Mallaig was wonderful. It has such a peaceful feeling, the people were so friendly. We spent a lot of time during the day at the little shops and the evenings at the local pubs. We'll be back.
Inverness is such a beautiful place. Take a walk at dusk along the canal and admire the beautiful old houses. Do a MacBackers tour through the higlands. Cheap as chips and a fabulous experience.
I recently visited to Durness and thought that the scenery and beaches were very impressive. But you need more than this to make your stay memorable or comfortable. Apart from Mackays Hotel, there is absolutely nowhere to get any quality food or drinks. There are countless fish farms around the lochs but I never saw any of this on a menu anywhere - a cheese toastie with some iceberg lettuce and a sorry tomato was all I could find. The local pub was more like a hospital waiting room and the laughable craft village was something out of horror movie. I recognise life is different in this part of the country, but that is no excuse for lack of imagination and minimum effort. I would reccomend Durness for a very short day trip but would not consider reccomending anyone stay for longer periods of time.
Mallaig is amazing. I'm a student and I've been there for holidays.The people were very friendly with me. Mallaig is paradise on earth.
I've seen guidebooks write rather demeaning articles about Mallaig, yet I found it a nice place to stay. There's nice scenery, people, food, and it's a good base for traveling further afield.
In 1999 friends from county Durham took my husband and me on a wonderful drive around Scotland. We had been as far north as Lochinver by car before, but this time we got as far as Orkney. I had longed to see Durness for years, and it was all I expected. We had a gorgeous meal as well at the bookshop at Balnakeil Bay. Northwest Scotland is fabulous!
Last summer my friend and I visited Durness. We had heard that it was a very beautiful an unique place, but when we got there we were simply blown away! There is a special spirit around Durness. Some may find the life up there too simple and lonely, but my opinion is that if you need a place to completely relax and want to experience a piece of the greatness of nature, Durness is the place to put on your travelmap. The "Balnakeil Beach" is so beatiful with its black cliffs, everyone owes themselves a visit to Durness!
I have visited Durness on several occasions this year and cant get enough of the place! The views and the locals are second to none. I was unfortunate to lose my dog in the area and the locals could not have done enough to help by letting me put up posters in their shops,pubs, etc. There are plenty of stunning walks along the beaches or the cliffs, the amenities include a general store, camp site, Bunkhouse, Garage, Sango Sands complex (Restaraunt & Bar),Stonemason shop (owner's a smashing guy!), and the nearby Balnakeil craft village. I would recommend Durmess as a "must-go" place to visit.
I expected to be blown away by Durness as I had read about how amazing it was, but I would only recommend looking around for a couple of hours at most. The whole place is terribly backward and a bit like Craggy Island from Father Ted!
Mallaig, (Malaig), on the north-west coast of Scotland, is a lively working fishing port. Malaig has a number of good eating places, and of course being Scotland, an adequate number of pubs. You can get a ferry from Malaig to Skye, to the Islands of Eigg, Rhum, Muck, and Canna, and there is also another smaller ferry that takes you round past the mouth of Loch Nevis (where you can see Dolphins and Seals), to Inverie, to one of the most isolated Inn's in Britain (there's no road, and it's a 40 mile walk to it from the nearest road, 80 round trip) if you want to get away from it all for a while. Not far from Malaig, is Morar, where the truly beautiful Silver sands of morar are to be found. The road from Fort William to Malaig is one of spectacular scenery, as is this whole area, and you can also take the steam train, from Fort William to Mallaig, on the West Highland Line, which offers superb scenery, and crosses the great aqueduct bridge, near to where Bonnie Prince Charlie, came…
Inverness is a lovely town, one of the most beautiful places in Scotland -- and in Europe, I think. It's clean, secure, quiet, with a pretty castle on the top. It's the best place to visit the incredible Lake Ness and try to photograph Nessie, the mythical monster.
We came by air from the south of England to Glasgow and by train to Mallaig --- the most beautiful journey ever. Our friends met us and transported us to their yacht in Mallaig Harbour, what a peaceful place. The next morning we were greeted by the amazing spectacle of a huge seal sporting with fishermen on the trawlers as they held up great silvery fish by their tails, and the best fed seal in Scotland leapt out of the water to lunge at the fish, where upon he or she was thrown some slithery fishy bits by the trawler chaps. Better than the telly any day!
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