Monday 18 July 2016

Braemar to Pitlochry long distance hike - Day 4

I got bored sitting at home so I decided to walk approximately 57 miles through the Cairngorms from Braemar to Pitlochry over the course of 4 days, visiting some bothies and climbing Ben Dearg en-route.  I spent the first night in a bothy and the next 2 nights were spent wild camping by Old Bridge of Tilt next to Blair Atholl.


Day 4  (Back on track)
I continue my walk down the River Tilt and follow the River Garry to Pitlochry on a section of the Scottish National Trail to finish my walk at Pitlochry Station.

Sunday 17 July 2016

Braemar to Pitlochry long distance hike - Day 3

I got bored sitting at home so I decided to walk approximately 57 miles through the Cairngorms from Braemar to Pitlochry over the course of 4 days, visiting some bothies and climbing Ben Dearg en-route.  I spent the first night in a bothy and the next 2 nights were spent wild camping by Old Bridge of Tilt next to Blair Atholl.


Day 3 (Ben Dearg)

I took a walk up Beinn Dearg from Blair Atholl and paid a visit to Allt Sheicheachan bothy en-route.

I had planned to take the circuit route described here on Walkhighlands but the day got off to a late start and then I lingered about in the bothy for ages, by the time I came back down from the mountain it was already getting late and I just had to return to Blair Atholl the quickest route (same way I came up).  I spent the night wild camping by the Old bridge of Tilt near Blair Atholl.

I had considered staying in the bothy but it would mess up my schedule for the following day as I had to walk 10 miles to Pitlochry station to meet my train.

Saturday 16 July 2016

Braemar to Pitlochry long distance hike - Day 2

Time taken: 4 days
Distance: 91 km
Ascent: 990m


I got bored sitting at home so I decided to walk approximately 57 miles through the Cairngorms from Braemar to Pitlochry over the course of 4 days, visiting some bothies and climbing Ben Dearg en-route. I spent the first night in a bothy and the next 2 nights were spent wild camping by Old Bridge of Tilt next to Blair Atholl.


Day 2 (Glen Tilt)
I make my way down Glen Tilt to the Old Bridge of Tilt at Blair Atholl and set up camp next to the parking area.

Friday 15 July 2016

Braemar to Pitlochry long distance hike - Day 1

Time taken: 4 days
Distance: 91 km
Ascent: 990m

I got bored sitting at home so I decided to walk approximately 57 miles through the Cairngorms from Braemar to Pitlochry over the course of 4 days, visiting some bothies and climbing Ben Dearg en-route. I spent the first night in a bothy and the next 2 nights were spent wild camping by Old Bridge of Tilt next to Blair Atholl.

 

Day 1 (A Washout)
I begin on Friday morning and walk approx. 22 miles in horrible weather to Tarf Hotel, a very remote bothy behind Glen Tilt. It took me forever to get there and when I finally arrived I was completely soaked through.

Saturday 2 July 2016

A wet week on the Isle of Skye

The Skye Trail - a challenging unofficial route through the island aimed at experienced hillwalkers - takes in some of the very best of the island - and that means the UK's finest landscapes.

The route follows much of the amazing Trotternish Ridge and later passes beneath the very shadow of the Cuillin. Other sections follow remarkable but little visited coastal cliffs, take in steep trails above high drops, or pass through haunting deserted villages destroyed in the cruel Clearances.


Date walked: 02/07/2016
Time taken: 7 days
Distance: 128 km


I walked the Skye Trail for the second time, mainly for my friend, Jay's benefit as he didn't manage to attend in 2014.

Once again it was a backpacking hike following the official route described here on Walkhighlands except in reverse walking South to North (Broadford to Rubha Hunish).  My plan was to break it up slightly once reaching Portree with a side trip to UIG.  We would stay a night at Uig then take a bus north to the Museum of Island Life and walk to Duntulm then continue Skye Trail North to South, heading back to Portree.  The reason for this was because I wanted to tackle the Trotternish Ridge from the North end because when I attempted it from the South end back in 2014 I couldn't work out the exact route to take.

The night before travelling to Skye we stayed overnight at Bught Park campsite in Inverness.  The following day we travelled to Kyle of Lochalsh by train, jumping off at Plockton for about an hour en-route.

Once at Kyle we popped into the Co-op for supplies before walking over Skye Bridge to Kyleakin, where we caught a bus to the campsite located 3 miles from Broadford.  We got pitched up at the campsite as the rain came down heavy, took shelter in an old Hen hut and enjoyed a few drinks and tunes before starting the big walk the following day.

It rained all week, we only got one dry night and that was at Uig, it was a pretty miserable trip this time due to the weather, the weather really does make all the difference.  The heavy rain got too much for us and we gave up in the end after completing the first section of the Trotternnish ridge.  We caught a bus from Staffin back to Portree and retreated to Torvaig campsite.

I did not make video footage of the trail but instead made some individual videos as below:



Walking over Skye bridge


Visiting Camasunary bothy



Visit to the Lookout bothy high above Rubha Hunish