Poor Relief Road to Doirlinn Show path on map

Start location: Bunavullin (—)

End location: Shore at Doirlinn, Loch Sunart ( NM 607 585 )

Geographical area: Lochaber

Path type: Coffin Road, Drove Road

Path distance: 11km

Accessibility info: Suitable for pedestrians, Survey required

Route Description

From Bunavullin, head north at first on the B849, but at NM559538 where it bends left, instead take the track on the right which passes Achnacriche. Ignore a right turn for Achleanan farm, but fork right at the next junction signposted for Doirlin and Nc’nean Distillery. The track climbs past distillery buildings and onwards above the abandoned settlement of Auliston (see detour below). Ignore a left turn entering the forest over a cattle grid but take the next left, skirting the forest and leading eastwards towards Portabhata. The track eventually drops down wooded slopes down to Doirlinn.

In order to visit Auliston, turn left off the track at NM553566, about 3km north of Drimnin House, immediately north of a small burn (before the series of bends on the main track). Head northwest for about 700m, following the southwest fence of the forestry plantation.

The route from Drimnin to Doirlinn is reportedly accessible by mountain bike.

OS Landranger 47 (Tobermory & North Mull) and 49 (Oban & East Mull)

Heritage Information

The route round the western tip of Morvern from Drimnin to Doirlinn runs along a former public highway built in 1880 as a poor relief project. It passes old settlements some of which were inhabited at that time, but are now long-since deserted. In 1836 most of the 341 inhabitants of the estate subsisted on some sheep and cattle rearing, a limited amount of arable farming (corn and potatoes) and fishing. However by 1861 clearance of the townships had started in order to make way for sheep farming and the population fell from 118 in 1861 to 58 in 1891. Auliston township itself had a population of 115 in 1851. The remains of this settlement can still be seen with individual houses being found right down to the shore. Portabhata means boat haven. The wall which you see here was built by men on poor relief in 1847. Most of the people in the west of Scotland at this time were destitute due to the failure of the potatoes crop from blight in 1845 and 1846. Potatoes were, as in Ireland, the staple crop.
Doirlinn is the Gaelic word for an isthmus, where one can reach an island (in this case, Oronsay) by wading at low water. Six families who had been evicted from Auliston came to settle here and carried out many improvements to the land. However, this was to no avail as they were in turn evicted from Oronsay in 1868 to permit large-scale sheep farming.
The total sheep population of Drimnin Estate in 1794 was about 750 but by 1850 this had increased to 2500. These farms themselves suffered very quickly from competition with cheap wool imported from Australia; between 1864 and 1870 the price of wool dropped by 50%.

Although the road to Doirlinn is said to have been built as a poor relief project in 1880, the OS 6" map surveyed in 1872 clearly shows the route on its present line, so it seems the work was likely to have been the improvement of the existing road. It is not clear whether the series of cast-iron mileposts along the road date to when the road was improved, when it was upgraded as a public road in the early twentieth century, or to when it returned to the estate in the 1950s. The mileposts were made by Smith, Patterson and Co of Pioneer Foundry, Blaydon-on-Tyne; the firm being in existence between 1870 and 1954. We are not sure how many remain, at least one of the seven originally installed is known to have disappeared.

There was an Inn in existence at Doirlinn between 1841 and 1872, and there was also formerly a ferry between Doirlinn and Glenborrodale across Loch Sunart. This Inn is said to have served as a drovers' change-house until about 1880, for cattle crossing from Glenborrodale. If this is the case the droves may well have followed this road to Morvern's cattle sales, or to the Bunavullin ferry and thence onwards to the cattle markets on Mull. Achnacriche, by Bunavullin, is also said to have been a drovers inn. Doirlinn's inn later became a local school, and when that in turn closed, the children of Doirlinn walked this track to Drimnin each week for their education.

This route, like the old right of way from Loch Teacuis and Laudale, has the reputation of having been a coffin road. The medieval parish church of Killlintag (Cill Leuntaig), dedicated to St Fintan, was located near Mungosdail just to the east of Bunavullin. The burial ground is still marked on current OS maps, but the church is reduced to its foundations. It was replaced in 1780 by a new building at Fernish to the south. This was itself superseded by the mission church built in 1892 for the western side of Morvern parish - this former Church of Scotland building can be seen in our picture gallery. Additionally, a Roman Catholic church, the Chapel of St Columba, was built in 1837 at Drimnin. However, the graves to the south of the chapel are modern.