Undiscovered Scotland

 

As you start to think about descending towards the harbour in Kinlochbervie, a road sign points along a road to the right, telling you that this is the road to Oldshoremore, Balchrick and Sheigra. These three settlements, if that is quite the right word, combine with Blairmore and Droman to form the north-western half of what you can think of a single scatter of settlement that extends for some seven miles north-west from the A838 at Rhiconich to the end of the road at Sheigra.

Once beyond Kinlochbervie these settlements tend to blur into one another as the crofts and cottages that form them scatter along the line of the single track road, or along the lines of several even more minor roads that extend south-west from it towards the Atlantic. (Continues below images...)

 

Although a glance at a map shows this to be a very remote area, only around ten miles south of mainland Scotland's most north-westerly point at Cape Wrath, it becomes clear that taken together this thin scatter of housing amounts to quite a significant population. Dwellings in the area tend to fit into one of two types, though almost all are finished in white. A minority are built to a traditional design with slate roofs. Some of these, though starting life as small cottages, have seen later extension and enlargement. A larger number are more modern houses that try much less convincingly to fit into the landscape, or don't try at all. Despite this, the overall effect is interesting and pleasing.

The largest gap in settlement seems to be the mile or so from the far edge of Kinlochbervie, beyond the Kinlochbervie Hotel, to the near edge of Oldshoremore. Here you can carry on along the "main" road, or you can take a turning to the left that runs a short distance above the south-east side of the bay before running out of steam. A second minor road descends steeply to a car park near a cemetery, and marks the start of a short path to the beach at Oldshoremore. This is a glorious place and were it not for the competing attractions of the much better-known Sandwood Bay (see below) would be much more highly rated than it is. The cemetery on the bluff to the south of the beach seems a pretty good place in which to spend eternity.

Further along the road to Sheigra you come to the side turn to Oldshore Beg and Polin, the latter complete with another fine beach, shortly after the track on the right that leads out to the very remote bothy at Strathan in Strath Shinary. Most people travelling this way do so en route to the next grouping of dwellings at Blairmore, where you find the car park for the 4.5 mile walk north to the magnificent Sandwood Bay.

Beyond the car park at Blairmore the road takes you to Balchrick, with a side turning that leads to Droman and its pier. Further on you come to Sheigra, the last grouping of dwellings, and a side road that leads to another cemetery. This also has a superb location, but the surrounding wall of blocks seems unlikely to make the most of the view for the residents.