Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: July 2021

Ardmamurchan Peninsula

For the second day running, I left my hotel with low cloud hovering over the hills and lochs. Fortunately the weather turned out to be the same as the previous days so, by the time I had travelled the ten or so miles to Loch Eil, the cloud was slowly being burned away by the warm sun. I stopped to take some photos and then headed westwards.

Ardnamurchan is probably the most remote of all West Highland Peninsulas, mainly because the only access route from Salen is a winding single-track road that runs along the shore of Loch Sunart for much of its length. The journey passed thorough ancient oakwoods and around every bend in the road, views of the Loch revealed themselves. The journey also took me past The Natural History Centre, where I stopped for a coffee and a slice of orange cake as per usual.

I then left the oakwoods by the loch shore and begin the climb up and round Ben Hiant which is an ancient volcano, stopping at the Camas Nan Geall viewpoint where I go at magnificent views across the Sound of Mull to the northern tip of Mull and the Isle of Coll beyond. The landscape had changed to open moorland, which continued all the way down to Kilchoan where I turned off for Sanna Bay.

Ardnamurchan’s geology is quite unique and on the drive out to Sanna Bay, you find yourself in the centre of a huge and ancient volcanic crater, whose ring dyke encloses the road for much of the way from Kilchoan. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a spot for a photo which would do it justice, I think the only way to do that would be an areal photo.

The northern coast of Ardnamurchan from Sanna Bay in the west to Kentra Bay in the east is designated as a National Scenic Area, and it's easy to see why. Lots of sandy beaches and rocky coves litter the area, and it is renowned for its large population of eagles and sightings of Dolphin pods is a daily occurrence.

The drive across had been accompanied by beautiful blue skies, but a mile or so from the coast this changed to a sea haar, and it stuck there the whole time. In a way it made a nice change and I was able to get some different photos of the area, but having said that, I did miss the sun and clear skies.

On my way back to Fort William, I made the customary stop at the Glenuig Inn on the shore of Loch Ailort and then finished my day off with a couple of pints sat outside my hotel right next to The Caledonian Canal.

So that was the end of my three-day break. It felt great to get back here again, as I hadn't been up this way since last September. As I write this blog, mine and Sal's week in Gairloch is only a few days away, and I can't wait to get back up there and re-visit some of the places I really love and connect with.

Loch Eil

Camus nan Geall, Ardnamurchan

Sanna Bay

Glenuig

Loch Lochy, Eas Chia-aig and The Mile Dorcha

What a day of two halves. A morning spent watching the cloud breaking over Loch Lochy, revealing the Nevis Range in its full glory, plus a visit to Eas Chia-aig waterfall and The Mile Dorcha near Loch Arkaig and then a frustrating afternoon trying to visit the beautiful Silver Sands of Morar and Arisaig.

When I left the hotel, Loch Linnhe and Fort William were shrouded in mist, but the forecast was good, so I revisited an old favourite, Eas Chia-aig near Loch Arkaig. The two lower falls of Eas Chia-aig can be viewed quite easily from the roadside, but for the more adventurous, a path climbs up through the forest to the upper falls. There wasn't too much water coming down, so I just took the easy option, parking up and walking along the road to see the lower falls.

I had an unexpected political rant with a young couple parked up in an old VW camper van, regarding the state of the country and the shower who are trying to govern it. I would hasten to add that we were all on the same side, but it felt good, albeit quite surreal, getting things off one's chest in the middle of nowhere whilst being surrounded by such beautiful scenery. You would have though politics would have been the last thing on our minds, but I think it was me asking them if they lived in their camper van permanently or were just holidaying which started it all off, as this led to the homelessness issue and progressed to the current situation in general.

After viewing the waterfall, I walked back along the road to the Mile Dorcha, or Dark Mile. This is a deeply wooded section of road in the steep-sided valley, flanked by walls and trees carrying an incredible thickness of moss. Obviously, the place sees very little sunshine and is consequently very damp, which allows the moss to take over. This area's other claim to fame is as the alleged hiding place of a consignment of gold landed by the French at Arisaig for the Jacobites in 1746. It was reportedly hidden somewhere near Loch Arkaig, but the hiding place, it is said, has never been found.

By now the sun had burnt the clouds off, so I got some fabulous photos of Loch Lochy, looking across to The Ben Nevis range of hills.

The afternoon was spent on a fruitless drive along The Road To The Isles, which runs from Fort William to Mallaig. I had wanted to visit the coastal sands which are normally very peaceful and beautiful, but I think that this year, due to the travel restrictions, everyone has flocked to the area so it was absolute chaos. The one narrow coastal road was gridlocked at one point due to inconsiderate parking.

I eventually managed to squeeze through but couldn't stop, so I headed back towards Fort William, having a short drive along the Ardnamurchan road to a small village called Glenuig where I called for a pint and sat in the beer garden adjacent to Loch Ailort.

It was a complete contrast to the earlier shenanigans, so for the foreseeable future, I think I'll leave the Morar coastline for out of season visits.

Bunarkaig

Loch Lochy

Bunarkaig

Eas Chia-aig

Mile Dorcha

River Arkaig

Ben Nevis across Loch Lochy

Loch Lochy

Back to The Highlands

It had been a long time, much too long a time since I was last in The Highlands, and it certainly felt great to be back. I was only up there for three nights but managed to do what I had planned to do, plus the weather was very kind to me. The only time it let me down was on my day out to Sanna Bay on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula where there was a sea haar which was OK for photography but a bit grim for coastal exploration.

On my drive up, I made a detour into The Trossachs National Park, visiting Loch Ard and Loch Chon before going over The Duke's Pass to Callander. The pass was originally built by the Duke of Montrose in the 19th century to improve access to his estate, and was later upgraded to accommodate the Victorian tourists drawn to the area after the publication of Sir Walter Scott's epic poem 'The Lady of the Lake' which celebrates the beauty of Loch Katrine. It may not have been as impressive as some of the higher passes, but what it lacked in that, it made up for in sheer beauty.

I also made a detour along the far side of Loch Tulla, and it was there where I got my first cleg attack, no midges but loads of clegs. Fortunately, I had given myself a good spraying of Smidge, so the little blighters were just bouncing off me.

I arrived at The Moorlands Hotel at Banavie early evening, settled in to my room and then had a short stroll along the Caledonian Canal's towpath. After driving for so long, it took my legs a short while to get going, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my walk in the late evening sun.

Had a couple of beers sat outside on the hotel's patio which overlooked the canal and just watched the world go by. I can't see me staying in Fort William again, this place was perfect for my needs.

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