Farr Bay – A White Beach and a Rough Headland at Bettyhill
2 miles · 1½ hours · a loop
free parking · dogs on a lead
Bettyhill sits on a hill above Farr Bay, a horseshoe of pale sand a short walk through the dunes from the old parish church.
That's the gentle half of this day. The harder half is Ard Mor, the rough headland beside the bay, where a round without much of a path reaches a ruined fishing station above the mouth of the River Naver. Lunch is at the Store in the village.
Where it starts
Start at the Ard Mor round starts from a parking area at Achneiskich, off the minor road on the north side of the village.
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Before you go
Getting there
For the beach, the small car park by the tourist information, a minute's walk from the Strathnaver Museum: free.
On the path
About an hour and a half: the Ard Mor round, a loop of 3 km (about two miles) with about 110 metres of climbing, rough and without a path in places, says Scotland Off the Beaten Track. Farr Bay is a short stroll there and back from the car park, about ten minutes each way. A footpath of about 600 metres from the car park through the dunes to the beach. Ard Mor is faint paths and sheep tracks over rough ground, with stretches of no path at all. The beach suits all ages, with rock pools at its edges. Ard Mor has unfenced cliffs and is not for small children. The map to carry is OS Explorer 448, Strath Naver & Loch Loyal (1:25,000); OS Landranger 10, Strath Naver (inc. Bettyhill & Tongue) (1:50,000) shows the country round it.
Good to know
All year in daylight. Keep Ard Mor for a clear, dry day. The Store shuts at 5pm on weekdays. From November to January, be on the headland by 1pm. Dogs on a lead on Ard Mor, where sheep graze. None at either start or on the walks: the public toilets are in the middle of Bettyhill, and Highland Council lists them as open through the winter. Unfenced cliff edges on Ard Mor. Sheep graze the headland.
The walk
Two walks start in Bettyhill. The first is a footpath of about 600 metres from the car park by the tourist information, past the old parish church and through the dunes to Farr Bay, about ten minutes each way. The second is the round of Ard Mor, a loop of 3 km (nearly two miles) with about 110 metres of climbing, taking about an hour and a half, says Scotland Off the Beaten Track. It starts at Achneiskich on the north side of the village, a few minutes' walk from the Store, over faint paths and sheep tracks, with some stretches of no path at all.
Farr Bay is a curve of pale sand facing north-west between two low headlands, Ard Mor to the west and Ard Beag to the east, with a burn running out across the beach and rock pools at the edges.
The old church is now the Strathnaver Museum, run by volunteers, which tells the story of Strathnaver and the Highland Clearances that emptied it. The church dates from 1774, on a site where a church had stood for centuries. In the churchyard beside it, look for the Farr Stone, a tall Pictish cross-slab carved in about the ninth century.
Ard Mor is the rough headland between the bay and the mouth of the River Naver. The cliff edges are unfenced, so it's for sure-footed walkers in boots on a clear day. On the far side, the ruined buildings of an old fishing station stand above the river mouth, looking across to the long sands of Torrisdale Bay, and the minor road leads back to the start. Sheep graze the headland, so keep dogs on a lead there.
If it rains
The beach is fine in a shower and bleak in a gale. Leave Ard Mor out in rain, wind or mist, when the grass is slippery above the cliffs, and go straight to the Store.
Afterwards
The Store Bistro & Bar
Lunch
The Store is Bettyhill's café and bar, in the old village shop with its timber front, where the original shelves still line the walls. The kitchen makes soup, bacon rolls, cooked breakfasts and a chocolate fudge cake, and the coffee is freshly ground. It's open from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, from 11am to 10pm on Saturday and from 11am to 8pm on Sunday. It's a small place and it fills up, so allow for a wait at lunchtime. Dogs are welcome. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.
After the walk
Coffee and cake, and something to do with the rest of the day, nearest the end of the walk first.
Straight after
2 min by roadA caféThe Store Bistro & BarBettyhill's old village store, now a café, bistro and bar, its original shelves still in place, with breakfasts, home baking and a log burner.
2 min by roadA caféBettyhill Tourist Information & CafeA whitewashed cottage on the A836 in Bettyhill, home to the village's tourist information point and a small café, with benches and picnic tables out front.19 min by roadA restaurantNorse BakehouseA family-run bakehouse and café on the A836 at Rhitongue, east of Tongue, baking focaccia and pizzas on site, with garden tables looking out over the north coast.With the rest of the day
1 min by roadThings to doStrathnaver MuseumThe story of the Highland Clearances, told in Bettyhill's white former parish church, with a Clan Mackay room upstairs and a carved Pictish stone in the graveyard.
2 min by roadThings to doBettyhillA village at the mouth of the River Naver, built for families cleared from Strathnaver, with the sands of Farr Bay and Torrisdale Bay on either side.Places to stay near the walk
Our places to stay nearest the start, by road.
An advert · Tongue
Lundies House
A 19th-century manse in Tongue, on Scotland's north coast, made into a small WildLand hotel, with dinner by candlelight and bedrooms looking over the Kyle of Tongue.
22 minutes by road
See Lundies House
More walks near here
Within a short drive of the start.
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