Lochcarron & Strathcarron: Loch-Side Wester Ross on the Road to Applecross & Skye

The strath and river at Strathcarron with snow-dusted hills, Wester Ross. — Strathcarron — the wide strath running down to the head of Loch Carron, under the snow-dusted hills of Wester Ross.

Overview — the honest take

Lochcarron is a long, pretty village strung right along the shore of its sea loch, deep in Wester Ross — and Strathcarron is the broad, beautiful valley that runs down to the head of the loch behind it. It’s the kind of quiet, big-sky Highland place that most people only drive through on the way to somewhere famous — and they’re missing a trick. This is a lovely spot to slow down: a loch-side wander, a first-class café, huge sunsets over the water, and a perfect base for the great roads to Applecross, Plockton and Skye.

Where it is

Lochcarron sits on the north shore of Loch Carron in Wester Ross, reached on the A896 off the main Kyle of Lochalsh road. Strathcarron, at the head of the loch, has a station on the scenic Kyle Line railway. It’s the gateway to the Applecross peninsula and the famous Bealach na Bà pass, and only a short hop from Eilean Donan and the road to Skye.

The loch & the village

The shore of Loch Carron with Lillie the dog, gorse and seaweed. — The Loch Carron shore — gorse, seaweed and Lillie leading the way.

The village runs for the best part of a mile along the loch, a single line of white houses facing the water and the hills beyond. It’s a working Highland community — there’s a heritage Smithy centre and, out at the mouth of the loch, the ruins of Strome Castle, an old Macdonald stronghold blown up by the Mackenzies in 1602. Best of all is simply the loch-side walk: easy, level and gorgeous, with the tide going in and out and the light forever changing on the water.

Trees and the shore of Loch Carron. — Quiet shoreline walking, right from the village.

A bench under a tree looking over Loch Carron. — A bench made for watching the loch go by.

The Waterside Café

Right on the front is the Waterside Café, and it’s a gem — the sort of warm, unpretentious Highland café that makes a wet day feel fine. We had grand coffee and cake looking out over the loch; it’s exactly what you want after a blowy walk or before a big drive over the hills.

Coffee and cake at the Waterside Café, Lochcarron. — Coffee and cake by the water — hard to beat.

Strathcarron & the big skies

A white house in the wide strath of Strathcarron under big skies. — A lone white house in the wide, quiet strath.

Behind the loch, Strathcarron opens out into a broad, beautiful valley of croft ground and river, ringed by hills that hold their snow late into the spring. It’s a wonderful place for enormous skies — we watched some of the best sunsets of the whole trip out here, the clouds catching fire over the moor and the loch. Just sitting and watching the weather roll through is a proper Highland pleasure.

The river and hills of Strathcarron framed by a tree. — The Carron running down its strath.

A fiery sunset over the moor and loch at Strathcarron. — One of the great Wester Ross sunsets.

Wild camping & the great roads out

A motorhome parked by Loch Carron. — A night by the loch — and the roads west in the morning.

We settled the van by the loch and made this our base — and what a base. From here the roads out are some of the best in Scotland: the Bealach na Bà to Applecross, the single most dramatic road climb in Britain; the pretty run to Plockton, the palm-tree village on Loch Carron’s neighbour; and the main road south to Eilean Donan and the bridge to Skye.

Nearby

Applecross & the Bealach na Bà — Britain’s most spectacular mountain road, west over the hills.
Plockton — the palm-fringed “jewel of the Highlands,” a short drive south-west.
Eilean Donan Castle and the road to Skye, just down the coast.
Shieldaig — the pretty Loch Torridon village, over the hill to the north.

Sources

Wikishire on Lochcarron, Strathcarron and Strome Castle.
Everything first-hand is from our own stay at Lochcarron.