Walk 6 North Harris – Mountains and Moorlands
Walk 7 South Uist – the Wild Eastern Coast
Walk 8 Cape Wrath and Sandwood Bay
Walk 9 Ben Hope
Walk 10 Inverpolly
Walk 11 Assynt from Inchnadamph
Walk 12 The Munros of the Inverlael Forest
Walk 13 Fisherfield and Letterewe
Walk 14 The Applecross Peninsula
Walk 15 The Fannichs Traverse
Walk 16 Torridon from Shieldaig
Walk 17 Coulin Forest from Torridon
Walk 18 The Strath Carron Munros from Craig
Walk 19 The Head of Strathconon
Walk 20 The High Traverse of Glen Affric
Walk 21 Beinn Fhada and A’ Ghlas Bheinn
Walk 22 The High Traverse of Glen Shiel
Walk 23 Shiel Bridge to Glenfinnan
Walk 24 The Mountains of Knoydart
Walk 25 Skye – the Black Cuillin Lochs and Bealachs
Walk 26 Skye – the Red Cuillin
Walk 27 Skye – the Trotternish Ridge Traverse
Walk 28 Exploring Raasay
Walk 29 Discovering Rum
Walk 30 Through the Cona Glen
APPENDIX 1 Useful Contacts
APPENDIX 2 Bibliography
APPENDIX 3 Walk Summary Table
APPENDIX 4 Glossary
INTRODUCTION
Hillwalkers crossing the moor beneath Suilven (Walk 10)
Background
The mountains of Britain encompass one of the richest, most diverse landscapes to be found anywhere in the world, although for many hillwalkers the Highlands of Scotland are, more than any other region in Britain, true backpacker’s country.
Vast, open tracts of wild moorlands, high mountains, rocky coasts and long, winding glens make many Highland areas inhospitable to all except those willing to carry their own shelter and supplies, but in this wilderness there are many hidden corners where only the backpacker can explore. There are places that take days to reach on foot, where only the dedicated backpacker will venture – this is the preserve of the seasoned hillwalker, and wilderness exploration at its best.
Although many of our mountain and moorland regions are within easy reach of town and city, the northwest Highlands are more demanding of time and effort to get to for most of us, yet the rewards are all the greater for it. Some go to the northwest Highlands just or the superb walking, others go in search of rock to climb, wildlife to watch, rivers to canoe, or even whisky to drink, and many are happy to pursue all of these activities, and more, to an equal degree.
Many areas are best explored over a period of time, so for the weekend walker it makes sense to take a tent and sleeping bag on forays into the wilderness, and this is surely the best way of getting to know a particular part of the country. Crossing a range from end to end, or climbing a set of peaks around a desolate Highland glen, will introduce the walker to hitherto unknown regions, and if the trip involves the commitment of an overnight stopover or two, so much the better. To spend a night in a simple but comfortable shelter among lovely mountains, waking to a sunlit dawn of cackling grouse on vast, open expanses of purple moorland, or the guttural roar of rutting stags crashing around rocky slopes, is one of life’s great pleasures, and one that is only available to those with a will to discover these quiet places, and to make a temporary home among the mountains and wild shores.
But although there is much to be discovered within the mountain ranges of northern Scotland, some of the coastline and lesser hill ranges deserve mention too, for they are just as vital a component of our natural heritage as any of the higher regions. There is an almost limitless variety of backpacking routes throughout northern Scotland and its islands, all as good as each other in terms of the sense of achievement to be had from a successful trip.
Thirty of the greatest backpacking routes within the boundaries of northern Scotland and the northern islands are described here (for the purposes of this book I have taken the boundary between northern Scotland and southern Scotland as the Great Glen – that huge trench, with its string of lochs, stretching between Inverness on the Moray Firth in the northeast of the country, and Fort William on Loch Linnhe in the west). With the exception of Walk 23, which takes five days to complete, all the routes take either two or three days, with an overnight stop at a bothy or a youth hostel, or in a tent, either wild camping or at a recognised campsite.
All the routes should be suitable for a long weekend away among the hills, but I should add that although this book contains what are in my opinion the very best backpacking walks in the region covered, there is endless scope for further exploration. The routes described should be seen as an introduction – an aperitif perhaps – to the possibilities of other, longer routes that can be planned and tackled by those who have gained experience by following the ones included here.
The first book in this Backpacker’s Britain series covered northern England, and the second Wales. This is the third volume, on northern Scotland, and it is hoped that three more will follow, giving detailed backpacking routes in southern Scotland, southern England, and Ireland respectively.
How to Use This Guide
This book is aimed at anyone with a love of wild, mountain and coastal walking, but as many of the routes take the walker into remote and potentially dangerous terrain, you should ensure that you have previous experience of mountain walking and wild camping before tackling any of them. Good hill fitness is essential, as is the ability to accurately navigate using a map and compass (GPS, though a useful aid, is no substitute for the real thing!).
Walking through Glen Carnach (Walk 23)
Walkers in Knoydart (Walk 24)
The routes are ordered so as to move generally southwards, starting in Shetland and finishing in Lochaber. Most are circular, but a few are linear, and they range from those requiring two days to complete, through to a five-day traverse (see Appendix 3, Walk Summary Table, for more details).
It is difficult
