Ten best walking spots in Kinlochbervie highlighted in new guide
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A COMMUNITY group in Kinlochbervie has released a new guide to help tourists and local walkers make the most of their time in the north-west Highland area.
Commissioned by the Kinlochbervie Community Company (KCC), the Walker’s Guide to Kinlochbervie offers visitors and locals an insight into the ten best walking routes in the Kinlochbervie area, as selected by the local community.
The guide features detailed logistical information, route descriptions and maps, and a selection of colour photographs.
Funded by Highland Coastal Communities Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the North Highland Initiative, the initiative began two years ago with the assistance of Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust development worker Laura Hamlet.
Ms Hamlet helped to form a small sub-group to focus on tourism in the local area, with the aim of identifying gaps in information provision for visitors.
The group's efforts led to the creation of a new website, a new information leaflet and the more ambitious walker's guidebook.
Margaret Meek, a director of Kinlochbervie Community Company, participated in the tourism focussed group.
She said: "The book is realization of a dream for me. Since moving to Kinlochbervie in 1996, I’ve always wanted a book of walks for the village. Information on walks is also something that tourists seek regularly in local shops.
"When the tourism committee was formed a couple of years ago, it provided the perfect opportunity to pursue the possibility."
The book's author and researcher, Dougie Cunningham, was commissioned by KCC to bring the guide together.
Mrs Meek added: "Last summer my husband Murdo MacPherson worked closely with Dougie poring intently over OS maps and marking out routes.
"Our objective was not just to promote tourism but to encourage people to stay awhile and get to know us.
"This book exceeds all my expectations. Murdo and I are both delighted with the guidebook and are glad that we had the opportunity to be involved with this project."
A professional photographer and hillwalker, Mr Cunningham had recently completed a similar project for the Coigach and Assynt area.
He said: "It was a brilliant project to work on - who wouldn’t like the task of exploring the best walks in one of Scotland’s most beautiful areas, and writing them up in a guidebook?
"The area around Kinlochbervie has so much to offer, there is very certainly a feeling of responsibility to do your best by the place and the local community with a project like this.
"I’ve written guidebooks in the past, but projects like this are a bit special because they’ve been commissioned by the local community itself. That meant not just finding good walks and taking people beyond the obvious honey-pot locations, it's also an opportunity to make sure that all the access and parking information that I provided with the routes was sound, and wasn’t going to inconvenience anyone locally.
"Any guidebook worthy of its paper should try and promote responsible tourism and access, and this was at the heart of the project from the start.
"I was very glad to have had such excellent support from Margaret and Murdo at the Kinlochbervie Community Company from the very start of the project.
"More than anything, there was a real desire from everyone involved to showcase the best of the area, and to help visitors to the area really get to know the area rather than just passing through on a whistle-stop tour.
"When people really connect with an area they take care of it and respect it. And they return, hopefully spending more locally. The Highlands is in a difficult place just now - more popular with visitors than ever, but those visitors aren’t necessarily staying in one place long enough to actually contribute to the local economy.
"No guidebook is going to magically change that on its own, but hopefully it can be just a small part of a larger solution over time."
The Walkers' Guide to Kinlochbervie is now available for sale from shops locally, the Geopark Shop and online at nwhgeopark.com/product/walkers-guide-to-kinlochbervie priced at £8.99 plus postage and packing.
