I absolutely love tackling new walks. I don’t always have company for it though. That’s why I’m delighted to have found Iona’s Adventures (run by another Iona!). I’ve been on countless walks with this group, most recently camping and hiking the Isle of Skye.
You’ll soon see from this post that Iona’s Adventures has had a pretty massive impact on my weekends. Hiking with strangers whom many are now friends, I love every minute of walks with this group. In less than a year, the group has grown from brand new to 1700 members (!!), from all across the UK. Anyone can arrange an event for the group. Which is wonderful, because it’s my go-to place if I find myself at a loose end one weekend!
The Road Trip
After around 6 hours in the car, we eventually arrived at the Sligachan campsite. The midges were picking up pretty quickly, so we swiftly set up our camp and got some food on the go. Safe to say introducing yourself to a group of strangers is a hard task when everyones faces are covered with midge nets, resembling robbers rather than hikers.
The next day as we walked into the mountains, the breeze picked up, the midges dissipated and we could actually put faces to the voices we met the previous night. It was yet another exciting hike with Iona’s Adventures.
Lets Go
We set out to climb a munro named Bruach na Frithe. The first section of the route was a mild trail, following a narrow river and winding through mini pools and waterfalls. Having never visited this island before, I was super excited. Not only were we hiking the Isle of Skye, we were actually getting to bag a munro (which, given the weather, had seemed unlikely!).
The rain had started lightly around an hour into our hike, and got increasingly heavier by the minute. Eventually we reached a clearing section with the bottom of the mountain slopes in view; the summits eerily masked by low grey clouds.
As we escalated, visability decreased dramatically, with the speedier half of our group lost in the clouds. Miles away or just in front? Who knew. Thankfully we had a couple of radios to keep contact. Our slower half stuck close together and proceeded up the rocky terrain, eventually reaching a scree slope. Here’s where the hard slog begins.
The Scree Slope
I adore hiking, but scree slopes will forever be a hated sight for me. Going up it’s the classic two-steps-forward one-slide-back manoeuvre, consistently straining my leg muscles. It also ensues a mental battle to stop myself from yelling ‘screw this, I want to go home’. But as a team we made zig-zagged through the best route up the slope to reach the ridgeline. We stopped for a brief rest to take in the views – jagged peaks poking through a blanket of cloud, my first cloud inversion, hiding the scree slope we had just endured. It was quiet, calm and spooky. Sometimes no views are better than clear ones.
The Summit
We were at our final hurdle, and swiftly moved on to the steady climb to the summit, shivering as the cold damp soaked through to my core. Though the trail was fairly easy in terms of gradient, it was uneven and had a hairy drop on our right hand side. The climb turned into a mild scramble, something I’ve not had too much experience with. But I was excited to lead myself and two others through this section.
After clambering over pile of large boulder, we were faced with a dominating 8 foot rock hurdle. The route appeared to take us round the left hand side, however it was a heavily uncomfortable climb across an exposed section with a long deep below. I decided to instead hop across the top and hope it was easy enough on the other side.
Thankfully the faster group were on their descent and were able to talk me through climbing down – a great advantage of climbing with a group. Though they advised going back round to the left side path again, I opted for the faster and much more fun bum skid down a sloped section, and a quick yet careful downward scramble. Always one to be different.
The summit itself was covered in cloud, though we were lucky it rose high enough just in time to expose the expansive views. The scenery in Skye is unlike anywhere else I’ve been. Pointed, rocky and exposed peaks with patches of wild greenery – it reminds me of a scene from lord of the rings, an unrelenting yet beautiful landscape. My 11th Munro was in the bag, yet numbers and records are the last thing on my mind on a summit as stunning as that.
Descent via Exposed Ridge
We took our descent via the exposed ridge route. Another first for me, I was excited yet anxious. Not only was there steep drops on either side, but the rocks were wet, and the possibility of sliding to my death was certainly on my mind.
Following a few of the experienced rock climbers in the group, I copied their footing patterns and hand holds. My heart rate was high but I felt alive, connected with the mountains – it was heavy rain and sleet by this point, zero views and no sight of the bottom, but I loved every moment. We soon joined a rocky but flat path which led past the Fairy Pools and back to our start point.
This is something I love about group walks – the opportunity to push your comfort zones whilst surrounded by a group of supportive people is invaluable. I would never have submitted in the thick cloud, never mind descending down an exposed ridge, hadn’t I been with a group such as this. We even finished the weekend with a freezing cold dip on Sunday in a secret location! It was baltic but blissful, and a hell of a lot of fun with this crazy bunch.
How You Can Do This Trip Too:
Hiking the Isle of Skye is very popular, and there are plenty ways to do it.
Transport: Grabbing a car is certainly the easiest way to see the most of Skye, particularly for hiking trails.
Popular places: Old Man of Storr, The Fairy Pools, Portree
Accommodation: We stayed at Sligachan Campsite. A basic and affordable campsite, with all the relevant amenities needed (sinks for washing up, shower and toilet blocks, plenty of room). It also has pretty incredible views, and is a five minute walk from the Sligachan Hotel – another accommodation option – who offer drinks and entertainment! Hostel? BnB?
Just make sure you have the right gear if camping – my tent unfortunately leaked in the Skye rain and I ended up in the car for the night!
