The most westerly point in mainland Great Britain – remote, wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful! What more reason do you need to go there?
Mind you, it is at least 30 miles each way on a single track gravel road with not a single vehicle, person or even sheep in sight most of the way, but it is worth it.
We started off from Fort William towards Banavie, where we stopped to admire the Neptune’s staircase – a flight of locks on the Caledonian Canal. We walked all the way up the series of eight locks, and back again. The locks were completed in 1811 and are still operational, and we saw several pretty sailing boats making their way along the locks.
We stopped at the famous fishing harbour of Mallaig for a meal and enjoyed the harbour views. You have the option of visiting the Marine World, an aquarium in the harbourfront.
We continued on to Salen through the Ardnamurchan peninsula and the Kilchoan community to our final destination – the Ardnamurchan Point and lighthouse! This is the most westerly point on the British mainland with superb views out to the islands of Inner Hebrides.
Point to note – here the road was single track, and as we drove further and further west, we increasingly felt that land’s end was near, but sightings of the lighthouse were at best fleeting in this rock strewn and bumpy landscape.
Finally, the lighthouse!! Plus, spectacular views of many nearby (and not-so-nearby) islands.
There was a Visitor Center plus a cafe and shop, with outdoor seating to enjoy the views of the beach and bay to the south, and indoor seating for less glorious weather.
As it was getting dark, we stopped for the night at the only place – Kilchoan, the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, in probably the only hotel for many miles around. It was, surprisingly, a cosy place with a nice dinner, a warm room, and a hearty breakfast the next morning.
We started on our way back to Fort William via a different route.
We returned to Salen along the single track road and on to the mining town of Strontian named after the element Strontium – mineral Strontianite. We stopped for a very pleasant walk through the Ariundle woods.
We drove further to Ardgour and took the Corran ferry across Loch Linnhe and drove back to Fort William.
That was a bit of an adventurous but leisurely drive for just over a day and totally worth it!
Love these tiny Scottish seaside towns – the seafood is always on point. We stayed in a similar one called Lochinver.
Stunning photos! Love your description: remote, wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. Sounds like a perfect little trip!
This truly looks amazing, I would love to see more of Scotland. I so fell head over heals in love with Edinburgh the first time I visited 🙂
I have been trying to get back to Scotland, but the world seems to be agains me… first there was a big stike with the airline SAS, so the trip got canceled and now Corona… bah!
I’m not sure about driving on the small single track roads. I would probably make my hubby do it! But man what a beautiful views on this road trip!
This looks like a wonderful road trip and a great way to see gorgeous coastal views. I would like to travel this path myself someday. The landscape is so raw and photogenic, I might stop every 100 yards for a photo! Interesting that the lighthouse was so elusive. And I am impressed you walked up all eight locks of the Caledonian Canal. I’d like to think I could do the same… thanks for the inspiration and a great route!
What a lovely road trip idea, I’m inspired by your photos and am adding this to my list.
I agree with Jackie’s comment, it would also take me forever, at least two days, with all the photo opportunity stops in this magnificent and wild landscape.
Wow you get about don’t you! I’m from the UK but you’ve definitely seen more of this isle than me! My husband and I have been talking about visits to Scotland for years, and we dream of driving around and exploring lots of little nooks and crannies like this.
Absolutely no more reasons needed to visit this beautiful place! I have bucketlist on lighthouses and this is now on it. I have saved your post. What an incredible adventure. I did not even know of this place and I live in London!
What a great road trip! We missed little spots like this on our recent trip to Scotland. But, these places all seem so charming, now we have reason to go back and explore more of this beautiful area!
Road trip seems like such a perfect way to experience this place. I love the lush greenery here. Such a great way to spend time exploring a country.
We would love to do a long road trip in Scotland one day. Places like Ardnamurchan look like the remote stretches of Scotland I have always imagined. We would definitely travel a single gravel road to see a new place like this. Means it won’t be crowded! Lovely views when you got there.