As soon as the Covid restrictions allowed traveling within Scotland, we got our hands on maps and weather forecasts and decided to head off to the West Coast for our annual spring mini adventure. We had been in Skye 7 years ago during our first cycle tour together and at the time it felt like there was some unfinished business up there. The idea of sharing this island with a trillion of other tourists always put me off, but with Covid around it felt this was the right time, it was now or never. The weather forecasts were promising so that at the last minute we ordered the Skye Trail guide book, with the idea of walking it all and wild camp.
Day 1 – Getting to the start point (The Red Phone Box) – barely 2 km
30 April 2021
On this sunny Friday morning at 9.30am we said good bye to our warm flat and headed North, reaching Portree at 3.30pm. The bus was at 3.50pm, and when we realised that the long stay parking had a max of 12 hours stay we started panicking a bit, but soon found a spot in the community centre car park and made it in time. Being a bus driver in Skye must be the best job ever as all the bus drivers we met were always in a great mood! We were dropped at the Red Phone Box by Duntulm, the official starting point of the Skye Trail.
By then it was almost 5pm. It was a beautiful sunny evening, and even though we were a bit spaced out, the fresh evening air and the wonderful views made us forget the hours spent in the car, it was worth all the trip just be there. The path first takes you North to Rubha Hunish, were a Bothy, a former coastguard lookout, is nested on top of a cliff and overlooks the Little Minch. The Bothy and its location are indeed spectacular, you can even see the Hebrides. Pity that there was already a person in it so that after a short contemplation break we decided to push on a bit longer in the hope of finding a nice camp spot. Walking on those grassy slopes with the views of the Hebrides and the Quiraing filled our hearts with peace. We were planning to walk until 6.30pm but we realised that we were soon approaching a few houses so that we stopped on top of a cliff and set up camp. It was not the best place as it was exposed, in a cow field, and it was not even that flat but we decided that it would need to do for the night. Dinner was a delicious plate of Seaweed Noodles (as usual hunger is the best sauce!), which was finished soon, either because we were famished or the cold wind made us eat faster... We soon took shelter in the tent, and poor Paul was on the windy side so that he placed both rucksacks as protection against it. I've never seen his face so pale and I was getting a bit worried, but amazingly he managed to sleep something...me I was kept awake all night by the cold and the sound of the cows and the wind playing with the tent. I definitely had better nights and was over the mood when I saw the first lights of the day...at this stage I realised that wild camping in Scotland sucks, next time we go to Spain!Day 2 – Camping spot to Old Man of Storr Campsite – 35+Km and 2300m elevation
01 May 2021
Happy first month of (trial) marriage anniversary! The previous night we were reading a bit of the intro of the book guide with the history of Skye, and it turns out that back in time, people in the Highlands would consider the first year of marriage as a trial. We found this amusing, and given how epic, spectacular and hard our first month anniversary turned out to be we thought how will be able to match it in the future! When Paul opened his eyes at 5am I was delighted as it meant we could start the day and start moving! I was honestly a block of ice by then despite the thermal base layer, fleece and 2 jackets. We started by folding the tent, then Paul was so kind as to make hot coffee (which turned cold as soon as he poured it in the cup), then we realised we should probably eat something so that we quickly stuffed down a bagel and at 6am sharp we were on the move heading South with a nice tail wind from the North , justice finally!
This was well timed as at 7am it started raining but luckily by then everything was well packed and dry in our huge rucksacks. The plan was to finish the 11km of stage 1 to Flodigarry, and then start walking the Trotternish Ridge which is 28k in total. We were aiming to walk 15k of it and then camp somewhere, but somehow we ended up walking it all... Despite the rain we were glad to be on the move just to warm up and I was blessing all the mini climbs (I was still wearing everything that I went to sleep with). By 8am we reached the Flodigarry Hotel were we hoped to fill in the water. The Hotel was closed but at least there was a tap outside so that we managed to get all our 4l bottles filled. Because we were planning to camp again, and given the shortage of streams around, Paul was brave enough to fill in another 2l bottle so that his rucksack must have waited around 17kg...I still can't believe he did it! We stopped a while to have a bite and then we set off towards the start of the Ridge. In my head the day was staring now, I deleted everything from the night before and from leg 1 too. Described as “the most challenging stage of the trail; long, very exposed to the elements and difficult to navigate, but the tough going is rewarded by fabulous views”, I couldn't describe it better. It was epic and I doubt we will ever forget it! The path first climbs up to and through the unique rock formations of the Quiraing were million years ago dinosaurs roamed the landscape. We walked this same path 7 years ago and it still left us wondering with open mouths and mesmerised eyes at all those cliffs and pinnacles. By this stage it stopped raining and I even managed to take off 1 jacket and 1 pair of leggings, things were definitely improving! Despite being so popular there were not many people around, we just met a Polish guy who was walking the trail too. He seemed a very nice guy but he was struggling a bit and that was the start of the walk, really hope he made it back safe. We crossed the road and reached the car park at about 10am, and realised we walked 6km in 2 hours. By then we also started to realise that finding a camping spot on the Ridge would have been close to impossible. We knew that we would have had to walk it all, and to speed up the pace too! We started climbing to Bioda Buihde, the first of an endless series of hills, I honestly don't know how many we climbed and descended in any kind of conditions. At some stage we found snow on the top, but the surprise was finding even more snow on the way down the other side! It was the heavy and wet kind of snow, which covered the surface so to hide the underneath (mostly) bog. This is where the snow/bog roulette game was invented, with the participants being assessed on 2 criteria: wetness and dirt. Paul won on both sides. But, the visibility was perfect and we had a 360 view, ranging from the Hebrides to Torridon, and from where we started but luckily not were we were going... At some stage the guide book succinctly said “before climbing over four smaller summits”. It took us 2 hours to go over those 4 small summits!! The shoulders were in deep pain and we took regular breaks to alleviate it. Strangely enough I was not hungry but we kept eating at every break to make sure we had enough fuel to the end. By the time we reached the second-last climb I was sick of bars and sick at the idea of more climbing. Luckily Paul had dried mango and pumpkin crackers which went down very well.Moment of crisis...how many hills are left? And why my feet are floating in a dirty pool? |
Looking back to where we came from |
Getting ready for the very last climb (laughing not to cry...) |
Old Man of Storr, a long way down |
YESSSSS!!! |
Day 3 – Bruach na Frithe – 14km and 947m elevation
02 May 2021
Had we followed the original plan, we would have walked to Portree today by the coast. The forecasts said that this would be the last decent day, so that the prospect of completing all the trail were getting slimmer and slimmer. We wanted to take advantage of the benign weather and make the most of our stay, to that we decided to climb a Munro in a part of the isle that we have never been before, the Cuillins, and following Brian's recommendation we chose Bruach na Frithe. Described by the Walkhighlands website as “one of the easiest of the Cuillin summits to reach as well as one of the finest viewpoints”, this sounded as our only chance to see the (in)famous Cuillin Range close hand. We drove down to the Sligachan Hotel and from there followed a very nice path by a river. There was nobody around and just it sound made the walk perfect. The last bit on top was a bit sketchy but at least we were rewarded with beautiful views, definitely no regrets!
Day 4 – Fairy Pools
03 May 2021
The sky opened, and the wind grew stronger and stronger. No wild camping for us, time to go home. Before heading South we thought we could squeeze in a wee walk somewhere, and chose the Fairy Pools at foot of the Black Cuillins near Glenbrittle. The pictures online promised great views, but I think they have been photo shopped as we didn't see any falls as wide as those online...still, it was a good way to stretch a bit the legs, get an extra shower, and say goodbye to this beautiful place. Will we ever be back here?
When the day starts by petting a doggy is always going to be a good day :) |
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