The most remote pub in Britain

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In Inverie, a small village on the Knoydart Peninsula in northwestern Scotland, is the most remote pub in Scotland and the most It is considered It is more difficult to access than in all parts of Great Britain. It’s called The Old Forge and can only be reached by sea or on a two-day trek: 29 kilometers is quite challenging through the Scottish Highlands, along an unmarked path that winds through swamps, hills, mountains, rocks, mud and streams, without artificial lighting or telephone network.

Travel journalist Daniel Staples, who recently walked there with friends and recounted his experience, wrote in an article on BBC Travel, To get to the Old Forge by walking is «Kind of a rite of passage»For people who love trekking: an experience that ends with a pint of beer or, more likely, more than one.

Stables writes that Old Forge is somewhat inaccessible even by Scottish standards, with many secluded places still accessible by car, albeit often on narrow, bumpy, single-track roads. It is located about 250 kilometers northwest of Glasgow and south of the Isle of Skye (a popular tourist destination), in an area whose previous owner, Jean-Pierre Robinet, have selected “The Last Pure Land of Great Britain”. Around Inverie there is a network of motorways, but they are not connected to the road serving the rest of Scotland, which is about thirty kilometers away.

Those looking to walk to the pub can start in the small town of Kinloch Horn, as Stables did, or opt for the more challenging trek, which begins in Glenfinnan (south) and is about 45 kilometers long. Either way, you should prepare for the ascent and descent, as well as prepare for the almost spreading rain. Those who do not wish to take a trip can drive to Malaji and take the ferry from there: in Malaga, the Jacobean train, famous for its use, ends. In the Harry Potter movies.

Old Forge is one of the main destinations on the Knoydart Peninsula, where about 120 people currently live, mainly from March to mid-October. Stephanie Harris, Secretary of the Population Society she runs (Old Forge Community Benefit Society), He explained to me guardian That the pub was in the past “the place where everything happens”: birthdays, weddings, events of various kinds, as well as planned and impromptu musical evenings.

However, in recent years it has had its appeal, at least among residents, who have complained in particular that it is closed in the off-season, a time when locals desperately need a place to rest.

When Robinet offered the place for sale for 425,000 pounds, in February 2021, the local community decided to mobilize. After various discussions among residents, the pub Verified By the Old Forge Community Benefit Society, which has about 90 contributors, roughly 75 percent of the local population. The purchase was funded by funds raised from community members, and donations obtained through crowdfunding and subsidies from the Scottish Lands and Communities National Trust.

Some photos from journalist Daniel Staples’ trip

The pub reopened in mid-April this year with new management and, despite some renovations, is starting to attract tourists and residents again. The kitchen, for example, will reopen in 2023, but those who visit can still order sandwiches and other small plates made at the Knoydart Pottery and Tearoom, a convenience store and tea room located nearby. Among the drinks that can be tasted in the Old Forge, there are also different types of beer produced at Knoydart Brewery, which is located in an old chapel in the area.

“It’s kind of a cliché, but when you live in such a small community, a pub plays a much more important role than just a place to eat and drink,” Harris noted. Tea Room co-owner Isla Miller also seems to agree, saying recently that she’s noticed a lot of traffic in small boats: Old Forge has always been more than just a pub, and after the past few years, it’s very clear,” Miller said as he spoke to the stables.

– Read also: In November, dozens of people stayed for days in an English pub because of the snow