Review: The Farthest Shore by Alex Roddie – hiking the Cape Wrath Trail

Review: The Farthest Shore by Alex Roddie – hiking the Cape Wrath Trail

Back in September my editor Alex Roddie was launching his own book The Farthest Shore, about his winter hike of the Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, at the Highland Bookshop in Fort William. I attended the launch and then read the book.

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Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir: the Black Cuillin’s hair-raising finale

Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir: the Black Cuillin’s hair-raising finale

We were facing a full day out in the Black Cuillin under sunny skies. Yes, that’s right. Beautiful sunshine in the Black Cuillin of Skye. I can’t believe I’m saying that. After two satisfying days on the ridge and another one to come, things were turning out well.

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Sgurr na Banachdich to Sgurr a Ghreadaidh: touching cloth in the Black Cuillin

Sgurr na Banachdich to Sgurr a Ghreadaidh: touching cloth in the Black Cuillin

I had injured my leg and didn’t know if I had time to recover for the next day of scrambling. What should I do: an easy walk to test it out, or a long day out I’d been looking forward to for a long time? Luckily, our guide Dave had a cunning plan.

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Sgurr Alasdair to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich: the secret of Collie’s Ledge

Sgurr Alasdair to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich: the secret of Collie’s Ledge

In last week’s post, I explained how we had hired a mountain guide to do Skye’s infamous Cuillin traverse, over 11 Munros with many technical sections. I had injured my knee backpacking the previous week, but I was determined to give it a try. Would I cope?

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The Cuillin Traverse – to do or not to do?

The Cuillin Traverse – to do or not to do?

We’d hired a mountain guide to do the Cuillin traverse, a 12km ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, which takes in 11 Munros and many subsidiary peaks. But with injuries in both legs and a knee that couldn’t bend more than 90 degrees it seemed inconceivable for me.

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