Plockton

Plockton faces east into Loch Carron, sheltered from the Atlantic weather by the land behind it, and the North Atlantic Drift keeps frosts rare, so cordyline palms grow along the shorefront, an unlikely sight at this latitude and the village's best-known feature. It was laid out as a planned fishing village in the early nineteenth century after the population of the area was displaced from inland townships, and the white cottages face the water in a single curved row. Prawn and langoustine boats still work from the bay. Seal trips run to the colonies on the skerries. The village was used as Lochdubh in the television series Hamish Macbeth in the 1990s, which brought a lasting stream of visitors. The Kyle railway line runs behind it and the station is a short walk.

What you actually see

• The seafront palms - cordylines growing on a Highland shore.
• The curved cottage row - a planned early nineteenth-century village facing the water.
• The working boats - prawn and langoustine creel boats in the bay.
• The seal skerries - colonies reached by short boat trips from the harbour.

When to go

May to September for boats and the best weather; the village is very quiet out of season with several businesses closed. The Plockton regatta in late July and August fills the bay with sails.

Honest expectations

The village is small and can be walked in twenty minutes. Parking on the seafront is very limited and cars are asked to use the edge of the village. Accommodation and restaurant places are few and book ahead in summer.

Nearby

Kyle of Lochalsh and the Skye bridge are ten minutes south; Applecross lies north.