Cannich

Hotel choice directly in Cannich is limited, reflecting the village's small size, but a handful of options in and around the surrounding glens make it easy to base a Highland trip here. The Tomich Hotel, a short drive from Cannich in the neighbouring hamlet of Tomich, is the area's long-standing hotel, with a restaurant and bar serving guests and passing walkers alike. Beyond that, most visitors staying in comfort opt for guest houses, B&Bs and self-catering cottages scattered around Cannich, Tomich and the wider Glen Affric area, many run by locals with detailed knowledge of the best walks and viewpoints nearby.

For a wider choice of hotels with more facilities, Drumnadrochit on the shore of Loch Ness is around 20 minutes' drive away and has a bigger spread of accommodation, from budget guest houses to larger hotels geared towards the Loch Ness tourist trail. Inverness, roughly an hour away by car, offers the fullest range of hotel accommodation in the region, from international chains to boutique townhouse hotels, along with the transport connections to reach it easily by road, rail or air.

Whichever base you choose, staying near Cannich puts Glen Affric, Plodda Falls and Glen Cannich within easy reach, while still allowing a day trip to Loch Ness or into Inverness for a change of pace. Booking ahead is worthwhile in peak summer months and during the autumn colour season, when the area's limited accommodation can fill up quickly.

Cannich's real draw is the landscape on its doorstep. Here are the highlights within easy reach of the village.

• Glen Affric — Regularly described as Scotland's most beautiful glen, Glen Affric is a National Nature Reserve and National Scenic Area combining ancient Caledonian pinewood, glittering lochs and steep mountain flanks. It's free to visit, with waymarked trails ranging from gentle forest loops to serious hill routes, plus a seasonal ranger service and car parks with picnic tables.
• Plodda Falls — A dramatic 46-metre waterfall on the Abhainn Deabhag near Tomich, reached via a short forest walk. A viewing platform cantilevers out over the top of the falls, giving a near-vertical view down to the pool below. The circular trail takes around an hour.
• Glen Cannich — The quieter of the two glens running from the village, Glen Cannich leads past Loch Mullardoch, a long reservoir loch backed by remote Munros. It sees far fewer visitors than Glen Affric and rewards those looking for real solitude.
• Corrimony Chambered Cairn — A remarkably well-preserved Clava-type burial cairn dating back around 4,000 years, set within a ring of standing stones just off the A831 south of Cannich. Historic Environment Scotland manages the site, which is free to visit year-round.
• Hillwalking and Munro-bagging — Cannich is a genuine gateway village for hillwalkers, with access to peaks including Mam Sodhail and Carn Eighe, two of the highest Munros in the Northern Highlands, both reached via paths from Glen Affric.
• Dog Falls and the Affric Kirkhill Trail — A network of forest walks along the River Affric, including the popular short loop at Dog Falls, part of a wider network of trails maintained by Forestry and Land Scotland.

Options in the village itself are deliberately simple: a well-stocked shop covers day-to-day supplies, and self-catering is the norm for most visitors staying in the glens. A short drive away in Tomich, the Coach House Café is a popular stop for coffee, cake and light lunches, with outdoor seating overlooking a small waterfall, while the Tomich Hotel offers a more formal restaurant menu. Cannich's own pub, the Slaters Arms, has closed in recent years and is being converted to residential use, so anyone wanting an evening meal out is best planning around Tomich or driving the short distance to Drumnadrochit, which has a wider choice of pubs and restaurants.

Cannich sits at the meeting point of Glen Affric and Glen Cannich, making it one of the best-placed bases in the Highlands for campers heading into genuinely remote country. Scotland's approach to camping is notably more permissive than England and Wales: under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, wild camping is generally allowed on most unenclosed land, including much of the terrain around Glen Affric and Glen Cannich, provided campers follow the code's principles — camp well away from roads and buildings, keep groups small, stay no more than two or three nights in one spot, and leave no trace. A seasonal camping management byelaw does apply to parts of Loch Lomond, but it has no bearing on the Cannich area, so backcountry pitches beside Glen Affric's lochs remain a realistic option for experienced campers with the right kit.

For those who'd rather not carry a full pack into the hills, Cannich village has a long-established caravan and camping park offering pitches for tents, campervans and touring caravans, along with camping pods, just a short walk from the village shop. It makes a comfortable, sociable base for day trips into both glens without sacrificing easy access to supplies. A handful of glamping cabins and static caravans in and around the village extend the options for anyone wanting fixed accommodation with a similar outdoor feel.

Terrain around Cannich is properly Highland: steep, often pathless ground above the treeline, fast-changing weather, and long approaches into the wilder reaches of Glen Cannich and Loch Mullardoch. Anyone venturing beyond the maintained trails should be competent with map and compass and prepared for conditions to change quickly, even in summer. The most comfortable camping window runs from late spring to early autumn, when trails are clear and days are long, though this overlaps with the Highland midge season — repellent and a head net are essential kit from late May into September, particularly near the glen's many lochs and rivers. Autumn brings drier air and spectacular colour in the birchwoods, often with fewer midges, making it a favourite time for experienced wild campers.