We got the early morning ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool, getting in at 9.30am, and after buying some supplies from the supermarket, headed north. Beautiful road winding up and over to Strathcanaird, hang a right and drive a short way to Blughasary, where there’s a wee parking space set beside the River Runie.
A short walk (about 2.5km) along a well-marked footpath winds its way beside the River Canaird, and although relatively flat, does call for a bit of scrambling over rocky outcrops (great fun on a dry, sunny day like we had, probably a bit more challenging in the rain!). The path eventually leads to an impressive promontory on which sits the remains of Dun Canna, at the north end of the wee bay of Camus Mor.
This dun is marked on the ground by a massive rubble wall running from north to south and curving to the west at the south end. The wall blocks the narrowest neck of the promontory, and on the narrow promontory itself, cast out between the two pebble beaches of Camus Beag and Camus Mor, sit the partial remains of a further wall running around the circumference of the promontory summit. A great scale drawing by Steer and Calder of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, dated to 1947, can be seen on the Canmore website here.
The views from this site are stunning, looking across to Isle Martin in the west, under the shadow of Ben More Coigach to the north. This may well have been the best day of the summer (given that they were few and far between!) The water was so sheltered and calm that we took advantage and had a quick swim, then brewed up a cup of coffee on the beach. Perfect.
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