The historic road to Applecross is one of the most treacherous but beautiful roads in Scotland (and probably Great Britain) and it links ancient Applecross Bay with Kishorn and the rest of Scotland. If you do start your adventure at Kishorn be sure to pop into the wonderful Kishorn Seafood Bar!
The Cromarty Firth is the middle of the three sea Lochs in between the Dornoch Firth and the Beauly Firth. If you are heading up to famous Helmsdale for a spot of fishing you will drive up the A9 towards Tain and Dornoch and will follow the road as it snakes around the beautiful Cromarty Firth.
Tarbat Ness is a peninsular on the rugged north east coast of Scotland and it has a lot to offer. From the Tarbat Ness Lighthouse and the seaside village of Portmahomack to beautiful walks around the Tarbat Ness headland and the excellent Tarbat Ness Discovery Centre, this beautiful area of the east coast is fun for all the family.
The Church at Tarbet Ness
The Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is at the northwest tip of the Tarbat Peninsula and was built in 1830 by Robert Stevenson, the lighthouse is something of a tourist attraction being the third highest lighthouse in Scotland. After 16 ships wrecked just off the coast in the great storm of 1836 the Lighthouse was built at a cost of £9,361!
Tarbet Ness Lighthouse
When visiting Portmahomack and the Tarbat Peninsular I would highly recomend having a fantastic Michelin starred lunch or dinner at Glenmorangie House, it is not far from Portmahomack and well worth the visit for such an exquisite dining experience.
Tarbet Ness Discovery Centre
As well as award winning dining the Tarbat Ness peninsular is home to the award winning Tarbat Ness Discovery Centre and museum. This superb resource gives you an insight into the areas Heritage and the very interesting Pictish history in the surrounding area.
Plaque at Tarbet Ness Discovery Centre
Tarbat Ness is home to a number of excellent highland walking circuits of varying fitness levels. The views along the rocky coast and beaches are stunning but remember to wrap up warm!
Stay on the Peninsular for the weekend or in one of our wonderful B&Bs in the area. Not only is Tarbat Ness a great place for a weekend break but is the perfect way to break a journey if you are travelling north up the A9.
To really get the experience of the most historic route to Skye you have to take the Mallaig to Armadale ferry. Mallaig is the end of the “Road to the Isles” and either you retrace your steps or you step out on the splinter of the North Atlantic Shelf that should be in Iceland or Norway that we know as Skye. Once upon a time this would have been a busier trading location than Liverpool. To get to Skye you can either drive over the Kyle of Lochalsh bridge but this is a good 2 hours drive (even though you do see the beautiful Eilean Donan Castle on the way), whereas Fort William to Mallaig on the ferry is only a little over an hour, really much more fun!
Mallaig Harbour
I recommend that in the high season that you book your ticket in advance with Calmac as it understandably gets very busy! I particularly recommend booking the 1.45pm sailing as you can watch the Jacobite steamtrain come in to the station and if your children smile sweetly you may even charm the engine driver in to letting them inside the drivers cabin! Lunch has to be the fabulous prawn rolls that you buy at the station cafe that you can eat on the seawall while watching the ferry come in.
The view of Skye from the ferry
If you have children and fancy spending the night before in Mallaig there are many wonderful B&Bs around the area, grab a bite to eat at the Cornerstone Seafood Restaurant. Remember to book your accommodation on Skye before you head over! It gets wonderfully busy in the summer!
The Glenuig Inn
The Glenuig bar
The Glenuig bar area
The Loch Leven Seafood Restaurant is located down the road to Kinlochleven from North Ballachulish near lots of lovely B&Bs. Not only is the food fabulous at Loch Leven but the restaurant has a vast wholesaling business attached that happily retails fish to the public.
The seafood cafe
When I went there in July, I bought an enormous 6lb lobster that they cooked for me on the spot and loaded me up with soft clams, razor clams (very under-rated), languostine, scallops, kippers, sole and white-fish fillets. Not only were they incredibly lovely people, but they vacuum packed our fish, threw in lemons and some home-made mayonnaise and charged me a very reasonable price for it all!
Loch Leven lobster
You could even take your gorgeous fresh fish back to your B&B and have it cooked at home to perfection! If you go late in the afternoon you may even be given some of the fish that has been unsold from the restaurant that day. I could not recommend The Loch Leven Seafood Restaurant highly enough.
The outside of the cafe and the wholesaling business
Looking out from Ardnamurchan lighthouse
Ardnamurchan Point Lighthouse
Ardnamurchan Lighthouse foghorn
The village of Arisaig is otherwise known as ‘the safe place’ and this is the perfect safe place to let your children play outside and really explore.
The beaches around Arisaig became particularly famous after the 1983 Bill Forsyth film Local Hero came out. The beaches around Arisaig are really quite idyllic and perfect for children because of the little inlets and coves for them to explore. Within the bay, that could stretch as much as half a mile out, there was sheltered water so the children could play without going out of their depth. There were brilliant jumping rocks and sea urchins to find and space for the children to explore without being too far out of earshot.
In and around Arisaig there are lots of wonderful places to stay, take your time and stay for the weekend to fully appreciate the beauty of the beaches and the surrounding area!