Achmelvich
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This article is written like a travel guide rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (May 2009) |
Coordinates: 58°10′N 5°18′W / 58.17°N 5.30°W
| Achmelvich | |
| Scottish Gaelic: Achadh Mhealbhaich | |
 Achmelvich
Achmelvich shown within the Sutherland area |
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| Council area | Highland |
|---|---|
| Lieutenancy area | Sutherland |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LAIRG |
| Postcode district | IV27 |
| Dialling code | 01571 |
| Police | Northern |
| Fire | Highlands and Islands |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
| Scottish Parliament | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency in the Highlands and Islands electoral region |
| List of places: UK • Scotland • | |
Achmelvich (Gaelic: Achadh Mhealbhaich) is a settlement situated in the Highland region of Scotland. The name comes from the Gaelic "Achadh" - a plain or meadow and "mealvaich" - sandy dunes [1]. (An unsurprising name as the beach is dominated by sandy dunes and machair.)
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[edit] Location
Achmelvich lies three miles north west of Lochinver, and 40 miles north of Ullapool, in the north west of the Scotland, accessed by single track road which leads from the B869 coastal tourist route. Despite the difficult road, the area is popular with tourists.
[edit] Settlement and facilities
As a settlement, Achmelvich is spread over the surrounding hillsides, with the focal point being the Yellow Flag award-winning beach [2]. There are two camping & caravan parks open for business, both have residential caravans to let, although only one has pitches for tents, camper vans and caravans [3][4]. There is also a small laundrette, shop and a takeaway. These sites overlook the beach, with views out into the Minch as well as Port Altan Na Bradhan.
The main beach car park is separated from the beach by the machair and has recently been upgraded. The Youth Hostel[5], Tourist Information Hut and Public Toilets are all located by the main beach car park. The car park is also the starting point for a walk to the ruined meall mill at Altan Na Bradhan.
[edit] Tourist attractions
The white sandy beach and clean water quality attract those interested in the outdoors and watersports with Water-skiing, windsurfing and coasteering being popular pursuits on the beach. The production of a beach management guide in 2004 led to dogs being banned from the beach during the peak tourist season and neither of the camping and caravan sites allow dogs.
The unique morphology of the area, means there are many nearby walks and climbs, including the famous Suilven, for those interested in hiking. The Inchnadamph National Nature Reserve, which is well within driving distance, has many caves and pot holes as well as being the access route to Conival and Ben More Assynt, the area's two Munros.
There are also plenty of fishing opportunities to be had both in the sea, with cod, haddock, whiting, pollack, saithe and mackerel being common catches, or in the local lochs (subject to permit of course) which are stocked with trout, salmon and Arctic char.[1]
Assynt is renowned for having diverse wildlife and Achmelvich is no exceptions with cetaceans, seals, basking sharks, otters, pine martens, ospreys and White-tailed Eagles having been seen in the area.[6]
There is also a small artist's studio at Achmelvich that sells artwork and prints, as well as a gift shop on the road overlooking Loch Roe which sells geological gifts such as semi-precious stones.
[edit] "Hermit's Castle"
Achmelvich is home to what is reputedly Europe's smallest castle, known locally as Hermit's Castle[7]. The castle was built in the 1950s by an English architect(David Scott), who left the area shortly after completion, spending only a weekend in the castle he spent months building. The castle was vandalised in the 1970s, when the windows were smashed and the door removed, but it is not unknown for people to use the castle as a bothy.
The detail design of this structure may give a clue to its popular name, as the entrance aperture (it can hardly be called a doorway) consists of a tall but very narrow slit barely a foot wide. In this regard the design may be said to approach the concept of an anchorite's (or hermit's) cell, a ceremonially bricked up enclosure whose sole access was only large enough to allow for the passage of food in and waste out.
Another feature of great interest is that the structure is perched quite high above, and close to the edge of, a small inlet of the sea, and the above mentioned aperture is on the seaward side. This results in the need to enter the Castle from below. Such a location also suggests a defensive aspect to the design. Combined with the quite strong resemblance to a pill-box or similar military structure, this leads one to speculate exactly what the Castle's architect designer had in his mind when building it.
The photographs at [8] provide an excellent illustration of these aspects of the Castle.
[edit] Traditions
The majority of the tourists to Achmelvich are regular visitors, some of whom have visited the area for forty years. A group of these regular visitors are responsible for creating several Achmelvich traditions including the annual Sandcastle contest and mini-Olympic Games, as well as the creation of Shoo! Ball, derived from both Murder Ball and Netball. (The game was originally played with a bottle of Shoo! midge repellent used as a ball). The aquatic version of this game is called Dubh Ball as it usually played in the nearby Loch Dubh.[9]
.JPG)
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Ritchie, B. (1996) Making More of Assynt. Assynt Mountain Rescue
- ^ Good Beach Guide (Retrieved 16 August 2006)
- ^ Discover Assynt: Where to Stay (Retrieved 16 August 2006)
- ^ Scottish Camping Guide: Shore Caravan Site (Retrieved 16 August 2006)
- ^ Scottish Youth Hostel Association: Achmelvich Hostel (Retrieved 16 August 2006)
- ^ Discover Assynt: Wildlife (Retrieved 16 August 2006
- ^ Nothing to See Here: Hermit's Castle (Retrieved 16 August 2006)
- ^ The Bothy Project (Retrieved 28 June 2010)
- ^ Anon. (2001) Tourist Games. Am Bratach, NWSCCA
