Sandwood Bay
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 02 August 2012 09:49
- Written by Bruce Sandison
The great fleet sailed south from Cape Wrath. There were one hundred warships, their sides sparkling with long lines of shields, powered by fierce, merciless men. Their leader was old in a time when survival was chance and old age remarkable. King Haakon of Norway surveyed his force with eagle eyes: eight thousand battle hardened men.
But this was to be Haakon's last battle. Within a few weeks many of these ships would lie wrecked off the coast at Largs, destroyed by September gales and the cunning of the 22 year old Scottish monarch, Alexander III. Viking power in Scotland was broken and Haakon died in Orkney whilst shepherding the shattered remnants of his fleet home.
When I walk the hills and cliffs of the Parph Peninsula in North West Sutherland I imagine I see this mighty fleet sailing past Sandwood Bay to meet its fate. Parph means 'turning point' and in August 1263, the year of the Battle of Largs, the Vikings sailed past Sandwood and rested in Loch Inchard, close to where the busy fishing port of Kinlochbervie stands today.
Sandwood Bay is the most beautiful bay in Scotland; two miles of golden sand washed clean by long, wind fringed, blue green Atlantic breakers born a thousand miles away. Rocky outcrops and black, sea sprayed promontories strut aggressively into the middle of the bay challenging the elements in an endless battle of surf and thunder.
Northwards, the sands mingle with emerald slopes that stride in an amazing array of jagged stark cliffs, marching towards Cape Wrath. To the south, the slim stack of Am Buachaille, 'the herdsman', breaks the waves in their rush to greet the cliffs of Druim na Buainn. Behind the dunes, Sandwood Loch sparkles in summer sunlight, surrounded by green fields specked white with grazing sheep.
The Sandwood Estate is owned by the John Muir Trust, a charity dedicated to conserving wild places for nature and people. Their policy is to welcome unrestricted responsible pedestrian access to the estate. They make angling permits available locally, but do not actively promote their availability. Fishing on some of the lochs is discouraged to prevent disturbance to sensitive wildlife.
The road from Laxford Bridge, the A838, turns and twists north through desolate heather moorlands. It climbs to Rhiconich at the head of Loch Inchard and the turn off to Kinlochbervie and the road out to Oldshoremore and Sandwood. Just after Blairmore a notice points the way to the bay.
From the high point of this track, the white speck of Cape Wrath Lighthouse blinks above green brown hills. Reay Forest mountains uncompromisingly climb to meet billowy clouds dominated by the razor edge of Foinaven and the grey shoulder of Arkle. Suddenly, the bay lies before you, bounded by lime rich pastures, blushing with wild flowers and the breathtaking sweep of the golden bay.
This is where a local shepherd, Sandy Gunn, said he saw a mermaid, sitting on a rocky ledge gazing wistfully out to sea. My wife, Ann, and I were resting on these same rocks on a warm autumn afternoon when a movement in the surf caught our eye. It seemed to be human and I fumbled for my camera, anticipating the photograph of the century.
A young seal was playing in the breakers; surfing to the shore and then swimming out again to repeat the ride, clearly enjoying a moment of most un-seal-like irresponsibility. We watched, transfixed, as the graceful creature tumbled in the foam.
A large wave washed the seal onto the sands and, unaware of our presence, he flapped ashore in a series of ungainly shuffles. We could see the whiskered face and bright, black eyes as he settled on the sands to while away a comforting moment in the sun.
After a while, we put the dogs onto their leads and walked towards the sleeping seal. From about twenty five yards away he saw us and decided that the sea was a safer place. We waited as he struggled afloat. A moment later, a dark head appeared above foam and we responded with a cherry wave, thankful for the pleasure he had given us.
Find Sandwood on OS Map 9, Cape Wrath, Second Series, Scale 1:50,000 at Grid Reference 227640. Park at Blairmore (198601) and walk north to reach the loch in about two hours. Visit Sandwood as part of a round tour, fishing Loch na Gainimh (204614), Lochain nan Sac (198625), Loch a'Mhuilinn (207630) Loch Meadhonach (210635) and Loch Clais nan Coinneal (213639) on the way out, and then, after Sandwood, the Shinary River (240620) and Loch Mor a'Chraisg (9/230602) on the way home.
You will find good stocks of modest brown trout. There are larger specimens, but they keep to the depths and are rarely caught. Sandwood is joined to the sea and in high tides and spate conditions there might be a chance of salmon and seatrout as well, particularly in June and in August and September. Whatever, and almost regardless of fishing, Sandwood Bay is one of the special places on Planet Earth.
Get there if you can and discover all that is finest about this wonderful country we call home.
Bruce Sandison is a writer and journalist and author of nine books, including the definite anglers' guide, 'The Rivers and Lochs of Scotland' which is being revised and updated prior to republishing.
He contributed to 'Trout & Salmon' for 25 years and was angling correspondent for 'The Scotsman' for 20 years. Sandison writes for the magazine 'Fly Fishing and Fly Tying' and provides a weekly angling column in the 'Aberdeen Press & Journal'.
His work, on angling, Scottish history and environmental subjects, has appeared in most UK national papers, including 'The Sunday Times', 'The Telegraph', 'The Daily Mail', 'The Herald', 'Private Eye', 'The Field' and in a number of USA publications.
Sandison has worked extensively on BBC Radio. His series 'Tales of the Loch' ran for 5 years on Radio Scotland and was also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC World Service. His series, 'The Sporting Gentleman's Gentleman' and his programme 'The River of a Thousand Tears', about Strathnaver, established his reputation as a broadcaster.
Sandison has had extensive coverage on television. He wrote and presented two series for the BBC TV Landward programme and has given a number of interviews over the years on factory-forestry, peat extraction, wild fish conservation and fish farming.
Sandison is founding chairman of 'The Salmon Farm Protest Group', an organisation that campaigns for the removal of fish farms from Scottish coastal and freshwater lochs where disease and pollution from these farms is driving wild salmonid populations to extinction.
Bruce Sandison won 'Feature Writer of the Year' in the Highlands and Islands Press Awards in 2000 and in 2002, and was highly commended in 2005. Bruce lives near Tongue in Sutherland with his wife Ann.