Cape Wrath Trail Guide - April Update
It’s fantastic to see spring finally arrive here in the rolling Cotswolds after another cold winter. It was the first Christmas in two years that I haven’t been in the North West Highlands and I think my wife would have divorced me had I even suggested it.
So I’ve been using the dark winter days to chip steadily away at the new Cape Wrath Trail Guide and most of the practicality type text is now pretty much finished and I’m pleased with the way things are shaping up.
That leaves the route and I think I have finally decided what the main one will be and which variants to include. I’ve gone back to all the original routes (Paterson, McNeish, Brook & Hinchcliffe) to try to produce something really definitive. All have their merits and weaknesses and there’ll be some completely new sections and variants where I feel that none of the previous routes is really adequate.
One thing that has ben troubling me is what to do around Ullapool. The demise of the Allt na h’Airbhe ferry across Loch Broom to Ullapool has robbed the route of a vital transport link. Ullapool is such a convenient and obvious stopping point and now the only way to reach it is a long slog along a busy road.
Another conundrum has been whether to include a route variant that crosses Assynt. Paterson included a rather strange one in his original book, but subsequent authors have shunned Assynt which seems a shame. So I have resolved to try and find a route that connects Ullapool to Inchnadamph via some of Assynt’s highlights. At least this might offer some consolation for those that endure the trek into Ullapool.
My next expedition will be in late May when I’m combining a recce for the West Highland Way race in June with some research of the CWT route from Fort William to Strathcarron via the Great Glen Way (the main route alternative from the outset).
Other than that I’ll mostly be writing and running, haven taken on a challenge to run three of the UK’s toughest trail races in 3 months (more of that here: http://www.justgiving.com/iainsultrachallenge ).
There is now a Cape Wrath Trail Guide on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/groups/capewrathtrail/) and there are already some beautiful shots on there that are well worth checking out. If you have any picture of your own that you’d like to add then they’d be most appreciated.
Enjoy the weather and as ever, keep me posted about your adventures out on the trail…Iain
