The anchorage is more off the rather suburban-looking Portuairk than Sanna itself in the bay. On a bad day Sanna beach is bleak, but on a good day it is sublime with the sand, rock pools, sunsets and a grand view from Sanna Point. But on any day it is sad because once there was a thriving community here captured in Alasdair Maclean's 'Night Falls on Ardnamurchan,' Gollancz, 1984. However, there are still five working crofts, clearly not everywhere has been replaced by holiday homes.
Going ashore, I think it is best to stick to the beach and the extensive dunes behind, beyond them there is a large car park needed to accommodate those who come by land along the 34 miles of single-track road from Strontian. And a lot of necessary 'don't do this and that' signs, reflecting the pressure of unthinking tourists at the height of the season. Some undistinguished newish houses are scattered around (some of the ruined croft houses are still there). I had thought the water-tower landmark had gone, but I was looking in the wrong place as I crept into this slightly tricky anchorage in the days before chartplotters and Antares charts. I am assured it is definitely still there, just in case someone switches off your GPS at the crucial moment!
