Arkaig Cottage was built in 1894 by James Cameron a local joiner, who is pictured in “Twenty Years on Ben Nevis” when he worked building the Observatory on top of Ben Nevis in 1883. He was the seventh son of a seventh son and his family were probably cleared from Loch Arkaig side, hence the house name. The house is built of granite and whinstone and it’s likely that much of it came from the old Fort of Fort William which was being demolished in the same year.

The Cameron family had originally lived in the recently demolished adjacent stone “Butt and Ben” which latterly kept cattle – whose path up the hillside at the back is still visible.

The adjacent chalet was originally a workmen’s hut on the construction of the West Highland Railway, probably brought here by the Railway family – the MacRailds who lived here for many years in the 1940’s. The current owners have lived here since 1979 and report it is a happy home!

An abundance of wildlife can be seen at Arkaig including Roe Deer and occasional red squirrels visit, bird nesting boxes are found in the mixed woodlands which rise to just short of 1000 feet at the back of the house.