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Skye Trail May 2022In May 2022, my boyfriend, Alex, and I walked roughly 138km down the length of the Isle of Skye across a period of 7 days. We followed the unofficial Skye Trail, with a single exception – on day 5, we took the optional alternative route via the Bad Step. For the first 4 days/nights on the trail, we walked with day packs and returned to accommodation in the evenings to rest; for the final 3 days/2 nights on the trail, we carried a tent and backpacked. Overall, the experience was a lot more challenging than expected, but absolutely incredible. We saw the most beautiful views, gained the greatest sense of achievement, and learnt a lot about each other!!
Tips/Main TakeawaysIf I could impart any wisdom onto anyone considering doing the same, I would give the following main takeaways:
• The Skye Trail is very, very boggy. This was possibly worse for doing it in May, however having read other reports since completing it ourselves it does seem to be a universal experience of those who complete the trail! Very little of the route follows significant paths – most of the time you will be trudging across grassy areas which retain a lot of water.
• My top tip with regards to this: get some waterproof socks! If your boots get completely saturated, as mine were by the final 3 days, these can save you a lot of discomfort 😊
• We didn’t have major issues with midges in May, our main reason for choosing to hike at this time of the year. However, we did encounter very changeable weather.
• As many others do, we used the Harvey map and the Cicerone guide book, which provided all the information we could’ve needed.
• Completing the trail in May (and taking the Bad Step alternative route) meant we were required on three occasions to wade through otherwise uncrossable rivers. If you count on taking off your boots so they stay dry, bear in mind that the river beds are covered in rocks that can be painful to walk across with bare feet. We also crossed a lot of rivers balancing on natural stepping stones, which was tiring and easily results in slipping/getting your feet wet.
• If you have any doubts about the Bad Step, I would highly recommend avoiding it. I would classify it as more of a bouldering challenge than a scrambling one, and in wet weather it is very intimidating. In hindsight, I would not have made the choice to take this route.
Day 1: Rubha Hunish to FlodigarryDistance walked: 14.8kmWe stayed at Flodigarry Hostel the night prior to beginning the Skye Trail and in the morning got the bus to the phone box which marks the start of the trail. This location is very non-descript, chosen presumably *because* the bus stops there, and because there is a car park. Day 1 was by far the easiest day for us, and stayed dry for our entire hike! The Cicerone guide book reports the first day as a distance of 11km, but I would consider the detour to Rubha Hunish an essential part of the hike (the highlight of day 1) and this resulted in a day of roughly 14km for us.
- View from Rubha Hunish
Day 2: Flodigarry to the StorrDistance walked: 27.5kmThis is where the real challenge begins! Of course, this was the day we were most anxious about due to its excessive length, but I’m not even sure this turned out to be the hardest, in part because we were blessed with such beautiful weather. I left my car at the Storr car park and we got a bus back to the trailhead with a very friendly bus driver who dropped us right at the start of the footpath, so we could skip the very short road section at the beginning from the bus stop.
Following the trail up to the Quiraing, we encountered a lot of other hikers and eventually tourists as we neared the car park. The weather wasn’t the best for this first section, and we experienced some rain and strong wind, but nevertheless the Quiraing car park was swarming. Thankfully the weather improved beyond this point and started to become sunny as we went up onto the Trotternish Ridge.
- View from the Quiraing
Once following the Trotternish Ridge, we kept pace with another pair of hikers for most of the day, but saw barely anyone else despite the beautifully sunny weather. The lack of rain, mist or cloud made for very easy navigation and stunning views, but the hiking is certainly a challenge! The ridge itself consists of a series of peaks, so the day is spent ascending and descending repeatedly. These peaks seem to become impossibly steeper, until you’re greeted by the apparently sheer face of the back side of the Storr towards the end of the day. From a distance, we were very intimidated by how steep this appeared to be, but once closer it becomes much friendlier and turned out to be one of the easier ascents 😊 Once on the other side, you reach pretty much the first pleasant path of the Skye Trail (aside from the easy 500m right at the beginning of the first day) which takes you up to the Old Man of Storr, a breath-taking sight after 28km of hiking!
- The Trotternish Ridge
- The Old Man of Storr
Day 3: The Storr to PortreeDistance walked: 15.2kmOn day 3 we slept in a little and got lunch with my parents to try and recover from the previous day’s hike, as Alex’s legs and feet in particular were very worn out. Just after midday, we set off again. The first section is very easy, but you soon approach an area of boggy hills unpleasantly reminiscent of the day prior. It felt like a nightmarish déjà vu beginning the repeated ascent and descent once again!
Once you reach the higher end of the ridge however, the views are absolutely stunning, and this turned out to be both mine and Alex’s favourite day of the Skye Trail by a long shot. We were blessed with the sight of several rainbows as the weather gradually improved throughout the day. The descent to Portree is initially very steep, but once you reach flatter ground, there is a tranquil, sheltered area where we were greeted by the sight of hundreds of rabbits. We saw wild campers here and were very jealous, as this is an absolutely perfect spot and by this time the weather had cleared up. The final approach to Portree is along easy paths and roads, and you are likely to see more tourists and local runners in this area.
- Descent to Portree
Day 4: Portree to SligachanDistance walked: 20.5kmA lot of accounts of the Skye Trail skip the next section, as the first half of day 4 mainly follows roads. As completionists, Alex and I would never have dreamed of skipping a section, and I was also hoping that easier road walking would be a pleasant break from the challenges of navigating boggy mountain. The initial departure from Portree (before reaching the road walking) is along an area by the river which is supposedly quite beautiful, but due to heavy rain our ability to enjoy this was slightly impeded. Apparently this section is also impossible when the tide is at its highest, but this was not a problem for us.
Unfortunately, once we reached the bulk of the road walking, maintaining morale became a struggle. We were pelted with rain for almost the entire time we spent on the roads, and it became a very boring, wet walk with little enjoyment to be found. Views of the surrounding mountains were obscured by the mist.
- Low Morale
After an eternity of entertainment found only in tickling and irritating eachother, we reached the area beyond Upper Ollach where finally good views started to come into sight. There is still a while to go on the road beyond here, but the stunning scenery finally brought us enjoyment beyond merely bickering.
Upon reaching the shore of Loch Sligachan, where the route finally leaves the road, we were overjoyed. This final section follows the shore of the loch all the way to Sligachan itself. At first, as the tide was not too high, we tried to walk along the rocky beach of the loch, but eventually this became impossible and we were forced back onto the path. The path was not obvious in the wet May weather, and we found ourselves back in boggy territory once again.
Several rivers must be crossed on this section, mostly unproblematic and easy to cross using protruding rocks. There are two large rivers towards the end, which we were emotionally prepared for by other walk reports and the Harvey map. Many people advised that these are uncrossable in wet weather, but we had very wet weather for most of the day and had no problem crossing. (“No problem” of course being relative to your willingness to get wet!) The first of these we were able to cross once again by balancing on rocks wedged in the river bed, but this took much longer as the river was much wider. Reaching the second, we had no choice but to wade. As my boots were already pretty wet, and I didn’t want to hurt my feet on the river bed rocks, I chose to keep them on, and wading posed no problem with the acceptance that my boots and trousers would not stay dry.
Beyond the final river, the path reaches a new height of bogginess for the Skye Trail, and I was glad I had already accepted that my boots were completely saturated as I was able to navigate a lot more quickly just by stomping directly through the soggy ground. Unfortunately, we had over an hour to wait for the bus upon arriving at Sligachan, but this gave us the opportunity to try out Seumas’ Bar at the hotel. Although dubious about going in with our feet drenched and covered in mud, there was no need to be anxious as the bar is clearly designed for hikers. Quick, warm, cheap pub food was a great reward after a day’s hiking!
Day 5: Sligachan to Camasunary BayDistance walked: 17.5kmFor us, this day was the most memorable of our Skye Trail experience due to our experience with the Bad Step. Many walk reports nominated this day as their favourite of the hike, but the day began drizzly and misty for us, which slightly obscured the views in Glen Sligachan. Nevertheless, like many other hikers of the Skye Trail, we were delighted by the first significant section where we were required to walk on neither bog nor roads, as there is a large, well-paved path through the glen.
After departing the main Skye Trail route and heading towards Loch Coruisk, the rain began to slow and we saw the most incredible views of the mist passing around the mountains. The wind at the trig point was very strong, so we stopped only briefly before continuing down to Loch Coruisk. Once on this descent, the good path is lost and the bog returns. The bog here is interspersed with large rocky sections where we had to walk diagonally across enormous, flat rocks. In the wet weather these got very slippery, and I lost my footing on two occasions; once very fortunately caught by a lower rock ledge, and once by Alex who was on hand to help me.
- Misty Mountain Views
On the shore of Loch Coruisk, we met another group of backpackers who were watching us descend the mountain while setting up their camp. At this time, it was about 7pm and the rain was getting much worse. I thought they had probably made a wise decision to rest at this time, but Alex and I were determined to make it to Camasunary Bay to prevent having to walk significantly further on days 6 and 7, so we pressed on round the corner to the Bad Step.
The Bad Step was visible from the small sandy beach, from where it looked, to us, uncrossable. Despite my extreme trepidation we went up to see how easy it was to cross in practice. The initial mount onto the boulder is very easy, so Alex climbed up and began the traverse. Halfway across he ascertained that it wasn’t too difficult, so went to drop his bag on the other side before returning to help me across.
Once I made it up onto the Bad Step, I saw that water was flowing constantly down its surface due to the poor weather. The first section is very easy, but do not be fooled as I was; the crossing becomes significantly harder. At some point the wide ledge becomes narrower, and handholds eventually start to vanish. At the moment I noticed I was balancing on an extremely narrow ledge above a sheer drop, with my hands flat against the rock in front of me, I started to panic. Luckily Alex was able to keep me calm enough to proceed slowly, and we made it across with no major difficulties (other than emotional ones).
Our struggles didn’t end here though, as it took us at least another hour and a half to reach Camasunary Bay, by now completely drenched to the skin by water that had gone down our sleeves and into our shoes on the Bad Step. The rain was only getting worse and we were approaching 9pm when we finally made it to the bay. Upon arrival, we had to cross the river where a bridge no longer exists. There are no stones to cross on here, so the only option is to wade as the river is very wide. This took at least a couple of minutes. The current is not strong enough to be dangerous, but it is strong enough to knock you over if you’re particularly careless, so attention is required to make sure your things don’t get wet.
Finally arriving in the flat bay area, we ran from the old bothy to the private residence, dismayed to discover that neither were the bothy we were looking for. Once we finally approached the correct bothy, we were greeted by ANOTHER wide river that required more wading. By this point, we were as dejected and defeated as it was possible to be, and were relieved beyond imagination to make it inside the dry and (relatively!!) warm bothy. There were 6 people aside from us sleeping there, but there was no shortage of room for 8 people and we slept very comfortably.
Day 6: Camasunary Bay to Loch SlapinDistance walked: 19.0kmDespite the endurance event that is day 2, and the traumatising experience for me on the Bad Step, this day ultimately ended up being the least enjoyable, in my opinion. Running low on energy and morale, I was unable to find much enthusiasm in the torrential rain that lasted the entire day.
We began with the approach to Elgol, normally completed on day 5 if not taking the Bad Step alternative route. As indicated by the Cicerone guidebook, the path here is very high and narrow, but I was so happy to have a path to walk on at all that I was unbothered by the possible danger. Nevertheless, I found myself thinking that similar paths in other parts of the country would’ve been closed off.
Once reaching Elgol, another tedious road section begins. Day 6 for us took place on a Sunday, so all amenities in the tiny village were closed, but we did meet another group of Skye Trail hikers who pointed out on the map a location we should aim to camp for the night, due to its proximity to public toilets and wide, flat ground for pitching a tent.
The rest of the day was uneventful: easy navigation, no major rivers or dangerous rocks to navigate, extreme amounts of bog, and no good views, due to the constant rain and mist. Just before arriving at the Bla Bheinn car park, we had a minor heart attack at the river before realising we were merely traumatised by past experience and there is in fact a bridge to cross here (no wading required)! The toilet and visitor stand in the car park is a good place to attempt to dry off, or to shelter from the rain, so we stopped here briefly before descending to the shore of Loch Slapin to camp.
- View of Loch Slapin
Day 7: Loch Slapin to BroadfordDistance walked: 23.75kmWhen we woke up the next morning, it was looking a little drier and our spirits lifted. This happiness was soon squashed when we set off, as the rain began again on the final tiresome road section through Torrin. It seems we were always cursed with the worst weather on road walking!
Once we left the road, the weather finally became pleasant and we were once again greeted with stunning views across the water. The path here is also wide and easy to follow, so we made extremely fast progress all morning. In Suisnish we made a very minor navigational error and had to hop a fence, but soon found the path again. From here until Boreraig there were beautiful views, rainbows, more easy paths to follow and unfortunately also some swarms of midges. As noted by other walk reports, Boreraig is a dream spot for wild camping, though inconveniently so as it falls in the middle of the day’s hiking!
- View across Loch Slapin
The final approach to Broadford contains its fair share of bog, but our spirits ran high with our end in sight. We celebrated on returning to the car with a fish and chips at the chippy in Broadford!