Loading tweets...I’ve completed the write-up of my Skye Trail journal.
You can find it here: Lonewalker’s Skye Trail Journal 2012
Please feel free to leave comments or questions below.
May 21 2012
May 21 2012
I’ve completed the write-up of my Skye Trail journal.
You can find it here: Lonewalker’s Skye Trail Journal 2012
Please feel free to leave comments or questions below.
5 comments
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Mark Garner
Thursday, 18 October 2012 at 2:48 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Hi Stuart,
Another great read. My brother and I walked the c2c in May and used your various blogs for a lot of very helpful information in planning that trip. Many Thanks.
If you still have the details of the croft used in Bornesketaig, can you pass them on? We are hoping to possible use it some time next year. I managed to find it on google earth like you but no luck finding the letting details.
lonewalker
Thursday, 18 October 2012 at 5:49 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Glad to hear the C2C blogs were useful Gary, always great to get feedback like that.
The croft on Skye was a private let through a friend of a friend. I did ask him if he wanted me publicise the details and he was reluctant. I think he wants to keep it as a friends/family sort of place.
There are plenty of other lets, even some close by, so I doubt you’d have any problem finding somewhere. I hope you enjoy the place as much as we did.
lonewalker
Monday, 10 September 2012 at 1:26 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Eva – agree with your sentiments regarding Skye – a magical place and I will be back.
Based on what you’ve said it sounds like the three days of the Skye Trail from Portree would be something you could manage. The day from Portree to Sligachan is fairly easy to navigate and there is a bus service between the two and a campsite at Sligachan if you wanted to stay there.
The next day to Elgol is a long day, but the path is clear most of the way and shouldn’t cause many navigational problems. Elgol is remote, but a bus service runs to Broadford, or there are plenty of places to wild camp just outside the village.
The third day from Elgol to Broadford is another easy day for navigation, even if you decide to take the long route (like I did) around Suisnish. From Broadford there are plenty of bus services, either back to Portree or off the island too.
In terms of being a woman on your own, I can’t help you decide on that – but what I would say is that you’re probably safer walking in the hills than you are walking the streets of any large european city. The trail is remote in places, but these three days here use paths that are walked fairly regularly – you won’t see a lot of people, and you need to be self sufficient – the walking you have done should serve you well.
If you decide to walk it, have a great time and walk before or after the midgies!!
Next year I’ll be walking the Pennine Way again or possibly the Southern Upland Way – I’m waiting for someone else to decide on something before I make my mind up for definite.
Eva
Sunday, 9 September 2012 at 6:23 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Dear Stuart,
I have sent you a message on Facebook (even though we’re not friends) before I got to the end our your journal and found that I could have actually write my message here. So in case you don’t get the facebook message or decide to ignore it, I’m going to post it here again (a bit updated):
I have read all your journals by today and this one was particularily interesting me mainly due to the fact that I have visited Skye this summer in July, sadly – only for two days after doing the GGW and visiting Edinburgh. I am planning to come back to Skye, I think it is the single most beautiful island I have ever seen and the most beautiful place in Scotland, possibly my favourite place on Earth. People were so kind and helpful. I would really love to walk the Skye Trail or at least part of it. Since the trail is unofficial, I wanted to ask you whether you think it would be too dangerous for me to walk it alone (I’m 27 year old and a female for that)? I was hoping to camp or stay in hostels if possible and carry all my gear on my back. My friends are not very keen on long distance walking and none of them has any experience of any kind. I have walked the Great Glen Way, next year planning to walk NOT the West Highland Way (it’s like the WHW but mostly avoiding the trail itself), and I have done walking back in Poland (where I come from), the Netherlands (where I’ve studied), Germany (where I currently live), and Jordan (where I was send for a month for a research project from work) – still I don’t consider myself very experienced, just a little bit more than a starter maybe. So far, I never really needed a map on any of may walks or a compass so I don’t know how good my navigation skills would be. I was also considering adding part of the trail (maybe the best 3 days of it) to WHW next year. I know there is a bus from Fort William to Portree. I have done the circular path in Quairang and climbed around the Old Man of Storr this year so I could skip that and start from Portree. What do you think?
I have good instincts though and a very good memory for places. I would really appreciate your advice. It’s really hard to do lone walking when you’re a young woman… I sometimes envy men if you can believe that.
Anyway, thank you for your diary, it’s been a great read so far and very meticulous report which is impressive and surely helpful to many walkers.
I’m very curious what will be your next year’s destination. Sorry for the long post.
Cheers,
Eva
John
Thursday, 14 June 2012 at 9:11 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Really great journal, thanks for taking the time to write it up, I’m sure it will be useful to future walkers