Ardtornish Bay is coastal

embayment A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, on a chord of 0.89 miles, on a 161° orientation, in the

Morvern Morvern, historically also spelt Morven, is a peninsula and traditional district in the Highlands, on the west coast of Scotland. It lies south of the districts of Ardgour and Sunart, and is bounded on the north by Loch Sunart and Glen Tarbert, ...

peninsula in

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...

, in the western coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. There is good anchorage in the bay, with a depth of 7 fathoms. It is well protected, except from winds from the south.

Settlements

Ardtornish Bay is part of Ardtornish Estate. Ardtornish House is famous for its gardens and the estate is the location of the ruined

Ardtornish Castle Ardtornish Castle is situated in the grounds of the Ardtornish estate in Morvern, on the west coast of Scotland. It stands at the seaward end of a promontory which extends in a southerly direction into the Sound of Mull, about south-east of the ...

and the still-inhabited

Kinlochaline Castle Kinlochaline Castle is a 15th-century Scottish tower house on the Ardtornish estate in Morvern in the Highland council area. It is also known as Caisteal an Ime (Scottish Gaelic for ''Castle of Butter'') because a Lady of Clan MacInnes, Dubh Ch ...

. Lochaline is the largest settlement in the area, and the main village in the

area, along the A884 road. Fort William is the nearest transport hub.

Geography

Ardtornish Bay faces the

Sound of Mull The Sound of Mull is a sound between the Inner Hebridean island of Mull and mainland Scotland. It forms part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Sound of Mull Project is a Scottish Sustainable Marine Environment Initiative (SSMEI) spatial plan of Argyl ...

in a southerly direction, the

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

that runs from Aulston Point and Tobermory in the North to the Rubha Fiart and

Duart Point Duart Castle, or ''Caisteal Dhubhairt'' in Scottish Gaelic, is a castle on the Isle of Mull, beside the Sound of Mull off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and i ...

on the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...

, in the southeast. The small islands of Eilean Rubha an Ridere, that is opposite

Inninmore Bay Inninmore Bay is a small shallow coastal embayment, on a chord of 1.74 miles, on a 215° orientation, in the Morvern peninsula in Lochaber, in the western coast of Scotland, and is some three miles east-south-east of the entrance to Loch Aline ...

, and Eileanan Glas in the middle of the Sound and Sgeir nan Gobhar off the coast of Mull, can be seen from the bay. At the west end of the bay, is Artornish Point, is a small promontory, that is rendered remarkable by the ruins of an ancient castle, celebrated by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

in one of his poems. The ruins are now inconsiderable, consisting principally of the keep, with traces of outer defences, but of its ancient strength and splendour, no remains can be traced, in the crumbling walls of a small and apparently insignificant building. Within the castle a quarter of a mile, on somewhat higher ground, is Ardtornish house with stables and offices. To the east of the bay, running in the southeast direction is Aoineadh Beag, the dramatic cliffs of Ardtornish Bay. The cliffs rise to be 300metres before a gentle incline up to the hilltop of Glais Bheinn at 479metres. To the north is the narrow opening of Coalas na h-Àirde into

Loch Aline Loch Aline (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Àlainn'') is a small salt water loch home to fish, birds and game, located in Morvern, Lochaber, Scotland. Key features of interest are Kinlochaline Castle, Ardtornish Castle Ardtornish Castle is situated ...

. An Sleaghach at 515m, is the largest peak in the area, in the west about 4.5 miles to the west, but is not visible from the bay, due to the height of the Aoineadh Beag cliffs.

References

{{reflist Bays of Lochaber