I am not sure this anchorage has a lot to commend it, too near the busy Oban to Fort William road, too many moorings. But there is a small chapel tucked away in the woods, built in 1868, St Moluag's Church (locked but through the windows the inside looks a wreck). The walk between here and Cuil Bay looks good but I have not done it. You could also scramble up to the old railway line and try to walk along to the Holly Tree Hotel (ph 01631 740292) about half-a-mile away. But much better is to pick up one of their five moorings, because the line has been cut by some new houses The rather unattractive looking hotel with chalets was built around the old railway station, the remains of which are still visible inside. The hotel is said to be good for kids, there is a restaurant, and even a very small swimming pool.
A ferry to Fort William used to run from the small pier. You can stroll from the hotel towards the head of the bay along the old railway line from Connel to Ballachulish. It opened in 1903 and must have been a wonderful ride. It surely would still be an excellent tourist resource if it had not been swept away by the infamous Dr Beeching in 1966. Luckily the Walk, Wheel, Cycle Trust (was Sustrans) have converted the track as part of a long-distance cycle route, the Caledonia Way — from Campbeltown to Fort William and Inverness. A very creaky film was made of the railway line in the winter just before it closed. Long ago one of my medical school teachers who, when he heard I was moving to Scotland, became quite nostalgic about this journey. When he had been demobbed after the war he was given a return rail ticket to anywhere in the UK. He chose Ballachulish as a suitably distant and peaceful destination. Later he became a physician to the Queen, Sir John Batten.
