Things to do
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Achmelvich Beach
White shell sand and green water fill a small bay north of Lochinver, with gneiss headlands on either side for scrambling and rock pools. Families swim here on calm summer days, though the water stays cold all year. A single-track road with passing places leads in, and the car park fills by late morning in July and August.
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Ardvreck Castle
A roofless MacLeod tower stands on a grass spit at the north end of Loch Assynt, reached by a short path from a lay-by on the A837. In 1650 the Marquis of Montrose was held here after his capture, before his execution in Edinburgh. The spit can flood when the loch runs high, and the masonry is unstable, so walkers keep outside the walls.
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Clachtoll Beach
Sheltered by low reefs, Clachtoll's beach sits beside a crofting township and a small campsite on the B869. Paddlers and sea kayakers use the calm water inside the reef, and the split rock that gives the place its name stands off the shore. A shore path leads to the Iron Age broch in about 15 minutes, so the two make one outing.
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Clachtoll Broch
Stone walls of an Iron Age tower stand on the shore rocks a short walk from Clachtoll beach, its huge triangular lintel still in place over the doorway. Recent excavation found that a fire destroyed it around two thousand years ago, and boards on site explain the layout. Access is on foot along the shore path, which turns slippery after rain.
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Eas a' Chual Aluinn
Britain's highest waterfall drops about 200 metres from a hanging valley above the head of Loch Beag, east of Kylesku. Summer boat trips from Kylesku sail up the loch for a view of the fall, passing seals on the skerries. Walkers can reach the top on a rough hill path from the A894, a long outing best left to dry, clear weather.
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Kylesku Bridge
A curved concrete span crosses Loch a' Chairn Bhain at Kylesku, replacing a small car ferry in 1984 and carrying the A894 north towards Scourie. Roadside viewpoints give the classic angle on the bridge with the Quinag ridge behind. Summer boat trips to the seals and the high waterfall leave from the old ferry slip below the bridge.
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Old Man of Stoer
Standing about 60 metres high, this sandstone sea stack rises off the cliffs north of Stoer lighthouse. A boggy clifftop path from the lighthouse car park reaches the viewpoint in about an hour, and climbers sometimes swim a rope across to scale it. The lighthouse sits at the end of a single-track road, and the path runs close to unfenced cliff edges.
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Suilven
A sandstone ridge rises sheer from the moorland east of Lochinver, its rounded western end visible from the harbour. Climbing it takes a full day: a long walk-in from Glencanisp, a steep gully to the ridge, and the same way back, around 20 km in all. Hillwalkers need settled weather, navigation skills and an early start.
