Welcome

Aproaching Inverie

The Island of Great Britain is home to 60 million people living in three nations, England, Wales and Scotland. A densley populated island, it is a place where towns and cities sometimes coalasce together, where noise, pollution and traffic jams are the norm, and people rush about in their mundane daily lives which often lead to stress and a lot worse. But 107 miles from the nearest city and almost an hour by ferry from the nearest town is Great Britain's last great wilderness, Knoydart. Here on the fringes of North-West Scotland is a peninsula that even in the 21st Century remains so isolated that a road into it has yet to be built and I hope that it never will. Indeed there is a nine mile (15km) stretch of road in Knoydart but vehicle owners enjoy the same benefits as if they lived on a small island, no road tax or M.O.T.s are required.
There are two ways to get to Knoydart. The most popular route is the ferry operated by a sea cruise company from Mallaig which runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with additional services on Tuesdays and Thrusdays in the summer.
For the more adventurous the is the long walk from Kinloch Hourn, the nearest place that is connected to the main road system, some 17 miles (29km) away.

Beach landing at Inverie
Taking the ferry from Mallaig, you pass the statue of the Virgin Mary, blessing the Loch before arriving at Inverie, the main village on Knoydart. Here there is a shop and Post Office, guest house, village hall, independant hostel and most importantly, a pub.
Today some 62 people (14 indiginous) live on Knoydart, well down on the 850 who resided here before one of the worst chapters in Scottish history, the Clearances when crofters were forced off the land by unscrupilous landowners, aided by the English.
Most of the inhabitants are deer and sheep and crofting still survives on Knoydart.

Loch Nevis
Every year some 4000 tourists visit Knoydart, many on a day trip from Mallaig but some to stay longer, perhaps to enjoy the pub or to go walking, stalking or fishing. If you are walking on Knoydart and find any antlers shed by deer, please do not remove them for souveniers as the deer often eat them for calcium and other minerals.

Of the 55,000 acres that make up the Knoydart Peninsula, 17,200 form the Knoydart Estate which was purchased by the Knoydart Foundation in 1998. The rest of the peninsula comprises of estates and properties ranging from 0.25 of an acre to 14,000 acres. The purchase of the Knoydart Estate brought to an end of years of uncertainty for the people who live here caused by 'absentee land owners' who buy Scottish land for vanity or to make a quick profit.

The Scottish Midge

Holiday brochures and tour guides make a good mention about Scotland's beauty, history, magic, friendliness and culture but tend to gloss over the wee Scottish beastie known as the midge. These small flies thrive in the peaty Highland landscape and the mild climate. Some midges lay their eggs in the autumn and the larvae overwinter in the ground before emerging as adults in late May and some eggs are laid in the spring with the larvae emerging as adult midges in the summer. Once adult females emerge they can lay a single batch of eggs without requiring a meal of blood but have to resort to blood-sucking in order to lay further batches. Midge bites can itch for days and many visitors to Scotland are not warned about the midges and vow never to return during the June to September midge season and sometimes not at all, resulting in losses to the tourist industry. The midges were around long before we were and will still be around long after we are gone but fortunately there is an arsenal of chemical weapons which you can use against them including repellant sprays and mosquito coils. Midge hoods are available and another good technique for keeping midges away is the tried and tested Austrailian method of wearing hats with corks on strings. Midges don't like alcohol and will rarely bite anybody who's had a heavy night in the Old Forge!

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