A Dram at the End of the Road: Hiking to Britain’s Most Remote Pub

There are a few ways to get yourself a dram. You could, for example, drive to your nearest pub. You could even, with considerably less effort, simply pour something for yourself at home. Or you could walk roughly 25 kilometres over a mountain to Britain’s most remote pub for a dram (or two), and then walk those 25 kilometres back to your car.

I chose the latter. I found myself in Scotland at the beginning of September last year. I had been fortunate enough to do some hiking there, and, somewhere along the way, I heard about The Old Forge in Inverie. The pub is incredibly remote as Inverie has no road connecting it to the rest of the mainland. You can only get there by taking the ferry from Mallaig, or by walking into the village over some imposing mountains from Kinloch Hourn. And that walk is roughly 25 kilometres one way.

Getting to Kinloch Hourn is half the adventure

Just reaching Kinloch Hourn feels like the beginning of an expedition. The long road winds its way deep into the Highlands, becoming increasingly narrow and remote as it goes. When I did the hike, there was also road construction taking place, which meant that access was restricted during the week. I arranged my trip around a weekend, and I arrived at Kinloch Hourn late on a Friday afternoon.

As it was quite late, I walked just a few miles along the route before I managed to find a flat enough spot to pitch my tent for the night. There are some accommodation options a little further along the route if you prefer a few more creature comforts, although I was happy with my fairly basic arrangement of a tent and sleeping bag.

I woke up very early the next morning to continue my walk towards Inverie. The trail is quiet and peaceful. The route climbs up over a mountain pass, with enormous views opening out around you. The descent was a little boggy. And there were some Highland cows along the way, which seemed entirely appropriate.

It is a really beautiful walk with some spectacular views, but by the time you have spent a few hours climbing and descending a mountain pass, the thought of the pub waiting at the other end becomes a surprisingly powerful source of motivation. Eventually, Inverie appears. And if you keep walking along the main road, The Old Forge appears too.

Waiting for the doors to open

I arrived just before lunchtime, only to discover that the pub didn’t actually open until noon. Shortly after I arrived, a few other people began gathering outside, and more continued to appear as the time passed. It soon became clear that I wasn’t the only person who had decided that a remote pub was worth traveling for.

And, importantly, it serves whisky. After walking 25 kilometres over a mountain to get there, I felt I had earned a dram – perhaps even two.

Walking through the doors of The Old Forge after hiking there felt ever so slightly surreal. After hours of open hills, boggy ground and grey weather, there were suddenly voices, clinking glasses and the warmth of a busy pub. I found a seat at the bar, allowed my feet a moment to recover, and then turned my attention to the whisky.

The first dram I selected was a Glenkinchie 12 Year Old. Glenkinchie was the first whisky I ever bought for myself when I first visited Scotland as a student, and when I saw this whisky behind the bar of this particular pub it seemed like a good excuse to revisit it. It’s a light, floral whisky, with a gentle aromatic freshness that makes it easy to return to.

My second dram was a Nc’Nean Organic Single Malt, which I found bright and fruity. I chose this particular whisky because I had heard a great deal about Nc’Nean, but never actually managed to find it back home. So here was a great opportunity to try something I had been curious about.

These two whiskies were selected for rather different reasons. One took me back to my first experience of Scotland and whisky. The other was something new I had been wanting to try.

It should be said that the pub had a very respectable selection of whiskies behind the bar (in addition to a number of other beverages), so if these two whiskies don’t particularly strike your fancy, The Old Forge has plenty more on offer to choose from.

The long way home

There is, of course, a much more sensible way to do this hike. I found out that most people only walk from Kinloch Hourn to Inverie, and then take the ferry out. This makes the journey a perfectly respectable 25 kilometer adventure, rather than the slightly more absurd 50 kilometer round trip I had decided upon. I, however, had a rental car waiting for me at Kinloch Hourn. So after my two drams, I had to turn around and walk back the way I had come.

The return journey was just as beautiful. And perhaps the anticipation of reaching the pub had been replaced by a sense of achievement. I also knew what to expect of the terrain, so the walk felt a little easier to tackle (who knows, perhaps a little whisky helped too?).

I eventually made it back to just beyond my original campsite before stopping for the night. That left me with a relatively short and easy walk on Sunday morning back to the car.

Was it worth it?

Absolutely. Although, if I’m honest, I don’t think the whisky itself needed to be particularly extraordinary. That’s one of the pleasures of drinking whisky after a long walk that I’ve found is sometimes quite hard to articulate. Context can make a remarkable difference. A dram that might be perfectly ordinary in a tasting room or at home can become something altogether different when you’ve spent the morning walking through wild countryside to get to it.

I also think that there is something rather appropriate about Scotch whisky being enjoyed in this way. We often talk about whisky in terms of place: the landscape, the water, the climate, the people and the traditions that surround its production. But sometimes the best way to appreciate the idea of place is simply to walk through it.

Yet by the time I sat down at The Old Forge, it must be said that I wasn’t particularly thinking about terroir, or maturation, or production methods. I was thinking about my feet. And I was very happy to have a whisky in front of me.

There are easier ways to get a dram. But I’m not sure there are many better ones.