A great big adventure

In just seven days we will be on our way, over the North Sea and up the spine of Britain to the beautiful Isle of Skye.

This trip will probably be the most well-planned adventure I have ever embarked on. In the past, holidays were rather opportunistic affairs where me and a significant other would work like mad and then look sideways at a sudden block of time where we were both free and throw some stuff in the car and head off. Very little thought was given to what was needed or what to plan, other than a general destination and checking that there were enough funds for food and petrol and campsites.

But this time, planning was required. This time, there was a rather ambitious goal.

It all started in September last year when, during a class I was teaching, one of my students mentioned that they would be going on holiday to Scotland over Christmas because they were hopelessly in love with the series Outlander and they wanted to see where Jamie Fraser came from. This developed into a conversation about a number of things, but left me with a yearning to see Scotland again, and a book recommendation. Sam Heughan (who plays Jamie Fraser) had written a book about walking the West Highland Way. Called Waypoints, it takes you with him on his multi-day hike along this very well known trail, and also along the main waypoints of his career in the acting world. It’s a lovely read, but that’s not the main point. After reading this I was left with the burning desire to get back out on the trail again.

On my previous visit to Scotland in 2014, I had done quite a few two and three-day hikes, wild camping along the way or staying in bothies. I absolutely loved it. There is nothing more freeing than being out in the mountains with nothing but your food and shelter and a map in your hands. Even when it’s raining and windy and the midges are trying to eat you alive, it still beats any other holiday I have ever been on.

For years I have wanted to get back, but time, and life and stuff always seemed to get in the way. So, after reading Waypoints, I made a decision. Come hell or high water, I was going to get myself and my dog over to Scotland this year for a multi-day hiking adventure.

The West Highland Way seemed like a great idea, initially, and I still plan on doing it at some point, but, like a magpie, I stumbled across another shinier idea: the Skye Trail.

The great thing about the Skye Trail is that it is a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure trail. There is a map, and a guidebook, but the trail itself is not marked, and there a many alternatives on the route that you can opt to take if you want to avoid the more challenging bits (like the Bad Step). The other, more enticing, thing for me is that it’s on Skye, my absolute favourite place in the world.

So, once I found the Skye Trail, that was it, the goal was set, and since October 2024, I have been steadily planning and preparing, and working with Lucy to get her trail ready. Because that’s the other major difference. I’ve never been on long hiking trips with a dog before, let alone on my own. This has meant doing lots of weekend trips to places a little closer to home, to get her used to sleeping in tents, and building up her endurance for long distances.

And I feel that we are ready. The kit is dialled in; we can comfortably walk around 13 miles (20km) in a day; we have all the safety gizmos primed and activated, and now all that’s left is getting up there and having fun.

So, watch this space. The chances of regular updates and sunshine, with some scattered clouds of midges, are high.