Although it’s Hebrides Isle neighbours of Mull, Iona, Jura and Islay are more famous and well-known, Kerrera should definitely not be overlooked when visiting Oban. Quite honestly, we felt that the Isle of Kerrera was a jewel hiding in plain sight (it’s the Isle just across the bay from Oban). It’s a land of lush and green rolling hills with a beautiful walking trail from which to admire it – a walk on the Isle of Kerrera is truly a wonderful way to spend a day in the Oban area. There’s also a stunning hilltop castle ruin and a delightful tea garden to top it all off. We can almost guarantee that you will encounter significantly more sheep than people on the island, particularly if you walk the full length of the southern hiking trail. Below we present our A Walk on the Green Isle of Kerrera: the Perfect Day Trip from Oban Travel Guide, designed to help you plan and get the most out of your trip to Kerrera.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
Top Things to See and Do in Oban
Top Things to See and Do in Glen Coe
Best Hikes and Walks in Glen Coe
Glenfinnan Viaduct and Jacobite Steam Train Travel Guide
Top Things to See and Do on Skye
Skye’s Best Hiking and Walking Trails
Orientation – Where is the Isle of Kerrera and How to Get There?
Kerrera is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, located less than a mile from the shores of the Western Highland mainland town of Oban. The island is around 7 km long and around 2 km wide and is separated from the mainland by the narrow Sound of Kerrera. The island is known in particular as the place where King Alexander II of Scotland died in 1249. Today, the permanent population of the Isle tends to hover around 60 inhabitants, most of whom are sheep and cattle farmers.
The island is linked to the mainland by two ferry services, the Caledonian MacBrayne passenger ferry connecting the middle of the Isle with Gallanach Road (about 3 km south of Oban center), and a water taxi service connecting the Kerrera Marina at the Isle’s northern tip with Oban’s North Pier.
The main attractions on the island, apart from the beautiful hiking trails, are the ruins of Gylen Castle and the Kerrera Tea Garden, both of which are located in the southern portion of the island. As such, the best way to reach them is to use the Caledonian MacBrayne passenger ferry that docks roughly around the middle of Kerrera’s eastern coast (pictured above).
The ferry crossing takes less than 10 minutes and a return ticket costs approximately 6£ (2023). The ferries generally run twice per hour between 8 am and 6 pm, with a prolonged break during lunchtime.
One other thing to note is that there are no public transit options to get to the Kerrera Ferry jetty on Gallanach Road. There is however a small parking lot where you can leave your vehicle during your time on the Isle. Otherwise, the ferry terminal is roughly a 45-minute walk from the center of Oban.
Visting the Isle of Kerrera
Since visitors cannot bring a vehicle on the island, there are two ways to explore: by foot or by bicycle (which you will have to rent in Oban and bring onto the ferry with you). We chose to walk as not all the paths are suitable for bicycles, but also because it would allow use to enjoy the island at a slower pace.
We can’t comment too much on visiting the northern portion of the island, since we didn’t explore it, but this is where you’ll find the island’s only restaurant, Waypoint, and Ardentrive Farm, a family-run farm that also runs a small farm shop.
The southern portion of the island is the one we visited, and this is where you’ll find the Kerrera Circular Walking Trail, the ruins of Gylen Castle, the scenic Horseshoe Bay, and the Kerrera Tea Garden and Bunkhouse.
We’ll describe all of these attractions further below, as they are all connected by the walking trail. Note that on the illustrated map above, the southern e-bike routes are also part of the Circular Walking Trail (it’s a shared multi-purpose trail), except for one section (the dashed blue line) where the trail descends steeply through boggy terrain and is not recommended for use with e-bikes. During our time on the island, we didn’t encounter anyone riding bicycles. Although deer inhabit the island, we only came across sheep and goats.
Kerrera Circular Walking Trail
You should know that doing the full loop trail will take most people between 3h and 3h30, excluding stops. So you should plan for at least a 4-to-5-hour stay on Kerrera. If that’s too long for you but would still to walk around a bit and perhaps visit the tea house, it’s about a 45-minute walk each way from the ferry jetty (1h30 total). The castle is roughly 15 min further away, so visiting both the tea garden and the castle will require about 2 hours of walking.
But honestly, the scenery is beautiful if you walk in any direction, regardless of whether you stop by the tea garden or the castle.
Kerrera Circular Trail Details
Distance: 11.1 km
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: 110 m (cumulative elevation gain: 353 m)
Start point: Kerrera Ferry jetty
AllTrails rating: (4.8, 200 ratings (2024))
Duration: 3h-3h30
Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but it can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.
Trail Summary
If you plan to do the full loop, we propose that you walk the trail in a counter-clockwise manner (as depicted in the All Trails image above). This is primarily for two reasons: 1) First, you’ll get most of the climbing and elevation gain out of the way early, as the northern and western sections of the trail are much more hilly, and 2) You will visit the Castle and the Tea Garden during the second half of the journey, which we find provides a more rewarding experience.
As you leave the ferry jetty, follow the main road left for about 150-200 meters until you reach a fork in the road. If you want to follow our full loop itinerary, take the right fork that goes slightly uphill – if you want to go straight to the tea house, take the left fork.
It won’t take long after leaving the jetty until you cross a lot of sheep and the Balliemore Farm Shop, a small trust-based shop on the side of the road, selling local goods and crafts.
Once you pass the Balliemore Farm Shop, you will be going up and down some hills for a while, each one offering beautiful views of the Isle’s western coastline.
Eventually, the path will start to descend towards the farmhouse at Barr-nam-boc (and notice all the cows and sheep in Barr-nam-boc Bay in the second picture below).
Shortly after passing the farm, the path will start to turn inland – this section can be very muddy/boggy and is the part of the trail that is not recommended for e-bikes. It is during this section that will you cross the official midway section of the trail, which is signposted (see third picture).
Eventually, you will emerge from the boggy terrain and find yourself near the farmhouse at Ardmore and its strange upstanding rock.
Gylen Castle
It’s not long after this that you will start to see Gylen Castle emerge in the distance – a dramatic castle ruin that sits on a rock overlooking the bay in the south of Kerrera.
The castle was built by the Clan MacDougall in 1582. It barely managed 65 years of occupation when it was besieged and then burned by the Covenanters under General Leslie in 1647, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
The Kerrera Tea Garden
Another 10-15 min later you’ll finally reach the Kerrera Tea House. It’s usually open from early April until the end of September, Thursday to Monday, from 11 am until 4 pm (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays). They serve hearty soups, homemade breads and a selection of delicious cakes. Note: The tea garden used to be cash-only, but now also accepts card payments.
After you’ve enjoyed some tea and cake, you can head back to the trail for the final section, which is mostly flat and follows the Isle’s eastern coastline with views of the Scottish mainland. The scenery is particularly beautiful around Horseshoe Bay.
Accommodation on Kerrera
There are a few accommodation options on the Isle of Kerrera should you be interested in spending the night:
- A self-catering chalet near Horseshoe Bay
- The bunkhouse at Kerrera Tea Garden
- The Galley Cabin near Gylen Castle
Hiking Packing List
All Trails subscription – This comes in really handy for areas with little or no cell reception, as the annual subscription allows you to download trail maps for offline use.
External Battery – If you are using your phone to track your progress along the trail or to help with navigation, you certainly don’t want your phone to die on you. That’s especially true in the unlikely event that you might get hurt or need assistance.
Hiking poles – These can be particularly useful in steep trails or muddy/boggy trail conditions.
Preparing a trip to the Highlands?
You might be interested in these pages:
Top Things to See and Do in Oban
Top Things to See and Do in Glen Coe
Best Hikes and Walks in Glen Coe
Glenfinnan Viaduct and Jacobite Steam Train Travel Guide
Top Things to See and Do on Skye
Skye’s Best Hiking and Walking Trails
Preparing a trip to Scotland?
You might be interested in these Scotland pages:
10-Day Scotland Roadtrip Itinerary (Edinburgh and Highlands)
Scotland Driving Guide and Tips
7 of the Best Castles to Visit in Scotland
Best Things to See in the Scottish Highlands
Best Hikes to do in the Scottish Highlands
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Rick Steves Scotland
Lonely Planet Scotland’s Highlands
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
SafetyWing is a travel insurance company that offers comprehensive coverage for travellers. Includes Medical Insurance and Travel Insurance. Primarily geared towards long-term travellers, digital nomads, and expats.
e-Sim cards
Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide. With Airalo eSIMs, travellers can get connected the moment they land at their destination and avoid nasty data roaming charges
eSIMS are a sustainable alternative to single-use SIM cards – they are 100% digital, require less energy to produce and be re-used rather than disposed of.
Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our A Walk on the Green Isle of Kerrera: the Perfect Day Trip from Oban Travel Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to the beautiful Scottish Highlands.
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