Kilmory to Ockle

The walk along the road from Kilmory to Ockle is one of our favourites when the open hills are unfriendly - either when they're too wet underfoot or the weather is intimidating.  The other day, with some heavy hail showers coming in on a brisk northwesterly wind, we walked it again.

We parked near the old, walled churchyard at Kilmory.  It's a beautifully peaceful place, an area of hummocked ground which hides hundreds of years of history.  In the distance is the low, dark outline of the Isle of Muck.

Half a mile to the east, the road breasts a rise and the high hills of Moidart, capped with early winter snow, come into view.  By this time a dark mass of rain was running down towards us from the direction of Rum, but the low sun - it was mid-afternoon - shone through it to give us a series of rainbows.

As the shower arrived, bringing with it some stinging hail, we had just reached the point where Swordle Bay comes into sight.  Archaeologists from the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project have been excavating in this area for some years, and have shown that Neolithic man lived here.  Later, the Vikings came, and one of the ATP's most exciting finds, of a Viking chief buried in his long boat, was close to the Bay House (right).

One of the pleasures of this walk is that the road twists and turns, works its way steeply uphill, and then plunges into the next valley.  So the view is forever changing.  This picture shows the village of Ockle, where the road ends.  At this time of year it's a lonely road, so in the two hours we walked it we only saw two cars, one a mother collecting her children from the primary school in Kilchoan, the other belonging to the Camerons, who rent out three holiday houses at Ockle though Ockle Holidays.

One of their cottages is Sruthan Ruadh.  This photograph was taken last month by the talented photographer and writer, Polly Pullar, who frequently stays at the cottage.  Her new book, 'Fauna Scotica', has recently been published by Birlinn and is on sale at The Ferry Stores or through the publisher, here.  Polly's website is here.