Cape Wrath Trail in Winter

I was leafing through some back issues of Trail magazine when I came across a feature they did in June on the UK’s best Long Distance Paths. I’d completely forgotten about it, but it was great to see the Cape Wrath Trail at number two, pipped only by the epic Cambrian Way.

They had some interesting comments which hopefully they won’t mind me re-producing here…for the record I think Trail is far and away the best “modern” walking magazine out there (as opposed to TGO which has a tendency to be a bit beardy). They usually do some pretty good subscription deals.

2. Cape Wrath (Northern Scotland)
330KM (205 Miles)

One of the most challenging long distance backpacking routes in the UK, the Cape Wrath Trail turns its back on civilisation, striking out for the North-West tip of Scotland. This as near as you’ll get to hiking through Iceland without hitching a whale ride North.

This beast of a backpack starts near Ben Nevis, cuts through Glenfinnan, over the iconic summit of Sgurr na Ciche, the crinkle-cut Glen Shiel ridges and the isolated, half-water, half-mountain pockets of Knoydart and Torridon.

It delicately sidesteps lochs through a land spiked with Munros, getting wilder as it leads you pas the Five Sisters of Kintail, the lonely Coigach mountains and the remote Assynt bogs. Then it takes you up the almost-Munro of Foinaven before the sea arrests your Northward roll at Cape Wrath.

Trail’s Paul Milligan says, “This LDP goes through the widest variety of scenery, with all the best wilderness areas and the finest mountains. It’s Incomparable.”

This cracking 20 day trek would have made our top spot, but for the fact that the official route avoids taking you over the peaks it passes [I feel this a little unfair - if the route went over many of the peaks, it would put it in a difficulty bracket beyond many walkers].

But, with summits such as Quinag, An Teallach, Ben More and Assynt all within an easy detour, that’s a minor niggle that you can easily put right. This is definitely Scotland’s finest.

Best Day
Blairmore to Cape Wrath

Ratings
Gnarliness - 5
Wilderness - 5
Mountains - 4
Infrastructure - 3
Strenuousness - 4

Last weekend I finally completed the last leg of the South Downs Way, arriving in torrential rain and wind through a non-descript housing estate outside Winchester to bemused looks from the throngs of Sunday shoppers. (the South Downs Way’s ending must rival the West Highland Way’s in terms of anti-climax).

In contrast to my Cape Wrath expedition, this path has been spread over a couple of years. Doing a Long Distance Path in one go is a real treat, but the bite size approach has been just as rewarding.

The South Downs Way has also been a path that I’ve consistently underestimated, the rolling chalk tracks reminding me time and time again that hills demand absolute respect wherever they are. Alongside golden dappled sunshine outside Petersfield, I’ve contended with hail the size of a baby’s fist and fought along the Seven Sisters into a Force Nine gale.

The landscape may seem benign with civilisation close at hand, but in thick mist on the downs outside Shoreham-By-Sea it felt ethereal and totally isolated.

As I straggled through the outskirts of Winchester, a tweed clad gent noticed my large rucksack and stopped to chat. On hearing of my completion of the Way, he smiled broadly, shaking my hand firmly and saying, “Good effort, old boy - onto the next challenge then?”.

The next challenge indeed. In just 7 weeks I’ll be setting off on the Cape Wrath Trail and I’m counting the days.