Peanmeanach 9-11th May 2026
On Saturday 9th May five members gathered at Alisary on the road between Loch Ailort and Glenuig to paddle the 4km to the bothy at the old settlement of Peanmeanach on the north shore of Lochailort. The water was calm and the sky was blue as they crossed to the Ardnish peninsula where they were met at Peanmeanach with a very low tide. Once all the gear had been taken up to the bothy and the paddlers had settled in, it was still early so they decided they would paddle to the Singing Sands, a beautiful white sandy beach just west of Peanmeanach. As they set off another two members arrived with a friend to join the bothy band, having paddled from their home in Arisaig! After spending an hour at the Singing Sands looking at some interesting animal footprints they returned to the bothy where a very convivial evening was enjoyed by all.
The forecast for Sunday was for wind and rain spreading in during the early afternoon, so it was decided to set off early for Samalaman Island where the carcass of a minke whale had been sighted. The Arisaig contingent had to get back for work commitments, so farewells were said on the beach before the two groups went their separate ways. On the island there wasn’t much of the carcass to be seen except a few ribs and vertebrae, but most interesting of all was the remains of a fin with the metacarpals and phalanges exposed. The return journey to the bothy was under darkening skies and with wind and waves behind. The afternoon was spent exploring the area around the bothy and searching for the mysterious Howf (a shelter or lookout) high on the hill above the bothy before the wind and rain really set in.
Monday morning dawned clear and calm. The bothy was soon swept clean and locked up before the group set off to explore the old settlement of Sloch on the western edge of Ardnish before returning to the take out at Alisary via a lunch stop at a sandy beach below Cooper’s Knowe with views over to Eilean nan Ghobar (Goat Island).
Ardnish is now virtually deserted but has so much history around the deserted settlements of Mullochbuie, Sloch, Peanmeanach and Laggan. It is sobering to think of how hard it must have been to sustain life there, but at one time it was home to over 200 souls, 48 of whom lived in 7 households in Peanmeanach according to the 1841 census. The last resident of Ardnish (Nellie MacQueen) left Peanmeanach in 1943.
A weekend of paddling, exploring, discovering and reminiscing. Huge thanks to all who came along!
Distance paddled over three days….not great, but the weekend added up to much more than kilometres paddled!
Paddlers: Joan, Sheila, Kate, Elizabeth, Jill, Heather, Duncan and Fran
