Cape Wrath Trail for those over 75 years

[Allan Colver]

Allan Colver
Rather than give a route account, I thought I would make some suggestions for a person of my age – 76 male. They might also be useful to younger people.
I did the walk in May 2025 – northwards Fort William to Cape Wrath. I enjoyed every minute of the walk – I was fortunate with the weather.
I walked alone apart from the first 5 days with my brother. I think there are great advantages to walking alone but you do meet people at B&Bs and Bothys and on the trail. Being alone you can rest when you want, camp where you want, choose the route you want (some alternatives are more demanding than others).
I am reasonably fit. I do a 10 mile walk each week with a walking group.
However, I realised that to have any chance of completing the Cape Wrath Trail, I needed to be fitter and stronger. I did know the type of terrain quite well from short walking holidays and mountain walking in the northwest of Scotland.
So, I went to the gym twice a week for 5 months before starting. I continued my 10-mile weekly walk alone so I could go more slowly and carry my ruck sack. I then started to do two-day walks. Then, I did two three-day walks with camping. This was essential for testing out all my equipment. I returned with twelve things that needed to be adjusted.
Having read other people’s blogs, those that got into difficulty or found it too difficult:
• Had not realised much of the underfoot terrain would be difficult and lead to slow progress
• Did not know about midges
• Did not know about continuous rain and rivers in spate
• Carried too much - 18 kilos
• Walked too far each day - 18 miles
• Regarded it as a challenge to be completed at any cost. I preferred to think of it as challenging and if I did not complete it, I would have loved the walking in this part of Scotland
I booked into as many Bed and Breakfasts as there were – booking 9 months in advance. But for over half the nights I had to camp because the route is so remote.
I sent parcels to some of the B&Bs with:
• Batteries
• Granola
• Stove tablets
• Dried meals
• Mars Bars
• Nuts and raisins
I did 12-15 miles a day - I never pushed it more than that – the terrain is unforgiving compared to most walking areas in England.
I planned each day as carefully as I could in terms of distance and height. I knew where potentially difficult rivers were. I had alternative routes planned in case of:
• Un crossable rivers
• Terrible rain and fog
• Exhaustion
I did not need to take any taxis but if I needed to, I would not have hesitated.
The excellent Cicerone book (Cape Wrath Trial by Iain Harper) is helpful in terms of alternative routes and difficult sections and has relevant sections of ONS maps. It also links to a downloadable GPX file of the route Iain Harper describes – though there were a few discrepancies.
I never rushed to get to a certain place if I was getting tired. Rushing is even more tiring and can lead to falls. Having a tent, I knew I could stop anywhere if necessary. If it had poured with rain all day and was still raining, I aimed for a bothy if possible. There is nothing worse than pitching a tent in pouring rain.
I built in two rest days to my itinerary at B&Bs.
I used two walking poles to save my knees, to help with balance and to test out the next step if it looked boggy. When I got home, I reverted to one or no poles as I realised my natural balance was not as good as it had been. I never hesitated to sit down and slide on steep terrain or over a large step. Also I never hesitated to take my rucksack off for a difficult manoeuvre.
The sack must be as light as possible. I got mine down to 8.5 kg without food and water. I never needed food for more than three days and I picked up and sterilised water as I walked so, I never carried more than 500 mls of water. So, my maximum weight was 11 kg. There are all kinds of ways to keep the weight down. E.g. the same hat for midges and sun. A minute pellet stove with one pellet doing enough for a dried meal and a cup of tea. I did not need luxury or even very nutritious food as I usually got an evening meal and breakfast at the B&Bs.
Also, I lost 2.5 kg in my body weight during my training period, so that was less to heave around.
One thing I did not reduce weight on was my leather boots. I know they are heavier than some modern boots, but they give excellent ankle support, can deal easily with rocky or boulder terrain and, with gaiters, are largely waterproof going through deep puddles and bogs. For wading through rivers up to knee deep, I had light-weight trainers, which were also ideal for resting my feet in the evenings, whether camping or at a B&B. NB: look up how to wade rivers with two poles – you walk sideways from bank to bank, NOT one foot in front of the other.
Obviously never set off with a new pair of boots as blisters are inevitable after a few days.
I had a Samsung phone for phone calls, photos, alarm, dictation, audio books and music, pdfs of other guidance and my own route notes and phone numbers of B&Bs etc
I navigated with Garmin, having downloaded the GPX route from the excellent Cicerone Book (see above).
I had a SPOT emergency transmitter that operates by satellite, not phone networks.
I took:
• Urine bottle for peeing at night (prostatism) if there was a downpour outside.
• Spare glasses
• Midge hat (like a bee keeper’s)
• Lightweight gloves to assist sitting down, assist pushing in tent pegs, sliding on my bottom or scrambling on all fours.

Allan Colver
Northumberland
June 2025