280. Borrodale Beach

So the original plan was to go to Orkney. I had accommodation and ferry tickets for a much anticipated Arcadian adventure in early May, but ten days out the weather forecast was looking decidedly dodgy and I was feeling a bit glum about the prospects for the trip. But here we were in late April and the whole country was about to enjoy three days of unbroken sunshine, so it was my lovely wife who suggested I cancel the Orkney trip and “find somewhere else to go somewhere over the next few days”. So ensued a frantic but exciting day of last-minute planning to take advantage of the impending three-day weather window.

And that’s how I’ve ended up back in Lochaber. The centrepiece of this trip is a day on the Isle of Eigg tomorrow, but today’s preamble is an enticing hors d’oeuvres. I took a late flight to Inverness last night, picked up a hire car first thing and set off on the three hour drive to the west coast. My first stop on this beautiful late morning is the small, unheralded beach at Borrodale a few miles before Arisaig. It’s a short walk across a field of lambs to the grey/brown part-shingle beach with far reaching views. My map tells me I’m close to one of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s many caves but I stand on the exact spot marked on the OS and I can’t see a thing.  He’s hidden it well.