NC500 Pods - Achmelvich

Two minutes from one of Scotland's best beaches

Achmelvich Beach is the reason people come to this corner of Assynt: a white sand bay with water that goes an implausible turquoise in any light at all, sheltered between low rocky headlands. The pods sit above the next bay along, close enough to walk down before breakfast and far enough that the car park below is somebody else's problem.

They are handmade from British timber, insulated and heated underfoot, and fitted out to a standard that has little to do with camping. A double bed with hotel linen, a sofa bed that opens to a second double, a kitchen with an oven, hob, fridge freezer, microwave, kettle and toaster, and an en-suite with an electric shower and hot water on demand. Towels, bedding and toiletries are provided. So are wifi, a smart TV and Bluetooth sound, which matter more than they sound like they should on a coast where the weather can shut the day down by four.

One of the pods has a freestanding tin bath, big enough for two, which is the thing people book this site for and the thing to ask about if you want it.

Outside, a communal deck with barbecue facilities faces the water. The site is far enough from anything to be properly dark, so the aurora is a real possibility here between autumn and spring rather than a line in a brochure.

Achmelvich or Brora

The same owners run a second site on the east coast at Brora. They are a different stay rather than two of the same thing.

Good to know

Features

Location

Where it puts you

This is Assynt, which is the strangest looking landscape on the NC500 and the one people remember: Suilven rising on its own out of empty moor, Stac Pollaidh, Canisp and Quinag all within sight of the same road. Suilven is a long day on foot from Lochinver and one of the great hill walks in Scotland; Stac Pollaidh is a much shorter one with a view out of all proportion to the effort.

Achmelvich itself has Hermit's Castle above the rocks, a tiny concrete cell built in the 1950s and often called the smallest castle in Europe. Lochinver is the nearest village for fuel, shops and dinner, and the road south from it towards Inverpolly is worth driving slowly.