Loch Hourn is the grandest, most magnificent sea loch in Scotland, though the hills which make it so can also bring down some vicious gusts. Sandaig, at the mouth of the loch, is where Gavin Maxwell’s cottage stood (see his "Ring of Bright Water"). The upper reaches of the loch form a series of narrows and little basins, ending at Loch Hourn Head. It looks beguiling on the chart, but is rather gloomy and unattractive in reality. The anchorage behind Eilean Rarsaidh, on the north shore of the lower loch, is well sheltered and pleasant. And there’s always Isle Ornsay just across the sound if the weather should turn nasty.