An excellent coastal circuit of the Tarbat Ness headland. There are good views throughout and the opportunity to spot dolphins and seals.
Summary
Mostly grassy shorelines. The outward section is very muddy in places and the route involves a rocky scramble to round the end of the lighthouse wall (avoidable if necessary).
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1. Park in one of the car parks in front of the beach in Portmahomack. This attractive fishing village has an isolated position on the Tarbat headland - not somewhere one could arrive by mistake. It curves around a fine sandy beach, with a harbour at the far end. Continue round to the harbour and beyond; the road ends at some bungalows. Keep left of these on the grass beside the sea defences to reach and pass through a gate. Beyond, a faint grassy track makes it way around the coast next to the rocky shore.
2. After a short distance there's a fence running down to the sea; it is best to round the end of it on the rocks rather than pass through the gate which necessitates crossing a muddy field. Some distance further on a second fence (which turns into a concrete wall on the shore) is crossed by a stile. There's a little sandy beach beyond, and the views across to the Caithness coastline and hills are excellent. Continue to where another fence runs parallel to the shore; follow it on the seaward side to reach an old fishing bothy, with some huge rusting anchors nearby. Follow a grassy track round the shore from the bothy; when it forks take the right fork heading up to the top of the gorse banks. Go through a farm gate and follow the top of the banks of gorse above the sea.
3. Further on, above a steep inlet (impassable at shore level, hence the need to ascend to here), a small gate leads through another fence almost hidden in the gorse. The lighthouse soon comes into view for the first time; continue, now close to the grassy shore once more and passing through another gate and between a small loch and the sea. Go through the next field and one final fence can be crossed where there is a pile of stones on either side and some rope wrapped round the barbed wire. If you don't like to scramble on rocks, go right along the fence here instead and go through a gate to reach a big stone wall; turn right along this wall to reach the lighthouse car park. Otherwise, continue ahead from the stile across the grassy shore. You'll soon reach a huge stone wall which runs close to the sea; to continue this way you have to round the end of the wall above the sea; at low tide you can carefully scramble across the rocks below but at high tide you'll have to follow a narrow rocky path high above the sea directly by the wall. Beyond the wall a heathery path leads to Tarbat Ness - the very end of the peninsula, and a wide horizon of open sea. Follow the wide path which leads to the right to the lighthouse.
4. The lighthouse is the third tallest in Britain. It stands on private land; follow the track past it on the left. Further on you will join the end of the public road (there is a car park on the left); continue along the road until the next junction, where you can turn left down to a small jetty. Just before the track runs out onto the jetty turn right through a gate. A grassy path now runs along the shore, keeping just above some wide sandy beaches. At the far end of the beach one rocky cliff projects and blocks the route round the shore; slant up the path which climbs to its grassy top and pass through a gate. Keep left of the drainage pond and descend back to the sea via another slanting path about a hundred metres further on. Now continue along the grassy shore as before, crossing one tumbledown fence, and further on, a stile in another fence which culminates in a stone wall.
5. Just over the stile there's a crumbly cliff to your right; this is Creag nan Eun - the cliff of Birds - and is great for spotting breeding seabirds in the spring. Keep going easily along the shore, ignoring any tracks climbing away from it; further on you'll see a fortified house atop the cliffs to your right. This is Ballone Castle, a medieval fortress restored as a private home; it has a vegetable garden right down at beach level. Keep on the shore and cross a stile, aiming for the tiny village of Rockfield now visible ahead.
6. Go through a gate to reach Rockfield. To return to Portmahomack, turn right along the road which climbs out of the village. This winds to and fro across farmland for a mile to reach the edge of Portmahomack. Turn left and then right to return to the car park beside the lovely beach.
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