The Drovers Inn has been serving the locals of Scotland for over 300 years, and if it’s good enough for Rob Roy, it’s good enough for us!
The History: The Drovers Inn is half legend, half history, and 100% Scottish hospitality. Dating back to 1705, the Drovers Inn is located on the north shore of Loch Lomond in the Trossachs. While the inn/pub is popular, today, among backpackers and tourists, in its early years, it hosted drovers (cattle herders) after which it is named. Each year, the Scottish drovers would make the long trek from the highlands where the cattle grazed to the lowlands where they would sell their animals at the market. The most famous guest of the Drovers Inn was none other than the local folk hero, Rob Roy, known by many as Scotland’s Robin Hood.
The Haunting: The Drovers Inn is considered by many to be Scotlands’s most haunted pub. Whether you’re just stopping by to grab a bite before continuing on your journey through Scotland or if you’re checking into a room to spend the night, the Drovers Inn has ghostly tales scattered all throughout the building. The two most haunted rooms in the inn are rooms 2 and 6, both of which offer apparitions of a young girl, dripping wet (many believe she tragically drowned nearby). Some have reported seeing the ghosts of an entire family who froze to death during one of Scotland’s fierce winters. Unexplained lights have appeared in rooms as well as apparitions turning up in photographs.
Spooky Rating:
9/10
It’s hard for haunted restaurants in America to compete with pubs and inns scattered throughout England and Scotland for the sheer amount of history packed into a single location. Nestled right between the lowlands and highlands of Scotland, the Drovers Inn is the epitome of what Americans might call a “dive bar”… if said dive bar was 300 years old. The inn is dark with a sticky wooden floor, tables packed in close, and a roaring fireplace. Add in centuries-old swords, antique paintings, and more taxidermy than you can count, and you’ve got the ideal Scottish pub. They do not hide the fact that their establishment is overflowing with hauntings and will gladly chat with you about it over a nice cask ale.
Yummy Rating:
9/10
Speaking of cask ales! The food at the Drovers Inn is eclectic, offering traditional dishes as well as twists on traditional Scottish food. I got the daily special of venison sausages (classic) while my husband got the Braveheart burger–a steak burger with haggis and Lorne sausage (quite the twist!). Everything we ordered was piping hot and full of flavor–even the dreaded haggis (which, for the record, is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be)! For being located virtually in the middle of nowhere, the Drovers Inn could quite easily charge whatever they want, yet prices are not at all on the expensive side with the priciest dish costing £15.95. There’s a decent selection of cask ales as well as coffees and desserts. Just keep in mind that you must go up to the bar and order your meal as there is no table service (this is the case with many pubs and restaurants in the UK).
Type of Experience: Pub, Restaurant, Hotel
Dining Style: Casual
Cuisine: Pub grub
Price Range: £2.50-15.95 (approx. $3.25-21)
Address: The Drovers Inn, North Loch Lomond, Inverarnan G83 7DX
Phone Number: 01301 704234
Website: www.droversinn.co.uk/
Hours of Operation:
Sunday-Thursday: 11:00am-11:00pm
Friday-Saturday: 11:00am-1:00am
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