Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: sanna bay

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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

Ardnamurchan

Friday was the better of our two days in Fort William so we picked that day to travel over to Ardnamurchan. The only feasible way to get over to there is via the Corran Ferry (about ten miles down the road from Fort William). Once across Loch Linnhe, there is still a forty five mile drive; a thirty five mile section of which is on single track roads with passing places. Strontian marks the end of normal roads and the start of the single track roads so we stopped off for a break there.

The worst section of road is 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. The Natural History Centre really is a godsend or rather the cafe there is. We had a lovely coffee each and some breakfast. For the first time in my entire life I had beans on toast topped with cheese and how I loved it.

Suitably refreshed we left Loch Sunart and started to head inland, first stopping off at the fantastic viewpoint over looking Camas nan Geall and Ben Haint which once was a volcano. The viewpoint also gives a grand view across to The Isle of Mull. The next section of the road to Kilchoan circumnavigates Ben Haint which again adds a fair few miles on to the trip but the scenery more than makes up for it.

Finally we saw the signpost for Ardnamurchan Lighthouse and Sanna Bay and as we didn't have the time to visit both places, we turned off on to a single track road to Sanna. Fifteen minutes later we pulled in to the car park, got our camera gear out and headed off through the dunes to the beach.

Sanna Bay doesn't let you down in any way shape or form, the photos are proof of that. We couldn't have hoped for better weather either as we had plenty of blue skies and a nice accompanying breeze which really blew the cobwebs off. We stayed there for quite a while, exploring both beaches. Sal did her usual beach combing and collected lots of little shells whilst I spent most of my time looking for dolphins out in the bay. We were unlucky though, I think the weather was a bit too wild for them to come too close to land.

We came back a slightly different way. At Salen we headed northwards past Loch Moidart to a tiny settlement called Glenuig where we intended calling for a pint but the inn was closed due to the covid-19 pandemic. The last part of our route was on good fast roads. We followed the shore of Loch Ailort and then joined The Road to the Isles which we had been on the previous day.

We had a table booked in the hotel restaurant again and were a bit pushed for time so we couldn't stop off at Glenfinnan, I think Sal must be destined never to visit the Harry Potter railway viaduct or the Jacobite Memorial but then again there is always next year!

It had been a long day but a very enjoyable one and the evening was finished off very nicely with a mighty fine meal at The Nevis Bank Hotel.

Camas nan Geall and Ben Haint

Sand Dunes, Sanna Bay

Sanna Bay

Jellyfish

Sanna Bay

Bare-footed Beach Comber

Glenuig

Ardgour and Ardnamurchan

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.