About Clashnessie Waterfall
The Clashnessie Waterfall was our waterfalling reason to take the deceptively long (and dangerous) out-and-back detour from the Loch Assynt vicinity towards the tranquil town and bay of Clashnessie (Clais an Easaidh in Gaelic). The waterfall itself was said to be a modest 15m tall, but when we saw it in person, it had a very full flow and bulbous appearance as it stood out behind the handful of homes and pastures that made up the community of Clashnessie. On the opposite side of the hamlet in the direction of the Clashnessie Bay was a scenic soft-sanded beach, which our daughter thoroughly enjoyed since the hike to falls was a bit on the rough side.
Speaking of the hike, the signs in the area actually pointed out that there were two paths reaching the Clashnessie Waterfall from the car park by the beach. The sanctioned path actually required me to walk along the mostly single-track B869 road towards the western end of the hamlet before another sign pointed me inland, where I’d have to weave in between some private property then go onto a rough 4×4 track leading towards what seemed to be yet another property where I wasn’t sure if it was occupied or not. Just before the trail disappeared into that property, there were more signs pointing to my left telling me that further progress was across some stepping stones traversing the Abhainn Clais an Eas (Clashnessie River).
Because the river was running a bit high, I wasn’t willing to risk a mishap slipping and falling and possibly dousing my camera (and other things) with water. Perhaps with trekking poles (which I didn’t have as I was trying to travel light) I might be able to traverse these stepping stones without water getting into the Gore-tex boots. But as it was, I had to turn back and give the non-sanctioned route a try. At least I did spent some time taking a few photos of the front of Clashnessie Waterfall from a distance, but it still left me wanting to get a closer look. So after about 45 minutes or so of this futile out-and-back pursuit, I returned to the car park where I then started going the other route.
The non-sanctioned route started adjacent to the public car park near the Clashnessie Beach. This route was the direct walking path at the base of the adjacent hills and cliffs leading past a private property or two before getting to the other side of the stepping stones (the ones that turned be back earlier), then finally reaching the base of the impressive Clashnessie Waterfall. It turned out that because this path passed by (and possibly through) some private property, it might have caused issues with the landowner(s). This was especially apparent on the way back from the falls when regaining the trail past the stepping stones and back to the skirting of the property wasn’t very trivial as the trail was ill-defined there. Plus, the footing on the trail was rocky and very muddy for most of the way so despite the short distances, progress was pretty slow.
In any case, the overall time I spent away from the car to do this hike was about 90 minutes, but we have to keep in mind that I did the trail both ways. So it’s probably more reasonable to expect that this trail should take no more than 45 minutes to an hour depending on your pace and how long you want to linger at the falls.
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