The Drovers Inn, Arrochar

This has got to be one of Scotland’s most unusual pubs, which is well worth going out of your way to visit if you’re anywhere in the area. Passing by on the Loch Lomond Road, it looks like an ancient, crumbling building with stonework badly in need of repair, but don’t be put off. When you step through the front door, you’ll be greeted by a stuffed grizzly bear in the entrance hallway, while a menagerie of other stuffed creatures, including an apparently genuine two headed lamb, lurk inside. The interior stone walls are decorated with guns and swords and the two open fires contribute to a cosy atmosphere. The bar staff wear kilts and serve a good range of beers, including real ales, whiskies and food. Regular live music at nights is supplied by Scottish and Irish folk musicians. Reasonably priced accommodation is available upstairs, but be aware that some of the rooms are allegedly haunted. Overspill accommodation is provided in the building across the road, which also contains a “Sports Bar,” which is part of the Inn but has a rather different atmosphere. The whole place has a wonderfully old fashioned feel to it and, although it can appear rather cobwebbed and dusty in places, is a refreshing alternative to the over modernised and sanitised pubs which have become so common. Bizarre, outlandish and not to be missed.