Ceannabeinne – A Short Walk Round a Cleared Township
About 0.6 miles on foot.
Above one of the loveliest beaches on the north coast lie the tumbled walls of Ceannabeinne, a township of ten households that was emptied in a single year.
A short waymarked trail loops round what is left, with boards that tell how the women here stood up to the sheriff officer in 1841. It takes under an hour, and a hot chocolate at Balnakeil afterwards rounds off the morning.
- Time
- About 45 minutes: a waymarked loop of about 1 km (0.6 miles) with 65 metres of climbing. A short walk with a few steep bits.
- The path
- Grass paths with a few short, steep bits and a burn, a small stream, to cross.
- Where to start
- The gravel car park above Ceannabeinne beach on the A838, about three miles east of Durness. Free.
- Set off
- From November to January, arrive by 2pm.
- When to go
- All year in daylight; from November to January be at the trail by 2pm. Cocoa Mountain is open until the end of November and shut from December to February.
- Dogs
- On a lead: cattle and sheep graze the slope.
- Children
- A short walk. The boards tell of evictions and a riot, so it's worth a word with younger children first.
- Toilets
- None here: the nearest are in Durness, three miles west.
- Before you set out
- Cattle and sheep graze the township. The white cottage is a private holiday house.
The walk
Park in the gravel car park above Ceannabeinne beach, on the A838 about three miles east of Durness. It's free, and there are no toilets nearer than the village. Walkhighlands gives the trail as 1 km and about 45 minutes, with 65 metres of climbing. It's a waymarked loop over grass, with a few short, steep bits and a burn, a small stream, to cross, so wear boots. In 1841 fifty people lived here in ten households.
By the end of 1842 there were none. When the sheriff officer came to serve the eviction notices, the women of the township stood against him. The trouble spread to Durness, where a crowd of men drove the constables out of the inn, and it is remembered as the Durness riot. The trail opened in 2009, and its boards tell the story among the low walls of the houses themselves. It's a place where people were put out of their homes, and it's worth a few quiet minutes before the view takes over.
That view is of pale sand below, with the island of Eilean Hoan just offshore. The white cottage beside the trail, built in 1827, is the last building of the township still standing. It's a private holiday house, so admire it from the path. Cattle and sheep graze the slope, so keep dogs on a lead, and expect high bracken in late summer. From November to January, be here by 2pm.
If it rains
It's a short walk, so a shower won't spoil it, but the grass is slippery when wet and there's no shelter on the slope. Cocoa Mountain is the place to dry off.
Afterwards
About 10 min by car
Cocoa Mountain Balnakeil
Hot chocolate
Cocoa Mountain is in Balnakeil Craft Village, on the far side of Durness: the pale blue building with the white portico, where chocolates and truffles are made by hand. Its hot chocolate is rich and comes with a croissant, a slice of cake or a piece of rocky road if you want one. It's open every day from 9am to 6pm until the end of November, and then shuts for the winter until March. Sit inside, or outside on a fine day, where dogs are welcome. In the winter months, take a flask to the beach instead.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Where to eat
Cocoa Mountain Balnakeil, a café in Durness.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Gail Dawn Wright via Google