I had walked most sections of the 200+ mile route known as the Cape Wrath Trail that runs through from Fort William to Cape Wrath, but never as a whole continuous walk, and never in the winter months. The walk is described as 'a tough walk, one of Britain’s toughest. Wild, remote, far from civilisation. Rain, midges, river crossings all to be surmounted'. The walk is described in the book by D Brook & P Hinchcliff 'North to the Cape'.
Usually walked during the spring and summer, the trail can be long and tough. Walking it in the winter is another story, and one that I would like to complete sometime. The inspiration for walking the Cape Wrath Trail in winter came from two sources. Firstly, I was thoroughy inspired by Mike Cawthorne's account of his epic winter trip through Scotland in his book 'Hell of a Journey'. This book is wonderfully written and just reading paragraphs pulls on me to get out into the hills. Also, Iain Harper played a big part. I discovered Iain by an entry he made in Sourlies Botthy book when I sayed there briefly in December 2008. Iain was starting out on his Cape Wrath Trail in Winter trip. I would like to thank Iain Harper for crystalising the idea for me. Iain's web site is an excellent review and musings of his winter trip.
A winter Cape Wrath Trail is proving to be a real challenge for me having attempted it twice now. Here are my accounts of three rewarding and interesting Cape Wrath Trails...I've still to complete in winter though.
Cape Wrath Trail - 2010 - A successful spring backpacking trip
To be written up
Cape Wrath Trail - 2010 - My second winter attempt
To be written up
Cape Wrath Trail - 2009 - My first winter attempt
Heading up north tomorrow... 12/14/09
Getting near and getting cold 12/10/09
Kit List II 12/8/09
Kit List 12/4/09
Short Days.... 12/4/09
From Daft Idea... 11/7/09
Fort William to Cape Wrath in Winter !! 11/2/09
