A Redeye View: Portuairk To Sanna Point 9th September 2020

The ARDNAMURCHAN PENINSULA is a wild and remote place on the Scottish mainland that is a great place to come and forget about all that is wrong with the world and just relax, taking in the breathtaking scenary on offer. We had a week here back in 2017 (CLICK HERE) and enjoyed it that much we said that we'd come back again, so 3 years on we find ourselves back in KILCHOAN, and staying in a rented bungalow next door to where we stayed in 2017. A fantastic place with great views from the property over the Sound Of Mull to the ISLE OF MULL, where we watched the ever changing weather coming and going, Otters, Porpousies, and all manner of seabirds doing their thing. A really excellent place for exploring this great place with loads of walks from the front door or just a short car drive away. One walk we did that we didn't do in 2017 was a great little coastal walk taking in two really lovely place's, POTUAIRK & SANNA, that have some of the best beaches on the peninsula. This is a great walk to do on a nice sunny day as the beaches round this area are stunning. The day started off OK, dry, quite sunny but with a strong breeze blowing that knocked the temperature down a notch or two but at least it was dry and stayed that way for the rest of the day. The weather had been a bit mixed but as today was forecasted to be the best of the week, we decided that it would be ideal to take advantage and it didn't dissapoint. Parking in a small parking area just before you walk down the zig-zag road into Portuairk, you get your first view of the stunning little place and also across to Sanna and the distant small Isles of Eigg, Rum, Muck and a distant Skye. The way forward is easy to follow as it is a well trodden path as well as being signed. It was a bit muddy after the rain and some clambouring about over rocks and a couple of streams didn't take too much effort today but could be a bit more problematic at high tides or after torrential rains. It was a bit boggy in places and you could see the paths turning into streams on a wet day but we made it to a high vantage point, with no mishaps, that offered great views of both Portuairk and Sanna.

Looking down on Portuairk from near the car park

Portuairk

Stream crossing

Muddy path

Rocky path

Looking back down on Portuairk

Looking down on to Sanna

Once over the ridge, it was down onto the sandy beaches of Sanna where you could be forgiven that you were on some far flung exotic Island, given the nature of the place. The wind was whipping up the waves and everything else as we made our way across the beaches and rocks towards the old white building and onto the path that takes in various cairns on Sanna Point. A small wooden bridge over the Allt Sanna, at the point it meets the tide, takes you to the circular path on Sanna Point and we decided to take the right hand route to make the most of the views out to sea and a good view of the beaches on the way back. A bit marshy and boggy in places but enough rocks and dry ground to stop you from getting swallowed up by any bog monsters, thankfully :-)

The way down to Sanna

Sanna Bay

Bridge over Allt Sanna

Boggy ground up to Sanna Point

The path here isn't very clear to follow as you head through the boggy, rocky ground but with it being a very clear and bright day, we could see the first cairn that we were aiming for, the highest of around four that are dotted around the point. Standing a whopping 41mts (134ft) above sea level it provided good views over Sanna, Portuairk and out to the SMALL ISLES. We headed in a straight line from here to the cairn overlooking sanna point before following the path round to two other cairns and the coastline through a mixture of rocks, soft & rough ground back to the wooden bridge.

View of Sanna form the first cairn with Meall Sana as the backdrop

Looking down on Sanna Bay, across to Portuairk and a distant Lighthouse

Straight on to Sanna Point

Sanna Point

The Small Isles from Sanna Point

Sanna Point Cairn

View on to Sanna Bay from the third cairn

Looking back to the Sanna Point Cairns from the lower cairn

Approaching Sanna Bay

Derelict building above Sanna Bay

After crossing the wooden bridge, we found a good spot on one of the small inlet beaches for a bite to eat out of the wind. The sun was warming the day up nicely now and it was good just sitting watching the sea for 30 minutes or so before we slowly made our way back along the beaches before picking up the path back to Portuairk. There was quite a few people out now, not lots, just enough to still feel like you had the place to yourself and good to see folk taking advantage of the now warmer part of the day enjoying this really great place.

Sanna Bay

Looking back down on Sanna Bay

Making our way back over the ridge to Portuarik we had a walk on the rocks to see the resident seals basking in the sun before we made our way back to the car for the drive down the single track lanes to our base in Kilchoan