Undiscovered Scotland

 

The name Ard-dhubh comes from Gaelic and means Black Point. It is sometimes referred to as Ardue. This tiny settlement lies on the east side of the end of a spur of land projecting north-westwards from the main body of the Applecross Peninsula, giving it excellent views back towards the village of Camusterrach and the Applecross mountains beyond.

To reach Ard-dubh you turn off the single track road heading from Camusterrach south towards Toscaig. The turn can be found a little after you pass the row of modernised crofts that sit a little back from the inland side of the road at Culduie, and a little beyond the point at which an old fishing boat, Isa, registration BRD362, has been pulled clear of the water and is sadly and gently rotting away.

Having tuned off the "main" road you follow the south-west shore of a sea loch for a mile or so, passing the car park for Ard-dhubh's slipway before bringing you into view of the village itself. (Continues below image...)

 

Actually, "village" is probably a rather grand term for what turns out to be a number of white harled cottages built in a line around a curved bay, which is also home to a very much older harbour probably dating back to the early 1800s.

On the slight headland at the south-west end of the line of cottages, almost blending into the grass surrounding them, are another line of crofts, now barely identifiable as gray stone ruins.

This in itself barely seems to warrant a feature page, even on a site called Undiscovered Scotland. But there is something a little special about Ard-dhubh. Applecross is one of the most remote parts of Scotland, and Ard-dubh is just about the most remote part of Applecross reachable by public road. The result is a sense of timelessness, as if this one small corner of the country has been left untouched by the last century.

It hasn't, of course, and it will probably be a little less unvisited now this page is here. But in very few places in modern Scotland is it possible to get quite such a sense of being transported to another era.

The illusion only lasts the (short) length of the road back to the new slipway, where you are quite likely to find a brand new 4x4 loading lobster pots onto one of the Broadford-registered (BRD) fishing boats that are based here.