Towns in the Strontian & Ardnamurchan area

Strontian
This small village marks the local centre in the otherwise sparsely inhabited Ardnamurchan Peninsula. It is situated on the A861 at the eastern end of Loch Sunart, approximately half way between the Corran Ferry and the village of Salem.

Its mostly white painted houses give it a surprisingly modern image, and its location and the layout of the settlement rather remind to a holiday village somewhere in the Rockies then the west of Scotland. The traveller will find here everything he or she needs, a hotel, a campground, shops, an tourist information centre and a petrol station cater for most but certainly not for all wishes.



The community was established in 1724 to create homes for the workers of the local mines. With the decline of those mines from 1730 on, the village lost most of its former importance, and would have been buried in oblivion if not something extraordinary had happened. French Prisoners of War, who were working in the mines, found a new and unknown material, later to be named after the village – Strontium. The mines kept closing and re-opening until in 1930 they were shut down for good.

Strontian is also famous for one other thing: the first church on a boat. When a local landlord refused to give land for a church, the congregation put their efforts together and bought a vessel, anchored it not far from Loch Sunart and transformed into a floating church. You can’t say the guys didn’t have ideas…

Kilchoan
This is the most westerly settlement on mainland Britain and the only significant in western Ardnamurchan. Around 150 people live in the picturesque village with its white painted houses and the small, sheltered natural harbour. A small visitors centre provides the curious traveller with varied information about history, sights and travel options.

Until about 1900 it was only accessible over the sea, only then the new 23 mile road was built to connect Kilchoan with Salen in the east, another road leads to the 6 mile off Ardnamurchan Point.

Today the ferry link to and from Tobermory on the isle of Mull provides another access point to the peninsula and another option to link several areas in western Scotland together into one long trip.

The close by remains of Mingary Castle invite to a walk through the ruins and along the shore, with great views over Mull and Coll.