Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: loch sunart

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

The only feasible way to get over to Ardnamurchan is via the Corran Ferry (about ten miles down the road from Fort William). Once across Loch Linnhe, I still had a forty five mile drive; a thirty four mile section of which was on single track roads with passing places. The coffee I had in the local cafe at Strontion was well received and set me up nicely for the horrors ahead as Strontian marks the end of normal roads and the start of the single track roads.

The worst part was from a village called Salen on Loch Sunart to The Natural History Centre at Glenmore which I should imagine was about ten miles in length and pure driving hell with one blind bend after another. To make things worse, the Natural History Centre Cafe, which I usually call in to break up the drive, was closed for the season so there was no coffee for me for the rest of the day. Fortunately for me I'd had that morning caffeine fix at the cafe in Strontian. The going from Glenmore onward was a lot easier; the road was still single track but at least I could see a fair way ahead of me plus I knew that I wasn't too far from the turn off for Sanna Bay.

Sanna Bay, as usual, didn't let me down in any way shape or form, you only have to look at the photos to see how beautiful it was. I may not have had the weather that I had last year but the stormier conditions brought a lot more drama to the scene. Unfortunately the rougher seas kept the dolphins at bay which was a disappointment and the time I spent hanging around waiting for them to appear, made it too late for me to go to the Lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point.

I'd still had a belting day and, as I had visited the lighthouse a couple of times in recent years, I wasn't all that upset. If I had been prepared to drive all the way back to Fort William in darkness then I suppose I could have paid a quick visit there but the roads are bad enough in daylight hours.

I got back to the village of Glenuig just as the last of the sun was lighting up the hills across the bay and the sunset I got at Glenfinnan really was the icing on the cake. It had been a fairly long day but worth it and I was glad to get back into Fort William for a couple of beers and a bite to eat.