The ARDNAMURCHAN Peninsula - The Wild West of scotland

It has always been a dream of mine to be stuck on a remote island just to get away from the real world and experience pure tranquillity with my cameras to capture it all.

Well every year I try and book something a little different for Lisa's birthday which falls at the end of January. It however normally involves walking miles in some city in the world and I knew this trip would be no different.

Now as its freezing cold in the UK in January a remote island in the Maldives would probably come into most peoples minds for such a break away but I really wanted to do another road trip to a place we fell in love the last time we ventured towards the north, however this time I really wanted to go out of our comfort zone of normality, I also wanted to take Sulley our dog along for the ride as he loves to walk like his mother!

So.....

It took hours of research to put a plan into place that started in the summer of 2023 but we were finally all ready and packed and set of on Thursday 25th January. Our first stop as we headed north was Tebay services, its got a really good meat counter, so I ensured we had a couple of good Sirloin steaks and a big lump of beef for our Sunday roast, if you like beef get yourself some corner cut of your local farm counter, it is the best beef you will find.

We then continued the journey north heading towards Loch Lomond where we stayed for the first night, just before we got to the hotel I had been told to pop into another farm shop called the Auchentullich Farm Shop, as we pulled in we were welcomed by a gorgeous Highland Cow, when you see these close up you have to admire how elegent they are, most farms in the Highlands will have them as pets! we went into the lovely welcoming shop and got a few items, the main reason for the visit was to get one of their homemade steak pies, I had seen some comments on some forums on how good they were, I have never tasted anything like it, the meat just melted in your mouth, it was so good I will be stopping off on the way back south to get another couple. Check them out if you are even in this part of Scotland.
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Lisa had told me about this pub she had visited when she came up to see my son who was working in Scotland a year or so ago, its called the Drovers Inn, it is a unique hotel set at the very top of Loch Lomond, so when I was doing my research for the trip I noticed you could also stay there, so I booked a room that allowed pets, perfect I thought, well when I told Lisa her face went white, little did I know as much as she enjoyed the meal she had there some year before,  the hotel is from the 1700's and is said to be one of the most haunted hotels in Britain, it also has a number of stuffed animals which wherever you look they are looking at you as well! the stay however was unreal, the friendly welcome, great food and cozy log fire made it a real nice evening, we slept really well and Sulley enjoyed the bowls of water and treats he was given by the staff. We never heard the ghost in room 8 either! again a must see pub but if your brave book to stay there as well. The link is here. The Drovers Inn, Loch Lomond Hotel, Restaurant and Atmospheric Bar.

We had a great breakfast then started our epic adventure driving as far West as possible by land and boat towards the Outer Hebrides, to a place called The Ardnamurchan Peninsular, we stayed In a house on a Loch called Tigh Na Mara which does mean house by the sea in Gaelic, it had a lovely roaring log fire which Sulley loved to just lay in front of at every opportunity and the views were to die for. The house and area has to be seen to believe but it gave us the perfect week of relaxation after a very busy period leading up to Christmas. If you were interested in staying here check out Tigh Na Mara | Lochaber & Ardnamurchan | on the Unique Cottages (unique-cottages.co.uk) website.

What is so fascinating living somewhere so remote is how people live here vs what we have living in towns and city's, a 16 mile journey on the Peninsula takes a good hour due to its amazing winding roads that cut through the amazing landscapes and Pine Forests, this part of the world is home to the Red Deer which we were so lucky to see when we went on our adventures and lazy slow drives, They are the largest land mammal in the UK and are found throughout the Scottish Highlands. They are typically found in woodland and moorland habitats, but can also be spotted in grassland and heathland areas which surround this area along with the pine forest.

We visited Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, the setting for the famous children’s programme "What’s the story in Balamory" and even on a quite January day it had a real charm about the place, it was a 30 minute boat trip accross from Kilchoan on a ride on ride off car ferry. Well worth seeing and good experience traveling there.

Another trip out was to a place called Sanna Bay which lies at the most westerly point in mainland Britain. Most of the journey to Sanna Bay is made on single track roads. Sanna  is dominated by beautiful white shell sand and turquoise sea. The bay lies between Sanna Point to the north and Ardnamurchan point to the south, On a good day you can often see whales and dolphins, but the sand is something you would normally only see in the Maldives not the West Coast of Scotland unless you knew it was just here waiting, the small pools of water with the golden sand in January looked as good as they would on any summers day, we were also spoilt with blue skies and sun for the visit!

On the way back if you ever visit this area pop over to the Lighthouse, The 35 metre granite tower soars 55 metres above the rocks, and was built in 1849 using granite from the Isle of Mull. The lighthouse and Keepers’ Cottages are designed in an “Egyptian” style, with a number of attractive decorative details. Like all other lighthouses in Scotland, Ardnamurchan now operates automatically, but the tower remains fully functional and still plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of ships navigating the waters off Scotland’s west coast.

We have enjoyed every moment of this epic journey, relaxing days reading in front of log fires, with lots of food and drink as well as adventures out to see this amazing place on earth, I am someone who could easily live in this slow paced environment as there is still so much to see and do just at a more relaxed pace than the madness we live in today but for now its back to the fast pace work life until the next adventure..

Below are a few pictures and a short film of the trip.

​Thank you ARDNAMURCHAN you were everything and more I hoped you would be.