So you want to do the SKYE path, this is what you should know

Land and statistics

The Skye path is an unofficial route that crosses the island that gives it its homonym: the island of Skye. It is ~ 80 miles together with ~ 13k feet of profit, but these statistics can change depending on the variation of the route it takes. Because the route is an unofficial route, they are not fires or paths of paths of any kind. Certain areas are difficult to navigate due to this, but if you have made some orientations or have a good concept of how to read a topographic map and use a compass, it must be fine. My friends and I use a combination of ESO and online devices/GPS devices and we get along.

Throughout the path you will find two main varieties of land: road fields and tussocky grass fields. If you have walked by road, this is how the roads feel. Fortunately, most trails travel trails and not by road, so he never walks to walk for a long time. The longest section of the road that you will find is located on the path south of Portree with the walk from Sligachan to the retire of most of the road. On the other hand, the sections of the path are mostly well crossed due to the popularity of the path and the use of tourists who visit the island. However, if you have not had the privilege of walking through thick and muddy herbs in the United Kingdom, prepare. Sections with high traffic are generally defeated, and although a bit unequal is nothing to be afraid. But, the sections of the path where you should pay attention to the maps due to the nature without marking the path may take time to cross due to the thickness of the herbs and the very unequal field they present. Herbs are so thick in fact, that you often cannot see currents running under them, but you can listen to them, which means that every time you take a step, your foot could lower much more than he anticipates. I have been fortunate not to have wounds while passing through this land, but one of my friends who walked the path with me put his leg almost to the knee. All I say is that you are very careful to cross this land, even if it is very unpretentious.

As long as it is on the issue of unpretentious, you do not underestimate the gain along the path too. Coming from walking in the white mountains in New Hampshire, I was glad to see that in Scotland they have the same philosophy about going through the mountains: draw the most direct line to the top and walk. That makes it a little more difficult when in sections such as the trotternish crest, but if you train with adequate weight and a lot of stairs master, it should be good. In addition to that, there are some very small sections that pass through the forest or along the beaches, but they are not long enough to pose any unique terrain on the path.

The trotternish crest.

Reporting points

There are two main refueling points in Trail: Portree and Broadford. Both cities have large groceries and are the «urban» centers of the island. Broadford is the southern end of the path, so unless he is starting from there, do not expect to be able to collect anything from there while you are on their way. Portree is Smack Dab in the middle of the path, which is very useful because it means that, at most, you have been in any direction to which you go. The grocery stores were open every day from the investigation I did, but on Sunday they have shorter hours, so depending on what day you plan to reach the city, plan to come during open hours and have enough time to buy all your products.

The port of Portree.

Said all this, many of the cities that it happens while on the path has small coffees/restaurants where you can get an abundant meal to save food. Sligachan has a great hotel with a restaurant and a camp right next to me with a taco truck and many other comforts. Elgol has great coffee to collect a breakfast, lunch or early dinner. Flodigarry, even because of its rural location, has a hotel that will serve the non -guests lunch or dinner if you wish. Almost all of these places are also on their way, so you will not take any previous planning to make sure you get there with enough time to finish your mileage for the day or to redirect. However, restaurants have different schedules, so they plan to make sure they arrive when they are open.

The only difficult part of the path is the lack of hiking stores/camping supplies. You can only find such stores in Broadford or Portree, so be sure to have complete fuel cans and any other article before going to your walk.

Water availability

Fortunately, if you are on this path, you are on the island of Skye in Scotland, probably one of the rainiest areas on earth. Although on our trip we were very lucky and we only had two days of rain, there is usually no shortage of streams and streams to filter water. My friends and I use a tight sawer all the way, but we are careful since there are a lot of cattle that roam all the island, so if you want to bring purification tablets only to make sure your water is clean, that is not a bad idea either. In general, to reduce the possibility of filtering the excrement of animals in my water, I followed the uphill until I saw signs of animal traffic. There are also many areas of nature conservation that also have very clean streams, but it is just a small advice for when it is not in those areas.

It may not be the most potable water, since it is mixed with salt water, but a beautiful view no less.

The only other area in which it can be difficult to find water is the 18 -mile section along the trotternish crest. All the water that falls on this crest travels quickly to the valleys on both sides, because of that, there are such small streams that can try to filter water, but it is not recommended. There are also some small pools in the maximum armchairs that can be possible to filter water, and my friend and I carry it for emergency purposes, but we did not like the color or particles that floated in it. From the side of the ridge store, you can fill your water bottles completely in the bathroom, and from the north side, you can make the flodiges hotel fill your water bottle for you, or buy a lot of water from the food truck in the parking lot for Quiraing. Apart from that, you should be totally well finding water to filter in Skye

Transport

From Broadford and Portree, there is a direct bus to Glasgow that makes it the most ideal city to fly if you want to address the Skye path. There is also an indirect route that extends from Edinburgh, where you have to stop and change to a different bus in Inverness, but the extra time dedicated to doing so feels something wasteful if you are not taking a little time to relax in Inverness after your successful walk. However, Glasgow buses do not often work, approximately 4 times a day, because the trip is approximately 6 and a half hours. If you try to go from Edinburgh, it is even longer and less frequent. When planning, prepare to take a full day at each end of the walk just to return to the city you are flying or to get where it will begin on its way.

There are regional buses in the scottish highlands that run in Skye. They are frequent enough to help him in a hurry, such as when Achilles needed to get out of the way and go to a camp while Shepard and I still walk, but they are not frequent enough so that he can do what he wants to do without planning in advance. Nor are they cheap, a single -direction ticket on the regional bus from the northern back to portree was approximately $ 9. While we are on the theme of the north end, which is Rubha Hunish, the only way to get or get out of there without a car is through regional buses. That can definitely affect if you travel sobo or Nebo along the way. Once again, you just have to plan in advance and make sure you have a long time just to transport us between where it flies and the path.

The camp in Sligachan.

Miscellaneous advice

There are some really great variations on the path of those who were not so educated before heading to the road. I encourage you to look for them and consult if you want a more resistant and mountainous path or even a softer coastal route. Anyway, you will love this path.

Pay attention to cattle around you. For the most part they are very accustomed to people and not the aggressive, but it is still better to be cautious than not. Of course, follow LNT and not feed the animals and do not try to approach them inappropriate. It is totally well to save them slowly on the path if they are on the road, simply do not try to run after it goes in an adjacent field that looks at you to make your crazy trip throughout the island.

Cattle!

The path has two Bothies, one in Rubha Hunish and another in Camasunary. Do not ignore these as areas to spend the night. They are four walls and are incredibly resistant and have a good amount of space for campists. However, they are for the first time in the first service, so if you want a place in them, you must put a small PEP in your step that day. Every night we spent in one of the bases was incredible, you can meet a variety of fresh people and you don’t have to establish a camp (and depending on the weather, you are completely protected from rain and wind!). They are also free of use, but they will take donations if you have the extra cash for that.

Hanging our wet and sweaty clothes in both.

Bring protection against mosquitoes. If you don’t know what mosquitoes are, they are just the small most irregular insect that comes out in the swarms to suck their blood. They are abundant throughout the island, so get ready to find them. They sell errors of errors for their head and a product called Smidge that claims to deal with them. In my own experience, nothing will beat Deep Woods, but you really can’t get that in Europe. Anyway, buy that insect network and bring those tight layers to keep them out of your body, please me later.

In addition to that, I hope you enjoy this path as much as I and see all the coos of the highlands that your heart wants!

The north end, the telephone box next to Rubha Hunish.

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