1.WALK UP THE ARMADALE BIG BURN

This is a wild land, country of my choice
With harsh craggy mountains, moor ample and bare.
Seldom in these acres is heard any voice
But the voice of cold water that runs here and there
Through rocks and lank heather growing without care.(ii)

Park at the picnic site near the bridge half a mile west of the road into Armadale village. The water, or the ice that preceded it, had to carve a hard way through the hill and has made a deep gully which goes inland for several miles. Go over the fence and follow the burn on its west bank and climb up quickly to the fence line and continue to follow on the high ground. You will hear many birds in the thickets that grow in the shelter of the gully. Buzzards and other birds of prey are often seen circling in the thermals above. You will cross many rivulets some of which will drive you higher eventually to a plateau of rough ground with the burn far below. The pile of stones that has been in your view ever since the car park is now near at hand and is a ruined broch. Continue to follow the burn ,ignoring the farm tracks that cross your way, to its source at Loch Buidhe , the Golden Loch, as in the famous golden dram. The loch is at the foot of Ben Nam Bo, the hill of the cow. If you have the energy you can climb the ben, it is not an arduous climb and affords splendid views of the wilderness beyond .
Going back down to the car park is very much quicker and easier than the ascent and the return walk enables you to share the view of Armadale Bay that Bronze Age lookouts on the broch watched with dread for signs of sea -bourn raiders.

2.WALK TO BORSA ISLAND

Or like a whale ?
Very like a whale.(iii)

Park near the Brawl road end. Have a look at the lochan to your left which is often home to a family of geese or divers for the summer as is the Aultiphurst lochan beyond it. Walk down the Brawl road until you come within sight of Dallas Longmuir's house. Go off the road to your right and make your way to the coast. You are high above the sea here and will soon come to a quite spectacular geo which is a fierce blow hole in rough weather. Walk around it with care. Follow the top of the cliff northwards towards Borsa Island. When you come to the island's nearest point of contact with the land, it is possible to climb down to the shore below and across the rocks to be very near the island’s sides. From there you will be able to see at close quarters the many rock flowers that grow on it and the seabirds that nest there. When you climb back up you can walk a little further north and look at the stacks and rock formations between the island and Port Allt a Mhuilnn(Milburn). Keep your eyes peeled for fins in the water. The whales play round Borsa during their westward migration, usually 20th to 26th August. Walk back due south over the hill from whose summit you will have superb views of the coast to the west with receding headlands the furthest of which is Cape Wrath, the furthest northwest point on the British mainland. Rejoin the Brawl road and return to your car.

3.WALK TO STRATHY POINT

Oh! dream of joy ! Is this indeed
The lighthouse top I see?
Is this the hill? is this the kirk?
Is this my own countree? (iv)

Drive down the Strathy Point road and leave your car in the car park near the gate at Totegan. Walk along the lighthouse road to its end. The lighthouse building is closed but it is possible to walk round about it and see all the stacks, arches and skerries of rocks. You can climb, with care, on the rocks a good way out to the end of the Point. From anywhere beyond the lighthouse you can see as far as Cape Wrath in the west and Dunnet Head in the east i.e. from one side of Scotland to the other. If you go at twilight you will see the light- houses in those two locations. The Orkney Islands are also clearly visible. Strathy Point is a good place to see sea birds, stormy petrels land there on certain nights of the year. It is also good for  spotting passing whales and ships. There are many species of flowers there including primula Scotia.

4.WALK TO POULOURISCAIG

Ah, I do think as I do tread… all these roads
That we do bruise with horses’ shoes and heavy loads,
Be works that we’ve afound awrought
By our forefathers’ care and thought.(v)

Drive down Armadale village to the white bungalow called the Salmon Bothy (if anyone is in the garden stop and say hello). There you will see a sign post to the deserted village of Poulouriscaig. Follow the track in front of the house and off up the hill. It is a steep and rough track. Look across to the horizon on your left during the early stretch of this path and see if you can see The Sleeping Beauty of Armadale. After about two and a half miles you will come to the ruins. It is lovely spot, very green where the inhabitants cleared the boulders and wrung a hard living from a reluctant land for over a century. It is very moving to see the fruits of their hard work, building their houses and byres, making bridges and shoring up the banks of the burn and having to bring everything to and from the place on their backs before eventually having to abandon it. From the rocks above it, on a clear day, it is sometimes possible to see Soul Skerry , an isolated rock out in the Atlantic. There are also magnificent views of the rugged coastline to east and west. As you walk back down the hill, the village and the bay are laid out below you.

5.WALK FROM TORRISDALE BAY TO INVERNAVER

Come unto these yellow sands
And take hands.(vi)

Drive to Borgie 5 miles west of Bettyhill. Turn down the Skerray road past several houses and the Borgie Lodge. After a while the sea comes into view and a footbridge over the burn. Just after the signpost
to Torrisdale there is a wider part of the road where you can park. Go down the bank and cross the burn by the footbridge. Follow the line of telegraph poles up the other side and over the hill. You will pass a small lochan which may well be inhabited by water birds. You may wish to venture to your right into the nature reserve marked on the map. Here you will see many unusual flowers, alpines and mountain avens growing on the exposed rocks. Return to the line of poles that will bring you to the top of a gully where a burn gathers water and there is a safe descent down the escarpment that overlooks the mouth of the Naver. Over the top of this gully buzzards are often seen circling in the thermals. To your left near the top is a ruined broch. From it you can look down to the raised beach area below and see the hut circles of a Neolithic settlement which are interesting to visit. You can either walk left through the dunes to the shore or go straight on to the river's edge. From here you may see, or more likely hear, salmon leaping as they first encounter fresh water. Evidence of otters may also be seen. Follow the river to the sea then walk round the sands westward to where you can re-cross the burn and rejoin your car.

6.WALK TO THE MEADIE CRAIG

like a wind that shrills
All night in a wasteland, where no one comes,
Or hath come, since the making of the world.(vii)

Just west of the turn to Kirtomy and Swordly East is a layby with a viewpoint where you can park. Nearby , just behind you at the bend of the road is an old peat road which goes inland. Follow it until it stops. After about a mile a low hill crest on the left climbs up to the Meadie Craig. This commands a view of wilderness country, low hills and water logged valleys . Far in the distance forward are the Griams near Forsinard. To the west are the craggy top of Ben Loyal near Tongue and the smoother curve of Ben Hope. From the Craig you can pass between the two lochans, or go round them if the ground is soft, and climb Ben Nam Bo, the hill of the cow. Walking back it is interesting to see the drainage system of the Swordly burn which falls out of the small un-named loch and then falls quite spectacularly through the gorge it has cut for itself level with the layby. It then passes under the road at the bottom of the hill and past the building,now a private house, which used to be Swordly mill where the neighbourhood's grain was processed.

7.WALK TO ARMADALE- PORT MOR

Possess these shores with me!
The winds and waves are troublesome
And here we may be free.(viii)

Drive down the Armadale road to its very end. Park out of the way of the water purification plant and James the Duke Mackay's salmon fishery buildings. Once out of the car you have three alternatives:

i)Go down the steep path to the stony shore and explore the rocks. There is a cave which you can pass through to find a hidden waterfall beyond. There are spectacular isolated rocks including one that we call the Cathedral Rock with its rose window. The tide will dictate how far round you can safely climb. Seabirds nest all along these cliffs and seals are often seen in the small bay where the Duke moors his cobble.

ii)Right at the end of the road, near the winding tackle, go left round the edge and look for a small gate over to your right. Pass through it and down to where you can ford the burn. Follow the burn along the gully. You will see that this gully has its own micro -climate and contains a big variety of flowers and plants on its walls. Its shelter attracts many songbirds who complement the burn's own song. You can follow the burn to where it tumbles over the waterfall mentioned in alternative i) above then runs through the cave and across the pebble shore to join the sea.

iii)Go to the end of the road, round the edge, through the gate(as described above), cross the burn and follow the sheep track up above the gully. Keep above the bracken line and walk along the high ground above the gully. Remain at that height and continue around the coast northwards. You will pass Gull Rock which is covered with seabirds in spring and summer. Cross a narrow neck of green land to come to Port Mor, the Big Port. This is a large, steep sided bay whose underlying rocks are laced with caves and arches and whose walls are hung with flowers all of which you will see as you walk round it. Fulmars nest on its wall and shags and eider ducks are often to be seen resting on the skerry of rocks in its centre.From Port Mor turn inland due west and join the Poulouriscaig track. Follow it down to the Salmon Bothy ( if anyone is in the garden stop and say hello) and rejoin the road to find your car.

8.WALK TO SWORDLY BAY AND KIRTOMY

                                              So sinks the day- star in the ocean bed,
                                             And yet anon repairs his drooping head,
                                             And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore,
                                             Flames in the forehead of the morning sky.(xvi)

Drive down the Kirtomy road, past the turn to Swordly, and park in a small quarry beside the road. You will see a track up the hill which you should follow to the summit where you can look for the cairn marked on the map. Follow the track down to the Swordly road and walk down the road beyond the houses following the burn to the sea. You will enjoy magnificent seascapes. Turn east and walk, with care, along the top of the cliffsto thejetty at Kirtomy. You can go down the steps to the sea and enjoy climbing on the rock formations if the tide is out sufficiently. Walk back up the track towards the village, join the made up road and follow it back along by the burn to your car. Alternatively you can explore the village further. We have heard that there were standing stones there at one time but that these were incorporated into the houses when the area became re-inhabited at the time of the clearances.

Note: This walk was suggested by Elsie Mackay, late of Armadale, native of Kirtomy, while we were enjoying her hospitality at Hogmanay 2003, a month or so before her unexpected death.

Further note: A year has brought happy developments. Elsie's son now lives in the house with his family including Armadale's newest arrival Eilidh Mackay . In her honour we have added a new short walk.

9.EILIDH'S WALK

  The way is long to island,glen and sheiling,
                                    The climb is steep o'er heather crag and moor,
                                     But soft the tear of longing, Eilidh darling,
                                     For memories made in Lagan by the shore.(xx)

Drive down the Armadale road to where it divides. Take the right fork and park at the picnic tables. Walk along that road which curves and falls to the right. There is a house at the bottom but just before it there a rough track on your left. Take that track and follow it through the fields taking care to close all gates behind you. The track will lead you past many crofters' fields and out onto the promontary marked Reismaeve on the map. Here you will see many wild flowers including primula scotia in May and June. You will also enjoy views into Armadale Bay and eventually you will be able to see into Port a' Chinn and the rocks and gullies around where many seabirds nest.
You can return by the same route or , if you are prepared to climb fences, follow the coast westward round to the salmon station and walk back up the other tine of the road fork to rejoin  your car.

10.WALK TO ROSAL TOWNSHIP

They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld
                                                       Of Paradise, so late their happy seat,
                                                      Waved over by that flaming brand, the gate
                                                      With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arms:
                                                      Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon;
                                                      The world was all before them, where to choose
                                                      They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow,
                                                      Through Eden took their solitary way.(xvii)

Drive west from Bettyhill on the A836 and turn down the Altnaharra road, the B871. Follow the road for 8 miles when you will reach Syre, with its charming little white church and the junction with the Kinbrace road. Take the Kinbrace turning but as soon as you have crossed the bridge turn right and follow the track down the east bank of the river. Everything is well signed. There is a car-park from which you will walk into the forest, pass along the forest road until you see signs to direct you to the deserted village. Rosal (from the Viking hrassa val – horse fields) is the remains of a once thriving highland village which was cleared of its inhabitants to make way for sheep between 1814 and 1818.( See the history page for information and sources on the highland clearances.) The brutal clearance of Rosal was witnessed by Donald Macleod and a stone on the opposite side of the Naver marks the site of his witness.

A series of interpretive panels on the trail around the village site helps to bring the village alive by describing the chores, toils and joys of daily life that once took place on this spot.

11.WALK OR CYCLE TO TRUDERSCAIG

                                              But now the sounds of population fail,
                                              No cheerful murmers fluctuate the gale,
                                              No busy steps the grass-grown foot-way tread,
                                             But all the bloomy flush of life is fled.(xviii)

From the same car-park there is a waymarked cycle route that leads to Truderscaig clearance village. This is a particularly good example with the remains of old longhouses, kailyards, dykes, corn kilns, lazy beds and field patterns. The tranquil location in the middle of the forest and the fine views out to the south over open country make this a good place to imagine what living in these villages must have been like.

12.FORESTS AT DYKE AND FORSINAIN

                                            Ah! There my young footsteps in infancy wander’d,
                                            My cap was the bonnet, my cloak was tha plaid.
                                           On chieftains long perished my memory ponder’d
                                           As daily I strode thro’ the pine covered glade.(xix)

Both forests are reached from the Halladale road. Although there are no waymarked trails apart from the forest road entrance numbers: 20 for Dyke and 21 for Forsinain, all visitors including walkers, horse riders and cyclists are welcome. In Dyke forest an area of trees has been cleared as part of a peatland restoration project. This is a good place to get a feel for the vast emptiness of much of central Sutherland.

In the forests there is a good chance of seeing deer; roe, red and sika or pine marten, buzzard, merlin, hen harrier, eagle and other birds of prey.

THE STRATHNAVER TRAIL is thoroughly recommended. Get a leaflet from the tourist office or any of the shops in Bettyhill and look for the purple posts that lead you to many sites of historical and cultural interest along the strath. Its display boards give excellent information about the area, its history and its people. To follow the whole trail would take more than one day  but the time  would be full of interest .

N.B. See also geology and beaches, the MELVICH BEACH WALK.

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