Achmelvich Beach

Beach

Beach · Lochinver, United Kingdom 58.1694°N 5.3009°W

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Achmelvich Beach

Time needed

Add 20 to 30 minHermit's Castle and back

Cost

FreeOpen shore, all year

Effort

Easy on the sandPathless to the castle

Season

Busiest in summerQuieter in spring, autumn

Access

BoardwalkFrom car park to sand

From Lochinver

How to get to Achmelvich Beach from Lochinver?

Achmelvich lies about 5 km north-west of Lochinver by a single-track road. Walkers can take a good footpath instead, which starts from Baddidarrach in Lochinver.

Parking

Is there parking at Achmelvich Beach?

Yes. A car park serves the beach where the road into Achmelvich ends, and public toilets stand next to it. It is also the starting point for the walk to Hermit's Castle.

Hermit's Castle

Where is Hermit's Castle at Achmelvich?

Hermit's Castle stands on the coast at Achmelvich, a walk of 10 to 15 minutes from the beach over the headland. Sturdy shoes help on the uneven ground along the way.

Dogs

Is Achmelvich Beach dog friendly?

Yes. Dogs are allowed on the beach, but owners must keep them under control and pick up after them. The route to Hermit's Castle reaches its stile through a caravan site, so dogs should be kept close there.

Camping

Can you camp at Achmelvich Beach?

Yes, at the campsite and the caravan park that sit with a youth hostel at the end of the road. The hostel, 300 m from the beach, opens from April to September.

Bring walking shoes as well as a towel: Achmelvich is a cluster of small white-sand coves among rocky bays, and a scramble round the coast finds Hermit's Castle, a concrete hut that is easy to miss.

What makes it special

Achmelvich is really a small collection of white-sand beaches, tucked between rocky bays and headlands. Inland, the west end of Suilven rises above everything else in the view from the beach road.

The grey rock of the headlands is Lewisian gneiss, about 3,000 million years old. It is older than the sandstone of the hills inland, Canisp and Quinag among them.

Look for dark blobs and balls of hornblende in the gneiss, pulled out of once continuous layers as the rock was deformed. Dark vertical bands called Scourie dykes cut across it, and one crops out on the south-east side of the bay, close to the end of the road.

On a rocky point nearby stands Hermit's Castle, a tiny building of poured concrete made by a young architect, David Scott, in the 1950s, and only just big enough to stand up inside.

Visiting

Walk south along the shore to Sinky Sands, a small cove much quieter than the main bay. The boardwalk brings you down onto the sand, or you can cross the machair instead.

For Hermit's Castle, climb over the rocks and walk along the grass. Go over the stile and through the gate to the right of the last house.

Beyond the stile there is little sign of a path. Keep high round the coastline to avoid the slabby rocks where you can, and come back the same way.

Tips

In peak season the car park gets very busy, and even the sandy track leading into it can jam with cars. Allow extra time to park on a sunny summer day.

Coasteering, windsurfing and water skiing all happen in the bay, and the rocks are a good place for wildlife spotting. Hermit's Castle now serves walkers as a bothy, a basic free shelter, so leave it as you find it.

June to August are the warmest months for a swim or water sports.

For a second beach the same day, drive to Clachtoll Beach, about 10 km from Lochinver on the B869, where a coastal path runs to an Iron Age broch.

Know before you goThe road in is very narrow as of 2026, with tight bends and limited turning space near the car park. It is not suitable for buses, and it suits neither very big motorhomes nor wide campervans.