No matter how many times we make the drive up to Scotland, it always feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface. The West Highlands have been on my list for a long time (along with many other places, which is why we’d never made it there before), and after stopping off for a walk to Steall Falls on our way back from Skye last year, I made an executive decision that the next trip I booked would be to the West Highlands. Fast forward a year and we finally made it – and we were treated to a beautiful sunny week with nary a drop of rain. How many people can say that about a week in the West Highlands!
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The Silver Sands of Morar
After a long day of travelling the day before, our first stop was a day at the coast to let the dogs blow off some steam. Lochaber might be a region most strongly associated with the mountains of Glen Nevis and the West Highland Way, but it also has a stunning coastline with some outstandingly beautiful beaches. Perhaps the most well known, the Silver Sands of Morar were our first port of call on the Sunday morning. To get here we drove down ‘The Road to the Isles’, which is no chore at all thanks to the breathtaking scenery – I’d highly recommend a trip out here if you’re planning a trip to Lochaber.
Given that it was a lovely sunny spring Sunday, with barely a cloud in the sky and pushing 15 degrees, I was expecting there to be a few people already on the beach when we got there. To my amazement, there were only three cars parked up (roadside parking close to beach), and people were so spread out it felt like we had the beach to ourselves.
Rather than doing a ‘walk’, we just had a wander along the beach as far as you can get on the sand. It’s a lovely sandy beach (not quite silver, but definitely white in places), and the further along you get the better the views are, culminating in a fantastic view across to Rum and Eigg across the sea from the far end of the beach.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. There are no restrictions on this beach, and both of ours loved having a swim in the shallows. Coal especially loved how much space there was, without having to worry about other dogs getting too close. The first part of the beach runs along the road but once you’ve walked along a bit, this is less of a concern and not something you need to worry about.
Camusdarach Beach
We spent an hour or so at Morar, and then hopped back into the car and continued down the coast to the beach at Camusdarach. Originally we’d planned to do a walk from our Pocket Mountains guide linking up a number of beaches on this stretch of coast, but in the end we loved Camusdarach so much that we decided to just stay on this beach instead.
Parking was free in a small-ish car park, and I was a little worried at first as there were quite a few more cars than there had been at Morar (around 10). A short walk to the beach soon alleviated my concerns – this was another beach with acres of space and everyone was very spread out. The view that you come face to face with as soon as you leave the dunes is incredible, with an even better view across to Rum and Eigg, as well as the jagged peaks of the Cuillins on Skye now making an appearance too.
We walked up and down the shore and spent some time admiring the anemones in the rock pools. I took literally hundreds of photos in an attempt to try and capture how lovely this beach was, but sadly I don’t think any of them quite do it justice, so you’ll have to make do with what I managed! It’s certainly up there as one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever been to, and quite possibly nabs the crown as my new favourite beach.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. As at Morar, there are no dog restrictions here, and ours both absolutely loved it here. It was nice and quiet when we visited but I wonder how busy it gets in peak season, as it apparently features on film location tours thanks to its appearance in the film Local Hero.
Larachmhor Garden
It was such a beautiful day that we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to go back to our lodge after we’d finished at the beach. After a quick consult with Google Maps, Sam found Larachmhor Wild Woodland Gardens on our route home, so we stopped off here to have an investigate. Parking is free in a large lay-by near the entrance to the garden.
The gardens are free to visit and dogs are welcome to join you. I don’t think we could have picked a better time to visit: the garden is home to a dizzying variety of rhododendrons, and many of them were in full bloom. Rather than following a set route, we just wondered around the garden exploring the different nooks and crannies. Aside from one other group, it seemed like we were the only people there, and it was wonderfully quiet and peaceful. It doesn’t take long to explore but it was definitely worth a stop.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. This was a lovely quiet wander, and while the other group visiting at the same time as us had dogs, there was enough space that we easily managed to avoid them. There is no strict signage asking for dogs to be kept on leads, but there are signs up asking to keep them under close control during your visit.
Glenfinnan
Being a die-hard Harry Potter fan as a child, stopping off at Glenfinnan to see the Hogwarts Express pass over the viaduct was high on my list of priorities for the week. The best time to catch the steam train is around 10am and 3pm, as it makes its way to and from Mallaig.
As we were getting in the car after our visit to Larachmhor, the steam train chugged past us on its return journey to Fort William. This sparked a debate on the drive back as to whether or not we could catch the train at the viaduct that afternoon, or if we should return another day as planned. Ultimately we (I) decided that we could try for that afternoon and if we caught it, great, and if not we could always come back another day.
There is a large National Trust for Scotland car park at Glenfinnan, which had been full when we drove past it on our way out at 10am, but we managed to get a space arriving just before 3pm on our way back. Not knowing what time the train would arrive or how long it would take me to get up to the viewing point, I abandoned Sam and the dogs in the car park and alternated between power walking and running until I got to the viewpoint (turns out if you’re moving at the same speed as I was, it takes 8 minutes). Follow the viaduct sign from the car park and then follow the path as it climbs the hill – there are two hillside viewing points, one on either end of the viaduct. The viewpoint sign takes you to a view of the Glenfinnan Monument and not the viaduct.
I arrived with about 30 seconds to spare – the first puffs of steam were just visible behind the trees. Trying hard not to dry heave in front of the 30 or so other people already up there, and quietly chanting the Harry Potter theme tune in my head, I managed to pull myself together enough to watch the train pass over the viaduct and snap a few photos.
Dog friendly rating – 4/5. Dogs are welcome to join you at Glenfinnan, but I was glad I’d left Sam and the dogs in the car instead of dragging them up to the viewpoint, as it was so busy I don’t think Coal would have coped very well (although if your dog doesn’t mind busier places they would be fine). We did take them up to the viewpoint over the monument as this was much quieter, and there are trails you can pick up to walk a bit further (which sadly we didn’t have time to do on this occasion).
Cow Hill
After a very, very busy first day, the second day of our trip dawned a little cloudier, and I fancied a walk a bit closer to our base. Consulting our Pocket Mountains guide, I picked an 11km circular walk up Cow Hill from Glen Nevis. Cow Hill is a small hill which offers good views over Fort William, Loch Linnhe and Glen Nevis, without needing a huge uphill climb like its neighbours!
We parked in the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre pay and display car park, which was surprisingly quiet given that it’s the start point for one of the most popular routes up Ben Nevis. Note that Apple Maps incorrectly lists this as the Ben Nevis visitor centre, the Glen Nevis listing sends you to the wrong place! We set off in the opposite direction to everyone else in the car park (hurrah), picking up the West Highland Way for a short time, before leaving it and climbing steeply through the forest to join the Cow Hill link path.
The route uses the link path to do a lap of the hill’s lower slopes, initially passing in and out of trees, eventually reaching views over Fort William and Loch Linnhe before climbing steadily up to the summit. Here the views are top notch, and include Glen Nevis as well as Loch Linnhe, before descending back down through the woods the way you came at the start of the walk.
In hindsight, we could probably have done this as a linear walk from Glen Nevis straight to the summit and still had all the best views, but doing the whole link path was a good way to see the views from various different angles along the way. Surprisingly the link path was busier than the final stretch up to the summit – I think different sections of it can be combined into shorter routes rather than doing the whole thing.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. This is a fab dog walk, being stile free and mostly livestock free (but keep an eye out for deer and forestry operations in the woods). We did see a few sheep in one place. Happily, there were no cows to be seen, despite the name! There weren’t many options for water, so if you’re going to do this walk with your dog on a warm day, it would be a good idea to carry extra for your dog.
The Grey Mare’s Tail, Kinlochleven
I’m skipping ahead a few days now, as I’m lumping all of the walks we did in Glencoe into part two of this blog. One of the walks we did was the Pap of Glencoe (spoiler), and having got up there somewhat quicker than I expected, we still had enough of the day left to squeeze in another walk. We’re not ones for doing things for the sake of doing something, but when the sun is shining in Scotland, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth! We therefore made our way across to Kinlochleven to visit the pretty waterfall of the Grey Mare’s Tail.
There is a large car park in Kinlochleven specifically for visitors to the waterfall. From here, the way is well sign-posted along an excellent track. It’s a short walk of around only half a kilometre, but it’s very lovely and passes through a light, pretty woodland. Just before the waterfall the trail gets more exciting as you navigate your way along some timber beams to be able to see the falls, and you can continue on with some outdoor adventure type handholds and pegs to get closer (Sam did, I hopped from rock to rock in the river instead).
The Grey Mare’s Tail is an impressive waterfall with a drop of nearly 50 metres, and being so easily accessible I couldn’t believe we had it all to ourselves. We spent some time admiring the waterfall and then retraced our steps to the car, but if you are feeling more energetic there is a longer walk on Walkhighlands which you can pick up from here.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. This was a perfect walk for a warm day, with the water easily accessible and both dogs enjoying a swim. The woods provide shade if needed and there are no stiles, roads or livestock to worry about, although you may encounter deer (as indicated by a rather ominous sign at the start of the walk!).
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of what we got up to during our week in Lochaber – you can find part two here, which covers all of the walks we did in the Glencoe area.
