Every single year I say how much I want to explore the west coast of Scotland. And every year we end up not doing it for whatever reason. Usually fear of the weather and the infamous midge. But after six months of being confined to our house, two lost jobs and a very real urge to ‘escape’, we booked a campsite near Mallaig, borrowed my parent’s tent and started to get our camping gear together.
The morning of our holiday was greeted with blue skies and sunshine. Surely a good sign for the week ahead. Well, probably not, this is Scotland; four seasons in a day is more our style. But nevertheless buoyed by the sunshine we loaded up the car and hit the road. The journey from Glasgow to Mallaig is stunning. And when the sun is shining, it’s truly spectacular. From Glasgow you pass along the banks of Loch Lomond, through Glen Coe, skirt around Fort William then out along the ‘Road to the Isles’, passing sparkling lochs and heather laden mountains. I can see why people take the train along the West Highland Line. It’s the most perfect journey to just sit back and stare out of the window.
Once you leave Fort William behind, the roads quieten right down and it’s a relaxing journey, with some beautiful spots to stop at to take in the view. There is something so calming about being somewhere quiet, close to waters with mountains all around.
We were staying at Camusdarach campsite, about ten minutes’ drive north of Arisaig. We checked in quickly and were soon putting our tent up on our allocated space. As soon as the tent was up, it was beach time. This is what we’d really come for. I’d seen many a photo on Instagram of Camusdarach beach and knew I had to see it for myself. It usually crops up with a caption of ‘Can’t believe this is Scotland’ or ‘Scotland or a tropical island?’. And honestly, stepping onto the beach for myself, it’s safe to say the captions are both spot on. White sand, turquoise waters and sunshine glistening on the water, an actual piece of heaven. Camusdarach beach is the biggest beach down the trail from the campsite, but there were multiple beaches of all sizes, especially when the tide was out. All absolutely stunning. And the best part, completely empty! Just us.
The beaches weren’t empty all of the time but at no point could we ever see more than six other people. Social distancing at its best! After a good play on the beach, poking around the rock pools and kicking a football around, you could move on to another beach or find another great viewpoint easily. There were ‘trails’ in the sand dunes and each time you climbed up and peered over, there was another incredible view to say hello to.
The beaches overlook the Islands of Eigg, Rum and Skye so when the clouds weren’t too thick, it was fascinating seeing them in the distance. I can’t put into words the incredible feeling we got from being in the fresh, albeit rather breezy, air in such a stunning place. It was like therapy.
Get us outside 