Campsites in Isle of Jura
Weather-beaten Jura beckons adventurous campers, mixing mountainous moorland with silent coast.
- Isle of Jura
Popular camping styles for Isle of Jura
Campsites in Isle of Jura guide
Overview
One of the most sparsely populated of Scotland’s inhabited islands, Jura is a wild, weather-whacked wedge of land in the Inner Hebrides, covered in blanket bog and craggy peaks. It’s well known as writer George Orwell’s retreat when he penned “1984” and as the home of one of the world’s largest whirlpools, the Corryvreckan. Outdoorsy types come to wild swim the Corryvreckan (possible in certain conditions) and to hike the island’s rugged west, where the iconic Paps of Jura are situated. Organised camping awaits at Craighouse’s Jura Hotel—otherwise you’ll be wild camping, probably along the east coast’s flatter terrain.
Where to go
Craighouse & Around
Jura’s ‘capital’ is the thriving, teensy village of Craighouse at the southern end of the eastern shoreline. Most island facilities are here: a campsite, hotel, post office, bistro, summertime ferry link to the mainland at Tayvallich—and distillery! The Jura Forest, containing a conical trio of summits known as the Paps of Jura, lies northwest and is accessible from a few miles away. The Jura Hotel’s campsite sits on level grass by the shore as the island’s only organised camping.
Jura Forest
Not a forest but a swathe of blanket bog and summits constituting some of the Inner Hebrides’ most rugged land, the Jura Forest hosts the Paps of Jura, the island’s three biggest peaks. Drawing hill walkers from afar, the forest is best accessed from where the A846 road crosses the Corran River north of Craighouse. Camping is wild—very wild—so consider pitching in Craighouse and exploring from there.
Northern Jura
It can feel very far on the narrow, slow-going but intensely beautiful roads from Craighouse north to Lealt—but in reality, it is under 20 miles away. Once you are here, there is little but a track continuing to George Orwell’s one-time retreat at Barnhill, and thereafter paths to view the Gulf of Corrywreckan’s swirling waters, the Maclean’s Skull Cave, and the solitary bothy at Glengarrisdale. Wild campers will find several pitching spots along these lonely but lovely shores.
Eastern Islay
Jura’s main link to the outside world is via the Isle of Islay. From Feolin Ferry at the island’s west end, ferries serve Islay’s Port Askaig, with connections to the Scottish mainland. And it’s worth discovering Islay’s wild east coast from here. From Ballygrant, 3.5 miles southwest of Port Askaig, a path leads to the shore at An Cladach bothy, a good wild camping spot, and on along the seldom-trodden seaboard. There are endless good views across to Jura en route.
