Silver Walk
A lovely, but fairly strenuous, and long coastal walk along the shores of Loch Moidart, with the possibility of seeing otters and a range of coastal birds. The walk is a ‘there and back’, although parts of the Silver Walk are incorporated into other routes, namely Blain Burn and Castle Tioram Walk.
starting grid ref:
OS Map:
- Explorer 390 - Ardnamurchan
grade:
- moderate
Type:
- there and back
time:
length:
terrain:
Route Details
1. Park at car-park off the A861 with an interpretation board introducing the walks around Ardmolich. Head off through the magical mixed spruce plantations, strewn with bryophytes. The path descends initially, and passes through a gate/ stile from where the path begins to ascend steeply. There is a welcome bench on route with good views of Loch Moidart and The Small Isles.
2. Take the right hand path by the coast and then right again. The path follows the contours of the rocky coast line descending to the edge of the beach on occasions.
The walk descends to the edge of a small salt marsh with a few deserted houses inland. The walk then heads inland ascending to the deserted township of Port a’ Bhata (the bay of boats), with its many abandoned stone buildings. Continue along the track through the hill heading downhill on a well defined track/path, eventually crossing a small stream walking over some large boulders. The path skirts along the coast with oak, birch, pine and larch, aspen woodland above and the indented coast and sea below.
3. When you reach a stone cairn continue along the coastal route, ignoring the path to the left. The latter path goes to the ruined village of Briag, which can be explored on the Castle Tioram walk.
4. Continue along the coastal path which tightly hugs the coastline and in section requires some scrambling over boulders as well as descending close to the coast where the path traverses a boulder block. The path crosses close to the edge of the rocky cliffs, with a particularly vertiginous section as you near Castle Tioram, where the path skirts around the edge of an outcrop. There are also some muddy sections.
5. Continue along the path, climbing up some stone steps and passing through a low iron gate and then descending to a lovely beach at Dorlin. At low tide, you can walk to the Castle along an exposed sandy isthmus. You should be aware of the tide, as at high tide the castle becomes cut off from the mainland.
6. After exploring the area, return by the same route.
