Camusdarach and Morar – Two Walks on White Sand
Between Arisaig and Mallaig the old coast road passes one white beach after another, and these are the two to walk.
Camusdarach is a wide bay behind dunes, where the beach scenes of the film Local Hero were shot in 1983. The Silver Sands of Morar, a little further up the road, lie where the River Morar runs out across the sand to the sea. Both walks are short and easy, and both beaches are at their widest with the tide out.
- Time
- About an hour, or as long as you like: there are no paths on the sand. An easy beach walk.
- The path
- Open sand, soft above the tide line and wet below it.
- Where to start
- The community-run pay car park at Tougal, at the top of the hill beside the public toilets. The road beside the beach is double yellow lines.
- Set off
- Near low water for the widest sands: check the tide times for Mallaig. From November to January, be on the sand by 2pm.
- When to go
- All year in daylight; both beaches are widest with the tide out. From November to January be on the second beach by 2pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead or close at heel from April to July, for ground-nesting birds.
- Children
- A wide sandy beach; keep children back from the river's channel.
- Before you set out
- Widest at low water. The river's channel runs quickly and the sand beside it can be soft.
The walk
Camusdarach has a small car park off the B8008, the old coast road between Arisaig and Morar. It's not for overnight stays, and the signs there say whether there's a charge. The road outside is double yellow lines, so if the car park is full, don't wait on the road.
A sandy path leads through the dunes to the beach, a wide bay of white sand. On a clear day Eigg and Rum sit on the horizon, with the hills of Skye to the north-west. The beach scenes of Local Hero were filmed here in 1983.
The usual walk through the dunes and along the sands is about 4 km and takes an hour to an hour and a half. There are no toilets and no lifeguard. Keep dogs on a lead or close at heel from April to July, when birds nest on the ground.
If it rains
Two open beaches with no shelter. In a shower they're still worth a short walk in waterproofs; in a gale, look from the dunes and keep off the sand by the river.
Along the way
2 min by car
Silver Sands of Morar
An attraction
The Silver Sands are 2 minutes' drive further up the B8008. Use the community's pay car park at Tougal, at the top of the hill beside the public toilets. The road beside the beach is double yellow lines. The sands lie along the last sweep of the River Morar, where it runs out to the sea over a sand bar. There are no paths: you wander as far as you like, from the soft upper sand to the ripples at the water's edge, and the Highland Council's walk leaflet suggests wellies for it. The sands are widest at low water, and at their very best at the bottom of a spring tide, so look up the tide times for Mallaig before you come. The river's channel runs quickly across the beach and the sand beside it can be soft, so keep children well back from it. Keep dogs on a lead or close at heel from April to July. From November to January, be on the sand by 2pm.
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 Eilean Sionnach Lighthouse Cottage, 12 miles away. Sleeps 8.
Then Kinloch Lodge, 15 miles away.
For further reading, before you go.
Photographs by Leon Barnfield and Leah Chappell via Google