Storr circuit

[b-illie]

At the end of May, in very pleasant weather - rather cool, but dry and clear with a good few spells of sunshine - we set out to do the walk as described on this page, and had a very enjoyable day with gorgeous views. As we both enjoy taking photos and the weather was on our side, we often stopped to take in the fantastic scenery and generally walked at a leisurely pace.

We took the bus from the Flodigarry hostel to the Storr car park (which takes a good half hour) and joined plenty of other tourists on the path through the forest up to the Old Man. Once at the bottom of the Old Man, most of them did not even bother to turn right and walk towards the end of the cliffs and therefore missed the classical view back with the Old Man prominent in front and part of the coastline and the sea in the background.

The stile that is, according to the description, "awkwardly climbed using boulders" is still there, at the end of the cliffs, and shortly afterwards, a rocky section needs to be negotiated - we found the description a little bit confusing at this point, but no matter whether you opt for a short scramble or walk around the obstacle, the path afterwards is easily found. We followed the path until "the grass slopes to the left have become lower and free of rocks" (a very precise instruction, thank you!) and climbed up the escarpment. Once up there, and all the way up the gentle slopes of the Storr, there are stunning views back to the Trotternish ridge. We had lunch on the summit, marvelling at the view south towards the Cuillins, and then enjoyed the pathless descent, casting glances down the cliffs to the Old Man and his extended family.

The description at point 5 (emphasising that the final descent is via a gully where a stream descends the cliffs) is unnecessarily complicated, because there is a cairn near the top end of the gully in question and a clear path leading away from it, so it is easily spotted. Care is required for less experienced or less confident walkers, but the bouldery bits in the gully can be tackled with some bum involvement if necessary. From the bottom of the bully, an indistinct path towards the road is visible, across soggy grassland. From there, it is just a short walk back to the car park.

All in all, this is a wonderful half-day walk with classical views of Skye. Great if you are staying at Flodigarry hostel because you can easily get to the Storr car park and back to the hostel by bus.

[svennijs]

Hi,

I'm going to Skye in September and I'm planning a walk from Flodigarry to The Storr via the ridge :
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/skye/flodigarry-storr.shtml (end at the car park).

Would you advise me to follow the top of the ridge, or stay in the lower part (at the bottom of the ridge)?
I'm afraid I might get stuck in the mist or that the track might be dangerous at some point.

If I make it too late to the bus stop, I might also get stuck in the place no? I plan to go to Sligachan from here.

When I see your awesome pictures, I can't wait to get there.

Best regards,

Sven

[mountain coward]

NIce pics - think I'll do it the opposite way round if I do it as I'd rather go up a tricky gully than down one!