Ardnamurchan Point and Bay MacNeil, Portuairk

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This excellent circuit from Portuairk gives grand views out to the Isles en route to the superb sandy beach of McNeil Bay. Ardnamurchan Point lighthouse - the most westerly point on the UK mainland, now housing a cafe and visitor centre - is visited by a detour along the minor road.

Terrain

Waymarked, occasionally muddy paths; minor roads.

Public Transport

None.

Start

Portuairk visitor car park. Open start point in Google Maps for directions.

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Walk Description

Stage 1

The walk begins in Portuairk; there is a car park on the right hand side of the road before it finally zig-zags down to the bay. Start the walk by following the road down these zigzag bends; at the sandy shore there is a t-junction. Turn left here, passing through the scattered houses of Portuairk. At the very end of the road there is a turning area and no parking sign; go through the small pedestrian gate beside this sign. Straight ahead, there is a second gate and a footpath sign for Bay MacNeil and Ardnamurchan Point; go through it. Continue along the shore in front of the last house, and immediately beyond turn left up the tree-fringed wide gully.

Stage 2

The route from here is marked by occasional wooden posts. Continue up the gully to a water cistern; head uphill to the right here to reach a clearer path continuing uphill above the gully. A short distance up this path is a marker post; just beyond this, look for a much fainter path going off to the right; there is another marker post visible a short distance along it across the moor. There are good views back over Portuairk to the beaches of Sanna beyond.

Stage 3

Follow this path which crosses a muddy, flatter area; don't head directly up the hill but instead aim for the gap between the coastal hill and a more prominent hill just inland - there is a path. Once across the flat section, the path becomes grassier as it heads downhill into the little glen. Towards the foot of the glen are the ruins of an old croft house, and views of Ardnamurchan lighthouse at the point. There's a stile in the fence on the left here. If the tide is high, you need to cross the stile and follow the path beyond, but if it's low you can continue ahead to take the beach route.

Stage 4

At low tide, continue down to the coast and round the end of the fence to reach the beautiful sands of Bay McNeil. Turn left across the sands; there are a number of static caravans arranged around the back of the bay.

Stage 5

Near the far end of the beach head up towards one of the statics to reach a track (the high tide route), and turn right along it. Continue until a marker post indicates where to turn left uphill here onto a rough but clear path. The path continues uphill, and eventually reaches the tarmac road. At this point, a decision must be made whether to make a detour to visit the lighthouse. To do so, turn right along the road. There are great views back across the bay.

Stage 6

To reach the lighthouse, simply follow the minor road all the way. The final section winds between stone walls - a traffic light system spares nervous motorists from cars coming the other way! Beyond is the towering lighthouse, which is 36 metres high, and was built in 1849 by Alan Stevenson of the famous Stevenson family of lighthouse builders.

Stage 7

There's a cafe here on the left, and during the summer months you can (for a charge) visit an exhibition and ascend the lighthouse tower for wonderful views of Mull, Coll, Muck, Rum and Eigg. Afterwards, return back along the road to the point reached earlier.

Stage 8

Follow the road eastwards, with views over Loch Grigadale to the right. There used to be a path around the base of Beinn Bhuidhe but it has been blocked off, so instead continue along the road to the junction at Achosnich, then turn left to follow the narrow strip of tarmac back to the car park at the start.

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