Carraig Fhada – A Square Lighthouse and a Beach That Sings
2 miles · 1 to 1½ hours · there and back
free parking · dogs on a lead
Across the bay from Port Ellen, a square white lighthouse stands on a reef at the mouth of the harbour.
Just round the corner from it is a small beach of pale sand that is said to sing under your feet. A short shore walk from Kilnaughton links the two. It's an easy hour or so, with otters about the rocks and wild goats on the hill behind.
Where it starts
At the roadside by Kilnaughton graveyard, off the Oa road near Port Ellen.
Is it for me?
Tap who is coming, or the day you have, for the answer on this walk.
Before you go
Getting there
No charge. The track beyond is private and not open to cars.
On the path
An hour to an hour and a half: about 3 km, a little under two miles, there and back with both the lighthouse and the beach. A seaside track, then a little path over a low hill to the beach. The lighthouse is across a metal footbridge and slippery rock. For children, the footbridge and the rocks at the lighthouse are slippery: hold hands there.
Good to know
From November to January, set off by 1pm. Dogs on a lead: wild goats graze near the lighthouse and the beach. Toilets none on the walk: the nearest are in Port Ellen. The metal footbridge and the rocks at the lighthouse can be very slippery, and spray comes over in a swell. Every Islay ferry uses Port Askaig while Port Ellen's terminal is closed, until 2029. No ferry on 25 December or 1 January. Wind can stop the boat: look at CalMac's service status page on the morning you travel.
The walk
This shore walk is about 3 km, or a little under two miles, there and back from Kilnaughton to Carraig Fhada lighthouse and on to the Singing Sands, and it takes an hour to an hour and a half. The way is a seaside track round Kilnaughton Bay, then a little path over a low hill to the beach.
The walk starts at the old graveyard and ruined chapel at Kilnaughton, off the Oa road under two miles from Port Ellen, and by the mapped paths it's 1.1 km to the lighthouse and 1.3 km to the Singing Sands. Carraig Fhada is a square white tower on a low rock at the entrance to Port Ellen's bay, reached over a metal footbridge. Walter Frederick Campbell had it built in 1832 in memory of his wife, Lady Ellenor Campbell, and it has been an unmanned light since 1924. Otters are sometimes seen on the rocks around it. The bridge and the rocks can be very slippery, and in a swell the spray comes over, so cross with care or look from the shore. The Singing Sands is a small white beach, sheltered from the west wind, and the story goes that the sand sings when you scuff your shoes across it. Wild goats graze the hill by the lighthouse and the beach, so keep a dog on a lead. There are no toilets on the walk and the nearest are in Port Ellen. Bring a flask, and walk it in daylight. Kilnaughton is 20 miles from the ferry at Port Askaig, about 40 minutes' drive. Islay is reached on CalMac's car ferry from Kennacraig in Kintyre, a crossing of just under two hours. Port Ellen's ferry terminal is closed for rebuilding until 2029, so every boat lands at Port Askaig, in the north-east of the island. Book the car on before you travel, and be at the pier 30 minutes before the boat sails. On the winter timetable, from 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027, the first boat leaves Kennacraig at 7am, or at 10am on a Tuesday and a Sunday. The last boat off the island leaves Port Askaig at 5.25pm on a Monday and a Wednesday, 6.05pm on a Tuesday and a Friday, and 6pm on a Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Wind can stop the boat: look at CalMac's service status page on the morning you travel.
If it rains
There's no shelter on the shore and the bridge and rocks at the lighthouse are slippery when wet. In rain, walk the track to see the lighthouse from the shore and keep the beach for a dry day.
Before you go
Book the car onto CalMac's Kennacraig to Port Askaig ferry before you travel, out and back, and be at the pier 30 minutes before the boat.
After the walk
Something to do with the rest of the day, nearest the end of the walk first.
With the rest of the day
4 min by roadThings to doIsle of Islay (pronounced Eye-la)The most southerly of the Hebrides, known for its whisky, its beaches and Finlaggan, seat of the Lords of the Isles.
5 min by roadThings to doPort EllenA village of white and pastel cottages on Islay's south coast, founded in 1821, with three famous distilleries along the road east.
5 min by roadA shopShop in the BoxA red telephone box on the Oa road turned into an honesty shop of island prints and cards, raising money for good causes.
8 min by roadThings to doLaphroaig DistilleryA distillery on Islay's south coast near Port Ellen, founded in 1815, with its own malting floors and peat kilns.
9 min by roadThings to doLagavulin DistilleryThe distillery of 1816 on Lagavulin Bay, near the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle, making deeply peated malt.
10 min by roadThings to doDunyvaig CastleThe ruined sea fortress of the Lords of the Isles on a rocky point in Lagavulin Bay.Places to stay near the walk
The places to stay nearest the walk.
None of ours is within an hour by road. The nearest, as the crow flies, is The Hollies in Tighnabruaich, 42 miles away.
Then Glenstriven House, 50 miles away.
More walks near here
Within a short drive of the start.
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For further reading, before you go.
Maps from OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors; heights from Mapzen's terrain tiles.