Walk the North West Highlands and Skye - 8 Days

Our trip starts today at Inverness train station at 1.30pm.

After gathering as a group, we'll drive to Ullapool (90 minutes), a thriving fishing town nestled on the shores of beautiful Loch Broom. Founded in 1788 as a herring port, the town was designed by Thomas Telford. Despite its size, with just 1,500 inhabitants, it's the largest settlement in the area and an important tourist destination and port. Located just to the north of Ullapool is the UNESCO Geopark of the Northwest Highlands - an area of remarkable natural beauty, with dramatic mountain landscapes, pristine sandy beaches, ancient settlements, and remote communities - all within one of the most sparsely populated corners of Europe. After settling into our accommodation, we'll head out for a warm-up hike on Ullapool Hill, which rewards us with commanding views over the loch, village, and the Summer Isles - the perfect introduction to our trip.

Afterward, our tour leader will hold a welcome meeting and talk us through the plan for the coming days. Please note, our planned walks might need to be altered according to the weather, to maximise your enjoyment - our tour leader will discuss these as we go if necessary.

Today's intro walk will take approximately two hours and will cover a distance of 3-4 kilometres/1.9-2.5 miles along grassy trails with a total ascent and descent of 500 metres/1,641 feet.

After a full Scottish breakfast, we'll embark on our first exploration of the UNESCO Geopark with a wonderful walk in the Assynt region just to the north of Ullapool. Assynt is rich in indigenous plant life such as lavender, miniature wild orchids, and Scotland's national flower, the thistle. The western part of this area has distinctive-shaped mountains sculpted by the huge forces of glaciation, resulting in 800-million-year-old Torridonian sandstone 'island' mountains that rise majestically from the loch-strewn moors. Our aim today is to climb Cul Mor and the ascent starts from Knochan Crag making use of a good path onto the upper reaches of the hill with some off-trail hiking towards the top. From the summit, we enjoy a breathtaking 360 panorama of this dramatic landscape. We'll descend and return to the vehicle via a different route.

Today's walk will take approximately six hours and will cover a distance of 14 kilometres/8.7 miles, with a mix of trails and off-trail routes, with a total ascent and descent of 750 metres/2,461 feet.

After breakfast this morning, we'll check out of our guesthouse. Afterward, we'll drive north again into the Geopark, this time further east into the Inverpolly area to Stac Pollaidh; arguably one of the more well-known and distinctive hills in the area. From the foot of the mountain, with its distinctive sandstone pinnacles shaped by the last ice age, it looks impressive, but the climb is relatively easy.

After hiking to the easterly top and taking in the unforgettable vista, we'll continue our walk around and back down the mountain. Back in the vehicle, we have a two-hour scenic drive to our next base in Gairloch. If time allows, we'll have a quick stop at Corrieshalloch Gorge, an impressive 200-meter/656-foot-deep chasm containing the Falls of Measach. Situated on the shore of Loch Gairloch, the small town of Gairloch is a great base for exploring the awe-inspiring scenery of Wester Ross.

Today's shorter walk will take approximately three hours and will cover a distance of 4 kilometres/2.5 miles, mostly on trails, very steep in parts, with a total ascent and descent of 510 metres/1,673 feet.

Today we explore the dramatic coastal scenery on the headland just to the north of Gairloch, with stunning views across the Straits of Minch to the Isle of Skye and the Western Isles. We ascend from sea level to the 350-meter cliffs, looking out for marine life such as the Atlantic seal, dolphin, or basking shark, and abundant birdlife including gannets, fulmar, shag, kittiwakes, and divers. Unique heathland plants thrive here, including bog asphodel and several species of insectivorous plants. The coastline offers many miles of beautiful cliffs, sea stacks, and sandy beaches. After the walk, we return to Gairloch and the rest of the afternoon is free. We suggest a visit to the fascinating Gairloch Museum and or the famous Inverewe Gardens by Osgood Mackenzie. The gardens are noted for their Himalayan and New Zealand plant collections, as well as their classic English garden.

Today's walk will take approximately four to five hours and will cover a distance of 11 kilometres/6.9 miles, mostly off-trail and undulating, with a total ascent and descent of 280 metres/919 feet.

After breakfast and checking out of our accommodation, we'll drive east and our first stop is the Beinn Eighe massif, Britain's oldest National Nature Reserve - which now forms part of the UNESCO Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve. Beinn Eighe is a vast mountain ridge, between Glen Torridon and Loch Maree, with a cluster of rugged peaks and scree slopes that are home to a diversity of wildlife. The lower hillsides are home to 350-year-old Scots pines and the oldest rocks here (indeed the oldest in the world) are Lewissian gneiss, dating back some 3 billion years. Our walk climbs steeply from pinewood forest onto a bare plateau of quartzite rocks. The views over Loch Maree and the hills behind are breathtaking.

In the afternoon, we'll continue our drive through beautiful scenery, stopping after an hour to visit the 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle - one of the most spectacular in Scotland. We'll then drive across the bridge to Skye, the largest and northernmost of the Inner Hebrides, and on to our final base in the tiny hamlet of Sconser located on the shores of a sea loch.

Today's shorter walk will take approximately three to four hours and will cover a distance of 7 kilometres/4.4 miles, mostly on marked trails, with a total ascent and descent of 680 metres/2,231 feet.

After breakfast this morning, we'll drive a short distance into the Cuillin Hills. Two Cuillin ranges dominate the landscape on Skye - the Black and the Red Cuillin separated by Glen Sligachan. The iconic ridge of the Black Cuillin is one of the most challenging ranges in the UK and is often the training ground for British climbers preparing for Himalayan ascents. The Munro Bruach na Frithe is considered one of the more accessible and straightforward peaks in this beautiful range and the views get better with each step on the rocky path. Once on the top, the amazing views include Ben Nevis to the east and the Outer Hebrides to the west.

Today's walk will take approximately six to seven hours and will cover a distance of 14 kilometres/8.7 miles, on rocky trails, with some scree and some off-trail sections, with a total ascent and descent of 950 metres/3,117 feet.

For our final day of hiking, we'll enjoy a scenic one-hour drive up to the far north end of the Trotternish Ridge to the Quiraing - a stunning landscape that has been formed by a massive landslip that has created rugged cliffs, hidden plateaux, and rock pinnacles. Our goal is The Table - a grassy summit plateau that offers dramatic views of the surrounding landscape including the Cuillin, the Western Isles, the mountains of Wester Ross, and out to the sea. Time permitting, we plan to make a stop in charming and colourful Portree, the capital of Skye, on the way back to our accommodation.

Today's shorter walk will take approximately four to five hours and will cover a distance of 7 kilometres/4.3 miles, sometimes on-trail and other times off-trail, grassy with some rocky sections, with a total ascent and descent of 380 metres/1,247 feet.

After a last hearty breakfast, we'll bid farewell to the Isle of Skye. The drive back to Inverness takes around three hours and we plan to drive alongside Loch Ness for the final section of the route.

We aim to arrive back at the rail station at around 12.30pm and this is where the trip ends.