We made a 10 minute movie of our adventure, Skye Trail Trek 2015, which can be found on YouTube
We are from the West Coast of the USA, and flew in to Edinburg for a two week vacation to Scotland. We planned on hiking the Skye Trail and the Speyside Way. We decided to start off with the Skye Trail, the more challenging of the two trails, and finish off with the more leisurely Speyside Way. We traveled southbound on the Skye Trail, starting at the Duntulm Castle.
Day 1- Duntulm Castle to Lake NE of Quiraing
The sun shone most of the day, and we immediately fell in love with the Isle of Skye. In the afternoon we stopped by the Flodigarry Hotel for a Skye Black Ale & a moment indoors. The rain began as we found a wild camp, and before morning we had been properly introduced to Scottish weather.
Day 2- Lake NE of Quiraing to Bearreraing Beach
A stormy day for the Trotternish Ridge! We had low visibility, high winds, & rain most of the day.
Day 3- Bearreraing Beach to Wild Camp off road B883
Wind battered us in the morning, but the views from the headlands were stunning. We resupplied in Portree, mostly at the Co-Op. It was a challenge to find a covered place to re-bag our food. All the affordable lodging was booked, so we walked on past town & found a mushy, midge filled wild camp on the side of the road.
Day 4- Wild Camp off rd B883 to Wild Camp in the Cuillins
The road walk was very nice & the sun came out for most of the morning. Leaving the road for the trail to Sligachan we wondered about the creek crossings, but they weren't a big deal. We did laundry & ate amazing food in Sligachan, and had to convince ourselves to push on after dinner. Wild camps were hard to come by, but after a few miles of walking we found a great spot after a creek crossing.
Day 5- Cuillins Wild Camp to Wild Camp near Torrin
Stormy weather warned us away from the Bad Step, but we enjoyed lunch out of the rain in the Camasunary Bothy. The sun came out on our walk into Elgol, and we made it to the cafe in time to order coffee & pastries- delicious!!! We kept trekking & watched a beautiful sunset. Finding a wild camp was challenging, but we did finally find one near a trailhead across the bay from Torrin.
Day 6- Wild Camp near Torrin to Broadford
The wind was particularly vicious on our last day, and the Blue Shed in Torrin was closed, but we still had a great walk. I loved the marble quarry area, and the cleared villages gave us some perspective of the history of Skye. We found an excellent coffee shop/bakery/yarn store on the south end of town. The pizza place across from the bus stop allowed us to order take away pizza, which we devoured in the bus shelter. Before we were ready, a bus came and plucked us up from the Isle of Skye. We hope to come back for another visit someday. With weather that dynamic, it would be impossible for us to have the same trip twice.
Sage Clegg is an avid long distance backpacker who can be found on social media and the web as sageclegg. Happy trails & joyful adventures!!
