Camas nan Geall and Bourblaige

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This attractive walk heads along a fascinating stretch of coastline, passing a sandy beach, interesting rock formations and archaeological remains. Bourblaige was a village which was brutally cleared by landlords the Riddell family in 1838; it is the best preserved of such villages in Ardnamurchan.

Terrain

Mostly pathless shoreline; boggy in places. Ascend to Bourblaige mostly on grass, boggy.

Public Transport

None.

Start

Camas nan Geall car park. Open start point in Google Maps for directions.

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Walk Description

Stage 1

There is a car park at the top of the walk overlooking the bay. From here go through the gateway and head down the track that traverses the back of the bay. When the track reaches the bottom follow it as it turns left towards the sea and go through a gate. At the end of the line of sycamore trees note the remains of a chambered cairn on the right.

Stage 2

Slightly further on is a small gated Clan Campbell cemetery with some interesting carved gravestones and a large Neolithic standing stone inscribed with an early Christian cross. Continue and pass through the gate giving access to the shore. At low tide there is a sandy beach to the left, but our route goes right across the pebbles. Soon a wide burn is reached; this can be tricky or impassable in spate, but in drier conditions can usually be crossed using stones.

Stage 3

From here the path runs slightly inland but is a little wet in places. After a pebbly bay, climb slightly to cross a low ridge that juts out into the sea; after a short grassy stretch there's another brief climb up to a second jutting ridge - Sgeir Fhada. It is worth heading left along a narrow section to visit a grassy platform, the site of a prehistoric fort, with great views up and down the coast.

Stage 4

Return to where you climbed up onto the grass ridge, then take a path sloping down the other side towards the shoreline, aiming to pass through a dramatic split in the rocks. After crossing some boulders, a wide pebbly beach is reached.

Stage 5

Continue on the path which skirts the edge of the pebbles at the back of this wide bay. After another grassy ridge, there's a second pebble bay. These bays tend to collect the various items washed ashore so make good beachcombing destinations, and are backed by perfect greensward. Eventually a fence is reached. To visit the cleared village of Bourblaige, turn right along the near side of the fence and climb the grassy slope. After the first rise there's a flatter, boggy section before the remains of the houses at Bourblaige are seen ahead.

Stage 6

The village was cleared in 1828; it was recorded that "The process was attended with many acts of heartless cruelty on the part of the laird’s representatives … the laird’s men shot the dogs, and then they shot the goats, and they drove away the cows. And then they took the roofs off... It was in the wintertime that they did it. Ploughs were put through the potato pits so that they would spoil in the frost … In one case a half-witted woman who flatly refused to flit was locked up in her cottage, the door being barricade on the outside by mason-work. She was visited every morning to see if she had arrived at a tractable frame of mind, but for days she held out. It was not until her slender store of food was exhausted that she ceased to argue with the inevitable and decided to capitulate".

Stage 7

After visiting the sad remains, it is best to retrace the route of ascent back down to the coast and then head back the same way to the start. Don't be tempted to make a shortcut by descending alongside the Bourblaige burn, as it flows through a very steep ravine before reaching the sea.

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