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Wild Camping on Sgùrr na Strì, Isle of Skye.

We decided to head over to the Isle of Skye on our way back from the North Coast 500 and we weren't disappointed. Some quick research revealed Sgùrr na Strì as the location for arguably the best view in Britain. The mountain weather forecasts seemed ideal with low wind speeds and supposedly no rain so we decided it was fate and headed off from Sligachan. Although we set off with clear blue skies and bright sunshine, rain clouds seemed to congregate in the valley we were walking through. I'd recommend always taking waterproofs with you especially on this route as it turned out to be a life saver. It took us 6 hours to reach the summit of Sgùrr na Strì and as we started to ascend the rain and clouds finally dissipated leaving us with a great sunset. The walk can be a little tedious as you spend roughly 18kms out of the total 26kms walking on flat ground with the same panoramic views of the red and black cullins but it is worth it in the end. If you're just getting into wildcamping I wouldn't really recommend this route as it is a longggg hike in with no real escape routes should the weather turn (which in this area it really can). We didn't see a sole for 6 hours of our hike. The pitching spots are also sparse. all the way up to Sgùrr na Strì is boggy, rocky outcrop and this doesn't change much on the summit. We got lucky in that we had the mountain to ourselves and seemed to find possibly the only spot large enough for our Berghause Grampian 2 which wasn't completely boggy and didn't have jagged rocks sticking out of the grass which could rip out groundsheet. However, if you've got wildcamping experience under your belt and don't mind hiking a fair bit to reach this spot then you won't be disappointed. I've been to Norway and Newzealand and this was comparable in a lot of senses. with the large jagged mountains and fjords. Truly breath-taking.

Contributor:

Alex Harrison

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