For most the Ben Nevis Inn is the last building you pass on your way up Ben Nevis (Scotland’s highest mountain), and the last building you come to on your return, when it’s it an extremely enticing stop for a pint. Yet in other ways its location, at the end of a minor road some 3km outside Fort William, speaks...

Isolated and on the fringes of the empty wilds of Rannoch Moor, the Kingshouse Hotel may be a touch run-down, but has oodles of Highland atmosphere, good mid-range accommodate and a couple of bars with reasonable pub food. The Climber’s Bar at the back of the hotel is a particularly fine place for muddy boots to end up after a...

With its roaring log fire; cheerful atmosphere; regular live music; good regional food (mains £9–22); and a bar with a solid selection of malt whiskies, the Old Bridge Inn one of Aviemore’s best hangouts, day or night. It’s easy to spend a pleasant rainy day entertaining yourself with its musical instruments, books and games, while in summer the sociable Speyside...