Fort Augustus, worth it?

[CaledonianDream]

Hi

Does anyone know much about Fort Augustus?

Can you commute easily from areas nearby or driving only? Doesn't seem to be many, if any, places to rent anywhere even remotely nearby. Any local suggestions / tips welcome.

OH's friend has contacted him about a possible job (not an offer as such, just an initial chat). We obviously wouldn't take a job at all without considering all angles but I'm wondering if it's maybe not something even worth considering at all?

I've been a couple of times on holiday. It's VERY small. Like a village. Busy in the summer months with tourists, super quiet over winter. Straight road up the side of Loch Ness to Inverness, about 35 miles but can take over an hour if you get stuck behind one of the many coaches or dawdling tourists. About the same distance in the other director to Fort William, with the same traffic issues. I would imagine there are infrequent buses, there is no railway station.

Also it's right in the middle of the Highlands with the winter road closure issues which can be caused by snow.

Best bet would be to try to look for accommodation in the village, or try to negotiate a long-term rental with someone who usually offers holiday lets.

Rentals are pretty much non existent across this area of the highlands due to all the second homes and holiday lets. You might be lucky but I know a couple who have been looking for 2 years and are staying in a static caravan.
It's a lovely area though. Any long term rental is likely to be really expensive. Join the Facebook page highland property to rent and buy and you'll see how dire the situation is for people looking to rent. And be super careful of scammers, they are trying to exploit desperate families looking for a home.
I hope you manage to find somewhere if you decide to go for it, you will love it. ❤️

It is very very busy in the summer and even now there are plenty of tour buses about.

The road to Inverness is rubbish and the back road on the other side of Loch Ness is very windy.

If you're buying there are usually houses available within a 20 minute radius, but renting probably very little.

Where do you live now?

Thank you @Firefightress1 @KnittingNeedles and @Randobelia for your input.

We are in New South Wales but work on the Gold Coast so am used to travel, not in ice and snow though!!

I have been once to Fort Augustus albeit it about 20 years ago and I remember it being breathtakingly beautiful.

We would LOVE to live there, just a bit of a downer to see it may be tricky, if not maybe impossible. We're not in a position to buy yet unfortunately but that's the eventual aim. Would it be a really bad idea to try to get something on the very outskirts of Inverness / further afield and commute? The job my husband was spoken to about wouldn't be commuting every single day and I'd try to get employment in Inverness & surrounds. Wouldn't mind being in a caravan closer for a while watching for rentals as and when available but there's the "small" issue of not having a caravan either! 😆

I wouldn't know where to begin with asking holiday lets, would I simply just email/phone ddirectly ? Any tips appreciated.

Thank you for the tip about the Facebook page and scammers, much appreciated.

You could try looking on airbnb and emailing the owners for a long term let but not sure if financially it would be a crazy amount.

There is no way I would live in Inverness and commute anywhere down that road or vice versa, but lots of people do it. If the road was better I'd live in Cannich, it's other worldly.

I think it'd be extremely hard in winter though obviously as a main road it's gritted etc. You'd be driving in the dark with a typical 9-5.

You could try Invermoriston or Drum for rentals but even then I think would be quite rare.

You might want to try the other side of the Loch, Foyers/Whitebridge might get lucky.

I'll have a look 😄