shieldaig and Torridon), and
Lochcarron is about 2 miles from this junction. For an
even more scenic route, but taking a bit longer, follow the West coast on
the A82 from Glasgow through Glencoe and Fort William to Invergarry, then
turn off on to the A87 over spectacular Kintail country, sign-posted for
Dornie and Kyle of Lochalsh. At Auchtertyre, about 6 miles before Kyle of
Lochalsh, turn right to join the other end of the A890, sign-posted for
Lochcarron, passing Strathcarron railway station and thereafter turning
left on the junction for Lochcarron. Thereafter proceed as above. Glasgow
to Lochcarron via Fort William is about 198 miles. By train Lochcarron is served by rail connections from
Inverness on the famous Kyle line, one of Britain’s most scenic
railways. The journey takes 1hr 45mins, and the nearest station is
Strathcarron, about 3 miles from Lochcarron village. Inverness can be
reached by overnight Caledonian sleeper from London Euston. The cheapest
London-Inverness return fare is for seated accommodation, ‘Seated
APEX’ fare (booked at least 7 days in advance), others are sleeper APEX
(sharing twin berth cabin), Standard, flexible, (sharing twin berth
cabin), while sleeper 1st class (or Leisure first) is for a single berth
cabin. For fares information, special offers, and the latest timetables,
visit the First ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper service Web site at http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/content/caledoniansleeper/index.php. The Caledonian Sleeper departs Euston daily at 21.15
(20.55 on Sundays; no Saturday
service in either direction) arriving in Inverness at 08.30 the
following morning, with 30 minutes to spare to connect with the Kyle of
Lochalsh train departing at 09.00 and arriving at Strathcarron at 10.46. A
later train leaves Inverness at 11.03, arriving at Strathcarron at 12.45.
For both of these there is a minibus bus connection to Lochcarron (see
Table 3), dep. Strathcarron 10.48, arr. Lochcarron 10.55; or dep. 12.48, arr.
Lochcarron 12.55. When necessary, the bus will wait for the trains if they
are running late. The official bus stop at Lochcarron is the Village Hall,
but the driver will drop you off at hotels, guest houses or B&Bs if
they are on the route. There is now also a local bus connection for the
evening service, dep. Inverness 17.52 arr. Strathcarron 19.46, see Table 4. The bus departs Starthcarron station at 19.48 but
will wait if the train is late. It will drop off at hotels, etc. and will
extend to
Ardaneaskan, Kishorn and Tornapress on request, but must be pre-booked not
later than by 18.00hrs the day prior to travelling by phoning the operator
Skyeways, Tel: +44(0)1599-555477 Email: info@skyeways.co.uk.
No booking is required for Strathcarron-Lochcarron or v.v. and the fare is
£1.20. The above is a
daily service except on Sundays when it operates during the summer months
only (late June to late September). However, a local taxi service to/from the station is available (see below). For
a condensed rail timetable see Table 1,
while the full timetable for the Inverness-Strathcarron-Kyle of Lochalsh
rail service can be downloaded at Inverness
can also be reached using daytime rail services (average journey time from
London around 8-9hrs), usually involving a change of train at Glasgow or
Edinburgh. The only direct service, “The Highland Chieftain” is
operated by National Express East Coast. Their timetables can be found at http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com/.
Telephone
bookings: 08457-225
225.
It is an enjoyable rail journey, particularly the route from Perth to
Inverness or v.v., and especially during the summer months. For fare
quotes check out the operator’s Web site. By
bus (and minibus from Inverness) From Glasgow and Edinburgh, and Oban/Fort William, Inverness can also be reached by CityLink coach services, in each case several services daily. For timetables (and online bookings) click on to http://www.citylink.co.uk/index.php. There is also a minibus service from Inverness to Lochcarron, albeit only
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The bus, now operated by
Skyeways, departs Inverness at 15.00 (Saturdays at 16.00) from Stance/Bay
1 at the main bus station. The bus station is in easy walking distance
from Inverness railway station (follow the signs to the bus station). It
arrives at Lochcarron Village Hall at 16.45 (17.45 on Saturdays) but the
driver will drop you off at hotels, B&Bs, or private homes if they are
en route. The bus goes on to Kishorn, Shieldaig and Applecross by request,
but seats need to be pre-booked before 18.00 on the day before, by phoning
+44-(0)1599-555477. Booking a seat for Lochcarron is not normally
essential, but as it is only a minibus it is usually a good idea to book
in advance regardless to ensure you get a seat. The
Lochcarron-Inverness service departs every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday
from Lochcarron Village Hall at 09.30 (coming from Applecross and
Shieldaig, dep. Applecross 08.00, dep. Shieldaig 09.00), getting to
Inverness bus station at 11.25. For full timetable and sample fares see
Table 2. The over
60s, in possession of a valid Highland Council Travel Card, travel free! As
indicated above, the daily (except Sunday) mid-day minibus which serves
the route Strathcarron-Lochcarron-Kishorn-Shieldaig-Torridon and v.v.,
also connects with the Kyle train either going back to Inverness, or going
to the Kyle of Lochalsh (see arrival/departure times above, and also Table
3) Since
June 2009 the region also benefits from a new Dial-a-bus service, serving
Achnasheen, Applecross, Kinlochewe, Kishorn, Lochcarron/Strathcarron,
Shieldaig, Torridon, and some other smaller communities. For full details
see By
air Inverness
is served by a small airport (no international flights at this time) at
Dalcross, about 10 miles to the east of Inverness and close to the A96
Inverness-Aberdeen trunk road. It is served by EasyJet http://www.easyjet.com/
from London-Luton or London-Gatwick airports (also from
Bristol), Aerarann
http://www.aerarann.ie/
(from Dublin), and British Airways (including BA CitiExpress and the BA
franchise partner Loganair) http://www.britishairways.com/travel/globalgateway.jsp/global/public/en.
BA flies to Inverness from London-Heathrow and Gatwick, and from
Edinburgh, with three direct flights daily from Gatwick to Inverness (or
an indirect service from Heathrow, via Glasgow or Edinburgh). Flybe
http://www.flybe.com/ has flights
from/to Belfast City Airport, and will launch four new routes from
Inverness in Spring 2008: from/to Birmingham (one flight daily) from 30
March, 2008, and, as from 8 May 2008, Exeter (one flight daily),
Manchester (twice daily) and Southampton (one flight daily). There
are also flights to and from other Highlands destinations, operated by
British Airways and Highland Airways http://www.highlandairways.co.uk/,
such as Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis, Sumburgh airport in Shetland,
Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, and the Isle of Benebecula. Transportation
from Inverness airport to city and v.v./Taxis Two bus services operate between the airport and Inverness: Rapson's coach service no. 11 (Nairn to Inverness Service, via Inverness Airport), with frequent departures (approximately every half hour for most periods and in both directions to/from Inverness; the bus departs from the bus stop in Queensgate, just outside the main Post Office).
For full timetable see http://www.rapsons.com/Timetable.html
(click on to Guide 1). The
Stagecoach service is less frequent (dep. Inverness airport twice daily,
at 11.00 and 13.00 Monday-Friday only); their timetable for the airport
service 757 is at http://www.moray.gov.uk/downloads/file44689.pdf. Taxis are
available at the airport and in the town, e.g. Central Highland Taxis
http://www.highlandtaxis.co.uk/ Tel:
01463-222222, Text-a-taxi 07867-977233; or City Taxis Tel: 01463-222555. A taxi ride into the city costs
approximately £13 and takes about 15-20 minutes, or a bit more during
rush hour. Self-drive
cars can be hired from several car rental firms at their desks on the
public concourse, or can be picked up in Inverness. See contacts for car
rental firms below, in Inverness and locally. Car rental and private hire In
Inverness (city and/or airport): Avis Budget
Car Rental
Focus
Vehicle Rental Hertz Inverness
Car Hire Thrifty Car Rental In
Lochcarron: Car
rental, and private hire minibuses. DMK
Motors, Unit 1, Industrial Estate, Lochcarron, IV54 8YS Locharron
Garage, Main Street, Lochcarron, IV54 8YS Wester
Ross Tours (private hire minibus only) Kenny Murray Local
taxi service in Lochcarron Two licensed local taxi/private hire services can provide transportation between Lochcarron and Strathcarron railway station, and will meet/pick up from the station, meeting the morning, mid-day, or evening trains. Both taxi services also do airport pick-ups/drop off.
»
Public
transport in the Locharron area and some points beyond (Timetables) |
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