EMPIRE TRAVEL LODGE
Bed & Breakfast
ABOUT
Welcome to Empire Travel Lodge, your Lochgilphead “home away from home”. Empire Travel Lodge aims to make your visit as relaxing and enjoyable as possible, which is why so many guests continue to come back year after year.
Empire Travel Hotel is a family-friendly and pet-friendly bed and breakfast.
OUR SERVICES
Breakfast
Full-Scottish, vegetarian or continental breakfast is included.
Parking
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There is free parking to the rear of the property.
Free Wifi
Free Wifi is available to all guests.
Pet-Friendly
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We welcome your four-legged friends, by prior arrangement.
HISTORY
Empire Travel Lodge has a very unique and individual history. The building was originally constructed as the Empire News Theatre for the Empire Exhibition of 1938 in Glasgow. Once the exhibition was closed the Empire News Theatre (one of a very few buildings that survived) was dismantled and re-built in Lochgilphead as the Empire Cinema.
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The first film to be shown in Lochgilphead was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in July 1939. The cinema was also hired in 1960 by the makers of the James Bond film From Russia with Love while they were in the area making the film.
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Should you wish to find out more please use the following links for further reading and video footage.
Empire Exhibition, Glasgow, 1938
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Image of the Empire News Theatre at the Exhibition.
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History of the Empire Exhibition of 1938 (including advertising poster).
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YouTube video of original footage of the Empire Exhibition
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YouTube Pathe News footage of the opening of the exhibition
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LOCAL AREA
THINGS TO DO
Arichonan Clearance Village
Visit the haunting ruins of Arichonan, a township which was the scene of a riot during the Highland Clearances.
Kilmartin Glen
Kilmartin Glen in Argyll, home to ancient monuments and a special Museum, which interprets 6,000 years of history.
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle is the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, Chief of the Clan Campbell
Benmore Botanic Garden
On the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll lies Benmore, an enchanting Garden steeped in history and surrounded by dramatic scenery.
Tarbert
Tarbert is a picture-perfect harbour town also known as the gateway to the beautiful peninsula of Kintyre.
Argyll Beaver Centre
Visitor centre with hands-on displays, wildlife feeding station, children's activities & gift shop.
ARRAN & ISLAY FERRIES
Arran Ferry
The ferry to the Isle of Arran runs from Claonaig near Tarbert to Lochranza on Arran.
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GUEST REVIEWS
