The Wild Knoydart Peninsula

The Wild Knoydart Peninsula

The Knoydart Peninsula is arguably the most remote area in the United Kingdom. It can be only reached by land by hiking from various places like Kinlochhourn or Mallaig. However you could also take to the water and take a ferry to Inverie the main village on the peninsula or the more adventerous way to paddle there with a sea kayak. The whole peninsula has a population of 98 on an area 71 square kilometre. Almost all the population is in Inverie.

Around Inverie are about 10 miles of tarmacked road which don't connect to the main road network at all. The village also houses the most remote pub in mainland UK, The Old Forge. The campsite just at the southern end of the village, is owned and run by the Knoydart Foundation. It is very basic but you get there a compost toilet and a shelter for cooking when the rain or midges outside is getting too bad.

From Inverie you get several paths to lead you to other parts of the peninsula like Sourlies. To get to the far end of Loch Nevis where Sourlies is situated would take the better part of a day and you will find there a surprisingly busy bothy and plenty of place to put up a tent. The bothy gets in the summer visitors from all around the world going there for sea kayaking, hillwalking or just trekking.

North and towards Loch Hourn you would get to another small place with 2 permanent residents, a campsite and a bothy called Barisdale.

Hills to climb

The Knoydart peninsula has a few Munros (hills over 3000ft or 914.4m) and Corbetts to offer which are hard to reach and still have that quality of a good mountain day.

Ladhar Bheinn is the most western of the munros and can be reached from either Barisdale or Inverie. The hill is 1020 metres high and has a small ridge at the top. There are actually 2 summits on a small norrow ridge of 200 metres and it can be a bit deceiving which one is the true summit. The most easterly one is the summit and the western peak with the trig point isn't.

Meall Buidhe (946m) is a little further south of Ladhar Bheinn and is again a standalone hill, which is easily reached by Inverie. A path is leading you straight up towards a high pass and then an easy scramble to the summit. The hill has the typical rocky and rugged look of the area and has great views in all directions.

Instead of going straight back down to Inverie you can climb a horseshoe and tick off a Corbett called Beinn Bhuidhe (855m) The summit is easily spotted on the narrow ridge since it has another trig point on it.

There are 2 hills which can be easily reached from Barisdale. One is Luinne Bheinn (939m) and the other is Sgurr a'Coire bheithe (913m). The bigger one Luinne Bhein has again a very rugged look typical for the area, while the smaller stand alone hill has a nice gentle ridge leading you straight up to the summit.

Further south is another standalone Corbett called Ben Aden (887m). This is a bit harder to reach either from Barisdale or Sourlies ant the end of Loch Nevis. The hill has steep ascents from all sides and a magnificent view from the peak.

Last and most certainly not least are Sgurr na Ciche (1040m) and Garbh Chioch Mhor (1013m). They are best done together. Garbh means rough in Gaelic and in practice both are pretty rough. Sgurr na Ciche has a long ridge which can be climbed from Sourlies. On the other side is a steep decent to the col to get back up towards Garbh Choich Mhor. This hill has an easier ascent. It is best to get back to the col to get back down towards Sourlies.

Getting There

From Mallaig you can take a ferry which runs Monday to Saturday twice a day in the summer to Inverie. There is also a small boat going across Loch Hourn from Arnisdale to Barisdale.

External Links

The Old Forge
sea kayaking scotland and in Knoydart

Camping

There are camping places in Inverie and Barisdale with some basic facilities. You can wild camp pretty much anywhere outside the hunting season.

Images

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