The main spark for my fascination with Scotland happened during a roadtrip through Scotland passing Oban, Skye, and Ullapool. It had some magical moments - helping a farmer find his lost lamb, hearing a local’s story about giving birth on a lonely island, watching snow falling into the sea on easter, or being shown around a forgotten island that the local community bought back and is currently rebuilding.

Islands

Islands are fascinating. The wilderness, purity, and, if inhabited, often simple and naturalist living and community. I would always happily pack a bag and set off to spend some time on a Scottish island, explore its people, nature, and views.

Below are some places I would like to visit next.

Wishlist

  • Mingulay - fulfill my dream of seeing happy puffins,
  • Islay - tour the various distilleries and find the most peated whisky I can reasonably afford,
  • Eigg - see how the community lives sustainably and partially off-grid,
  • Lewis & Harris - explore the last stretch of the outer hebrides.

Following, some past trips.

Eigg

Todo…

Canna

Todo…

Arran (2)

The second trip to Arran was a much more comfortable but equally adventurous 3-night stay at the Corrie Hotel in February ‘24. Arriving half an hour late with the ferry in Brodick, the bus connections left, with the next ones scheduled with the next ferry arrival 3 hours later. A good time, however, to check out the great advice and materials in the tourism office and to take a stroll and greet some dogs on Fishermans Walk. At this time of year, both the Arran Heritage Museum and Brodick Castle are closed, although the nice castle grounds are open for free. From the bus later, we could see some seals right along the shore, making it a quick tour towards the hotel. The hotel itself offers good food and drinks, seemingly catering for the whole area, which is good, given that there are no alternatives for dinner on a February weekend without access to a car. The next day we took the bus all the way along the upper half of the island as it was supposed to rain for most of it, looking at seals, hares, and red deer during the ride. Getting off in Tormore, we missed out on the standing stones and explored King’s Caves on the beach instead, a nice detour when going towards Blackwaterfoot by foot. If the buses came more often, the new distillery in Lagg would have been next, but in order to stop in Whiting Bay and still get home at the end of the day, this will have to wait for a future visit. Whiting Bay has many curiousities to offer, such as an art gallery, studio, eco shop, and wool store. The Bay Kitchen is a great stop with nice coffee and some local products. As every other food place was closed, a locally baked bread and some Arran cheese become our picknick-lunch by the store’s fireplace. Unfortunately, the boat towards Holy Island only starts going from April, adding another spot for a future visit. After a complete soak by the rain, the involuntary one-hour stopover in Brodick to wait for the next bus felt longer than it was, but the massive Fish and Chips later made up for it. The next day was supposed to be sunny! The tourism officer suggested a Glen Rosa walk on arrival and the hotel manager suggested to continue over “the saddle” towards Glen Sannox, back to the hotel. Glen Rosa was a great idea, the latter not so much. It started raining while climbing the saddle, and our comfortable walk turned into a proper hike. On top of the saddle, the paths become unclear. Luckily, a group of hikers came the other way, shocked to hear that we wanted to hike Glen Sannox the opposite way, deeming it unsafe without ropes in this weather. With the return back through Glen Rosa being a few hours to go, they convinced us that hiking North Goatfell was a much better, easier, and faster idea. Big mistake. Wind and rain picked up unexpectedly and the path became more and more difficult, slippery, and later, icy. With frozen hands and wet feet, we continued on, climbing at a scary angle through snowy patches and over wet rocks. There was, of course, no view and no feeling for how much longer this was to go on, with new peaks appearing in the cloud after every large rock. Finally, shivering despite many layers, we reached the top and immediately started running down the other side. This is a much better and non-scary path. The weather forecast scammed me on both trips to Arran so far, so be careful on your adventures! The last day flew by and after stacking up in the family-owned brewery and cheese shop, the ferry took us back to the mainland. Also, when in Corrie, do not miss out on the Wee Bookshop, a tiny store ran by a local with an uncomparable collection of Arran, Scottish, and general naturalist literature.

Bute (x2)

Bute lies between Glasgow and Kintyre, Bute lies in the Firth of Clyde, not far from Arran. It is easily accessible from Glasgow taking a 50m train to Wemyss Bay and a 35m ferry. Both trips were day trips from Glasgow, one in spring and one in summer ‘23. On the first one, after exploring Rothesay a bit, we went by bus down the East coast to Killchattan bay. From there we set off on a nice coastal hike past a lighthouse, nice bays, and eventually farms and the ruins of a chapel. On the second one, we explored a different direction and took the bus to Ettrick bay, walked past the long sand beach, past large farms, and back to the harbor in Port Bannatyne. Killchattan bay has lots of charme. It houses a row of buildings, a few boats, and a post office that also serves tea, sandwiches, and more. The whole room is filled with Titanic materials - a family-related obsession of the owner. The hiking path is, for the most part, remote and without buildings or people. The lighthouse is tiny, but offers lots of large stones around to have packed lunch. Afterwards, the path goes more uphill, offering nice views when approaching the nearby farms. After thinking the path goes only past the fields, we came to realise that we also need to cross through a field with cattle looking at us and a large field full of sheep with lambs. Carefully but quickly, we made our way back in a full circle to the bay and back by bus. A beautiful coastal hike that’s not too challenging. The upper half explored on the second trip felt quite different. Less wild, more fields and farms. The beach is beatiful though and if the weather was nicer, it would have been worth hanging out there longer. The island also houses Mount Stuart, a 19th-century mansion with large well-kept gardens, but due to temporary closure, this will be for a future trip.

Eriskay, Uist, Benbecula

  • Location
  • Trip
  • Impressions

Barra, Vatersay

Todo…

Staffa

Todo…

Iona

Todo…

Mull

Todo…

Kerrera

Todo…

Cumbrae

Todo…

Arran (1)

Arran feels just a bit too far for a day trip from Glasgow, but ideal for a weekend or longer. Although it only takes around an hour by train and ferry each, the island is much larger than it looks on a map and the bus timetable can easily break anyones great plans. This was a solo overnight hiking and camping trip in October ‘20. It started with a coffee on an early morning ferry, going through the mist towards dark clouds, with no land in sight of any direction. A slight rain greeted us passengers at our arrival in Brodick and, with my nearly 20kg backpack with food and drinks for two days and full camping equipment, I made my way towards Fishermans Walk. The walk is a relatively new, beatiful walk along the beach going towards the North of the island. As hoped, the rain stopped and the sky cleared a bit, perfect to continue the route towards the peak of Goatfell, Arran’s highest hill which qualifying as a Corbett. Do not be fooled, although this is a scenic hike through pure nature, along waters and waterfalls, with relatively clear paths, when starting the hike at zero elevation, the hike feels far and the peak becomes challenging on an unpleasant day. More than expected, personally. It was in the clouds, with wind, rain, fog, and later, snow. At many points, I wanted to turn around, but my perfectly planned out route continued further towards North Goatfell, with the plan to sleep somewhere wild in Glen Sannox. However, as I was disappointingly looking into the clouds at the peak and searching for the right path towards the second highest peak, this plan seemed irresponsible. Thus, back I went towards Brodick and tried my luck on a path towards Corrie. Around halfway down the hill, the clouds lifted, the sun came out, and for the first time, I could get a panoramic view over large parts of the island. Roughly 2km before Corrie, with sunset approaching, I found a nice flat piece of grass directly above the sea to pitch the tent. The next morning, after a pre-sunrise coffee and an unsuccessful attempt to dry the tent, I walked all the way along the North-East shoreline through gentle sunshine, passing Corrie, Sannox, Newton, and arriving in Lochranza. On the way, a local woman tried to convince me to move to Arran and start a family, potentially in order to swap some holiday cottages for real homes, had to cross through a shallow river by foot, and saw a georgeous cottage surrounded only by sheep. I would recommend this segment to anyone! After a castle and distillery visit, I hopped on the bus back towards Brodick, took the last ferry, and was happy to have a warm shower again. The North part of the island is definitely more hilly, but the South is also supposed to be very nice. Holy Island just off Lamlash houses the Center for World Peace, some wild Ponies, and more, so that should also be worth a future visit!

Martin

Todo…

Skye

Todo…

Kintyre (Peninsula)

Todo…

Munros

With my excitement for the island life, I have not bagged many Munros yet. Although I try to climb any hills that promise good views, my Munro scratch-off poster makes me look lazy, so here some next wishes and bagged Munros!

Wishlist

  • Ben Lomond - close to Glasgow and I was told it is a beatiful hike,
  • Beinn na Lap - remote peak but accessible with the West Highland Line train between Glasgow and Fort William.

Beinn Narnain (x2)

Beinn Narnain lies right before Beinn Ime, so the ascent is the same when coming from the Loch Long direction. The peak is nice and the views were better than the previous time, but even with gloves, the top was freezing with a layer of snow and ice-cold winds. (March ‘21) Made a second ascent two years later but decided to enjoy the views from just above the tree line rather than going all the way up. (June ‘23)

Beinn Ime

Laying on the side of Loch Long and just a short hike away from Loch Lomond, Beinn Ime is a slightly tedius hike through the forest for the first half, which is rewarded with beautiful views once above the tree line during the second half. Also goes past a river with minor waterfalls, and there is a choice between three peaks. Some crazy local hill runners passed me on their way down at 8am. If it would not have started snowing once approaching the top, and heavy rain all the way down, the 20kg backpack with camping gear and supplies might have actually been worth it. (September ‘20)

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