Best Places to Visit in Wester Ross & Sutherland
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Wester Ross & Sutherland are Smoo Cave, Coire Mhic Fhearchair, Drumbeg Viewpoint, Eas na Glutachan, Hermit's Castle, Knockan Crag Nature Reserve, Big Sand Beach and The Bone Caves.
Wester Ross and Sutherland are the wild, empty far north-west, a land of ancient rock, sea caves and huge skies. The great cave is Smoo near Durness, cut by both sea and river with a waterfall crashing into its inner chamber, while the Bone Caves in Assynt gave up the remains of reindeer, lynx and bear from the last ice age.
Rock is the story here: Knockan Crag, where geologists worked out the Moine Thrust, and the mountain corrie of Coire Mhic Fhearchair below the Triple Buttress of Beinn Eighe, held to be one of the finest in Scotland. Quirkier finds include the tiny concrete Hermit's Castle near Achmelvich, said to be the smallest in Europe, and the Drumbeg viewpoint on the twisting coast road.
The coast offers the broad pale sands of Big Sand near Gairloch and the obscure fall of Eas na Glutachan in the far north. Some are grand set pieces, others quiet corners.
Here are eight places to visit across Wester Ross and Sutherland.
Smoo Cave
Photo: Oliver Dixon via Geograph.org.uk
Smoo Cave is a great cave in the limestone cliffs just east of Durness, on the north coast of Sutherland, unusual for being carved by both the sea and a river. The huge outer chamber, one of the largest cave entrances in Britain, was cut by the sea, while the inner chambers were dissolved by a freshwater stream that plunges into a sinkhole inside as a waterfall.
Steps lead down from a clifftop car park into the main chamber, with a walkway to a platform over the waterfall, and in summer small boat trips run into the inner cave. Entry to the main chamber is free.
Coire Mhic Fhearchair
Photo: Alan Reid via Geograph.org.uk
Coire Mhic Fhearchair Many rate this the grandest corrie in Scotland, and the Triple Buttress explains why: three sheer rock towers curve around a mountain lochan, their bases dark Torridonian sandstone, their crowns paler Cambrian quartzite. It sits high on the northern flank of the Beinn Eighe range in Torridon, out in Wester Ross, and there is no shortcut to it.
A stalkers' path from Glen Torridon carries you in on a round trip of roughly nine miles, most people going no further than the shore of the lochan, content to sit and look.
Drumbeg Viewpoint
Photo: Russel Wills via Geograph.org.uk
The Drumbeg Viewpoint is a roadside stopping place on the narrow coast road through Assynt in Sutherland, at the edge of Drumbeg village. It looks north over Eddrachillis Bay and its scatter of small islands, with the peak of Quinag rising inland to the east.
The single-track road here is part of the North Coast 500, twisting and steep. A small parking area lets you pull off to take in the view.
Eas na Glutachan
Photo: Euan Nelson via Geograph.org.uk
Eas na Glutachan is a waterfall in the far north-west of Sutherland, near Achriesgill and Rhiconich, seen from near the road that runs through this remote corner of the Highlands. It lies in open, rugged country of rock and moor.
Little is recorded about it beyond its name and position. It is an obscure fall in empty hill country.
Hermit's Castle
Photo: Gordon Hatton via Geograph.org.uk
Hermit's Castle is a tiny concrete building on a rocky headland near Achmelvich in Assynt, often called the smallest castle in Europe, though it is really a modernist folly rather than a castle. It was built single-handed in the 1950s by an English architect, David Scott, who is said to have stayed only one weekend before leaving it for good.
It is a low, angular concrete shell with a single cramped room, a moulded concrete bed and a fireplace, its walls set with beach pebbles to blend into the rock. It stands open and free, a short walk from Achmelvich bay.
Knockan Crag Nature Reserve
Photo: Dave Fergusson via Geograph.org.uk
Knockan Crag is a nature reserve set up to tell the story of the rocks, on the road north of Ullapool in the far north-west Highlands. It was here that geologists puzzled over old rock lying on top of younger, and worked out the great earth movement known as the Moine Thrust, plainly seen in the crag.
A turf-roofed shelter and waymarked trails climb the hillside past sculptures and interpretation. It is free and open all year, with wide views over the wild country of Assynt.
Big Sand Beach
Photo: Ian Webster via Geograph.org.uk
Big Sand is a broad sandy beach a few miles north-west of Gairloch, on the coast of Wester Ross. As the name promises, it is a large, open sweep of sand, backed by grass and low dunes, looking out across a sound to the green island of Longa and, beyond, toward the hills of Skye and the Outer Hebrides.
The sand is pale and firm, good for a long walk at any state of the tide, with rocky outcrops at the edges and clear water offshore. A campsite sits behind the beach, and it is an easy place to reach, popular on fine summer days but big enough to feel spacious.
The Bone Caves
Photo: Matthew Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
The Bone Caves are a row of shallow caves set in a limestone cliff in a remote valley in Assynt, in the far north-west Highlands, south of Inchnadamph. They are known for the ancient animal bones dug from them, remains of creatures that lived here in and after the last ice age, among them reindeer, arctic fox, lynx and bear, along with signs of much later human use.
They are reached on a moorland walk of a couple of miles up a limestone valley, where a stream sinks and rises among the rocks, and a steep path climbs to the cave mouths, which can be stepped into.
FAQs
What is special about Smoo Cave near Durness?
Smoo Cave, near Durness on the Sutherland coast, is unusual for being carved by both sea and river: the huge outer chamber, one of the largest cave entrances in Britain, was cut by the sea, while a freshwater stream plunges into a sinkhole inside as a waterfall. Steps and a walkway lead to a platform over the fall, and summer boat trips run into the inner cave.
Which places in Wester Ross and Sutherland tell the story of the rocks?
Knockan Crag, on the road north of Ullapool, is a reserve set up around the Moine Thrust, where geologists first worked out how old rock came to lie on top of younger, with trails and interpretation up the crag. The Bone Caves in Assynt gave up ice-age animal bones, and the corrie of Coire Mhic Fhearchair shows Torridonian sandstone capped by Cambrian quartzite.
Is Hermit's Castle near Achmelvich really a castle?
Not quite. Hermit's Castle near Achmelvich is a tiny concrete building on a rocky headland, often called the smallest castle in Europe but really a modernist folly, built single-handed in the 1950s by an architect said to have stayed only one weekend. It has a single cramped room with a concrete bed and fireplace, and stands open and free.
Conclusion
Wester Ross and Sutherland are the wild far north-west, a land of ancient rock, sea caves and huge skies. Smoo Cave near Durness is cut by both sea and river, with a waterfall crashing into its inner chamber, and the Bone Caves in Assynt gave up the remains of reindeer, lynx and bear.
Rock is the story at Knockan Crag, where geologists worked out the Moine Thrust, and in the corrie of Coire Mhic Fhearchair below the Triple Buttress of Beinn Eighe. Quirkier finds include the tiny concrete Hermit's Castle near Achmelvich and the Drumbeg viewpoint on the twisting coast road, while the coast offers the broad sands of Big Sand near Gairloch.
From sea cave to mountain corrie, these are the places to seek out across Wester Ross and Sutherland.
