Take me there
Reaching the Wild North
58° North, -4° West
Remote but easily accessible Mackay’s is located in the village of Durness, the most northwesterly village on mainland Britain in the heart of the famous Mackay Country on the acclaimed route NC500.
Croft 103 is found nestled on the shore of Loch Eriboll 6 miles east of Durness. Remote but easily accessible, getting here is the reason we travel.
Air
Inverness is the nearest airport 2.5 hours drive (110 miles). The Airport has regular flights from London and Amsterdam.
Inverness also has decent rail links, however public transport north of Inverness is extremely limited.
From Inverness you can hire a car and let the northern adventure begin. Although we would like to cut everyone’s carbon emissions, cars are a requirement for the area, although there are alternative ways of getting most of the way to us. Our remote location means having your own car quite essential.
Destination Durness is worth the drive alone. Heading north from Inverness you will reach Lairg after which a few miles north you will turn left heading north west onto the single track road which is signposted for Durness and takes you to the wild north. The driving is epic and worth the effort.
Please think about offsetting your travel.
https://sustainabletravel.org/our-work/carbon-offsets/calculate-footprint/
https://treesforlife.org.uk/ or an environmental charity you hold dear.
Calendonian Sleeper
If you would prefer to take public transport or are not a fan of flying, the Calendonian Sleeper offers a brilliant overnight service departing from London Euston at 9:15pm and arriving into Inverness Station at 8:45am.
https://www.sleeper.scot/the-sleeper-experience/
From there, you can either catch a the Durness Bus or carry on to Lairg via Train and get the bus from there.
Old-Fashioned Directions
From Inverness take the A9 north to the Tore roundabout. You may now choose the east coast or the west coast route to continue your journey, both are through stunning scenery but the east coast route is about 30 minutes shorter.
The shortest route follows the A9 to its junction with the B9176 over Struie Hill to Bonar Bridge and then follows the A836 through Lairg. At a point about 2 miles north of Lairg you turn west on to the A838 and from there, let the stunning scenery be your guide as you pass Loch Shin, the mountains of Ben Stack, Arkle and Fionaven, before reaching Laxford Bridge. Turn north once more and head for Durness.
The west coast route, although longer, again passes through superb scenery. From Tore go west on the A835 towards Garve and then on to Ullapool. Remain on the A835 until you reach Ledmore Junction. There you turn north on to the A837 driving via Scourie to Laxford Bridge and continue on the single track road to Durness.
Whichever route you choose a warm welcome awaits you.
