A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to head up to the west coast of Scotland and stay with some friends on the Isle of Skye. We had plans of reccying bits of the Black Cuillin ridge for a possible traverse attempt in future years, inspired after reading a great article by Mike Lates of Skye Guides.

Skye is renowned for its unpredictable weather. To cut a long story short, we didn’t get blessed with back to back days of sunshine. That said we did get some glorious breaks in the weather amongst the three days of rain, hail and strong winds.

The super grippy gabbro rock is ideal for scrambling of all levels. This really is a playground for folk who want to progress from walking to more a “hands on rock” commitment level. There are plenty of grade 1-3 scrambling opportunities to be had. Be sure to have a good level of fitness and do plenty of research before heading up to the ridge to make your day(s) out more comfortable and ultimately more enjoyable. If scrambling isn’t your idea of fun then there is whole host of coastal walks to choose from with great views to some of the other islands. The Red Cuillin range of mountains (very close to the Black Cuillin and overall more gentle terrain) would make for a great few days walking and ticking off summits.

That’s given me some ideas for next summer’s guided walk holiday. Hmmmm. Watch this space folks or let me know if you are interested in a possible multiday or weekend guided walk in Scotland. Drop me an email at matt@trekkingskills.co.uk

Anyway, here are some photos of our scrambling trip when the weather was on our side: