Parks & Travel Magazine June - July 2018

The famous tropical Inverewe Gardens, the iconic Eilean Donan Castle and the Isle of Skye, with its famous Talisker Whisky distillery and volcanic mountain range all make a great day out, each around 1½ - 2 hours drive from Shieldaig.

And you won’t go hungry! With emphasis on fresh fish and local produce there are several award winning restaurants, pubs and cafes, as well as fine dining, in the area. Shieldaig has its own smokehouse for the best smoked salmon you will ever taste and seasonal lobster, crab, langoustine and scallops straight from the boat.

Once visited, often re-visited, never forgotten!

Because of the spectacular light the area attracts many artists and there are several galleries and craft shops. There are also gifted musicians and singers and most weekends there is live music in one of the village pubs - always worth a visit for the wide range of local ales and single malt whiskies.

For such a remote and unspoilt area, Wester Ross is very accessible with low-cost flights from most UK airports to Inverness, followed by an 80 mile drive through spectacular scenery to the west coast. From London the overnight sleeper train to Inverness is also a good option and, if booked in advance, is reasonably priced.

Alternatively, fly to Edinburgh or Glasgow with a choice of two routes (both approximately 5 hours): via the East Coast through Stirling, Perth and the Cairngorms to Inverness; via the West Coast through Loch Lomond, Glen Coe, Fort William (departure point for the Jacobite steam train famously featured as the Hogwart Express in Harry Potter novels) and the truly stunning West Coast - definitely worth adding time for a road trip to explore this special corner of Scotland.

Talking of road trips, Shieldaig is located on the North Coast 500, a 516 mile scenic route around the north coast of Scotland that starts and ends at Inverness Castle. Launched in 2015, the NC500 has already been voted one of the top five road trips in the world.

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