Plockton
At a Glance
Contacts
Secretaryof the Plockton Harbour Association
(Kevin Baird) 07801 951938
Plockton came into being at the beginning of the nineteenth century and Duncraig Castle was built near the end of that Century. Its original raison d'être was as a fishing village and it did well until the bottom fell out of that market. Its problem was that the hinterland was very poor for agriculture and they had a very hard time of it after the end of the nineteenth Century.
The plus side of things was they inherited a very good school
and rail connections, both built during the fishing boom, which has
stood them in good stead until this day. The first half of the
twentieth century was not a good time for the village with war
casualties and emigration drastically reducing the number of young
men in the village; this wasn't helped by the excellent education
they got in the school enabling even more of them to leave.
Since then Plockton has slowly reinvented itself as a tourist
destination and has managed to get itself a reputation in the
yachting world as one of the "must see" places on this coast. It's
easy to see why; the Kyles to the South were content to rest on
their laurels as ferry termini and now are still trying to catch up
since the Skye Bridge turned them into backwaters under the
management of the Highland Council.
In real terms there is not much here to attract the cruising
yachtsman apart from sheltered moorings or room to anchor in
shelter, but that somehow does not seem to matter; we flock here.
The moorings are run by the Harbour Association and, unfettered by
the Highland Council layers of administration, it would not be
surprising if this go ahead community decided to enlarge the
pontoon facility to attract even more passing trade but that would
be another story.
We have an article on Cruising on the West Coast much of which
applies here
http://www.visitmyharbour.com/cruising-west-coast-scotland/
Had it not been for the Laird who inherited the land and decided to
try to make some money out of it, back in the day, Plockton would
probably not be here; as it is, it nestles in a small cove at the
entrance to Inner Loch Carron with astounding views of the lochs
and mountains to the North and North East, has morphed itself into
a new life to make good use of its assets.
They have a Regatta fortnight here starting on the last Sunday of
July but the Plockton Small Boat Sailing Club has a very full
racing calendar throughout the summer details of which can be found
on their website
http://www.plockton-sailing.com/
There is also a webcam which covers the whole bay and worth a look
if you want an overview
http://www.calums-sealtrips.com
Plockton
Approach
You will have fun with this, especially on a grey day when....
.... the islands and headlands merge into each other and refuse
to be identified. You would be advised to use a good pair of bins
and a crew with good, young eyesight; especially if coming round
from the Skye Bridge.
There is a scattering of rocks both off the shore and in the middle
of the main loch to be negotiated but, with the aid of the chartlet
in the CCC notes, it proved not to be too difficult to make an
entry between Cat Island and High Stone; we found that frequent
reference to the Sea Clear charts and plotter helped quite a bit to
confirm what we thought we were looking at!!
We have provided a Way Point which works for approaches from both
the North and the South though you could cut the corner a little
from the South to pick up the transit between Eilean Beinne and the
perch on Sgeir Golach. The difficulty is where to come off that
transit and make for the gap between Hawk Rock and High Stone,
especially as the Hawk Rock SHM is no more. We were lucky and
managed to identify the beacon on Bo Dubh Sgeir and turned towards
that when it was roughly in the middle of the gap between the
beacon on Sgeir Golach and the lighthouse on Eilean a Chait (Cat
Island).
There is a back bearing (High Stone and Sgeir Bhuidhe on 330°T) to
take you clear of Hawk Rock but basically, once the anchorage opens
before you on the starboard bow and you can see the pontoon it's
safe to turn in, not forgetting to give the perches on Plockton
Rocks a miss (you won't pick those up until quite close in)
If you have a deep draft and are unhappy using this approach, just
keep the initial transit between Eilean na Beinne and Sgeir Golach
open to pass a couple of cables North of Sgeir Golach and when
Duncraig Castle opens beyond the High Stone on a bearing of 160°T
or more you can turn SSE and run in towards the castle until the
pontoon opens and you can turn into the anchorage.
Remember that these directions are a only a guide; you really must
ensure that you are aware of your position throughout the approach
and a good old fashioned look at a large scale chart of the
entrance before you set out works wonders.
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
There are two or three trots of yellow visitors buoys....
.... with pick up buoys and you can tell which they are because they all bear a yellow sticker advising you of their tonnage and the cost of picking one up.
They are laid and surveyed by thePlockton Harbour Community Interest Company and have a website
at Plockton Harbour - Visit Plockton
When you initially come into the bay it looks as though the whole
of it is taken up with moorings with numerous yachts in the little
bay to the North of the pontoon and then buoys and yachts all the
way round the 2 metre depth contour into the shallows at the head
of the bay. You will find that an area just to the SE of the end of
the pontoon stretching out towards the anchor mark on AC 2528-2 is
clear of moorings and you can drop your anchor there if you wish.
If you opt for anchoring rather than picking up a buoy they ask
that you drop a £5 note in the honesty box at the pontoon if you
tie your dinghy up there.
Use a tripping line and make sure that your anchor is well
bedded in as, if it comes on to blow from the SW, it can funnel
quite strongly down through the anchorage. They are still (2021)
charging £15 a night for a mooring irrespective of the size of
boat.
There are, in fact, two pontoons; one at the northern end of the
village opposite the Plockton Rocks which features in our picture
gallery and another in the shallows off the main village. You can
use the northern one for embarking stores and personnel at HW but
they ask that you drop a fiver in the honesty box for that.
Skippers leave their tenders here whilst ashore but space is
limited as much of the pontoon is allocated to regular users.
If you do not wish to go all the way round to Plockton there is a
bay to the SW, on the other side of its promontory, called Bagh an
Strathaidh which would give shelter in winds from NE to South and
Antares has surveyed it and has provided a chart.
Facilities
There is water available at the top of the yacht pontoon but you may have a job finding it as it is inside the gate into the grounds of the house at the top of that pontoon. You would need a mile of hose to connect to it and bunker a yacht on the pontoon otherwise you need containers. They ask that you don't use the hose between 0900 and 1100 as it supplies the house and affects the supply to their showers etc.
There is no fuel here.
There is a laundrette in the village and the toilets are located at
the end of the dinghy pontoon. The Post Office is now
closed and newspapers can be obtained at the shop.
Although they do have a shop here it is very small and carries a
limited stock of essentials (it's so small that we missed it on our
first pass through the village!!)
There is a good rail connection to Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh
but the station is the best part of a mile away so for a crew
change you'd need a taxi. The nearest big shop is the Co-Op at
Kyle so that would be an afternoon "expedition" by train for a
restock and of course you could combine that with other
requirements – but take a rucksack for the walk back from
the station.
There is an unmanned airfied about 20 minutes walk from the village. Runway is 02/20 tarmac and 2000 feet long. Can be difficult in windy weather with wind shear near the threshold of 20.
What to Do
There is a selection of pubs, restaurants and hotels and there
are traditional music sessions where you can join in with your own
instrument or just listen; one on Wednesdays in the Plockton Hotel
and more on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Plockton Inn.
History
Local Business
Uncategorised
Tide Information for plockton
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