Loch Sunart - The Prequel

Friday 15^th & Saturday 16^th June

So the holidays have finally arrived. No matter how old we get there is no feeling better than the one you get as you drive out of the office car park knowing that it’ll be two and a bit weeks before you need to drive back in. Our destination this year is a cottage on the west coast again although a bit further south than that of “Hector’s Hoose” at Strathcanaird last year. This year we’re off to Sunart House, rented out by Laudale Estate, on the shores of Loch Sunart, on the edge of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. . The only problem of course is that as of Thursday night I’m on holiday and the lease on the cottage is Sunday to Sunday. So should we spend the weekend at home and do all of those chores that need doing before you go off on holiday? Not a chance! We left Aberdeen early on Friday morning with the intention of spending Friday and Saturday nights in Nairn before completing the trip to the west coast on Sunday.  Rather than take the A96 we opted for the less well travelled route through Alford to Dufftown with the intention of climbing The Buck ‘o Cabrach or Ben Rinnes, depending on the weather conditions. In the end we decided that, since it was already raining at Cabrach, we’d push on to Dufftown and try for Ben Rinnes before the weather closed in.

 

The last view we got of Ben Rinnes before the weather set in.

I’d like to say we made it, but we didn’t!  We were thoroughly soaked before we got to the top and even worse by the time we got back to the car, (you can read the full story here). The weather was drier but still overcast when we arrived in Nairn to a pint and a well deserved bar supper. We were staying in the Aurora Hotel and Italian Restaurant, but felt it was a wee bit posh for the evening meal we were interested in after our walk, so ate next door at The Leerie.
It rained heavily during Friday night but the morning was fresh and mild with a promise of a drier day ahead. We spent most of the day walking the beach from Nairn out to Whitness Head by the now defunct rig fabrication yard, (you can read the full story here), and it stayed dry all day.

Nairn golf course and beach

Whiteness Head

That night we did eat in the restaurant and it was probably one of the best Italian meals I can remember eating, so if you’re ever in the vicinity of Nairn with an evening to kill I’d recommend The Aurora.
J
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Loch Sunart - Day 0 Nairn to Sunart House

Sunday 17th June,

With the second full cooked breakfast, (well actually just one and a half to be accurate since I was still stuffed from the night before), we set off on the final leg of our journey, stopping off at Tesco in Inverness for some supplies along the way. As usual for us we were up and off fairly early but since entry into the cottage wasn’t until four o’clock we had plenty of time for the usual Loch Ness and Fort Augustus photos.

Loch Ness

Fort Augustus

Caledonian Canal

Generally the weather remained miserable with the steady drizzle replaced with proper rain for our run through the Great Glen. We’re on holiday of course, so the tendency is for everything to seem more romantic, but somehow the rain and mist doesn’t detract from the scenery or sense of place, it simply adds another dimension and reminds you that this type of weather is why Scotland is what it is, and I can’t imagine why we’d ever want to change that. By the time we pulled into the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge the rain had stopped, only to be replaced by a brisk, cold wind coming in from the north west so, after paying our respects to my childhood heroes, we carried on to Fort William for coffee and cake.

Proper men

Now I like Fort William. I admit that I haven’t spent a lot of time there, but from what I’ve seen it seems a pleasant enough place. On a cold, windy, damp Sunday however its charms were well hidden. We joined the rest of the tourists wandering the high street looking into the usual souvenir shops as much to keep warm as to consider buying anything before we walked along the front and watched some very cold looking tourists disembark from one of the wildlife spotting cruises down Loch Linnhe. Eventually we made our way back up to the high street and Cafe 115 for the promised coffee and cake, both of which were more than adequate!

We felt we were still a little bit ahead of schedule when we left Fort William heading for the Corran Ferry, but reckoned that if we arrived at the cottage an hour or so early nobody was likely to tell us we’re not allowed in until exactly four o’clock! As it turned out the ferry had just left when we arrived so we had to wait a half hour or so before we could cross. The views each side made the wait bearable though!

Waiting doesn't seem so bad with views like this

Our trusty steed

A quiet Sunday

Heading for the other side

With our ten minute long seafaring adventure over, we headed west along the narrow road towards our destination for the week.  Loch Sunart is one of the hundreds of sea lochs that make up the west coast and there are lots of viewpoints and information boards dotted along the way that explain the geology and origins of the area. At this point however we were too busy admiring the spectacular views appearing in front of us only for another, even more spectacular view to appear, to worry too much about how it all came about.  At this point all I know is that the area on the south side of the loch is Morvern and the area on the north is Ardnamurchan. As for the volcanic and glacial activity that brought it all into being, well that will need to wait until later in the week. We turned off the narrow main road onto an even narrower road that skirted the south banks of the loch and after a couple of miles arrived at the cottage. Perfect? Well not quite; it’s north facing so any sun we get this week will be limited to the evening; it was cold inside and I couldn’t get the heating to work; and there’s no internet access, so the blogs will take a bit of catching up next week. No it wasn’t perfect, but jings it came close!

Sunart House

View from the garden - looking east

The cottage itself was great, (well apart from being cold), and the location was spectacular so everything was looking good for a great week. While Mo was unpacking I had a look through the visitor’s book and all of the previous guests had raved about the amount of wildlife they’d been able to spot from the comfort of the lounge so I set up the camera, but nothing much happened, just:

Eider duck - juvenile males I think

Mallard ducks - Mr & Mrs

Chaffinch

The goose family - Greylags perhaps?

Red (?) deer

So as you can see, not much happened but I guess it was only a couple of hours since we’d arrived! Can’t wait until tomorrow!

J

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Loch Sunart day 01 - Cottage to Laudale Estate

Monday 18th June,

Beinn Resipol from the lounge 07.00 – this must be typical morning on the West Coast.

Having walked Friday and Saturday and travelled all day on Sunday, the plan, if there was such a thing, was to have a rest on the Monday. It was supposed to be a case of having a long lie, getting to know the cottage, maybe taking a run over to Strontian, it being the nearest thing to civilisation, then back to a lazy day of reading and drafting up a bit of the blog. Well that plan lasted all of an hour and, even after a leisurely breakfast and a phone call to Rosemary about the heating, we were still packed up and out of the door before ten o’clock.  We had no particular route in mind so set off on foot from the cottage, heading west to an even more minor road a couple of hundred yards away signposted as a public right of way to Kinlochteagus, which would take us towards Laudale house. 

After we left the surprisingly busy “main road” the views began to open up and the woodland of Ash, Birch, Rowan and all the others I don’t know the name of was alive with birdsong. And we were still only half a mile from the cottage!

Looking east over natural woodlands to Loch Sunart

Looking west towards Laudale House

The woods eventually gave way to scrubland with a few sheep dotted about as the road dropped down the loch side. There were the usual noisy Oystercatchers and lots of other ubiquitous waders whose names I should learn. The weather by now was getting surprisingly hot and we were shedding layers and regretting that among all the paraphernalia we take with us as standard when we walk, sun tan lotion isn’t seen as necessary. The views, wherever we looked, continued to be outstanding.

Looking north to Beinn Resipol 

We stopped off at what looked like an old dock and did our usual speculation, based on no facts whatsoever, on what it might have been used for in the past and what stories it had to tell. Not all of the old dock was still intact though as we could see the timbers in the crystal clear water of the loch.

Old dock of some sort, answers on a postcard!

With the loch on our right we had been walking under the steep cliffs of Creag Dhubh on our left and as these slowly gave way to more fertile farm and pasture land with Laudale House in the distance. We carried on until we came to the gates with a sign that suggested that if you were driving then you better have a good reason for going beyond this point! There wasn’t however anything to say that a couple of middle aged walkers would inconvenience the owners too much so we wandered on.

Laudale House entrance – motorists beware!

The house itself is a large whitewashed building that looks well maintained and much less castle like than we would have expected to see over in our Deeside stomping grounds. This building looks much more like a “normal” family home than a defensive fortification. Although I did think that having a herd of deer on the front lawn was just a tad ostentatious!

Laudale House – complete with deer on the lawn

Although walkers, (and cyclists), were discouraged from going in around the house there was a waymarked route around the lochside and it was this path we took towards a boathouse. We had already walked further than we had intended so decided that we’d stop here for a while and have our hastily made up packed lunch while we discussed what to do next.

Lunchtime in the sun

We spent a quiet hour sun worshipping and wondering how long this weather could last. It was obviously being overly optimistic to think that it could last all week, but if it would only last for a few days it would certainly be a pleasant surprise. We took some photographs of the boats and a strange little statue of a stag that probably meant something to somebody but there was no explanation for the casual visitor. We also had a look into a fenced off wood that, according to the plaque, had been planted in memory of Diane Elizabeth Brazendale.  Who was she? I’m afraid I can’t cast any light on that but having a wood planted as a memorial seems quite classy, so hats off to her.

Stag standing guard over the boats

Memorial woods

We decided to carry on for a while at least as far as the Laudale River before turning back. There was no real reason for this other than the fact that it was too nice a day not to be walking! As it turned out the river was almost dry although we did watch the minnows in the pools for a while again wondering at how clear the water was. We eventually stopped at a bridge being guarded by some Highland cattle, not because of any fear of the docile beasts but simply because we decided that it was time to be heading back. We took some photos from the bridge and of a cottage that seemed to be getting refurbished before retracing our steps back to the boathouse.

Laudale River

Cottage refurbishment

The walk back was pretty uneventful apart from trying to get a photograph of what was probably a cuckoo but may have been a sparrow hawk. I’m afraid I don’t have either the knowledge of camera equipment, (or skill perhaps), to be sure. We also cut across the bay in front of the house rather than around the banks and tried to guess the names and types of shellfish we came across, but again it only goes to reinforce our ignorance! The sky by now had lost its pristine blue but it was turning into a beautiful evening and the views that had been behind us now opened up as we made our way back.

Looking east

The only other thing of note was that we met Clifford the handyman, (Rosemary’s title for him), and we had a laugh at my expense while he explained how to get the heating to work. In my defence it’s not as straightforward as it might seem so I’m not going to mention how it all works and if you find yourself in the same predicament, spare a thought for me.

J

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Loch Sunart day 02 - Portuairk & Bay MacNeill

Tuesday 19th June,

Beinn Resipol from the lounge 07.00 – not actually raining yet.

With the good weather of yesterday sadly lacking as I looked out the widow this morning, we decided that we would take the opportunity to explore the area by car. We did of course pack the walking gear just in case things brightened up. We decided we’d cross to the north side of the loch and head generally west towards the Ardnamurchin lighthouse. There was no particular reason for this other than we fancied a look around Strontian and maybe grab a cup of coffee before we set off. As it turned out the coffee was very nice but not quite as nice as the home-bakes, made all the nicer by the torrential rain bouncing off the roof of the cafe! Still we’d had a good day yesterday and if that was the only nice weather we were going to see this week we decided to be philosophical about it and enjoy the drive today. As it happened the weather began to improve as we journeyed west and by the time we pulled into the view point at Camas nan Geall it had cleared enough to give us some hope of a walk later on.

Camas nan Geall

We gave some consideration to pulling on the walking gear and taking advantage of the weather by exploring the bay but the car park was busy and it looked as if other people were thinking along the same lines, so we decided to stick to the plan and carried on our journey westward, stopping along the way for photographs of course.

Looking west

Our next brief stop was at the natural history centre Nadurra just west of Glenborrodale. We had a look round the shop but the interactive exhibition looked to be based around kids and, although I’m sure it would have been educational, we decided to give it a miss. We stopped again at the ferry terminal at Kilchoan to check the sailings to Mull as a possibility of a day out should the weather breakdown later in the week.

Mingary castle

We were now sure that the weather was going to hold long enough for us to get a walk during the afternoon so we dismissed the idea of visiting the lighthouse and settled on a walk that would take in Bay MacNeill and hopefully give us some decent photos. We parked above the village of Portuairk and wound our way down the zig-zag bends towards the houses. The views to the west from above the village were fantastic.

Looking west from above Portuairk

We made our way through the few, well spaced houses stopping all the while to take yet more photos. It didn’t seem to matter which way you looked, there was always something else, equally spectacular to see.

Looking North West

The path passed the last house and led down onto a small inlet before turning away from the shore and up a gully. At this point we were wondering if we’d made a mistake because it was muddy underfoot and not particularly appealing. However at the top of the gully the path began to make its way across the moorland and between two hills and looking back we were given nice views of the village and looking northwest we had spectacular views of the islands.

Over the moors towards a gap in the hills

Looking northwest to the Western Isles

Looking back to the village of Portuairk

It was at this point we decided to take a bit of a detour up onto the hill on our right. There was a faint path just at the highest point of the pass before it dropped down again towards the beach. The climb was easy and well worth the little effort involved. It was difficult to believe we were on the west coast of Scotland and not somewhere in the Mediterranean.

A little effort would lead to some great views

Looking southeast to Ardnamurchan Point

We retraced our steps back to the path and made our way through the pass before taking another detour up onto a lower hill but one that gave us a nice view of the white sands of Bay MacNeill. 

Bay MacNeill

Eventually we made our way down past the ruins of an old croft where we stopped to pick some wild mint that was probably a legacy from the last tenants of the croft, and down onto the sandy beach. 

The white sands of Bay MacNeill

With the beautiful weather and the crystal clear waters, having a paddle became almost inevitable. The only surprise really was that the water wasn’t nearly as cold as we expected! 

Honest it’s really pleasant!

We sat in the sun, (for the second day in a row), and had some lunch while our feet dried before heading up through the small caravan park by a waymarked route. We stopped to take more photos before the views disappeared as we headed inland and our route back to the car.

Having fun with the lighthouse

Looking north

The path then made its way across the open moorland for a while before reaching the access road for the lighthouse. At this point we could have turned right and visited the building itself but we decided that since it was getting quite late in the day we should start our journey back to the car. We stopped for a while to watch a pair of eagles soaring high above the cliffs but they never got close enough for me to be able to photograph them. Obviously a bit camera shy. The views now began to open up to the south as we made our way along the road.

Looking south

We deviated from the route for the third time when we came across a sign for a footpath to Portuairk which we followed for a while. It gave us some great views to the northwest again before we cut across from the path and back to the road where we had parked the car.

Looking Northwest

All in all it had been a fantastic afternoon made all the more so because it was unexpected. The weather that had been so bad while we drank coffee and ate cake in Strontian and changed so dramatically and completely that it was hard to believe we were still on the same day. The journey back was uneventful apart from seeing one or two deer and the occasional “big bird” that could have been eagles but were probably buzzards. We stopped again just before Strontian to photograph the cottage from the north bank of the loch then it was home for a well earned meal.

Sunart House from the north bank of the loch.

J

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