Achiltibuie, Polbain and Altandhu

Achiltibuie is an extended village that is strung out along the road on the south west shoreline of Coigach district. Together with the more northerly hamlets of Polbain and Altandu, this is the only area in the entire district of Coigach that you find any significant habitation, shops and bars. Offshore lie the picturesque Summer Isles.

Achiltibuie itself offers a shop with petrol pumps, a post office, a hotel and bar (oft frequented by us) and, at the far end of the village a youth hostel. A school and village hall are also sited along the roadside. Whilst on holiday in August our visit has coincided with the village annual ceilidh hosted in the village hall on several occasions - a fun evening of local music, song and dance that has run on well past midnight. One year we attended a lecture given by the local ranger service held in the same hall, the talk covered the work of the ranger service and an introduction to the flora and fauna of the Inverpolly National Nature reserve. The old wooden hall has now been replaced by a new purpose-built hall - this was opened in 1999 and provides a truely magnificent forum for concerts and ceilidhs. The centre also incorporates a library, health centre facilities and even offers the luxury of showers (available during library opening hours) for visitors at a charge of £1 per time. Very useful for those staying at the campsite as the water is far far warmer than that coming out of the hose pipe at the top of the field!

However the most notably - unmissable at any rate - structure along the coast is the Hydroponicum. The building is a large, plastic coated indoor garden that includes a wide range of tropical and exotic plants plants that would not normally be grown so far north. Plants are grown in a soil-less environment with the nutrients provided on a continuously circulation of pumped water. In addition to the exotic ranges of plants on show the building also grows salad plants and soft fruits that are supplied to the local trade. Guided tours are run through the summer season and they offer a cafeteria for visitors - but take your sunglasses as it is usually very bright inside.

The road runs on for a further four kilometres to the road end at Culnacraig. Here there is a small parking place and a path sets off up the hillside to traverse the ridge to Ben More Coigach, or to the pinnacle top of The Fiddler. A low level path continues along the shore, passing under the steep buttress of Garbh Choireachan, to Blughasary. This is a very rough path, indistinct in places, that will take much longer to cover than the 8km on the map indicates.

To the north of the Rubha Mor the road swings in a loop to take in the shoreside communities of Polbain and Altandhu. At the road junction the foreshore is flat and the posts are still used to hoist nets for drying and checking. The pier in Badentarbat Bay is used for boat trips around The Summer Isles; two trips per day are run during the holiday season. A small shop and bar are located at Polbain. Don't be fooled by the outwartd size of the shop - it has a tardis like feel to it and a most extraordinary range of goods are stoicked inside.

Farther along the coast at Altandu is The Smokehouse, Summer Isles Foods. The building provides viewing windows into the different processing rooms and the counter offers smoked salmon, kippers and other goods to visitors. We usually stock up with a side of salmon or two before heading home - or purchase a smaller pack of salmon when passing for a more upmarket lunch on the hills. If you cannot make it personally to the shop don't worry - they also offer a postal service for their goods.

The road does not venture into the northern half of the peninsula, a narrow road follows the coast to Reiff but the road cuts east across the moorland to Achnahaird, with it's sandy bay and camp site, before joining the road that serves all these remote communities.

Walk to Rubha Coigach from Reiff

It had been wet in the morning with cloud lying low on the hills -there seemed no prospect of them clearing so we stuck to the coast. We parked the car at the road end at Reiff and follwoed the path on the inland side of a small loch and then around the first inlet. An island in the bay was host to a variety of seabirds. The way is obviously well walked by visitors and a a path has becone established just shore side of the rocks. Large flat slabs of sandstone makes the walking fairly easy.

Beyond Faochag Bay the rocks rise into sheer cliffs of moderate height - great blocks of sandstone forming deep inlets, vertical walls and ledges for nesting birds. Gulls, fulmers, kittiwakes, skuas, shags, guillemots and gannets can be seen. There were even some fluffy fulmer chicks still sitting in their nests on the cliffs.

The weather alternated between sunshine and heavy misty showers blown in an a stiff NW wind. We decided to retrace our steps to Rieff - by all accounts the continuation around the east coastline to Achnahaird is rougher and much harder going, and a walk back by road to fetch the car.

	To Achnahaird Bay and Sands.
	The Summer Isles.
	North by the narrow road to Kirkaig and Assynt District.
	East under Stac Pollaidh and Cul Mor to the main road.
	Introduction