The sign by the entrance to the village welcoming visitors to Kilchoan - by which it means the larger community of Kilchoan, including Ormsaigmore and Ormsaigbeg - boasts of beaches. This one, in Ormsaigmore, is the only real beach, the only one that's easily accessible for families with children carrying buckets and spades, but it's a little short of what most might look for - the sort of golden sands that they'll find at Sanna.
Despite this, the beach's grey sands, mud and seaweed-covered rocks have plenty to offer - the Diary has written before of the seashells, bits of pottery, vintage car remains, pigs' trotters, builders' rubbish, and sundry flotsam that are there to be picked over. At a quiet time, like this morning just as the shop was opening, it's a great place....
....to watch birds, including, today, grey heron, shag, gulls, greylag geese, pipits, and the last of the swallows flying low over the water to catch bugs.
But walk on to the far end of this little beach, to the point where the Millburn splits into what could be rather grandly described as its delta, and you have the ideal place....
....to see a dipper, the strange little bird that jumps from a vantage point into the fast-flowing burn to hunt insects under the river stones.
The one that was there this morning was perfectly well aware that it was being watched but seemed quite happy with the intrusion, as long as I kept a reasonable distance.
The beech at the pier was always a favourite when we were kids
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the front cover of Guthrie Hutton's collection of photographs of Old Ardnamurchan (usually available in the shop)you will see that there was a sturdy stile leading down to this little beach of silvery sand with rock pools full of sea anemones, hermit crabs, limpets etc. This is where I played as a child. We didn't have a car. I only went to Sanna when taken by summer visitors with a child my age. Now the stile is gone and access seems to be prohibited. I would like to know the status of this prohibition and wonder how long it will continue.
ReplyDeleteWonder if the Heron is the same one from 3 years ago , will be coming back next year x Maz
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