📌 Durness, Highland
★★★
At low tide, the final throes of the River Dionard thread a winding route through an enormous expanse of immaculate sand. These are the Kyles of Durness, from the other side of which you can access the wild northwestern tip of the UK mainland at Cape Wrath. There are several possible start points on the circuit, but setting off from the scattered buildings at Balnakeil Craft Village splits up the duller inland section. This is a beautiful stretch of coastline, with the added dimension of storm force winds when we visited; the luxury hot chocolate at Cocoa Mountain was a very welcome sight at the end!
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at Balnakeil Craft Village, minor road 0.5 mi west of Durness
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NC 394680
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 58.570245,-4.763361
🚌 Extremely infrequent bus stops at craft village
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 10 km / 6 mi | ▲ 120 m | ⌛ 3 hr
Features: 🏠 Balnakeil Craft Village; 🏖️ Balnakeil Bay; 🏖️ Kyle of Durness
⬤ Moderate | Minor road to Balnakeil Bay then coastal path – clear at first but increasingly faint. Roads and track across fields to return to start.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start & craft Village – Balnakeil Bay – Solmar – Cape Wrath Hotel via Kyle of Durness coast path – track junction at 🧭 NC 393670 – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Sheep with lambs sheltering in grassy hollows.
Weather: Dry and often sunny after rain, but very windy: strong enough to blow you over at times.
April 2013
