Walks that can be taken using the local bus. The local (494) bus is operated by West Coast Motors http://www.westcoastmotors.co.uk/ You can catch or alight the bus outside the Bellachroy Hotel. You can hail or alight the bus at anywhere along the main road, just tell the driver. If you intend catching the bus back ensure that you have given sufficient time for a walk otherwise it might be a long walk back to Dervaig along a main road. The walking times indicated below are for continuous reasonably fast walking. If you like to stroll or stop frequently then they will take considerably longer. Once you leave the tarmac it is advisable to wear boots or waterproof shoes. 1. The Croig peninsula Alight or catch the Calgary bus at the Am Birlinn restaurant and walk down the road to Croig (about 20-30 mins). There are several interesting walks around this area. Two possible walks are: Just before you come to the dry dock on the right there is a gate. Follow the path through the gate which takes you past a seal colony and on to a beach (about 10-15 mins). If you want a circular walk you can follow the loch side until you come to a new house built high above ground with an adjacent large barn (about 15-20 mins). Walk up to the house and follow the track through several gates back to the main road (about 20 mins). Once at the main road turn right to return to the Am Birlinn restaurant (5 mins) or left to walk back to Dervaig along the road (30 mins). At the pier continue past the old inn (now a house) and through a gate following the gravel road. Along this gravel road you can explore paths where there are gaps in the stone wall to find a ruined cottage with garden, small mounds that are the remains of bronze age cairns and a beach. Continue on the gravel road past houses on the right (Aonach) and the road bends to the right. A few metres after the right hand bend walk veer off the road across the grass about half way up the hill you will find the excavated remains of a medieval corn drying kiln. Continuing back on the gravel road past a track to Leachan before a new house on the left and past some ruins you come to a stone painted with the words Ports na Ba where you can go to another beach. If instead you continue along the road it becomes more of a track past a house called Freya and leads to Aird (a peninsula) where there are more bronze age cairns. Otters, herons, oyster catchers, shags and other sea birds can be seen in this area. At Aird you can walk back (clockwise) round the coast to Port na Ba and then take the gravel road back to the pier and road to Am Birlinn. At Aird you can also follow the coast to Langamull (see below) but there is no path and you will have to negotiate a cliff, rocky beach and river to return via Langamull. The walk to and from Aird takes about 20-30 mins). 2. Langamull and West Ardhu forests Alight or get on the Calgary bus at the (community owned) Langamull forest car park. At the car park you can follow the signs through the recently felled forest to a beach and the archaeological site at Kildavie. The walk around Langamull can be made circular by either taking the left fork to the beach or the right fork via Kildavie. The circular walk from the car park will take about 1-2 hours. Once at the beach if you can cross the river you can follow the coast clockwise to go to Croig (about 40 mins) and then follow the road to Am Birlinn (see walk 1). Do be aware that this is a working forest so watch out for forest workers and vehicles and heed any warning signs. At Langamull forest car park you can cross the main road and follow the timber extraction road. Do be aware that this is a working forest so watch out for forest workers and vehicles and heed any warning signs. This will eventually take you to the 'Hill road' where you can turn left to walk past 'The Old Byre' entrance and back to Dervaig. You could alternatively do the walk in reverse and return via the bus from Langamull car park. This walk will take about 2 hours.
3. Calgary the bus terminates at Calgary where there are toilets and a camp site. There are numerous walks around Calgary, including: The graveyard and walled garden. Across the road from the bus turning point there is a gate leading to a path to the private walled garden of Calgary castle and the graveyard where there is a path back to the road. (About 30-40 mins). Near the bus turning point you can cross the machair to the beach and turn right to walk along the beach towards the main car park (About 15 mins). (c) From the main car park entrance you can follow the signs to the 'Art in Nature' walk to Calgary gallery and tea room. (About 15-30 mins depending on the paths taken). (d) At the main car park you can follow a path through a gate along side the bay to an old pier. If you veer off the path to the right you can visit the 18th century ruined village of Inevie (about 30-40 mins each way). If you continue towards the now disused pier then you can follow the coast and eventually take a path that climbs up to the ruined village of Arine (about an hour each way). If you continue to follow the coast you will go round the Mornish peninsula and eventually end up at Caliach but then you will have to walk along a road past Sunipol to get back to the main road to Dervaig or Calgary. (About 3 hours from Calgary). 4. Loch Torr The bus will stop at the entrance into the forest. Walk past the bird hide and follow the path back to Dervaig. (About 2 hours). 5. Loch Frisa Take the gravel road which follows the shore of Loch Frisa. You can walk round the head of the loch and take a path to the Glen Road. However, there is no bus service along the Glen Road back to Dervaig so you could walk along the Glen Road back to Dervaig. (About 3-6 hours depending on how you return. 6. Speinne mor - Alight and hail the bus at the top of the escarpment after passing Loch Frisa from Dervaig. Follow the peaks until you reach the highest peak. Return the same way. There are some difficult paths down to Loch Frisa where you can get back to the main road. (About 3-4 hours). 7. Crater Loch Alight and hail the bus to the ruined cottage on the road alongside the Mishnish lochs. Follow the path on the right hand side of the ruin up the hill. You can walk round the rim of this volcano to return back down the hill to the ruin to hail the bus back to Dervaig. (About 2 hours for the circular walk from the ruin). 8. Tobermory There are numerous walks around Tobermory, including: Aros park - From the bus stop at Ledaig car park walk to MacGochan's bar and take the path on the left to Aros park, where you can take paths round the shore to a waterfall and round the lochan. A return walk from the car park can take 1-2 hours depending on the paths taken. The lighthouse - From the bus stop at Ledaig car park walk along the front of the bay past the shops to the RNLI shop and follow the path leading round the coast to the lighthouse. At the viewing point near the lighthouse you can take the path that climbs up to the golf course and walk round the golf course back to Tobermory. The walk to the lighthouse takes about 30 mins and returning via the golf course will take about 1 hour. (c) Ardmore bay - From the bus stop at Ledaig car park you can take several routes to the houses above the bay. Aim for the road to Glengorm and walk past the cheese farm along this road until you come to the sign to Ardmore forest. Follow the forest track to Ardmore bay where you will pass the ruins of Penalbanach and nearby earlier settlements. You can either return the same way or continue along the forest road to rejoin the Glenorm road almost at Glengorm. The shortest walk will take about 3 hours and the longer will take about 4 hours. You could alternatively walk all the way back from Glengorm to Dervaig which will take about a further 3 hours.
Croig, Langamull and Calgary
Tobermory and Glengorm
Lochs Torr, Mishnish, Frisa, Speinne Mor and Crater Loch (Lochan Airde Beinn)