The Old Man of Storr and Samesh' came too!

7th June 2010

Sameshrie and I spent a great couple of days on the Isle of Skye.  Seeing the Cuillin Mountains has really whetted my appetite for going back and tackling those at the a later date.  This trip however was more sedate and allowed us to enjoy some great food and a tour a truly stunning island. Driving south along the East coast road of the Trotternish peninsular we spotted the Old Man of Storr.

Driving further along we found the car park, stopped and put our boots on.  Samesh' asked a chap that was just leaving how far the walk to the Old Man was.  "20minutes to the gate at which you get a good view and about 40 minutes to the rock itself" was the reply.  Sam thought that sounded OK so off we set.  The route started off through a forest plantation, with the path climbing quite steeply.  When there were gaps in the trees we were treated to fabulous views south to the Black Cuillin mountains.

As we made our way up it became clear that it was going to be more than 20 minutes to the gate.  We passed a German couple on their way down.  The girl guessed it may be another 10 minutes depending on how far we were going.  The path was certainly pretty steep in places, though was generally a well made route. Whilst stopping to enjoy the view a crazy down hill mountain biker flashed past at break neck speed.  I imagine he probably would do exactly that if he came off.

Finally we arrived at the gate and exited the forest.  Ahead of us was an amphitheatre of clifs, with the Old Man in the centre.  Samesh decided to stop there whilst I carried on to get a closer look.  The path climbed quickly and was easy going.  It was was to move quickly in my approach shoes rather than my usual mountain boots. I soon got great views of the Old Man.  What a stunning bit of geology!  Especially impressive when the clouds passed in between the cliffs and the rock itself.

I made my way back down to Sam, who by then was getting a little chilly.  We returned to the car by the same route, both with a feeling of satisfaction.  I was really pleased that Sam had hiked up as far as she did.  It was our first real hike out together and hopefully the first of many.  Once back at the car we head off to Portree for a well deserved supper.

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