Loch Aline – The Low Road to Kinlochaline Castle
About 4.6 miles on foot.
Loch Aline is a narrow sea loch that opens off the Sound of Mull at the village of Lochaline, in Morvern.
The old low road follows its west shore under ash, alder and oak to the head of the loch, where the tower of Kinlochaline Castle stands on a rock above the river. It's tarmac all the way, 4.6 miles there and back, and it suits a short winter day.
- Time
- About two hours: 4.6 miles, 7.4 km, there and back on a tarmac track. An easy, level walk.
- The path
- Tarmac track throughout, with a pedestrian gate where it passes the sand mine.
- Where to start
- A free car park in Lochaline beside the public toilets, near the ferry slip.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off by 1pm to be back in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by 1pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead: deer and otters are about, and the track passes a working mine.
- Children
- Level and nearly free of traffic; a long two hours for small legs.
- Before you set out
- Kinlochaline Castle is a private home: look from the road.
The walk
Park in Lochaline near the ferry slip, where there's a free car park beside the public toilets. The low road is signposted from there, just north of the toilets and the social club. Ardtornish Estate, which owns the ground, gives the walk as 4.6 miles there and back and grades it easy. Allow about two hours. It's a tarmac track the whole way. Early on it skirts the Lochaline sand mine, which digs a very pure silica sand for glass-making, and passes the pontoons, where a board explains the geology. Beyond that the track runs through woodland along the shore, with boats moored on the loch and an old lime kiln by the way.
Otters hunt along here, and waders and diving ducks feed on the water. Near the head, Ardtornish House comes into view, a Victorian mansion with a tall clock tower, finished in 1891. Kinlochaline Castle is a 15th-century tower house, built as a stronghold of Clan MacInnes. It's a private home now, so look from the road. The estate's Coal Shed Café is at Ardtornish, across the river from the castle and three miles from the village. It serves breakfast, lunch and baking from 9.30am to 4pm every day from February to December, and dogs are welcome. It shuts for the winter during December, so ring the estate on 01967 421288 before you count on it late in the year.
The estate culls deer until 15 February and asks walkers to keep to tracks, which this walk does. Lochaline is at the end of the A884. The Corran Ferry is the short way across Loch Linnhe when it's running, and its main boat is due a refit from November, so check the Highland Council's Corran Ferry page before setting out. By road, the A861 comes round the head of Loch Eil. From November to January, set off by 1pm.
If it rains
Tarmac underfoot and trees overhead for much of the way: this walk goes well enough in the wet. The café at Ardtornish is the place to dry off when it's open.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Linda Mackenzie via Google