Castle Stalker – A Shore Walk from the Jubilee Bridge
About 2.2 miles on foot.
Castle Stalker stands on its own rock in Loch Laich, a small tower house with the hills of Morvern behind it, and you don't need to set foot in it to enjoy it.
This level walk crosses the tidal flats on a long wooden footbridge and follows the shore to the place where the castle is seen at its best. It's about 3.5 km and an hour and a half.
- Time
- About an hour and a half: a level walk of about 3.5 km by the bridge, the cycle track and the shore. A stroll.
- The path
- A 24-inch power chair crosses the bridge with a couple of inches to spare each side; the slope to the cycle track on the far side is steep. The shore is pebbly.
- Where to start
- The Jubilee Bridge car park at Taychreggan, on the road from Appin to Port Appin.
- Set off
- Check the tide times for Port Appin first: at very high tides the boardwalk and shore can be under water. From November to January, set off by 2pm.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, away from very high tides. From November to January set off by 2pm. The castle is closed for the winter and is seen from the shore.
- Dogs
- Under close control.
- Children
- Level and short; a tidal edge, and bikes on the cycle track.
- Before you set out
- Castle Stalker is privately owned and closed for the winter: its 2026 tours have finished and the next dates are due in February 2027. The walk sees it from the shore.
The walk
Park at the Jubilee Bridge car park at Taychreggan, on the road from Appin to Port Appin. The bridge is a long wooden footbridge across the tidal flats of Loch Laich, and from its far end a short slope climbs to a cycle track, part of the Caledonia Way, that runs along the shore towards Castle Stalker. The walk is level, about 3.5 km in all by Walkhighlands' measure, and takes around an hour and a half. The castle stands on a rock in the loch with the hills of Morvern behind it, and the view of it across the water is the reason to come. It's privately owned, and its tours have finished for 2026.
The castle is closed for the winter, with next year's dates due in February 2027, so this is a walk to look at it from the shore, not to visit it. Its owners trace the name to the Gaelic Stalcaire, a hunter or falconer. The Stewarts, then Lords of Lorn, built the tower much as it stands in about 1446, James IV used it for hunting and hawking, and around 1620 it passed to the Campbells of Airds after, the story goes, a drunken wager. At very high tides the boardwalk and the shore can be under water, so look up the tide times for Port Appin before you set out, and wait for the water to drop if it's a big one. A 24-inch power chair fits across the bridge with a little to spare, though the slope up to the cycle track is steep.
Bikes share the track. Keep dogs under close control. From November to January set off by 2pm.
If it rains
It's level and short, so it goes in light rain with a waterproof, and the castle in mist is a fine sight. In a gale or on a very high tide, leave it.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Slochd, 4 miles away. Sleeps 2.
For further reading, before you go.