Cape Wrath Trail
- Thread starter Robin
- Start date
Robert P
Thru Hiker
I was walking S to N last year and didn't meet many people (except at Morvich campsite), met loads this year when I was travelling N to S. It tended to be in waves as many people seemed to be starting the day from the same location.
OwenM
Thru Hiker
That's how I did it, it's easy to avoid the madding crowds.
Robert P
Thru Hiker
Cape Wrath minibus
www.bbc.co.uk
Waist-deep Highland potholes are sinking my bus tour business
Waist-deep Highland potholes are sinking my bus tour business
www.bbc.co.uk
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tallestofpauls 🍌
Thru Hiker
'If you are not part of the solution, you must be part of the problem'
I find threads like this rather amusing. Openly complaining how the Internet has made trails more popular one minute whilst openly sharing and gushing about it a page before
Cake n eat it boys! (and girls)
I find threads like this rather amusing. Openly complaining how the Internet has made trails more popular one minute whilst openly sharing and gushing about it a page before
Cake n eat it boys! (and girls)
Mole
Thru Hiker
Not sure how wanting isolation and wanting to do a well known route and wanting bothies to be quiet even makes any sense at all.
Scotland is a big place. Easy to get away from the main routes. You can "bushwack" anywhere and avoid people.
Cairngorms paths seem just as busy (if not busier) as anywhere on the CWT. Always people about when I've been. (Ben a Bhuird/Ben Avon side quieter or south of the Geldie/Feshie)
Many Miles
Trail Blazer
I sometimes yearn for those pre internet days when books, mags, word of mouth or just unknowns on the map would be the major resource. I did the CWT years ago and used the "North to the Cape" book as a loose guide. Didn't see anyone else doing it. When the MBA published a list of bothies online it really did feel like opening Pandora's box. Before you had to find out yourself or be lucky enough to be confided in. Stumbling across an unknown bothy in foul weather was a wonderful feeling!
I'd love to do the (relatively new) Hexatrek but wouldn't be able to commit the time at this part of my life. It'll no doubt become a lot busier in the years to come.
As Mole said though - if you stay away from known trails, Munro's and rely on a tent to can still get the solitude we all yearn for.
I'd love to do the (relatively new) Hexatrek but wouldn't be able to commit the time at this part of my life. It'll no doubt become a lot busier in the years to come.
As Mole said though - if you stay away from known trails, Munro's and rely on a tent to can still get the solitude we all yearn for.
Seòrsa
Section Hiker
I wish the same sometimes for turning back the clock. When bothies were actually used for what they were designed for & not personal Air BnB's for many as they are now in many cases,
I finally gave up on bothies around 15 years ago, when I went to a bothy & found a family of 4 living there & had been there for almost a week. South of Scotland ones are by far the worst nowadays.
Robert P
Thru Hiker
From what I have seen recently the 'busy-ness' is quite sporadic on the main routes. I walked in from the north to Ullapool on the final day of my Cape Wrath to Ullapool walk and I don't think I met anyone; similarly this week I walked from Lochan Fada to Kinlochewe in the morning and I think only met one pair on the trail. The following day I saw a long trail of fast moving people in bright clothing heading to Glen Torridon - the Cape Wrath Ultra was in town.
craige
Thru Hiker
Yeah, and they definitely get choked as well, there are usually people around bothies and near villages. I've only met one person going south doing the whole trail, and a bunch of people must start on weekends or Mondays, and of course you get drop outs too. I've always met loads at the start and much less after shiel bridge. I didn't see anyone between Ullapool and kinlochbervie except the south-bound guy doing the route, and I did that relatively fast, in 3 days to kinlochbervie (firing range was active and I wanted to get home, so didnt bother with sandwood bay) so I definitely would have been catching people.
tom
Thru Hiker
I have posted stuff to small b&b or small hotels in remote locations with no post office on rare occasions. Never been turned down when I enquired at the time of booking.
P.S. picking up from a post office also always worked for me
aodh
Backpacker
I want to do it largely b/c it's a relatively remote route, and it's one of the longest trails that we have, that's not something like a coastal path. I'm just really not interested in trails that have a ton of roadwalking or are going through a ton of farmland. Cape Wrath, seems to have much less of that compared to the rest.Not sure how wanting isolation and wanting to do a well known route and wanting bothies to be quiet even makes any sense at all.
Scotland is a big place. Easy to get away from the main routes. You can "bushwack" anywhere and avoid people.
Cairngorms paths seem just as busy (if not busier) as anywhere on the CWT. Always people about when I've been. (Ben a Bhuird/Ben Avon side quieter or south of the Geldie/Feshie)
What I normally like to do is things like just walking off into the Brecons, Snowdonia or Cairngorms, and going to the more remote parts. Outside of dipping through towns, the times that I'm out for about a week, I barely pass or see anyone. The last time I went to the Cairngorms I saw one person in the far distance on a different hill over the 3-4 days of us being remote. We wanted to bag some peaks and then my friend had a shelter malfunction, which limited us to being less remote for safety and to dry his stuff. I found the paths close to Aviemore were populated, but once you got out further than a daytrip, there was almost no one.
I don't tend to go to bothies much either. I would if I needed to charge something, or dry something, but otherwise I tend to stay away.
tallestofpauls 🍌
Thru Hiker
I looked at the Hexatrek but it's not really a well thought out route as a oner.
Section 2 the north alps comes quite early (June) so there's potential for alot of lingering snow.
Section 4 across from Gap to Carcassonne is potentially the hottest time of the year and could be a real brain boiler.
I did think of yoyoing around starting in carcassonne heading north on 3 first then bus to the start on 1.
2 and 3 alps finish pyrenees 5 6 but it looked quite messy and a series of long hikes instead of a linear journey experience.
Many Miles
Trail Blazer
Agreed - it's not perfect...but it beats working! Met a few guys doing it whilst in the Pyrenees last year (including a guy on here whose name escapes me) and they all said section 4 was melting for them.
Maybe doing it as a section hike would suit me better and I could time the seasons perfectly. Not the same buzz though as the linear experience as you say.
A couple of weeks on the GR5 this summer instead.