When our planned trip to Iceland went off the rails, we opted for a few weeks in the UK instead. We landed in London, where a highlight was meeting friends for brunch. Next up = 5 days in Edinburgh where Jupiter Artland and the Scottish Parliament were two of our favorite stops. From there, we caught a train to Inverness and the start of the main purpose of our trip: two weeks of guided hiking in the Scottish highlands.

Why guided? The main reason was we didn’t want to drive on the “wrong” side of the road (to us), especially on the single lane approaches to many trails. Plus, a guide familiar with the area has the skills and experience to choose the most appropriate hike for the weather on any given day.

After a bit of research, and on the recommendation of some friends, we opted to book with Wilderness Scotland. Highly reviewed, they offer a range of hiking, cycling and kayaking trips. We went through the posted itineraries for hiking trips in detail, consulted with yet more friends, had a phone call with the helpful staff at Wilderness Scotland, and opted for the blue (difficult) rated “Wilds of Assynt” for our first week of hiking.

Day 1 (May 18, 2024)

After a restful night and hearty breakfast at a lovely B&B in Inverness, we towed our roller bags to the train station. There, we met our guide and the rest of our group – a nice mix of nationalities, genders, ages and personalities.

During the 1.5 hour drive to Ullapool, we exchanged bits and pieces about why we were on the trip, favorite hikes, books, TV shows, music, etc. Fortunately, we (mostly) got along quite well – for the entire week!

Welcome to Ullapool

Parking was a bit of a challenge when we arrived in Ullapool, our home for the week. If it was that busy in mid-May, it must be swarmed during the summer, peak driving season for the North Coast 500!

After our guide finally found a parking spot, we loaded up with our day packs and trooped over to West Coast Delicatessan to pick-up our packed lunches. The whitewashed rowhouses/stores, cheery red boat planters and raucous calls of gulls set the scene.

Ullapool Hike

Continuing east through town, we started our first hike of the trip: Ullapool Hill, aka Cnoc na Croiche. Mr GeoK’s Relive video recap can be viewed here.

At the start, the trail wound through fairly lush vegetation, including a range of deciduous trees, naturalized rhododendrons and lots of common gorse. Coming from a part of the world where rhododendrons are grown indoors, we found it lovely and colourful.

As we approached the highpoint – the outcrop of Meall Mòr – the vegetation thinned out to heather, shrubs and hardy grasses.

We took a lunch break here, with time for photographs.

Our group enjoyed superb views over Loch Broom and Ullapool. Looking inland, we saw Loch Achall and surrounding countryside. Signs of industry included a nearby gravel plant and a fish farm on Loch Achall. We could also see Ardvreck House, our B&B, from the viewpoint.

We covered 8.4 km (5 miles) over the half day outing, maybe about half of that it town. One sign caught our attention as we returned to the parking lot; we snapped a photo to share with the LOTR fans in our family. 🙂

All-in-all, it was an easy-to-access, relatively scenic “shakedown” hike that gave our guide a chance to assess the group and factor the range of hiking abilities into his plans for the rest of the week.

Day 2 (May 19, 2024)

Cul Mor Hike

After the prior day’s warm up hike, we were keen to trek a longer trail. In keeping with the published itinerary, we loaded into the van and headed to Cul Mor, in the Northwest Highlands Geopark. Key moments from our first “Corbett” hike included encountering a school group and their guides; hiking in the clouds, and a mountain rescue. Read the full report here and/or watch the Relive video recap here.

Day 3 (May 20, 2022)

The weather cooperated to make this another day that went according to the published itinerary, beginning with a Summer Isles cruise in the morning followed by a half-day hike in the afternoon.

Cruise

Mid-morning, our group of 9 joined other passengers aboard the Summer Queen, operated by Shearwater Cruises, for a cruise up Loch Broom to the Summer Isles. The captain kept up a lively banter, interspersed with directing our attention to wildlife we might not otherwise have noticed.

The wildlife highlight was spotting a pair of Sea Eagles. They were way up a cliff, mostly in shadow, and we were on a moving boat. So these photographs aren’t great. But they are adequate to put us back in that moment whenever we view them.

The next point of interest was a couple of buildings and some horses browsing near old stone walls near Archmore, on the western arm of Loch Broom just before it opens into the ocean. According to the captain, the red-roofed structure is available for self-catered stays.

Summer Isles

Soon, we were cruising among the Summer Isles (no, not the Summer Isles from Game of Thrones ;)). The captain pointed out a hillside hut and wooden chalet on Eilean Dubh. According to him, a hermit lives there.

Next, he impressed us with his piloting skills, holding the Summer Queen steady in a cavern on the western tip of Tanera Beg. At one point, the boat was so close to the cavern walls we could reach out and touch them.

After a few more minutes of cruising, the captain held Summer Queen in place for several minutes while describing the last several years of construction activity on Tamara Mor – the only Summer Isle that’s permanently inhabited. Financier and multi-millionaire Ian Wace purchased the island in 2017. Since then, he’s recruited a team of artisans and craftsmen who’ve been working to restore some of the original structures dating back to the 1700s herring industry. They’ve also constructed new buildings, including a charred timber church, with the aim of turning the island into an exclusive resort for up to 60 guests. There’s also an active salmon farming operation.

As we cruised back to Ullapool, we spotted Rhue Lighthouse (which I walked to later in the week) and Ardvrek House, the B&B where our group stayed.

Roughly 3 hours after leaving Ullapool, we cruised back into the harbor, having traveled 53 km (33 miles) up Loch Broom and back. Ullapool looked particularly scenic on approach from the water.

Mr GeoK’s Relive video recap of our morning cruise can be viewed here.

Stac Pollaidh Hike

After a morning on the water, we headed into the highlands for another short hike. Stac Pollaidh qualifies as a “Graham,” with views of the Summer Isles and nearby lochs. This trek took our group much longer than expected, as the extensive stone steps slowed up one group member. This post describes the hike in full detail. If you prefer a video recap instead of a written report, watch this Relive.

Day 4 (May 23, 2024)

Suilven Hike

Suilven is the western-most peak in Assynt and makes the list of Scotland’s “Grahams.” At more than 20 km and over 1,000 meters elevation gain, it was our biggest hiking day of the week. Only 5 members of our group assessed themselves as up for the challenge. Read more about this one here. Again, this day was in accordance with the published itinerary.

The Relive video recap for Suilven is here.

Day 5 (May 22, 2024)

For various reasons, including the weather, Day 5 did not go according to the published itinerary. It’s a good example of how a terrific guide takes the group capabilities, weather conditions, trail conditions and traffic conditions into account, draws on his or her depth of knowledge about an area and creates an amazing day for all.

Ardvreck Castle

After driving past Ardvreck Castle without stopping a few times earlier in the week, this morning our guide pulled into the sizable parking area. We had about half an hour to wander around the peninsula jutting into Loch Assynt, exploring the grounds and photographing the ruins of the 1740s castle.

A short distance along the shoreline of Loch Assynt, we could see another set of ruins. These are what’s left of Calda House, constructed by the Mackenzies in the late 17th century. We didn’t have time to walk over for a closer look.

After returning home, we learned that Ardvreck Castle Waterfall is a short walk away, on the other side of A837. It’s reportedly worth a visit if you have the time. Viewing photos of the falls online, it seems quite similar in size to the one we saw on our way to the Bone Caves later in the week.

Old Man of Stoer Hike

The gently rolling loop from Stoer Head lighthouse to the Old Man of Stoer and back was a good follow-up to the previous day’s more demanding trek to the summit of Suilven. The standalone sea stack was a worthy objective. History lessons from our guide ranged from the clearances, to crofters and estate owners, grassroots trust buyouts of estates and historical rights to harvest peat.

A Relive video recap covering Ardvreck Castle and the Old Man of Stoer Hike can be watched here.

Clachtoll Broch

After a few hours in the rain at Stoer, we clambered back into our van for the 20 minute drive to the parking area at the Clachtoll Public Toilets. Several moments later, the group split up, with one member (me) heading directly to Clachtoll Beach. Our guide led the other seven hikers to Clachtoll Broch, which they learned was home to a farming family during the Iron Age – until it was destroyed by fire.

This site was studied and then partially restored by Historic Assynt. It won the 2021 “Rescue Project of the Year” award from Current Archaeology. Details about artifacts found, including video recordings of presentations, can be found here.

The adjacent coastline is rocky and harsh, although there’s a small cove nearby where a small boat or two could drop anchor at high tide.

Also visible from this sight are rough stone walls dividing up the rolling landscape. While they could simply be early boundary markers, our guide informed the group they also played a key role in sheltering the thin soil from salt-laden winds blowing inland.

Clachtoll Beach

Meanwhile, I took the opportunity for some alone time, to partially recharge my introvert battery. There were a couple of dog walkers just about ready to head for home as the tide started rolling in. But since I didn’t know them, there was no need for more than a friendly “hello” when I passed them.

I used the time to make a photographic study of the beach, noting a couple of eider ducks floating up and down on the waves, a gull flying past, waves crashing on the rocky arms of the cove and seaweed slowly rising from collapsed position as the tide rose.

I even had time to pose our Lego minifig family at the beach!

All too soon, the other members of our group arrived at the beach. They had only a few minutes to explore, mostly oblivious to me atop a small bluff I’d climbed while they were at the Broch.

For a Relive video recap covering Clachtoll Broch and Beach, click here.

Detour

Then we all headed back to the van, for an unexpectedly l..o..n..g drive back to Ullapool and a very late supper. Why such a long drive? A fatal injury accident on the North Coast 500 closed the main road between Clachtoll and Ullapool. To get around the closure, our guide had to drive on secondary roads that hugged the coastline.

The way this particular week of guided hiking was set up, we stayed in a lovely B&B so we had to go into Ullapool for dinner out each evening. So after giving us 10 minutes to change out of our hiking clothes, we all piled back into the van for a later than normal supper. It was almost 11 pm by the time we returned to the B&B for the night. That was one of the reasons we opted for a “day off” the next day.

Day 6 (May 23, 2024)

There are three main reasons we opted to take a break from the group on Day 6:

1. A late night on Day 5 (see previous paragraph);
2. To recharge our introvert batteries; and
3. Crummy weather necessitated superseding the itinerary’s planned Ben Mor Coigach hike with a walk to a bothy for a sheltered lunch.

Instead of learning all about bothies, we opted to stay back at our B&B – Ardvreck House. After almost 2 weeks in the UK, we were also WAY behind on photo processing. With one laptop between the two of us, we took turns culling and tweaking our images from the London and Edinburgh portions of our trip.

During our breaks from the computer, we made a start on repacking, catching up on email (using our phones) and getting out for some fresh air.

I ended up getting in a 7.5 km walk to relatively nearby Rhue Gallery and Rhue Lighthouse. Unfortunately, about half the walk was along the A835, part of the North Coast 500. I was very happy to leave the narrow path beside the no-shoulder road at the turn off back to Ardvreck House.

Here are a couple of photos from my walk.

This Relive video recap includes lots more images and gives a good sense of just how much of the walk was along the highway. As I mention in the video, it wasn’t until we returned to Canada and I checked my email archives that I realized that Rhue Gallery was recommended to us by friends we met on our 2023 Antarctica expedition cruise.

Day 7 (May 24, 2024)

We got a slightly later start this final morning, since everyone had to pack up to leave the B&B. Our 9-passenger van was fully loaded by the time we were ready to leave.

Inchnadamph Bone Caves

Our final hike for the week highlighted some of the same geology we learned about on Day 1. It was one of the shortest treks, clocking in at 4.5 km (3 miles). Mr GeoK’s Relive video recap of the hike is here.

We explored three of the four Inchnadamph Bone Caves before returning to the van for our final road leg of the trip. I noted several members of the group coughing like they had a tickle in their throat – both on the drive to the trailhead and the final drive back to Inverness. Inverness was where we bid our guide and hiking companions farewell before boarding a train to Perth. Thanks to WhatsApp and Facebook, we continue to follow some of their adventures.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we really enjoyed our first week of guided hiking in the Scottish Highlands. The accommodation was very comfortable and breakfast was outstanding. Our packed lunch sandwiches were made to order and our guide stocked up on snacks and treats according to our group members’ preferences. Suppers were generally very good, although long – by the time 9 people ordered a range of appetizers, mains and desserts and all of those dishes were served, it often turned into a 2.5 to 3 hour event.

We definitely appreciated having an experienced driver at the wheel – especially on the one-lane roads to some of the trailheads and when we had to make our way back to the B&B by secondary roads one afternoon. And our driver/guide had a great selection of music on rotation in the van. Peat and Diesel is now on regular rotation on my playlists!

Aside from the ongoing digital connections and wonderful memories, we (I) also came away from that week with another bout of COVID-19. Yep, three days after we parted ways in Inverness, two group members used our Whats App group to give us all a heads up they’d tested positive. How did that happen? Who knows. It could have been on an inbound flight. Or maybe it was the trip to the ER on Day 2. Regardless, it was a good reminder that COVID-19 is still with us, has become endemic, and that masking in tight quarters shared with strangers from around the world is not a bad a idea!