Knoydart Ferry, Lochaber
FERRY 25-45 minutes WALK 8-17 miles
Famously, not a single road crosses Knoydart. The middle of three ample peninsulas jutting out into the Atlantic, it’s a rare slice of British wilderness, filled with mountains, lochans and burns. The only practical way to travel to Inverie, a thrillingly remote settlement on the Knoydart coast, is on one of the ferries from Mallaig, the terminus of the West Highland Line. The mountainous terrain doesn’t allow for an easy circular walk out from Inverie but you can try a highly enjoyable hike to the Eas a’ Chaorainn waterfall. The track around the back of The Old Forge pub climbs through the community woodland, joining the Allt a’ Mhuilinn burn. Take a right fork to plunge through a large plantation and join the Allt Coire Torr an Asgaill river. Cross the bridge when you come to it, turn left and follow the faint footpath alongside the burn and its Abhainn Bheag tributary to reach the waterfall, then back the way you came. Alternatively, you can follow a track past Loch an Dubh-Lochain and over the pass of Mam Barrisdale to Barrisdale Bay, an arc of gold sand at the foot of Knoydart’s highest peak, the staggeringly beautiful Ladhar Bheinn. It’s 8½ miles each way, but there is a bothy at the bay and there are few finer locations to dream the night away. Or for a truly energetic haul, you can scale that summit from Inverie; a 14-mile circuit of ridge and high crag and jaw-dragging views across Knoydart’s Rough Bounds.
All year; westernislescruises.co.uk