Undiscovered Scotland

 

As you head north-west up the 37 miles of lonely single track road from Lairg towards Laxford Bridge on the coast, it is a surprise to find yourself in a hamlet that wouldn't look out of place in parts of southern England. Welcome to Achfary.

This strikingly pretty village, even in poor weather, is located at the head of Loch More. More noticeably, it also lies in the shadow of Ben Stack and views to the north are filled by the bulky mass of Arkle.

Achfary is part of the Reay Forest Estate, owned by the Grosvenor Estate. The village was built to house families who work on the vast sporting estate that stretches from Laxford Bridge in the west to Kinloch in the east. Much of the village was built between 1853 and the 1870s. (Continues below image...)

 

A stone tablet on the side of the farm was erected by local people to the memory of the First Duke of Westminster who died in 1899. Its purpose was "to express their deep regard for his character... and for the courtesy and generosity exercised by him among them during his tenancy for about fifty years... He built lodges and dwellings, erected fences, made roads and paths... thus giving employment to tradesmen and labourers and adding to the comfort of many." This is how Achfary came about.

The village has a post office, open for an hour each day, and this forms part of a nice little collections of houses and farm buildings. These include an old-style phone box painted in black and white, colours that would never have been recognised by the GPO in the days when they ran the UK's phone system. Having said that, the phone box has moved at some point between 2001 and 2023 as we have photos of it in locations 20 yards apart. We assume this was when it became home to a defibrillator.

There's even a primary school in Achfary, located in part of the Village Hall, which also serves as the centre of the local community. For more information about Scotland's single track roads and how to drive them, visit our feature page on driving single track roads.