Cuil Bay – A Shore Walk and the Story of James of the Glens
A few hours.
The route
A walk on the shore of Cuil Bay by Duror, looking out over Loch Linnhe to Lismore, then a short drive north to Ballachulish.
Lunch is at the Ballachulish Hotel under the bridge, and a short walk away a memorial on a knoll above the narrows remembers James of the Glens.
The day
Duror
A morning by the sea, then lunch beside the narrows of Loch Leven and a story from 1752.
A morning, with lunch afterAbout 2.5 miles on foot
Cuil Bay
Cuil Bay is a long curve of shingle and sand on the Ardsheal peninsula by Duror, looking across Loch Linnhe to the islands of Balnagowan, Shuna and Lismore. Park at the side of the little road behind the bay, towards the end of the road. An easy walk of 3.6 km (2.2 miles) there and back follows the shore round the bay, past an old stone building, and over rough grassland to Rubha Mòr, the rocky point at the tip of the peninsula. Expect mud in places and a few faint paths. Keep an eye out for otters and shore birds.
About 10 min by car
Ballachulish Hotel
Lunch
It's a short drive north on the A828, past Kentallen, to the Ballachulish Hotel, right by the road under the south end of the bridge, with its own car park. It was built in 1877 for travellers on the old ferry across the narrows. Its Waterside Café serves lunch every day from noon to 5pm, with mussels and other seafood on the menu, and the Fish Restaurant's all-day menu runs from noon to 9pm, with a children's menu. The restaurant and bar are on the ground floor, with a seat by the fire for a coffee after.
James of the Glens Memorial
The memorial is a short walk from the hotel, on a knoll above the narrows near the steps down from the bridge. Colin Campbell of Glenure, a government official, was shot on 14 May 1752 in the wood of Lettermore, west of here, and James Stewart, James of the Glens, was hanged for it here that November, by the old ferry crossing. His memorial is a granite block topped with a boulder of white quartzite, said to come from his farm, and its words end "for a crime of which he was not guilty". Robert Louis Stevenson used the story as the background to Kidnapped. Steps climb to the memorial, so take care when they're wet.
If it rains
Lunch is indoors, and the memorial is a short walk from the hotel's door.
Lodge on the Loch, a restaurant in Fort William.
Make it a weekend
More days out near Oban.
Photograph by Ballachulish Hotel via Google