Knockan Crag – Rocks, Sculptures and Lunch by the Fire
A few hours.
The route
Knockan Crag, north of Ullapool on the edge of Assynt, is where Victorian geologists solved the puzzle of old rock lying on top of young, and it makes a lovely morning out with school-age children.
There's a turf-roofed Rock Room, a stone globe, bronze statues of the two geologists by a bench above the loch, and short waymarked trails. Then it's soup, toasties and homemade cake by the fire at the Elphin Tearooms, just up the road.
Before you go
The day
Knockan
An hour or so on the trails at Knockan Crag, in the wild country of Assynt, and an early lunch by the fire at the Elphin Tearooms, just up the road.
About two and a half hoursAbout 1 mile on foot
Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve
An attraction
Park in the reserve's car park off the A835, at the foot of the crag and beside the public toilets; the reserve is free to visit. Start at the Rock Room, an open-air shelter under a turf roof, where the panels tell the story of how older rock was pushed over younger. Then choose a trail: the Quarry Trail takes about 20 minutes and suits all ages, and the Thrust Trail, about half an hour, climbs to the spot where you can lay a hand on both. Look out for the bronze statues of Peach and Horne, the two geologists, by a stone bench above the loch, and for the stone globe. The paths are rough and steep in places, so wear boots, keep small children close, and go in daylight: there are no staff, and only the Rock Room has a roof.
6 min by car
The Elphin Tearooms
Lunch
Lunch is 6 minutes' drive north at the Elphin Tearooms, a white cottage beside the A835 with its own big car park. Everything is homemade: soup, toasties, sandwiches and cakes, with sofas round a warm fire and picnic tables outside. Children, babies and dogs are all welcome, with high chairs and baby changing. It opens Sunday to Thursday, 11am to 4pm, until the end of October. If it's shut, the Ceilidh Place café in Ullapool, half an hour south, serves food from noon.
If it rains
Only the Rock Room has a roof at Knockan, and it is open to the air, so on a wet or windy day keep to the 20-minute Quarry Trail and let lunch by the fire at Elphin run long.
Where to stay
Photograph by The Elphin Tearooms via Google