It is a long way in to Arisaig, maybe an hour or so, and it is not a good spot to get out of in a strong westerly wind. "If the sea rover wishes to enter Arisaig harbour he had better obtain local help. It is an abominable place for a stranger" (Sailing Tours: The Yachtsman's Guide to the Cruising Waters of the English and Adjacent Coasts, Part V, The West Coasts of Scotland, the Orkneys, and the west coast of the North Sea. Frank Cowper, Upcott Gill, London, 1896). But perhaps short of cash Frank Copwer went on to write "With such help as the Admiralty Plan, No 2817, gives, however, it is quite possible to enter, and the chart is a good deal cheaper than a pilot". It is a reasonable place to change crew — there is a railway station for trains to Fort William. Otherwise I don't see a lot of point in coming here, while others take a completely opposite view and really love the place.
Of course there are nice sunsets over Rum to enjoy, and I am told a good boatyard — Arisaig Marina, a family-run friendly business, with a small café and gift shop (ph 01687 450224). You will find a shop in the village, a restaurant in the Arisaig Hotel (ph 01687 450210), and I have had very good reports of the Old Library Restaurant (ph 01687 450651). If you fancy a walk then head south for half-a-mile along the main road to Larachmore Gardens, unkempt but lovely, free, and — surprisingly — looked after by the Botanic Gardens staff in far away Edinburgh. The gardens were planted in the 1920s by John Holmes, a Glaswegian millionaire stockbroker, and well known eccentric.
And for the golfers, Traigh links a couple of kilometres north of the village has nine holes, a grand view, and is the most westerly golf course on the UK mainland. While the golfers golf, the rest could walk a bit further on to explore the wonderful sandy beaches before ending up on An Camas Darach where much of 'Local Hero' was filmed (that never-to-be-forgotten feel-good Scottish movie made at the height of the oil boom), and where my son Oli married Katherine.