scotland – A wee walk

Skye Trail

May 9, 2025August 20, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, scotland, Skye

Introduction The Isle of Skye has a fantastic backpack (if you get reasonable weather, see planning below) of about 82 miles (132km) and 4-7 days duration called the Skye Trail.

The Isle of Skye sits off the north west coast of Scotland and has wonderfuly diverse geology and scenery. The trail traverses both mountains and coastline with some tremendous everchanging landscapes and, maybe I am biased, but the scenery is world class.

In the south are the Cuillin mountains which are the most rugged in the British Isles. In the north is the Trotternish Ridge, where the trail traverses the long undulating ridge with splendid views and other worldly rock formations at either end. The coastal sections are equally good, particularly around Elgol in the south and Flodigarry to Rubha Hunnish in the north. That’s a lot of excitement to pack into around 80 miles!

2025 southbound hike blog below
2022 northbound hike blog
Skye Trail Planning notes below
Skye Trail Alternative routes
Walkhighlands has an excellent web guide with descriptions and maps of the Skye Trail plus an off-line app

My hike May 2025 Southbound

Day 1 5th May 2025 Rubha Hunish to Flodigarry and the Quiraing

Skye’s bus service is helpful for accessing the Skye Trail at various points along the way, and I was able to leave my car at Sligachan and take buses north to Portree, then to the start at Shulista.

It had been very sunny here for the last few weeks which meant that the ground was pretty dry as I walked north at 1pm on an improved trail. The lookout and bothy at Rubha Hunish stands at a panoramic headland, with particularly good views north west to the Outer Hebrides over the small, wild looking island group of Fladda-chuain.

Next I headed east along the top of the cliffs on a surprisingly good line of faint dry trails with lovely views down to sea stacks and the hills of the mainland on the horizon.

Back down to sea level I passed the picturesque bay of Gobhlaig / Balmaqueen with its old church and then more gentle scenic cliff top walking along to the posh looking Flodigarry nestled in a rare woodland for these parts.

About 10 minutes walking along the main road gave access to the wide trail climbing up to the Quiraing, a wonderful series of peaks and pinnacles, and amazing to think its caused by landslips which are still active. This is a justifiably popular walking area but by the time I stopped for dinner about 5pm it was deserted. I took water and headed steeply up away from the trail to find a campsite in an incredible spot in amongst the towers. A really scenic first day.

Day 2 Quiraing, Trotternish, Old Man of Storr

Ravens were vocal in the early morning with their croaking echoing between the rock walls. I carried on southwards to cross a road and car park to start the hike along the long undulating Trotternish ridge. This provides superb walking with panoramic and subtely changing views all round to cliffs, islands and hills. I was glad I had saved this for a good weather day to appreciate this 14 mile high level stretch to the next road at The Storr.

Following the route was straightforward (in the clear weather I had anyway, it would be much trickier in mist), with a use trail along the cliff edge of the steep east facing slopes. It was also mostly dry underfoot, but my trail running shoes still got soaked on intermittent boggy seeps. Carrying a couple of spare pairs of socks and switching over to try and dry off the feet helped a bit though.

I saw a few hikers out today, maybe about 15 others mostly heading northwards but it still felt like a fairly wild experience. This changed as I neared The Old Man of Storr- another crazy, stunning set of pinnacles and popular tourist spot. I descended down past The Storr on a good maintained trail to the road and carpark packed with people. Well, it is justified, as it’s another incredible place that has been used in a few movies….

I left the hubub and crossed the road to follow another lower, more mellow ridgeline south over the hill ‘Sithean Bhealaich Chumhaing’ -a Scottish Gaelic name that is a bit of a mouthful but I think it means ‘fairy hill of the narrow pass’. This is a relatively unfrequented area of Skye but is incredibly scenic as well as providing a good chance to spot eagles.

With little wind, I was able to set up a splendid camp right on the ridge with grand views all round, especially south to the Red and Black Cuillen mountains where I was heading.

Day 3 Portree and Glen Sligachan

I had a couple of hours walking in the morning into the largest town in Skye, Portree. Descending down from the camp the views of Portree bay opened up with a small cruise ship arriving. There is a lovely walk along the north shore of the bay into Portree itself and I got some food, along with a visit to the Inside Out outdoors shop for some glue to repair (hopefully succesfully!) my inflatable sleeping pad.

I walked out of town along the road and then cut down back to the edge of the bay for about a mile giving enjoyable hiking with plenty of waders and geese around. From there, it was time to hike the road for a couple of hours- albeit a minor single track road with few cars and more views, which I didn’t mind at all.

Eventually the road ran out and I joined a cool trail on the north shore of Loch Sligachan to arrive at Sligachan campsite for about 5pm. I had intended camping here but first I had a veggie burger at the nearby hotel. The sun had just come out and this is a lovely spot to sit outside. But…. I decided to head out along Glen Sligachan in the nice evening light to find a wild camp.

All the tourist buses stop here quite rightly for the views into the Cuillin mountains, and I do like the newish statue of early mountaineers Mackenzie and Collie looking up to the hills. Anyway I soon was hiking a quiet trail along Glen Sligachan between the jaggy Black Cuillen on the right and more rounded Red Cuillen on left.

I have previously done some alternatives to this glen walk in the past, described in Skye Trail Alternatives. These are fab, but to be honest this walk down the glen looking up to the hills is also pretty good, as well as being dry underfoot and easy to navigate. Camping spots were few and far between but I found a good spot down by two lochs, Lochan Dubha (the Black Lochs).

Day 4 To Elgol, Torrin and Boreraig

A sunny morning and I hiked easily out of the glen to the shore at Camasunary, stopping to have a look at the luxury MBA Bothy here. A great spot, but I wouldn’t have exchanged it for my wild camp last night!

The next stretch is a favourite of mine, a couple hours to Elgol on a sometimes rather exposed trail above the sea- it’s worth stopping a lot to look back at the grand views to the Cuillins and Loch Coruisk… After a lunch break at the recommended Cafe Elgol (the grocery shop seemed closed) I now headed back east then north around the peninsula, first on quiet road then trail. This is a mellow stretch that affords lots of distant views to islands and sea.

After rounding Loch Slappin, I made it back down south to camp on the coast between the Highland Clearance villages of Suisnish and Boreraig. Another great day and with easier dry, walking.

Day 5 To Broadford

All that was left was an easy six or so miles back north over to Broadford- it was still pretty scenic though. What a trail, and I would do it again!

Planning

Walkhighlands has an excellent web guide and app.

Cicerone also a has a detailed guidebook available in paper or eBook.

Harvey Maps Skye Trail paper map is also very useful.

No permits are required, you can wild camp easily outside the towns and access to drinking water mostly isn’t a problem.

There are good bus services down the length of the island connecting the start and finish, as well as Portree and Sligachan. Check the guides or use an app such as Google Maps.

*Approaching Loch Coruisk* *on an alternative*

Best time to hike But when is best? Here are some factors to consider…. April to July is the driest time in Skye. For me from November to February is too dark, wet and boggy at least for wild camping. The biting insect called the midge makes itself felt from some time in May to September. Tourists flock to Skye in summer and they won’t impact your hiking but they do make it more difficult and expensive to get accommodation if you need it.

So I would say April, May, early June along with late September and early October are the best times to plan in advance – with May perhaps being optimal. That said Skye has very variable weather and can be good or bad any month of the year.

Best direction I don’t think it matters too much. However if you are flexible then checking the forecast wind for the week (see links below) and hiking with the wind at your back might prove a good idea.

If you are not wild camping then you have a long, exposed day along the Trotternish ridge between The Storr carpark and Flodigarry in the north. It might be best to do this near the end of the trip and thus hike northwards so you have time to ‘warm up’ before tackling this stage. If you are wild camping, you have more flexibility if the weather is reasonable as you could pitch your tent along the ridge.

Hiking terrain There is a huge mix. From trails, cross country along ridges and coast – and some stretches of tarmac. Expect lots of soft wet ground and some bog, especially in wetter periods between Portree and Flodigarry.

I reckon there is about 28km of the 130km total length on tarmac, with the longest stretch being 6.5 miles (10.5km) between Sligachan and Portree in the middle. On the plus side the roads are quiet and the views are mostly extensive, but its a bit more than I would like on a trail.

Weather I will be honest, Skye has a pretty wet climate with the prevailing south westerly winds bringing damp air from the Atlantic. I had a quick look at the web, and for example the town of Portree on the Skye Trail has about double the precipitation (1815mm average annual) compared to Tuolumne Meadows in the USA on the Pacific Crest Trail. I suspect Portree is one of the driest parts of the Skye Trail as well! But there are dry spells – and mixed cloudy, showery weather can provide clear air and beautiful, atmospheric views.

Ideally to me it would be best to plan your hike in advance but have some flexibility to look at forecasts before you set off such as:

West Highland Way

April 4, 2025May 11, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, scotland

This is Scotland’s most popular and oldest trail, going between Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, and Fort William for 96 miles. The scenery is grand but fairly familiar to us having hiked and climbed in the area most of our lives, and so up til now we hadn’t thought of doing it. But Brian decided to walk the route in April 2025 backed by an inviting stable weather forecast and the prospect of pre midge season!

We have also walked the 10 mile Kelvin Walkway which extends the trail south to near the centre of Glasgow.

Day 1 31st March 2025 North from Milngavie

After a train to Glasgow and then Milngavie (pronounced Mil-guy) I set off just after 1pm in coolish (12C), still, cloudy conditions – great for hiking. Most of this first day was on pleasant, packed trails leaving the suburbs northwards and soon passing the Campsie hills.

I stopped at the purple ‘Turnip the Beet’ cafe for late lunch of a terrific veggie toasted bagel and saw a handful of hikers in the afternoon, people from the UK and across the world out enjoying themselves. Making it to the first climb in the late evening, I camped after 18 miles at 8pm and dusk on the top of Conic Hill with sunset views over Loch Lomond.

Great camp, with a bonus of no midges ending a nice first day.

Day 2 Loch Lomond

Today was spent hiking up the east side of Loch Lomond, the latter part of which was new to me, and it turned out to be a scenic and varied route.

Firstly I dropped down to the settlement of Balmaha, picked up some food at the small shop and had a sit in the early morning sun at the cafe next door.

The trail then heads along near the shore of the loch through woodland with cool ever changing views of the loch and the Luss hills across on the west side. I chatted with hikers along the way, eventually reaching Inversnaid Hotel mid afternoon.

There were loads of hikers resting or finishing for the day here (there is a bunkhouse in addition to the hotel) but I headed onwards on a bumbly, rougher trail for maybe 6 miles to the north end of Loch Lomond. This trail has a reputation for being tough but to be honest I enjoyed the route, weaving up and down around boulders and tree roots.

I finished up just at dusk again and lucked out with a tiny spot for the tent on a rise looking back down southwards to Loch Lomond.

Day 3 Past Crainlarich, Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy

Both nights so far had dipped to freezing with a light frost on the tent, but I awoke to another shiny blue sky day and it soon warmed up. I walked for less than an hour to Inverarnan with Beinglas campsite and a hotel at the nearby A82 road. Another 2nd breakfast- I could get used to this!

This is a common overnight stop and today I counted 50+ people hiking northward from here. I was finding that by wild camping I was a bit ‘out of sync’ with other hikers as most people either stayed in pre booked accomodation at set points along the trail or camped in commercial campsites usually near the accomodation. We definitely prefer wild camping if we can, with the excitement of not knowing where you will find a spot that evening, the chance of camping at the most scenic points, along with the flexibility of not sticking to a fixed itinery.

The trail followed the River Falloch north for a while with lots of rocky waterfalls which would be tempting for a swim in the warmer summer months. Although the A82 main road and railway line took the same glen, it didn’t detract from the pleasant leafy hiking.

I should mention that the WHW is a very clear trail to follow, usually wide and often on hardpacked ground- making for easy walking for most people but I found the hard, flattish terrain a bit sore on the soles of my feet!

I pushed on further than intended today, past the ‘resupply’ spot at Tyndrum and the hotel at Bridge of Orchy to camp again at dusk at a lovely high point overlooking Loch Tulla and north to the Black Mount hills.

Day 4 Rannoch Moor and Devil’s Staircase to Kinlochleven

Another sunny day – I was being spoilt! Dropping down to the Inveroran Hotel and some nice riverside campsites at Victoria Bridge, I set off onto an old Military Road across the edge of Rannoch Moor, built in the early 1800’s by Telford. The Moor is a tremendous place of high undulating plateau, with peat bog and lochans, fringed with rugged hills particularly to the west. Today I had clear skies and a cold wind sweeping across which was lovely, but I guess it could get a bit exposed out here in poorer weather.

I deviated a short distance at the northern edge of the moor to Glencoe ski area near Blackrock cottage for a nice lunch and a hot shower- wonderful!

A short climb over the ‘Devil’s Staircase’ gave great views back over the Moor and across to Buachille Etive Mor (scene of many of our scrambling and climbing trips and a favourite hill ) guarding the top of Glen Coe. From there, the trail high point at a modest 548m (the WHW isn’t a mountainous trail!), but it was a long weaving descent down to the village of Kinlochleven for a night at the Blackwater Hostel -recommended.

Day 5 Final day to Fort William

There was a scenic climb first thing from Kinlochleven through woods with views across to Loch Leven and the hills on either side. From there the trail follows a more remote set of glens and with a strong cold wind, it was a time for keeping the head down and just hiking on.

There were some grand views to Ben Nevis (UK’s highest peak) before the descent to Glen Nevis and a rather long 4 miles or so of pavement to the end in the town of Fort William.

I stopped here, but from Fort William there is a network of trails heading north on the Cape Wrath Trail or Great Glen Way-John O’Groats Trail….

Overall I really enjoyed the hike, it was obvious that lots of work goes into maintaing the trail and that is really appreciated. But I imagine it could get really busy from Easter through to October and this would put me off walking at these times a bit. That said, it’s a pleasant introduction to Scottish walking and, with not being very remote and lots of services at hand I can see why it is popular.

References

There is lots of info out there on the WHW:

I loved the Harvey strip map– lightweight, small and pretty much all I needed

Walkhighlands has detailed descriptions, maps, gpx and an app

And the official West Highland Way website

The Kelvin Walkway is a pretty cool short 10 mile extension of the West Highland Way in the south from the River Clyde near the centre of Glasgow.

It follows the Kelvin River north from the River Clyde and goes through Glasgow’s west end as it gradually makes its way into the countryside. The walkway ends at Milngavie conveniantly connecting with the southern start of the West Highland Way.

The trail is much less used than the WHW and the riverside path can get a little overgrown in places, but we enjoyed following the river and seeing Glasgow from a different perspective. A nice addition to the West Highland Way.

Moray Coast, Speyside Way and Dava Way Trails

January 28, 2025November 18, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, brian dickson, Dava Way, Moray Coast Trail, Moray Way, scotland, Sea kayaking, Speyside Way

These are three well marked trails in the north east of Scotland providing easy walking at low levels and that are mostly doable all year round. Combining the trails creates a loop called the Moray Way. This page has an overview of each with some pictures from our hikes.

*MCT -Moray Coast Trail, DW Dava Way, SW Speyside Way, Moray Link*

In addition there are also short sections on sea kayaking along the Moray Coast and the ‘Moray Link’, an unmarked route that links the town of Forres to Inverness and thus connecting these trails up with the John O’ Groats Trail and Great Glen Way/South Loch Ness Trail.

Moray Coast Trail 74km

Speyside Way 138km

Dava Way 38km

Moray Link about 60km

Moray Coast sea kayaking

Moray Coast Trail 74km

This is a pleasant flat hike along a coastline with plenty of beaches and towns and some beautiful cliff scenery. I have an ascent comparison of trails and this one comes out the flattest by some margin!

Walkhighlands has good descriptions, maps, gpx -splitting the trail into 4 days.

The weather on this coast tends to be drier than say the mountains in the west and it could be a good choice as a first or early backpack, given; the weather, quite a few towns along the way, it’s at sea level and on mostly well signposted trail. It could be possible to hike this through the winter too (if the short days don’t bother you).

Forres to Burghead 20.5km

Burghead to Lossiemouth 14.5km

*Arch near Cummingston (the trail itself is above on the field margins here, we dropped down at low tide onto the shore to walk past this and the coast cliffs)*

Lossiemouth to Buckie 25.25km

Buckie to Cullen 12km

Speyside Way 138km

This trail takes you from the Moray Coast in the north roughly following the River Spey to Kingussie. Its very well sign posted and again is a fairly gentle walk with a good well made path. There are loads of whisky distilleries along the way too!

Walkhighlands has good descriptions, maps, gpx -splitting the trail into 8 days.

*Uath Lochans between Kincraig and Kingussie*

Dava Way 38km

This is a particularly gentle hike as it mostly follows an old railway line connecting the Speyside Way at Granton to the Moray Coast Trail at Forres. We have only done a short part of this route as part of a longer loop hike in the area.

Walkhighlands has good descriptions, maps, gpx -splitting the trail into 3 (short) days.

Moray Link about 60km

This is an unmarked route following the Moray coast that links the town of Forres to Inverness and thus connecting the Moray Coast Trail and Dava Way up with the John O’ Groats Trail and Great Glen Way/South Loch Ness Trail. I have split the walk into 2 stages below but it could also be done in 3 stages with a break at the village of Ardesier.

Forres to Nairn (about 22.5km)

I think this is currently the better of the two stages where you can follow existing trails and forest tracks with some short minor roads. The map above shows the rough route we have taken but other options are available. Of note are the lookout tower in Culbin Forest providing good views above the forest canopy, and the hike along the edge of the saltmarsh in Culbin. Oh also take note that its pretty flat!

There are bus connections between Forres and Nairn.

Nairn to Inverness (about 34km)

This is a longer stage that could easily be split at the coastal town of Ardersier or at Inverness Airport (roughly halfway). There is accomodation and good transport links at both to Inverness, Nairn and beyond.

The route is mostly along the shore or on minor roads but also with occasional pleasant trail. The shore sections mean that it is best done at lowish tides.

The Google Map above shows a possible route Brian hiked and below is more detail for the eastern section between Nairn and Ardersier.

1 Nairn You can just walk the pavement west from the harbour. Brian walked the scenic beach along the golf course at the ouskirts of Nairn (but you can probably walk the edge of the golf course on grass at high tides).
2 Hilton of Delnies Head inland southwards after the golf course to pick up a narrow vehicle lane to the B9092. Brian’s track here followed a signposted trail around the edge of the course but there may be a more direct way.
3 B9092 Brian walked the road for about 2.5km. The traffic was light but fast moving and overall it’s not that great. However a direct hike may be possible between points 2 and 4 on the map through the Carse of Delnies – but I didn’t explore.
4 Haventus Port entrance The road going north west from here is fenced off with security so acts as a bit of a barrier to the possible direct hike above- or to going around Fort George. At least I was able to take the next minor road on the right and past the cottage (with Kebbuck standing stone in the garden!).
5 Carse Wood Turn left (west) onto nice trails through Carse Wood. I hiked below (north of) the escarpment but it may be possible to hike along the top for a while then drop down.
6 Minor lanes into Ardersier

This part of the coast has spacious views across the Moray Firth to the Black Isle in the north and there should be plenty of bird life around.

Moray Coast sea kayaking

In some ways kayaking along the Moray Coast provides better scenery than the walking trails. The coast has plenty of birdlife, cliffs, cave, arches with a chance of seeing dolphins and whales. Add in some old castles, lighthouses, lovely harbour towns… and its a great kayak destination. The coast is exposed to a north or north east swell so we find it’s best when the swell is down (forecasts at Surfline) and avoiding a north easterly on shore wind allowing us to weave in and out of caves and tunnels.

A great guidebook is North & East Coasts of Scotland Sea Kayaking.

Affric Kintail Way

May 4, 2024November 1, 2024 by aweewalk, posted in Affric Kintail Way, Backpacking, scotland

This is a short backpacking trail (AKW below in map) running east west, connecting the west coast of Scotland at Morvich in Kintail with Drumnadrochit and Loch Ness in the east. It also acts as a link between the Great Glen Way (GGW) and the Cape Wrath Trail (CWT) at Morvich.

Walkhighlands Affric Kintail Way provides a good description of the 76km (47 mile) trail including a gpx track and off line map.

*Approaching Glen Lichd with the Kintail mountains behind*

The character of the trail is one of scenic low lying glens with the iconic and beautiful Glen Affric in the middle and a route through wilder mountain scenery in the west. Almost all of the walk is on good trail or vehicle tracks with only the odd bit of bog at the head of Glen Affric- I wore running shoes throughout and stayed fairly dry. Given its short length, signposts and quintessential Scottish highland scenery it would make a good introduction to backpacking in Scotland.