Where on w coast of Scotland is good to leave a boat for a week, to a month?

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steve yates

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and get back to Glasgow easily? Between the mull of kintyre and now Scotland?
I will be crossing over from ni sometime next weekend or after, towards islay, gigha way, then meandering up the way slowly. Leave for a week, come back and carry on for a week, leave elsewhere for up to a week, then carry on for 2.5 weeks, and will potentially need to leave for a month in August as I'm busy then. Hoping to be plockton way for that as a friend lives there and can keep an eye on her.
So far ardfern, ardoran, kilmeford yacht haven, arisisaig, Tobermory and plockton all seem possibles.
North of ardnamurchan it does look a bit sparser. Is isleoronsay feasible?
What other harbours or moorings are there I could leave her at? Any in the outer Hebrides?
Thx.
 
I assume you will be looking for a secure location with good transport links to get to Glasgow.

The locations that spring to mind are:

Oban / Kerrera (assuming Oban Marina is still functioning)

Tobermory would be possible, with a ferry link to Oban

Arisaig is a good option that I have used in the past - Arisaig Marine have swinging moorings will keep an eye on your boat, and can provide a water taxi service, then rail & bus links to Fort William

Isle Ornsay has a few swinging moorings for hotel patrons. Don't know about transport links - I've never seen this as a realistic alternative

Mallaig has (expensive) pontoons, bus and rail links to Fort William, and an excellent second hand bookshop

Ullapool has swinging moorings provided by the harbour authority, who can provide a water taxi service. There is then a coach service to Inverness (takes about 1 hour)

Stornoway has pontoons, and a ferry link to Ullapool. For foot passengers its cheap - from memory about £8 return last year

Hope this helps
 
I kept my boat in the new marina in Lochboisdale last year. Very reasonable rate (£190 for 34' approx) with daily ferry back to Oban then train to Glasgow. Would certainly do it again.
 
Almost anywhere with pontoons and moorings (except Mallaig) will do you weekly or monthly deals. Crinan Boats have moorings, though not cheap, and the Crinan Canal used to do quite cheap rates for using the basin only. Ardern has moorings and also an unconnected pontoon which is intended for boats being left a while.

As an alternative, you could buy a sodding big anchor and leave her lying to that.
 
Are you the chap with the Bradwell 18? Should be easy enough to find a spot to park a wee boat like that.

IsleOrnsay is a bit exposed to the NE, I wouldn't leave a boat there.
Kyleakin is perfectly good, and fairly cheap. In fact you could stick the boat against the wall at the drying end of the harbour and it would probably cost you nowt.
 
Just don't tell the harbourmaster who suggested it. Tbh you might not end up paying very much to be on the pontoon there and it would be perfectly legit. A Highland Council monthly cruising ticket could be the way to go, pretty cheap and can be used in all of their harbours.
 
The tricky bit is not so much where is safe to leave her. No doubt pleny of safe wee corners for a wee boat. The problem is places from which you can reasonably retreat and return by public transport.

Services are a bit infrequent and can take quite a long time to get anywhere. And railway is pricey.

Some bus timetables here: http://www.westcoastmotors.co.uk/timetables/

train times here: https://www.scotrail.co.uk/sites/default/files/assets/download_ct/west_highlands_march_2016.pdf

and here https://www.scotrail.co.uk/sites/default/files/assets/download_ct/north_highlands_march_2016.pdf

Balvicar Boat yard on Seil, might be able to do something for you as a (probably cheaper) alternative to Ardfern or Kilmelford, and it is not far from there to Oban by bus. Swinging moorings.
 
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Unless your boat can take care of itself very well, I would not recommend Kyleakin, it is far too busy and can be really crammed in bad weather. The Highland Council assistant harbour master based across in Kyle looks in every day to collect dues, he is a good guy, very helpful but prefers to let the owners manage their boats and could not be expected to move them around, if a couple of Ovnis come in they will tie up to anything. There are three moorings in the kyle, much more exposed but safer if the boat is unattended.
The pontoon at Flowerdale in Gairloch has similar problems of popularity but they have secure and sheltered moorings laid as winter fishing boat refuge but transport from there is awkward.
Reluctantly, I would recommend Mallaig, the harbourmaster should be able to find a secure corner for a small boat or offer a mooring inside the harbour. Of course you could also try the charter company across the sound at Armadale.
Flowerdale, Kyleakin. Loch Inver are all Highland Council owned, you can buy roving permits of varying length at any of their harbours, at Loch Inver they even have a travel hoist if you want to come ashore. Ullapool and Mallaig are fishing harbours with their own control, they used to just about tolerate yachts but now are trying to exploit them better.
By the way the little marina at Loch Aline is in the process of laying visitors moorings for longer stays, the blocks were there last month waiting to be towed out and laid, it is a well run place, there are buses serving the ferry to Fishnish on Mull but I can not imagine they are frequent.
 
steve yates said:
Thanks all, I will keep visiting this as I work further north. Lock-in very could be a potential place to finish for the summer, and lift her out onto her trailer for the trip back to Workington.
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I'm presuming you meant Lochinver? Lovely little place, some nice anchorages in that area if you get there a day or two early.
 
Kelpie said:
I'm presuming you meant Lochinver? Lovely little place, some nice anchorages in that area if you get there a day or two early.
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Lochinver is indeed lovely but there is a difficulty in getting to it by coach/bus. The Traveline app for Scottish public transport has been my bible. The staff are usually tied up at the weekends with the needs of offloading French and Spanish boats, so are not keen on using the boat lift then. There are some more pontoons ready to be fixed in place, but no-one knows when this is going to happen.
 
Kyle and v nearby Plockton are certainly as good as or a mite better than Kyleakin for transport links and you can certainly find moorings at Plockton and probably at Kyle but might have to ask around a bit on arrival (but there's a pontoon to tie to while asking around). The bay immediately N of Plock of Kyle which is protected to the W by Eilean a Mahal has a couple of yachts moored there usually. If you can take the ground then simply go up the harbour at Plockton and lie to an anchor from the bow and stern to trees and you'd be safe in a hurricane.
 
If you go for Oban I'd advise against Kerrera in favour of Dunstaffnage. Kerrera marina is a Saftladen now. It is a short bus/taxi ride to Oban from Dunstaffnage, but then it's a ferry ride from Kerrera.
 
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