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“I think it was the constantly changing light which made Arrina so magical for me — but then it could have been the mountains, the walks, the sea or the beaches — it becomes hard to pin down what exactly it is that makes this such an extraordinary place.” Sarah Anderson, The Travel Bookshop.
In Arrina itself there is a fish van coming to the car park late morning on Tuesdays and a butcher van comes Wednesdays around noon.
The Applecross area provides an excellent base for hill walkers (high and low level), fishing, sea kayaking and wildlife. For guided walks in the Shieldaig/Torridon area see nineonesix.co.uk; for the Applecross peninsular see applecross.uk.com and Applecross walks. There are fine sandy beaches at Cuaig and Sand on the Applecross road.
The National Trust for Scotland have a Countryside Centre at Torridon (18 miles) and The Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve run by Scottish Natural Heritage is at Kinlochewe (27 miles)
For truly excellent pub food, visit the Applecross Inn which specialises in local produce, especially seafood. The Potting Shed Cafe and Restaurant in Applecross House walled garden is also well worth visiting. There are fine sandy beaches on the way to Applecross; at Cuaig and at Sand. For a fine selection of local snacks, teas, coffees and cakes please head to Nanny’s Cafe in Sheildaig
There are various options for organised outdoor activities. Shieldaig Outdoor Adventures take you on the sea & loch as well as up the mountain (shieldaigadventures.com). The Mountain & Sea Guides have a similar programme (applecross.uk.com/msg). The Torridon Hotel (18 miles) provides fishing, clay pigeon shooting, guided walks, climbing, abseiling, sea kayaking, bike hire and archery (thetorridon.com/adventure).
The Applecross village store is now found at Camusteel (17 miles, prop: A&S Brown tel: 01520 744214). Basic supplies are also found at Shieldaig (10 miles). If not already stocked up for your holiday you may wish to visit Tesco Extra in Inverness, only two minutes off the route from the south, on the Aberdeen road. (directions to Arrina on GETTING THERE page).