Blackwater Hostel and Campsite

View prices & book 8.2 38 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 sites 35
Open now
Opens 19 March
Please note

Admission

  • At least one of the party members must be aged 16 or over.

Occupancy

  • 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

8.2

Overall rating from 38 Pitchup.com customers

  • 39%
    10
  • 18%
    9
  • 21%
    8
  • 7%
    7
  • 2%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 0%
    4
  • 2%
    3
  • 5%
    2
  • 2%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 8
Walkers' paradiseBudget/backpacker

82% would recommend this site to a friend

79% would stay here again

What customers say

Sparkling, tidy spot with welcoming staff, close to town. Great facilities: hot showers, drying room, kitchen. Some found tent spots a bit snug, and midges were pesky in warm weather. Limited indoor space if it rains.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews. Last updated 25/08/2026

Filter by topic

Reviews page 1 of 4
Arrival date (latest first)

- toller Platz - Trockenraum & überdachter…

Overall

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

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked - toller Platz
- Trockenraum & überdachter Sitzbereich
- saubere Toiletten & Duschen

Disliked - man darf das Hostel nicht betreten (hätten gerne dort abends gesessen und Karten gespielt)

Recommend to friends Visit again

Clean, fantastic location…

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
Anonymous

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Clean, fantastic location

Recommend to friends Visit again

Very beautiful place…

Overall

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

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Very beautiful place

Recommend to friends Visit again

Super sanitaires

Overall

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

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked La tenue des lieux et super sanitaires tres propre 10/10
Coin cuisine un peu petit mais abrité
Presence de 2 Drying room
Au calme sur la fin de l'étape de la WHW

Disliked Pas de possibilité de prendre le petit déjeuner quand on est au camping et les pubs de la ville ne prennent que leur clients
Chute d'eau un peu bruyante

Recommend to friends Visit again

Personally I wouldn’t be returning on the basis of it being too busy.

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
 5
Value for money
 4
Facilities / Activities
 3
Customer service
 No rating
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 6
Wifi
 No rating
Alastair M. 3 reviews

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Drying rooms are good and toilets and shower blocks are fine.

Disliked Campsite far too cramped, feel like everyone was on top of each other from the camping area to the shed there was no room. Ground full of rocks which made it not ideal for tent pegs. This could be a great wee site if there wasn’t so many squeezed into a small area.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Favourite campsite of the West Highland Way!

Overall

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

Unpowered grass tent site

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

Unpowered grass tent site

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

Unpowered grass tent site

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. 6 reviews

Unpowered grass tent site

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

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Excellent pitch location for anyone trekking the WHW.

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 Laundry 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 Dump point Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Public transport nearby

Type

Medium (26-50 sites)

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 +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

56.7144°N
4.96006°W

Nearest transport

Coach
34.8 km Pine Trees Leisure Park
45.5 km Hotel
Rail
14.8 km Fort William Rail Station
16.6 km Banavie Rail Station
17.3 km Corrour Rail Station
Ferry
14.8 km Fort William Ferry Landing
16.1 km Camusnagaul Ferry Landing
16.9 km Nether Lochaber Ferry Terminal
Airport
38.7 km 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).

Food and drink

  • Tailrace Inn 0.2 km
  • Highland Getaway Inn 0.3 km
  • Lochleven Shellfish and Seafood Centre 7.3 km
  • Moss 9.5 km
  • Glencoe Gathering 9.7 km

Groceries

  • Co-op Food 0.3 km

Family days out

  • Grey Mare's Tail Waterfall 0.6 km
  • Tom a' Ghrianain 8.6 km

Public transport

  • Heather Lea 0.2 km
  • Lochaber Road 0.3 km
  • Post Office 0.5 km
  • Lower Falls 7.7 km
  • Glencoe Visitor Centre 8.8 km
  • Glencoe Hotel 9.7 km
  • Glencoe Junction 9.7 km

Local services

  • The Surgery Kinlochleven Doctors 0.3 km
  • Gulf Fuel station 9.6 km

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Must see

Glencoe Visitor Centre 11.6 km

West Highland Museum 14.7 km

Ben Nevis Distillery 15.1 km

Nevis Range Cable Cars 15.3 km

Treasures of the Earth 17.7 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Round Buachaille Etive Beag 5.7 km

Glen Nevis Gorge and Steall Waterfall 7.4 km

Glen Nevis - The Lower Falls to Steall Falls 7.7 km

The Lower Falls of Glen Nevis 7.7 km

Ben Nevis via the Mountain Track 11.6 km

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 caravan
    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 $68.42 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.