Undiscovered Scotland

 

Redpoint lies at the end of the road. The road in question is the single track B8056, which branches off the main A832 a little south of Gairloch's harbour at Charlestown, and travels for eight miles west then south. For more information about Scotland's single track roads and how to drive them, visit our feature page on driving single track roads.

The road first travels along the south shore of Loch Gairloch to the village of Badachro. It then turns south at Port Henderson, a scattered settlement with fine views west across the Minch and south-west to the Isle of Skye.

A little south of Port Henderson is Opinan, gathered around its attractive beach and bay. South again, and you come to South Erradale (North Erradale lies beyond Loch Gairloch on the road to Melvaig).

Here you find a crossroads. Following the narrow road from the crossroads to the west takes you to Glendale House, which has self catering available, plus a lounge bar open six days each week (it is closed on Sundays) offering a range of refreshments and bar snacks.

Redpoint itself comprises a small scattered settlement overlooking a broad beach of reddish sand backed by dunes. The name comes from the low promontory, Red Point, to the south. This marks a turn in the coastline which then heads south-east into the mouth of Loch Torridon.

There is a parking area at Redpoint which gives access to a path leading to the beach, while another a little to the north is close to the magnificent viewpoint pictured in the header image. From here you can take in a glorious panorama covering virtually the whole of the Isle of Skye.

Another attraction of Redpoint is that while it is at the end of the road, it lies at the start of a track which runs for seven miles south-east along or above the shore to Lower Diabaig. This is a lovely walk, but you need to bear in mind when starting it that when you get to Lower Diabaig, you will be seven miles away from your car, while the shortest road distance back to it, via Kinlochewe and Loch Maree, is 45 miles.

En route you pass the remains of an old fishing station, overlooking the beach on the south side of the promontory of Red Point.