Port nam Murrach

With the weather still looking changeable, we drove down to Arisaig and then out to the end of the Rhu road with the intention of walking out the mile and a half or so to the beaches at Port nan Murrach.

Port nam Murrach Beaches

There’s the remains of an old pier at the end of the road and enough space to park four for five cars. The rest of the way is pretty straightforward; just follow the track out to Rhue House and, just before the house, you’ll see a way-marked path heading off on the left, between an outbuilding and the fence. Follow this somewhat muddy path and you’ll eventually reach the beach at Port nan Murrach.

There are two beautiful little white sand beaches here. No dunes a such though, regardless of the name. The waterline at the Eastern beach is covered by thousands of little pink, cream and yellow periwinkles while the Western beach is covered in limpet shells. Of course, on both you’ll also find the rare little cowrie shells as well but they are very few and far between. I remember reading that only one in a thousand shells is a cowrie but I reckon they’re far rarer than that.

Eigg and Rùm from Port nam Murrach

Port nan Murrach is probably the nearest place on the mainland to the Island of Eigg so you can get some really good views of the island and its cliff-draped coastline. You can also see the Island of Rùm just behind Eigg and, if it's clear, all the way over to the Isle of Skye and the Black Cuilin.

PS The local cattle use the beaches as well so watch out for their fairly sizable presents if you’re going to have a sit on the sand.