Camas nan Geall – The Bay of the Strangers
Camas nan Geall is a curved bay on the south coast of Ardnamurchan, under the bulk of Ben Hiant, with green fields behind the shingle.
People have lived and buried their dead here for thousands of years, and a short walk down from the road passes a chambered cairn, a standing stone and an old burial ground on the way to the shore. From the beach a rough path carries on west along the coast, for anyone who wants a longer walk.
- Time
- About half an hour down to the bay and back, a few hundred metres each way on a farm track. About two and a half hours with the walk on along the shore, 5.4 km there and back. A short stroll or a rough coast walk.
- The path
- A farm track through fields with kissing gates, very muddy at the last; the shore beyond is shingle, boulders and bog.
- Where to start
- The viewpoint car park on the B8007 above the bay, between Glenborrodale and Kilchoan.
- Set off
- From November to January, start the shore walk by noon to be back in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January start the shore walk by noon.
- Dogs
- On a lead: livestock graze the fields.
- Children
- The walk to the bay is short and easy in boots; the shore beyond is rough going and not for young children.
- Toilets
- The nearest public toilets are at Kilchoan and Salen.
The walk
Park at the viewpoint on the B8007, above the bay, between Glenborrodale and Kilchoan. A board there tells the volcanic story of Ben Hiant, the hill across the bay. A farm track leads down through the fields to the shore, a few hundred metres below, through kissing gates that can be very muddy. Beside the track stand the two portal stones of a chambered cairn. Nearer the shore are a carved standing stone and a medieval stone cut with a cross, beside Cladh Chiarain, an 18th-century burial ground with carved gravestones of the Campbells of Ardslignish. The beach is shingle, the bay calm and sheltered, and otters, eagles and seabirds are all seen here.
The name means the bay of the strangers. That is the short walk, and it's enough for most people. Wild Lochaber, the local guide to these peninsulas, describes a longer one west along the shore, 5.4 km there and back, and is plain that it's rough: shingle and boulders, bog, stream crossings and stretches with no clear path. Allow two and a half hours for it and wear boots. On the hillside above that shore are the ruins of Bourblaige, a township of some three dozen buildings that was cleared for sheep in 1828. There are no toilets nearer than Kilchoan or Salen, and no café on this stretch of road.
Livestock graze the fields, so keep dogs on a lead. The B8007 is single-track and slow. It leaves the A861 at Salen, and the A861 comes round by road from the A830 at Lochailort. From November to January, start the shore walk by noon.
If it rains
The short walk to the bay goes in any weather in boots. The shore beyond is slow and slippery when wet: leave it for a dry day.
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 Borradill House in Glenborrodale, 4 miles away. Sleeps 6; next free Sun 15 Nov to Tue 17 Nov.
Then Borradill Cottage, 4 miles away. Sleeps 4; next free Sun 29 Nov to Tue 1 Dec.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Cat Orman via Google