Tulach Ard or Ard Hill in it’s English translation is a short and strenuous walk 1.25 miles walk in Lochalsh. We wouldn’t recommend it for wheelchairs as it is steep and uneven, however Sarah did manage relatively well with her wheeled walker. The path is well maintained by Forestry Commission Scotland.
Getting to Tulach Ard
Leave Kyle of Lochalsh on the A87 heading East towards Fort William. Tulach Ard is approximately 4 miles along the road. As you leave the township of Reraig, there is a bright orange Traffic Scotland sign on the left hand side of the road. Opposite this is the entrance to the Tulach Ard car park. It has green Forestry Commission Scotland signage and a yellow height barrier over the entrance. Turn here and drive a short distance on the gravel road to a small car park. Here you will find free parking, a picnic bench and some information boards with maps.
The Tulach Ard Walk
If you are lucky there may be some paper maps at the information board. You do not need one, as it is a loop walk so you are unlikely to get lost. However, the maps do offer ideas for other walks in Skye and Lochalsh.
The path starts next to the information boards in the car park. There is a small dip to navigate to get onto the track as the car park has been newly lain. The first section of track is wide and made of compacted gravel and rock with patches of grass up the centre. It is a bit uneven so Sarah’s wheels did get caught up occasionally. After a hundred metres or so you get to a fork in the path. You can take either fork as the path simply loops around. We paused weighed up or options and turned left. This was in the hope that we would get good views of the Skye Bridge on the way back around.
Initially this section of the path is a little steep and quite bumpy. With a bit of help from Melanie, Sarah made it up here and soon the path levelled off. As it became more level the surface was much smoother and Sarah could manage on her own. We were now heading east and had views of the hills of Lochalsh.
Spring was in the air, birds singing, gorse flowering and some frog spawn was floating in the ditches. In turn we had a spring in our step and soon we were rounding the corner and beginning to get glimpses over Loch Alsh and Auchtertyre. The path meandered down hill gently until we were parallel but above the loch, the views here are magnificent. But, then the difficulties came into view.
“Up” Tulach Ard
We hadn’t really noticed how far the path had dropped down and when we looked ahead there was a big “up” ahead of us. After a bit of face pulling we set off up hill and promised Sarah a rest and some photo opportunities at the top. Melanie helped the wheels over some of the lumpy bits of the track but it was relatively smooth all things considered. With rosy cheeks Sarah took a seat on her wheels at the top and enjoyed the fabulous view.
After a short while we spun around to look at the path ahead of us! Our faces must have been an absolute picture. Steep doesn’t even come into it! It was steep and in an S shape. So with a deep breath and a positive attitude we set off. Now Melanie was helping a bit more as Sarah was leaning on her wheels up the hill. We rounded the corner and looked on in horror. The path straightened out but got even steeper. Well we had come this far, and were over half way round so there was no point in turning back now.
Onwards and upwards. Melanie was now helping with every step but slowly and surely we made it. As soon as the path was level again Sarah took another moment to catch her breath and composure. The pay off was the views, when we turned around to look at where we had come from. Simply breathtaking.
From here onwards the path was either level or gently down hill and mainly grassy. Short grass is much easier going for Sarah and her wheels. On the final slope downwards there are fine views of the Skye Bridge. At the last corner there was a detour to a viewpoint off to the left but we had no energy left for that. Maybe we can come back and just walk there another time. We kept to the right and eventually ended up back at the original fork in the path. From here, there is just the short distance back to the car.
Tulach Ard is a beautiful short walk through woodland, with amazing views over Lochalsh. However we would not recommend it for wheelchair users and consider it quite strenuous if you have any mobility issues. That said it is perfectly located for a drive back to Kyle as we did, and a nosey in the shops or a cheeky ice cream sundae in Hector’s Bothy!
