Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Loch Moidart, calm water winding between wooded rocky shores towards hills under low cloud.
Ardnamurchan

Loch Moidart

A quiet sea loch in Moidart, its wooded shores reached by the single-track A861, with Castle Tioram on its tidal island where the River Shiel comes in.

Welcome

Loch Moidart is one of the quietest corners of the west coast, a sea loch winding in among wooded, rocky shores, with the single-track A861 following its edge from Acharacle round to Kinlochmoidart at its head.

Its best-known sight is Castle Tioram, a ruined castle standing on its own tidal island where the River Shiel flows into the loch. A narrow road leads from the Shiel bridge to the shore, and you can walk out along the beach and over the sandbar causeway, which is passable in all but the highest tides.

At the head of the loch, by the road at Kinlochmoidart, a line of beech trees remembers the seven companions who landed with Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. Come for the calm of the place: still water, woods coming down to the shore, and very few people.

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.14 min by roadSee itResipole Studios, Lochaber
Before you go

Open at any hour and free; the causeway to Castle Tioram's island is covered only at the highest tides.

Where
Moidart, north of Acharacle.
Road
The single-track A861.
On it
Castle Tioram.
Where it is

Along the single-track A861 north of Acharacle; for Castle Tioram, the narrow road from the north end of the River Shiel bridge.

Close byMoidart.
  1. 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.Under a mile1 min by road
  2. Rolling grassland and wooded slopes lead towards distant Highland peaks under a partly cloudy skyThe Seven Men of MoidartThe beeches at the head of the loch.8 miles11 min by road
  3. Visitor looks through binoculars inside a timber-framed wildlife hide overlooking the lochGarbh Eilean Wildlife HideA wooden wildlife hide on the shore of Loch Sunart, looking out to islands where common seals bask and herons nest.10 miles15 min by road
  4. A rocky headland juts into a loch beneath a cloud-covered mountainLoch SunartThe sea loch to the south.17 miles27 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.17 miles27 min by road
Directions
Resipole Studios, LochaberAttractionsResipole Studios8.0 miles
Two dolphins leap from the water near a rocky, heather-covered shorelineAttractionsArdnamurchan Charters11 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 · 12 miles
Borradill Cottage, ArdnamurchanArdnamurchanBorradill CottageSleeps 4 · 12 miles
Copper pot still and oak barrel beside a window overlooking a lochAttractionsArdnamurchan Distillery15 miles
Stay nearby

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

The 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 Loch Moidart
Free 15–17 NovBorradill Cottage, ArdnamurchanBorradill Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Ardnamurchan
  • 8 miles from Loch Moidart
Free 29 Nov – 1 DecA 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 Ardnamurchan
  • 9 miles from Loch Moidart
Check datesA white cottage with a grey slate roof stands behind a stone wall among trees on a hillside.The Old School
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Ardnamurchan
  • 16 miles from Loch Moidart
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in ArdnamurchanAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 12Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.