Castle Tioram – A Tidal Castle and the Silver Walk
About 3.6 miles on foot.
Castle Tioram stands on its own small island where Loch Moidart opens to the sea, a ruined stronghold of the Macdonalds of Clanranald with wooded shores all round it.
When the tide is out you can walk to it across the sand. Behind it the Silver Walk, a rough path cut into the rock above the loch, makes a longer and much harder round of about 5.75 km.
- Time
- Half an hour to an hour for the walk across the sand to the castle and round its walls; two and a half to three and a half hours for the round by the Silver Walk, 5.75 km with 270 m of climbing. A rough coast walk.
- The path
- Sand, shingle and rock to the island; the Silver Walk is narrow and rocky with steep steps and open drops.
- Where to start
- The car park at Dorlin, at the end of the minor road from Shielbridge on the A861, by the shore facing the castle.
- Set off
- When the tide is out: check the tide times for Loch Moidart and cross on a falling tide. From November to January, start the long round by 11.30am.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, with the tide out for the castle. From November to January start the long round by 11.30am.
- Dogs
- On a lead on the Silver Walk, for the drops.
- Children
- The walk to the castle is easy at low tide; the Silver Walk has unfenced drops and is not for young children.
- Toilets
- The nearest public toilets are in Acharacle.
- Before you set out
- The castle is private and closed inside: walk round the outside only. One stretch of the Silver Walk is covered by the highest tides. Forestry and Land Scotland has diverted its Ardmolich Trail onto the Silver Walk for forestry work (8 October 2026).
The walk
Park at Dorlin, at the end of the minor road that leaves the A861 at Shielbridge, just north of Acharacle. The car park is by the shore and the castle is in front of you, less than half a kilometre away. Castle Tioram, said 'Cheerum', was begun in the 1200s and became the seat of the Macdonalds of Clanranald. It stands on a rocky island joined to the shore by a strip of sand, and you can only walk out to it when the tide is out. Look up the tide times for Loch Moidart before you leave, cross on a falling tide and be back on the mainland well before it turns. Don't cross near high water, and never wade.
The castle is private and closed inside, so walk round the foot of its walls and go no further. The Silver Walk leaves the same shore and runs east along the loch. It's said to take its name from a hoard of Elizabethan coins found when the path was made. Walkhighlands gives the round by the Silver Walk as 5.75 km with 270 metres of climbing, and allows two and a half to three and a half hours. It's a hard path for its length: narrow and rocky, with steep steps and open drops to the water, and one stretch is covered by the highest tides. It's no place for young children, and dogs need a lead.
Forestry and Land Scotland has diverted its Ardmolich Trail, further up the loch, onto the Silver Walk while it fells timber, so follow any signs and keep out of closed areas. The nearest toilets, shop and places to eat are in Acharacle. The Corran Ferry is the short way to this side of Loch Linnhe when it's running, and its main boat is due a refit from November, so look at the Highland Council's Corran Ferry page first. The A861 comes round by road in any case, from the A830 at Lochailort or at the head of Loch Eil. From November to January, start the long round by 11.30am.
If it rains
The walk to the castle is short enough for any weather, though the island's rock is slippery when wet. Leave the Silver Walk for a dry day: its rock steps and narrow ledges are no place to be in rain or a gale.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.