Blackwater Hostel and Campsite

View prices & book 8.3 33 reviews
Around the site
Around the site
Level camping field
Grass pitches
Reception and hostel
Seating and washing-up area
Washing-up sink and vending machine
Drying room, vending machine and washing-up area
Drying room, vending machine and washing-up area
1/32
Level camping field
Grass pitches
Reception and hostel

  • Campsite on the West Highland Way between Glencoe and Fort William
  • Five minutes’ walk to Ice Factor; 20 minutes’ drive to Ballachulish
  • Vending machine, showers and drying room; pubs five minutes’ walk
A well-equipped campsite five minutes’ walk from the long-distance West Highland Way, Blackwater Hostel and Campsite is a very smart stop for walkers, climbers, mountain bikers, photographers… in fact anyone who wants to get out into Lochaber’s wild Highland scenery – whether for a night passing through or a longer stay to explore the region. Why so smart? Well, the mountain and River Leven views are spectacular, and the site is 15 minutes' drive from the coast at Ballachulish and located right next to Ice Factor bouldering and climbing centre in the middle of Kinlochleven. This may be a small village but it has all necessary amenities like a supermarket, fish and chip shop and three pubs offering hearty bar meals – thankfully within walking distance as the site doesn’t have a kitchen. Facilities, however, do include free showers with hand soap, shower gel and shampoo provided. There are toilets, power sockets for charging phones and two drying rooms with commercial dehumidifiers (always useful on the west coast of Scotland). A covered seating area has a vending machine for snacks, a washing-up sink and wifi connectivity so you can keep in touch with home. Dogs are welcome on site, but please keep them on a lead.

Site type

Tent pitches 35
Open now
Opens 19 March
Please note
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 16 or over.
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • The maximum tent size allowed is 2 x 2.4 metres. Regrettably, larger tents cannot be accommodated and will be turned away.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Thu 19 Mar to

No availability here for your search criteria

Reviews

8.3

Overall rating from 33 Pitchup.com customers

  • 42%
    10
  • 18%
    9
  • 21%
    8
  • 6%
    7
  • 3%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 0%
    4
  • 0%
    3
  • 6%
    2
  • 3%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 8
Walkers' paradise

82% would recommend this site to a friend

79% would stay here again

What customers say

This campsite offers an excellent location, particularly for hikers on the West Highland Way, with stunning views and proximity to shops and pubs. Guests praise the clean and well-maintained facilities, including hot showers, a kitchen area with kettle and microwave, and a drying room. Staff are frequently described as friendly and helpful. Some visitors encountered issues with midges and mosquitoes. A notable point of feedback concerns strict tent size limitations, which have led to booking issues for some.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 4
Arrival date (latest first)

Favourite campsite of the West Highland Way!

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
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Value for money
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Facilities / Activities
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Chloe S. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Lovely welcome, beautiful pitch by the river and the sound of running water, loved that there was shampoo and body wash in the showers and a good space to change and store clothes while showering. Great that there is a kettle and microwave too, spacious drying rooms and a nice little covered area with picnic benches too. My favourite campsite of the whole West Highland Way!

Disliked A little crowded, lots of one man tents squeezed together!

Recommend to friends Visit again

It could be a really good site if they fixed the issues.

Overall

2 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 3
Facilities / Activities
 3
Customer service
 2
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 3
Wifi
 1
 Peter J. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Convenient location in Kinglochleven.

Disliked Staff weren’t very helpful. We asked about laundry facilities and were told there weren’t any, only to be informed the next day there were.
The drying room was a dark damp room that didn’t have any heat to dry clothes.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi Peter - As was explained at the time - laundry facilities are subject to availability depending on the time of day and how busy we are. It was also explained that the drying room is for drying outdoor wet weather gear only and it had been nothing but sunshine for a few days so the drying rom was not on.

Excellent friendly staff.. very informative..clean.. spacious site

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
ADRIAN M. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Sorted an administrative request for me within an hour of sending them an email 💯👍. A nice quiet and relaxing overnight stay during my West Highland Way walk. Facilities are great.. Village is literally 5 minutes walk

Recommend to friends Visit again

Convenient stop on the WHW

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 7
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Paul J. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked It was close to the WHW and reasonably priced. Would stay again.

Disliked Quite a large amount of the ground was slightly waterlogged (I get that’s it’s Scotland) and out of the site’s control. I didn’t like the communal showers (I prefer individual cubicles). Also quite a small site so the tents are close to each other.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent location and setting.

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 No rating
Tuomas B. 3 reviews

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Excellent pitch location for anyone trekking the WHW.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Over priced. Limited pitchup, cramed into a very small space. H

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 2
Value for money
 1
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 5
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 5
Wifi
 5
Anonymous

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Nothing.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nothing to be honest too much…

Overall

1 out of 10
Location
 4
Value for money
 1
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 1
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 1
Wifi
 1
 Usama h. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Nothing to be honest too much mosquitoes and midges you cant even breath

Recommend to friends Visit again

Schöner, kleiner ruhiger Zeltplatz. Guter Ausgangspunkt…

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 8
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Schöner, kleiner ruhiger Zeltplatz. Guter Ausgangspunkt zum Wandern. Sanitäre Anlagen top!

Disliked Vielleicht aufgrund des Baches an der Zeltwiese waren abends und morgens sehr viele Mücken.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Location is excellent / nice size…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Mark B. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Location is excellent / nice size site / clean

Recommend to friends Visit again

We had quite a lot of…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 No rating
Customer service
 No rating
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 No rating
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked We had quite a lot of rain upon our arrival, but were happy to have a nice covered area where we could sit / eat / relax and dry our clothes!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Dogs allowed

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Picnic table Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. welcome Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Budget/backpacker Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Public transport nearby Shop nearby

Type

Medium (26-50 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Blackwater Hostel and Campsite

Lab Road

Kinlochleven

Highlands and Islands

Scotland

PH50 4SG

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London BST (GMT+01:00)

GPS

56.7144°N
4.96006°W

Nearest transport

Coach
21.6 mi Pine Trees Leisure Park
28.2 mi Hotel
Rail
9.2 mi Fort William Rail Station
10.3 mi Banavie Rail Station
10.7 mi Corrour Rail Station
Ferry
9.2 mi Fort William Ferry Landing
10 mi Camusnagaul Ferry Landing
10.5 mi Nether Lochaber Ferry Terminal
Airport
24 mi Oban (North Connel) Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Keen walkers have a wealth of choices for their rambles, from the West Highland Way (five minutes’ walk) to the Glencoe Lochan Trail (20 minutes' drive), which follows family-friendly paths through forest. Landmarks to point your compass towards include Signal Rock (20 minutes), the popular viewpoint at The Meeting of Three Waters (25 minutes) and a testing trek up to Steall Waterfall (55 minutes), the second-highest falls in Scotland In summer, there is more hiking and cycling around Glencoe Mountain Resort (35 minutes’ drive), or you can head up to Fort William (40 minutes) to access the cycling and hiking trails of the Ben Nevis foothills. Meanwhile, for a physical challenge on rainy days, the indoor ice-climbing wall at Ice Factor (five minutes’ walk) keeps daredevils happy. Learn more about the dark secrets of the area at Glencoe Visitor Centre - National Trust for Scotland (20 minutes), and take some time admiring the views over Loch Leven at the Ballachulish Peninsula viewpoint (20 minutes’ drive).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Ganavan 27.2 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Glencoe Visitor Centre 7.2 mi

West Highland Museum 9.2 mi

Ben Nevis Distillery 9.4 mi

Nevis Range Cable Cars 9.5 mi

Treasures of the Earth 11 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Round Buachaille Etive Beag 3.6 mi

Glen Nevis Gorge and Steall Waterfall 4.6 mi

Glen Nevis - The Lower Falls to Steall Falls 4.8 mi

The Lower Falls of Glen Nevis 4.8 mi

Ben Nevis via the Mountain Track 7.2 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Want to know more about camping in Highlands and Islands?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Blackwater Hostel and Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Blackwater Hostel and Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Blackwater Hostel and Campsite? Keen walkers have a wealth of choices for their rambles, from the West Highland Way (five minutes’ walk) to the Glencoe Lochan Trail (20 minutes' drive), which follows family-friendly paths through forest. … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Blackwater Hostel and Campsite?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  9 p.m.
    Depart by:  10:30 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Blackwater Hostel and Campsite? From £30 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.