Isle of Skye – Day 3

This is a story of our last hike in Scotland.

Skye is a magnificent island with dramatic scenery and as such it is a photographer’s and hiker’s paradise. We had only 3 days on Skye, so we had to carefully choose the scenery and hikes we wanted to see and undertake. We checked all the must-sees and must-dos on a Skye tourist list, so for the third day we wanted something less touristy (if there is such a thing on Skye). We chose to visit Loch Coruisk, a fresh water lake located on the southern shores of Skye.

However, it is not one of those drive, park, and hike deals. To get to the loch we had to travel to Elgol and take a boat trip. We also pre-booked it in case there too many people showed up. There are different options for staying on the island, we could not quite decide how much time it would take us to hike up and down a mountain to see a view of the loch from up above. In the end we decided to book a flexible trip: take the boat and return back on any one during that day.

We were lucky with the weather, no rain and no total sunshine either. A mix of blue sky and clouds was perfect. We saw a huge rainbow on our way to Elgol, and we set off with a great anticipation of more amazing views.

We did not see a lot of Elgol, just the port. A very small port with a steep road downhill and not a lot of parking. However, we were there very early in the morning, so we got a good spot.

We got to the loch very fast (in about 20 minutes) because we sailed on a fast boat, however we were to return on a different boat (a slow boat called Bella Jane). Our goal for that day was to hike Sgurr Na Stri, a 494-meter high mountain that has amazing views onto Loch Coruisk and the Black Cuillin mountain.

On our arrival we found a rocky terrain near the pier, but as we hiked further we found that the path became more and more muddy.

The first part of the hike was very easy and followed the shores of the loch. However, at some point we reached a river. I don’t know the name of the river, but OpenStreetMap gives it as Allt a’ Choire Riabhaich.

We took the path that went along the river up the hill. Well, rather, we followed the river uphill because there was no visible path. Our ascent was very slow because we tried to avoid muddy terrain, and soon enough I quietly started to hate the hike. I kept walking and walking, but the top of the hill was not getting any closer.

Only when we stopped following the river and found a visible path did we feel normal and start enjoying the hike again.

Finally, we reached the top of the hill, not the top of Sgurr Na Stri mountain yet, but a pass between two mountains. The views from that point were also very good and the place had some big rocks that could be used as shields from high winds. We took a break and ate some granola bars, enjoying a well-earned quality rest. As we rested, we saw a man appear in the distance, hiking toward us from the opposite side of the pass. Slowly, as in that desert scene from “Lawrence of Arabia”, the man reached the point where we were sitting, said hi, and continued on to the boat landing we came from. Then two other guys passed us from the other side, almost casually striding to the top of the mountain at the speeds we could only dream of. (Later, they made it all the way back down in time to take the same boat as us.)

We looked at the time and realized that we spent too much time getting to that point. We did not have a lot of time left, so we cut our rest short and went on.

The views continued to be good until they just weren’t anymore. We realized that the hike was a lot longer than indicated on the map, and we had to get to the very top of Sgurr na Stri to get the best views. However, I still had my injured knee, and we were pressed for time. We stopped and calculated that we already spent 3.5 hours hiking up, so we had only 2.5 hours before the boat’s arrival. We had to go back.

We found a slightly different path down, the one that did not follow the river. It was not as muddy but had a lot of big boulders. Some of them were covered in a thin layer of muddy slime. I was extremely careful not to fall, and so of course I fell, injuring my bad knee again. Oh, that hurt. That really hurt.

While I was lying on the wet boulder, alone with my pain [Editor’s Note: And with me], I promised myself two things: (1) this was going to be the last hike on this vacation and (2) I had to have a nice dinner with a cocktail as a reward for this torturous hike.

This is the map of the hike we took. The blue line shows the way down and the red line shows the alternative path, the one we took on the way up. The green star shows the location where we took a break. We did not make it to the top of the mountain, unfortunately. “Regrets, I’ve had a few…” 🙁