This short walk to the lovely singing sands of Eigg with great views over to Rum, starts from Cleadale in the north of the island. To reach here from the pier you can either walk along the road (following the directions for Laig Bay) or hire bikes at the pier and cycle.
Bog Factor
Minor road, path over grazing land can be boggy
Cleadale.
The islands 'community bus' sometimes meets the ferry.
NM477886
Start from the war memorial cairn where the road at Cleadale forks. Facing the memorial take the left hand, lower road. This road heads gently downhill with good views of the cliff of Sgòrr an Faraidh which forms the sharp edge of Beinn Bhuidhe behind the houses of Cleadale.
At a crossroads with a bungalow on the left, keep straight on along a stony track. Go through the gate, following the blue marker dots, and bear left to pass to the right of the sheep fank heading towards the coast. There are views to the left over the Bay of Laig to the long ridge of the Sgùrr of Eigg.
Soon bear right to cross the grazing land diagonally aiming for a gap in the broken down stone wall. There is a faint path marked with blue paint. Camas Sgiotaig, the bay of the singing sands comes into view ahead.
When you reach the fence look for a stile and cross and continue along the clifftop. Soon the path begins to descend towards the lovely beach. At the bottom of the path cross a stile to head onto the sands. In dry weather the grains of quartzite make a rasping or singing sound as you walk on them or when the wind scuffs them.
There are lovely views across the water to Rum and also an impressive wave-cut overhang on the left - if you pass round this, you can head up a gully and through a cave to reach an adjacent beach. At low tide it is possible to walk around the shore to reach Laig Bay which has a bigger (non-singing) beach. This route, however, returns up the cliff path towards the gate, and along the fence to the stile. Once over this aim straight ahead up the field along a faint path marked with wooden posts.
The path bears right, eventually a pair of gates giving access to a gap between two fenced areas. Pass through this, following the blue marker dots, and follow the rough path heading towards the whitewashed house at Howlin. Keep a fence on your right, then go through a gap in a stone wall.
The going is often muddy here - continue to meet a track before reaching the white house. Turn right along the track, soon joining the road. Bear right and follow the road back to the start, passing St Columba's Well on the right.
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