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Update …
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Ardnamurchan is the most westerly part of mainland Britain. Having holidayed on the peninsula for several years an opportunity arose to buy a house and land with views over Loch Sunart to the mountains beyond.
The remote and rugged Ardnamurchan peninsula provides ample opportunities to indulge my interests in photography, beekeeping, walking, fishing, canoeing and wildlife.
Ardnamurchan - the Wild West
Geography and geology
The name Ardnamurchan used to refer to the entire region including Morvern, Ardgour and Sunart, lying to the south and east. Now the name – meaning ‘headland of the great seas’ in Gaelic (Àird nam Murchan) – is properly used to refer to the area lying west of the A861 Salen to Acharacle road which runs approximately North-South.
Ardnamurchan and the nearby regions
Inevitably, there’s some flexibility in this and the name is often also used to cover the area east to Strontian as well.
The geology of Ardnamurchan is both famous and well-studied, or perhaps well-studied and therefore famous. The North-West part of the peninsula shows signs of a ring-dyke caused by the collapse of an ancient volcano. Photographs of the peninsula from the air show this most clearly, but there are also distinct rocky outcrops characteristic of previous volcanic activity.
Ardnamurchan satellite image – the ring-shaped volcano is visible at the top left
Wildlife
In a word … outstanding.
Ardnamurchan is a stronghold of the Scottish wild cat and pine marten, otter are plentiful, red and roe deer are present in large numbers and the seas have whales, seals, dolphins and porpoises.
Otter, Loch Sunart
The rich oakwoods are full of birds, and eagles – both golden and white tailed eagles – nest on the peninsula and are very regularly seen.