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Seaweed-covered rocks and calm water looking to small wooded islands on Loch Sunart from the Garbh Eilean hide, hills beyond under grey cloud.
Lochaber

Garbh Eilean Wildlife Hide

A wooden wildlife hide on the shore of Loch Sunart, looking out to islands where common seals bask and herons nest.

Welcome

On the shore of Loch Sunart, a short walk from the car park, stands a handsome wooden hide built by local people from wood grown and milled in the area.

Through its long windows you look out over the water to two small islands.

The larger is Garbh Eilean, the Rough Island, where common seals often haul out to bask on the rocks. Herons nest on the smaller island beside it, and seabirds work the loch. Keep an eye on the sky too: golden eagles and white-tailed eagles are sometimes seen here, and otters fish along the shore. A telescope in the hide brings it all closer.

The hide sits among the Sunart Oakwoods, some of the finest temperate oakwoods in the British Isles. It is a short drive from Strontian along the loch. Bring patience, and binoculars if you have them.

A short drive awayResipole StudiosAn award-winning gallery of contemporary Scottish art on the shore of Loch Sunart, with four exhibition spaces and changing shows.3 min by roadSee itResipole Studios, Lochaber
Before you go

Open at any hour and free.

Where
Loch Sunart, west of Strontian.
Watch for
Common seals and herons.
In the hide
A telescope.
Where it is

By the A861 on the shore of Loch Sunart, 10 to 15 minutes' drive from Strontian; the hide is close to the car park.

Close bySunart.
  1. Ruined stone tower on a rocky headland above a tidal sandbankLoch MoidartThe sea loch to the north.10 miles15 min by road
  2. Two dolphins leap from the water near a rocky, heather-covered shorelineArdnamurchan ChartersWildlife cruises, charters and diving trips on Loch Sunart and beyond, from Laga Bay on the Ardnamurchan peninsula.10 miles14 min by road
  3. Castle TioramCastle TioramA ruined castle of the Clanranald on a tidal island in Loch Moidart, reached across a sandy causeway, with the interior closed as unsafe.10 miles15 min by road
  4. A rocky headland juts into a loch beneath a cloud-covered mountainLoch SunartThe loch it looks over.15 miles23 min by road
  5. Camas nan Geall seen from above, a curving bay of calm water and a shingle spit below green slopes, Ben Hiant rising beyond.Camas nan GeallThe Bay of the Strangers.15 miles22 min by road
Directions
Resipole Studios, LochaberAttractionsResipole Studios1.9 miles
Borradill Cottage, ArdnamurchanLochaberBorradill CottageSleeps 4 · 10 miles
The house's gabled wing with a decked terrace and two chairs, solar panels along the roof, seen across a grassy slope.GlenborrodaleBorradill HouseSleeps 6 · 10 miles
Loch Shiel stretching away between mountains from Glenfinnan, the monument on the green at its head.AttractionsLoch Shiel13 miles
Copper pot still and oak barrel beside a window overlooking a lochAttractionsArdnamurchan Distillery13 miles
Rolling grassland and wooded slopes lead towards distant Highland peaks under a partly cloudy skyAttractionsThe Seven Men of Moidart13 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the hide, and when each is next free.

A white harled house with a slated roof sits behind a clipped hedge along a gravel drive, hills rising behind autumn trees.Glenhurich Lodge
  • Sleeps 11
  • In Lochaber
  • 5 miles from the Garbh Eilean hide
Check datesThe house's gabled wing with a decked terrace and two chairs, solar panels along the roof, seen across a grassy slope.Borradill House
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Glenborrodale
  • 8 miles from the Garbh Eilean hide
Free 15–17 NovBorradill Cottage, ArdnamurchanBorradill Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Lochaber
  • 8 miles from the Garbh Eilean hide
Free 29 Nov – 1 DecA white cottage with a grey slate roof stands behind a stone wall among trees on a hillside.The Old School
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Lochaber
  • 8 miles from the Garbh Eilean hide
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in LochaberAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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