An Introduction to Knoydart.

Start. Inverie (Knoydart Pottery and Tea Room)

Route. Inverie - Old Forge - Inverie Wood - Dozer Corner - Sawmill Wood - Kilchoan Estate Bridge - Inverie River - Long Beach - Inverie.

Notes. Inverie the largest settlement on mainland Britain not connected to the road network, the only way in being a fifteen mile walk or a boat trip from Mallaig. Because the boat is the only regular link you'll find yourself in the company of a cross-section of Scotish reality, our trip coincided with a large contingent of painters and decorators, the mail delivery and a number of locals heading home after a night out. Famed for it's long hill days the Knoydart Peninsular is a mecca for mountain walkers, the Knoydart Foundation have also developed a number of shorter walks introducing the day tripper to a slice of this isolated kingdom. So take a walk with us, on what the local community have christened "Knoydart in a Knutshell”.

We picked a brochure up at the local information centre come community shop, come gift shop, come Knoydart Foundation Display Room, you soon notice everything is duel purpose in these parts. We left the shop heading back past The Old Forge, according to the Guinness Book of Records the most isolated pub in Britain. At the end of the building a finger-post pointed up the hill, we were soon following the “Knutshell” signs, passed an old chimney we ascended, forest tracks under foot. At the first path junction we turned right, along the edge of a felled plantation we walked, stunning views over Loch Nevis spurred us on. We passed a rusty bulldozer at Dozer Corner before the path spat us out onto the foreshore of Loch Nevis, we turned left, letting a stoney track usher us up hill to reach a deer gate. After passing through said gate we immediately turned right to pass through a smaller gate allowing access to beech woods. This was Sawmill Wood (or Fairy Glen), the path descended passed a disused sawmill and far more modern deer larder (white building). We turned left after the larder, wandered passed a line of dwellings to reach Kilchoan Estate Bridge, here a narrow path to the right ushered us to the Inverie River which we followed to Long Beach on the coast. We sat a while drinking in the atmosphere, an intense silence, yes we could here sea birds, the wind, wavelets breaking on the shore but the back ground sound of modern living had vanished, the air was virgin, I didn't want to leave. Ages passed before we wandered along the beach, turned sharp right at a log cabin to join a track that guided us back to the line of dwellings passed earlier, from here we walked in silence back to the village, stooping only to inspect an old weigh station.

view route map.

home.

The pier at Inverie with views to Rubha Raonuill.

The Old Forge the most isolated inn in the British Isles, it would be even better if the landlord had bothered to open.

Views taken over Inverie Bay.

Dating back to the 1960s this redundant oven was built for use as a sawdust burner.

This wonderful shaded path guides us back to the coast.

Seen over Inverie Bay, Rubha Raonuill and Creagan Dearga.

Sue stops for a breather on the edge of Sawmill Wood.

On Kilchoan Estate Bridge looking to Sgurr Coire Choinnichean rising into an ice blue sky.

Seen from the banks of the Inverie River, A' Chruach.

Tucked away, hidden by gorse this small anchorage was quite a surprise.

Standing at the mouth of the Inverie River looking to Gleann Meadail with Meall Buidhe to the left and Beinn Bhuidhe the right.

Long Beach looking to Sgurr Coire Choinnichean.

Inverie Bay.

A long lingering look across Inverie Bay and the mouth of Loch Nevis, blue/grey across the skyline the hills of Rum.

On the way back we passed this, it was still in good working order, a weigh station used to weigh loads such as coal and grain landed on the beach nearby.

A silent goodbye to Inverie, will we be back, most probably.

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