Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: arisaig

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A Day Of Contrasting Weather

Morning - a wet and grim Glen Nevis. Some might say the best conditions for photography and I would tend to agree. It is certainly better than clear blue skies.

Afternoon - Blue skies and fluffy white clouds on The Road To The Isles and The Arisaig Coastline.

They do say that if you are in Scotland and don't like the weather, then just hang around a few minutes and it will completely change. Today I felt as though I had had the best of both worlds!

A wet Glen Nevis

Road To The Isles

Lon Laith, Arisaig

Loch Lochy and a Coastal Journey

After breakfast I took the back road out of Banavie to Spean Bridge but turned off it part way along to take me to Clunes on the banks of Loch Lochy. Took some good moody shots of the Loch with the distant Grey Corrie hills as a backdrop before heading along The Mile Dorcha (The Dark Mile) to Eas Chia-aig waterfall at Loch Arkaig.

The dark mile got its name from the fact it is a narrow wooded valley which gets very little sunshine, thus the walls are all thickly covered in mosses. Legend has it that when Bonnie Prince Charlie fled Scotland, he buried a stash of gold in this area, which the French had sent him to finance the 1745 rebellion and, to this day, it has never been found.

I then retraced my tracks and headed to the coast, stopping off at Arisag for a coffee in the harbour tearoom. It is an unlikely place to have a cafe but in my opinion, it serves the best cappuccino I have ever had. I have been there twice now and each time it's been top notch; very strong and very frothy.

There isn't much roadside parking on the Coastal Trail now but I managed to get the last parking spot at Camas Rubha a Mhurain where I did a bit of beach combing and photography but didn't even attempt to get in to the Camusdarach car park as it was crammed full. It was be expected as it was July and the height of the holiday season so it didn't bother me too much as I like my beaches quiet.

I timed my arrival at Mallaig just as The Jacobite steam train was departing so got a good photo of it and also managed to get one of it crossing the distant Allt a' Mhama viaduct as it enters Loch nan Uamh.

Not wanting to waste such a nice day, in the evening I had a drive down Glen Nevis to both the Upper and Lower Falls. A fitting way to end a lovely, if hectic day.

Loch Lochy

The Dorcha Mile

Eas Chia-aig Waterfall

Traigh

Camas Rubha a Mhurain

The Jacobite

Loch nan Uamh

Glen Nevis

Upper Falls, Glen Nevis

Glen Nevis

Lower Falls, Glen Nevis

The Road to the Isles

Holiday time again. Me and Sal had a cottage booked in Badachro, Wester Ross for a week and, as I had always wanted to take her on The Road to the Isles and to Sanna Bay, we booked accommodation in Fort William for three nights on our way up.

After our long trip up, we decided on doing the short drive to Mallaig on Thursday and then do the longer day to Ardnamurchan on Friday. We made a good choice as the weather was much better on Friday. So off we went on The Road to The Isles.

We had intended stopping at Glenfinnan to visit Bonnie Prince Charlie's Monument but the car park was full and also the other two parking areas had been blocked off, presumably during lockdown. The weather wasn't that great plus the place was teeming with visitors so we wouldn't have seen the place at its best anyway. Sometimes its best just to move on.

The road is a sheer delight with beautiful Lochs, majestic hills, picturesque rivers and secluded bays and beaches accompany it's 40 mile route to the port of Mallaig.

The only settlements you come across are the sleepy coastal village of Arisaig (meaning The Safe Bay) and then a few miles further westwards Morar which gives its name to The Silver Sands. Morar and is also home to Scotland's shortest salmon river, namely the River Morar which is only 400yds in length.

The Arisaig area is also the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie embarked for France on the 20 September 1746 and The Prince's Cairn lies on the shores of Loch Nan Uamh, a few miles east of the village.

Morar was originally a crofting area so the present settlement is quite modern; having been built around the West Highland Railway's station which I presume was built there to serve the whole of the coastal peninsula.

Sal is a beach person so I took her to my two favoutites, namely Lon Liath which is just out of Arisaig and Camasdarach which is a few miles further on. Lon Liath is quite rocky and gives great views across to The Small Isles whereas Camusdarach is a sweeping sandy bay and looks over to Skye. We were lucky with the weather as the rain seemed to have stayed in the mountains even though there was a bit of a breeze at Camusdarch but then again there always is. We walked the full length of the beach and back and had the cobwebs well and truly blown off us. I think it was Sal's idea of heaven.

We did carry on to Mallaig but by then the rain had returned so we didn't get out of the car. The return journey was a bit miserable and we were accompanied by rain for the most part. Glenfinnan car park was still full despite of this but by then we were past caring and just wanted to get back to the hotel.

In the evening we had a smashing meal in our hotel before retiring to our room for an early night.