Cape Wrath Trail - April 2024 - Day 13 of 13 - Badcall to Cape Wrath Lighthouse
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- In April 2024 I hiked the Cape Wrath Trail from Fort William to the Cape Wrath Lighthouse in 13 days, following the Cicerone Guide’s main route all the way to Cape Wrath.
It was an epic adventure filled with stunning mountain scenery, breathtaking views, isolated wilderness and some really challenging terrain.
Along the way I met some fantastic fellow hikers, I got the chance to sleep in Bothies and wild camp in some pretty awesome places.
The weather was mostly dry for the trip, but there were a number of nights with sub zero temperatures and some days with significant wind chill.
This was the hardest physical and mental challenge I have undertaken, but it was also the most rewarding experience I’ve had in the mountains, a true adventure through a beautiful part of Scotland.
This video is Day 13 on my CWT adventure - Badcall to Cape Wrath Lighthouse ~ 27km / 16.8mi - 670m ascent - 29.4.24.
#hiking #capewrathtrail #CWT #scotlandhighlands #wildcamping #outdoors #scotland #mountains #adventure
Very informative video's; especially of the technical terrains. Thanks a lot and well done!
Thank you and thanks for watching!
Thank you Andrew for your videos. Well Done on completing the walk.
Thanks very much! Atb, Andrew
What a great set of videos Andrew and congratulations on a superb achievement! Such lovely photography and your descriptions of the scenery and weather are brilliant. These videos deserve way more views!
Thanks very much for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed the videos, it was an awesome trail. Atb, Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for your heads up about the shoes. Really appreciate it, and thanks a lot for your footage. I watched them along with the map for preparation. I will take more days, however.
If you don't mind, I have two questions. How did you get back from the cape, and would you mind commenting on a thought about boots or shoes? About the last question, there is a lot of talk and advice about this. I have never walked on barefoot, so I am thinking about boots or low hiking shoes like Salomon or Hoka. Now, as you told, feet will get wet anyway, boots or shoes probably alike. What are your thoughts about boots or shoes?
Hi Ed, I think shoes vs boots is down to personal preference. The terrain is very uneven and it would be good to get as many practice walks done on uneven ground to strengthen ankles and knees. Salomon or Hoka are decent choices.
I’m hoping this link is accurate but it looks like Altra Lone Peaks will be getting a vibram mega grip sole next year which should be better for me at least, we’ll see…
sportbiz.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Altra_Running_Web_Workbook_SS25.pdf
Congratulations on your achievement. A most enjoyable series of videos.
Hi Jennifer, thanks for your kind words and for watching! Glad you enjoyed the videos. Atb, Andrew
Great series of video’s Andrew. Thank you for sharing and congratulations on completing the CWT
Thanks Jonathan! Glad you enjoyed the videos. Atb, Andrew
Superb series, well done. What a great achievement.
Thanks very much! Atb, Andrew
Outstanding series, one of the best i have watched, the description of the route is invaluable for us with the trail on our bucket list !! A video of the kit you used would be excellent information to know, thanks for taking the time to create the series and well done on completing the CWT.
Thanks very much! I’ll try to make a kit video on my next wildcamp. Good luck for your CWT trip. Atb, Andrew
Superb series Andrew, definitely one of the best and most informative that ive seen. Thanks for taking us along with you and i look forward to watching your future adventures.
Thanks very much! I had a great time on the CWT and I’m glad I took my Go Pro along to capture some of the highlights. Atb, Andrew
Well done! Really good series, I start my cape wrath trail adventure next Wednesday. Looks like you got some decent weather.
Thanks Adam! Hope the sun shines for you and you have a great time on trail! It was an epic adventure. Atb, Andrew
Congratulations on a fantastic achievement and great series of videos. Very inspiring. Can’t wait to view your next adventure 😊 x
Thank you Bec! 😊x
Congratulations and well done Andrew on completing the Cape Wrath Trail, you seemed to have quite good weather for most of the trail, really enjoyed your series of videos of the trail and thanks for filming it for us, well done again.
Thanks for watching Howard and for your kind words! I was very lucky the weather being mostly dry though there were a few cold days with a good wind chill. I definitely need a warmer sleeping bag and some better gloves! Atb, Andrew
Great videos Andrew. Loved watching them as it brought back fantastic memories. It was great meeting you at several points on the trail, and maybe meet you on another trail at some point in the future.
Hello! It was great to meet you both and glad you got to the Cape. That wire bridge crossing on the way to Craig looked a bit hairy! Lovely to see the group catch up with each other again at Sandwood Bay. I like the improvised beer chiller you used too 🍺. Happy trails! Atb, Andrew
Hi well done a truly wonderful journey u took us on amazing views of the country seeing the lighthouse must have made ure whole trip feel great you take care and congratulations. J.g.
Thanks very much John! The mostly dry weather and sunshine made a huge difference to capturing the views, I think I was pretty lucky. Thanks for watching and all the best, Andrew
Thanks for taking us on the journey with you. Happy hiking!
Thanks Ed! Good luck for your trip to Scotland next year, thanks for watching. Atb, Andrew
Well done Andrew, we had to tramp out from Kervaig bothy over the Kyle of Durness, hard going. Found Sandy,s bothy, dark & dismal, Sandwood Bay is superb though.
Hi Steve, I personally think that Sandwood Bay would make an excellent alternative end point but equally the remoteness and the effort needed to finish that final stretch to the Cape seems quite appropriate given what you’ve tackled upto that point. You have to work hard for the views on this trail! The effort Sandy went to walk a 21mile round trip every week to collect his pension and supplies is just mind boggling. Atb, Andrew.
Congratulations on a fantastic hike and great videos - I have really enjoyed the series and am inspired to follow in your footsteps. In one of the earlier episodes you talked about collecting a resupply box, is this how you resupplied throughout or are there shops along the way?
Hi Phil, thanks very much for watching and your kind words! Yes, I carried 4 days of food at the start, picked up another 4 days of food at Kintail Crafts and then 3 more days at the Inchnadamph Explorer Lodge (they’re happy to hold a parcel for guests staying with them). My planned schedule extended by a couple of days as I hit the reality of the trail - this is the roughest ground I’ve hiked over - so I topped up with snacks and food at Kintail Crafts, Kinlochewe Service Station and the Inchnadamph Explore Lodge. A fellow hiker I walked with at the beginning managed to resupply entirely along the way. Kintail crafts has a range of dehydrated meals, pasta, noodles and oats, as did both the Kinlochewe Service Station and the Inchnadamph Explore Lodge. There’s also the option to divert to Ullapool and a Spar shop at Kinlochbervie. Hope you have a great trip when you get it all planned out. Atb, Andrew
Brilliant series of videos. Really enjoyed watching them. Hope you got away from the Cape ok. 👍🏻
Thanks very much! Yes, despite the Ferryman being on paternity leave, we managed to arrange something and got over to Durness pretty quickly the day after. Thereafter, we shared a taxi to Lairg, took a train to Inverness and I took the Cal Sleeper home. Thanks for watching. Atb, Andrew
Hi Andrew. Many congratulations, what an achievement, absolutely superb. I’ve loved every minute of watching your adventures.
I liked the route in to Sandwood Bay. I’ve not seen anyone do it from that way in so that was night to see.
All the best mate
Dave 😀🥾⛰🏴
Cheers Dave! I don’t think it had fully sunk in as I approached the Lighthouse, but it has now, especially after editing the videos and looking back on where I’d come from. I feel very lucky to be able to enjoy the mountains and fortunate to have met some great people along the way. Happy trails! Atb, Andrew
Really enjoyed this video series! How did you get back from the Cape? Did you return to kinkochbervie or head for the ferry over to durness?
Hi Craig, thank you for watching, I originally planned to walk back to Kinlochbervie but the day after staying at the Cape in the Bunkhouse we managed to get to Durness quite quickly. If I had to walk I think I would have chosen the track walk to the Kyle of Durness instead of the walk back over the rough ground to Sandwood Bay. The road/track to Durness looks to be in need of some serious repairs! Atb, Andrew
Brilliant series, and an incredible achievement. I don't suppose you will be doing a further video in this series but it would be really interesting to see what happened next, i.e. how you got out from there. For me this is one of the most confusing and challenging aspects of the CWT
Thanks Dan for watching, really glad you enjoyed this mini series! I had originally planned to return to camp at Sandwood Bay after getting to the Cape, but the stretch from Sandwood Bay to the Cape was so unrelentingly rough that I called it a day and stayed at the Bunkhouse at the Cape. 4 more hikers arrived a few hours after me and I had a great evening listening to all their stories from their thru hikes. We were really fortunate to be helped out by the kindness of strangers the next day and managed to get to Durness rapidly. I’ll leave it at that as I don’t want to give the impression it’s something to be relied upon. If I had to walk out I think I would have opted for the track to the Kyle of Durness and the 8km walk around the Kyle to the road to Durness. Atb, Andrew
Super videos, thank you
Thanks very much, glad you liked them. Atb, Andrew
A fantastic and epic adventure Andrew, thank you for taking the time to film in so much depth. I’ll defiantly revisit the whole series again when I plan my own CWT adventure!
Thanks very much and good luck for your CWT!
@@andrew_hikes Any plans for another trails up north? This style of video on The Skye Trail would be awesome!
@keirenoutdoors The Skye Trail in late April ‘25 is my plan. If I can get the time off, I’d like to tackle the WHW again, but in Winter this time
Good to see the bridge at Strathan. Got turned back there once when it was out in heavy rain.
Hi Richard, that was one rickety bridge! Strathan Bothy looked smart from the outside with its bright red door. Perfectly isolated with no real paths to get there. Thanks for watching! Atb, Andrew
@@andrew_hikes Thanks for your hard work. Really enjoyed watching the videos and enjoying the memories while laid up with a very naughty dose of Covid. I have done 90% of a route on other ploys from the years. My Cape was from Lairg, crossing Sutherland in a week in 1996. The coast walk from Sandwood to Kervaig was pretty amazing. Then I had a kidney stone!