Since 1962 the station has been used as a Scout centre for adventurous youth activities and owned by Hertfordshire Scouts. It’s approximately 420 miles from Hertford, based between Loch Lomond and Fort William. It will take roughly 10 hours by coach to get to the station!
The railway at Lochearnhead opened in 1904 as part of the Caledonian Railway which was expanding all around the area to both make life easier for locals and to bring tourists to the area. Bringing the line from St Fillans to Lochearnhead proved to be expensive, involving cutting through solid rock and the construction of two large viaducts. With all this hard work the line had a short life closing on 1st October 1951.
The track was removed and the Station became holiday accommodation for a short time, after which the buildings and land were allowed to slip into disrepair. Assistant County Commissioner for Hertfordshire Scouts, Melville Balsillie found the station in early 1961. He was a firm believer in the introduction of young people to the wonders of the hills and mountains, so he had been looking for a base in the area. Even in its state of dereliction he could see the potential of this site, and he set about enthusing others to get their support.
Talks and negotiations began with British Rail, and for a modest ground rent a 21 year lease was signed on 1st April 1962. From April through to August people work very hard to get the Station ready for its grand opening, this was no mean feat as it was 400 miles from Hertfordshire and a oneway journey could take up to 20 hours.
It was on the 4th August 1962 that the then Chief Scout, Sir Charles MacLean officially opened Lochearnhead Scout Station. In 1977 as the lease was nearing its end negotiations began with British Rail to secure the future of the Station for the next generations of young people. The only way to secure the station was to buy the freehold from BR.
In October 1977 they offered to sell for £13,000 providing the deal was concluded by Christmas Day just 3 months later. An appeal was launched and many people worked very hard to raise money, by the deadline the grand amount of £26,000 had been collected. Maurice Baker, former Assistant County Commissioner and lifelong champion of the Station left half a million pounds in his will which kick started a major refurbishment project.