Kentallen, Loch Linnhe

Our history

From railway station to family run hotel. The Holly Tree began life as Kentallen Station on the Ballachulish branch line, and thirty years after our family took it on, we are still on the old platform, still looking out over the loch.

A steam train arriving at Kentallen Station, with the signal box and station house behind

A steam train at Kentallen Station

A view of the old station from the hill behind the hotel

Why the Holly Tree

A name from Kidnapped

The Appin Murder of 1752 happened close to home. Colin Campbell of Glenure, the government agent known as the Red Fox, was shot in the back near a holly tree not far from here while on his way to evict Jacobite tenants. Suspicion fell on Alan Breck Stewart, who fled, and it was James Stewart of the Glen who hanged for it at what is now Ballachulish Bridge, after a trial in Inveraray where eleven of the fifteen jurors were Campbells.

Robert Louis Stevenson turned the story into Kidnapped. When our family took on the old station hotel in 1996, we gave it a new name from that story: the Holly Tree.

Our timeline

From railway station to family run hotel

Scroll through 130 years on the shore of Loch Linnhe.

1896

The line is approved

The Ballachulish branch from Connel Ferry is authorised by Parliament, and building begins in 1898. The line hugs the shore of Loch Linnhe, with the Kentallen stone and Ballachulish slate quarries as much of the reason for it as the passengers.

The railway line and the shore of Loch Linnhe at Kentallen, seen from the hillside above — The line along the shore at Kentallen, seen from the hill above

1903

Kentallen Station opens

Two platforms, a passing loop and a signal box, in the Glasgow Style of the day. The station house is the same building you check in to today, and the hotel still stands on the old platform.

Kentallen Station and the loch beyond, photographed in colour from the hillside — The station from above, with the loch beyond

Black and white photograph of the platform and station at Kentallen — The platform and station

1900s

Steamers at the pier

A pier follows the station, built for shipping stone and slate, and the Oban to Fort William steamers call at Kentallen when tide and demand allow. For a while you could arrive here by train, by boat, or by both on the same ticket.

A paddle steamer docked at Kentallen Pier on an old postcard — A paddle steamer at Kentallen Pier

An old printed timetable for the Oban, Ballachulish and Fort William service via Kentallen Pier — The Oban, Ballachulish and Fort William timetable, via Kentallen Pier

1950s

Steam on the shore

Under British Railways the branch settles into its last years. Trains run to Oban and Ballachulish, the signal box is still worked by hand, and the station is a small, busy place on the way to somewhere else.

Black and white photograph of a steam train pulling into Kentallen Station — A steam train pulling into Kentallen

Colour photograph of a steam locomotive at the platform at Kentallen Station — At the platform

1966

The last train

With the quarries winding down and the car taking over, the Beeching review lists the branch for closure. Freight stops in 1965 and the last passenger train runs on 28 March 1966. The tracks are lifted, and the station house is sold.

The empty platform and station house at Kentallen after the line closed — The empty platform after the line closed

1970s

Tea room, restaurant, hotel

The station tea room keeps going for a while after the trains stop, then becomes a restaurant, and then a hotel called The Old Station. In 1979 ten loch view bedrooms are added along the old platform, and the first lodges follow.

Close up colour photograph of the Kentallen Station building with its timber and brick frontage — The station building

1996

Our family arrives

We take on The Old Station, name it the Holly Tree, and begin turning it into what it is today. Thirty years on we are still here, and still family run.

Kentallen Pier and the slipway on Loch Linnhe, with the hills beyond — The pier and slipway today

2007

A bigger hotel

Ten more bedrooms, six of them with private balconies, the restaurant as you see it today, the Captain's Bar, the swimming pool and sauna, and the decking.

The indoor swimming pool at the Holly Tree under its timber vaulted roof — The swimming pool

The restaurant at the Holly Tree looking out towards the pier and Loch Linnhe — The restaurant, looking towards the pier

Since

Down to the water

Glass fronted deckings and private hot tubs on every lodge, the Kentallen Beach Houses, the sea view terrace and beer garden, the hot tub spa, and the extended pier and pontoon.

The five Kentallen Beach Houses on the shore of Loch Linnhe, seen from the air — The Kentallen Beach Houses

The waterfront lodges on the shore of Loch Linnhe, seen from the air — The lodges on the shore

A lodge decking with its private hot tub and a table set for two, looking over the loch — A lodge decking and hot tub

Tables on the sea view terrace at the Holly Tree with the loch and hills beyond — The sea view terrace

A pint of lager on a picnic table in the beer garden by the loch — The beer garden

The hot tub spa at the Holly Tree with glass fronted decking and the loch beyond — The hot tub spa

Kentallen Pier and pontoon on Loch Linnhe on a clear day — The pier and pontoon

2026

Thirty years on

Still family run, still on the old platform, still looking out over the loch. You can still spot the railway past if you know where to look: the old platform, the station house at the heart of the hotel, and the old pier where the steamers used to call.

The Holly Tree Hotel, lodges and Kentallen Pier on Loch Linnhe seen from the air — The Holly Tree today

Then and now

The same spot on the shore

The station house is still the heart of the building. The trains have gone, the view has not.

The Kentallen station house — The station house

The Holly Tree Hotel seen from the shore of Loch Linnhe — The Holly Tree from the shore

Come and see for yourself

Stay on the old platform

Twenty loch view bedrooms, a seafood restaurant, the Captain's Bar, a pool and hot tub spa, and lodges and beach houses along the shore. Book direct with us for the best rate.

Book now » Hotel rooms Lodges & beach houses

The Holly Tree Hotel

Kentallen Pier

Appin

Argyll

PA38 4BY

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Email: stay@hollytreehotel.co.uk

Tel: 01631 740 292