The Cape Wrath Trail is a serious long distance walk in the back-country starting in Fort William and finishing at Cape Wrath - the very most north-westerly tip of the UK.
Over the last few years in good the good company of several friends, Ive walked from the Lime Tree in Fort William to Kylesku in Sutherland. This has taken 13 days so far. In all the route should take 21 days.
Days 10 - 13
From the Ullapool road, Richard, Meg and I headed towards the Oykel Bridge Hotel 18 miles distant. The walk up to another pass is helped by Scottish Water new Hydro Scheme who have put good paths in everywhere. The guide 'Cape Wrath Trail' published by Cicerone really lost the plot on this section - the excuse being bad visibility - with the authors complaining about poor quality paths and a massive peat bog to cross. Well the path is good and a old drove trail marked by a cairn keeps you out of the Bog!
After the pass you enter a broad Strath in real wild country to discover amazing peat profiles showing excellent evidence of the post glacial Caledonian Forest.
The real find of the day is discovering the gorge at the head of the Valley which is just Paradise.
The gorge has very steep sides and the river deep pools and large waterfalls protecting the gorge bottom from Deer and Sheep - the result a paradise of different types of natural vegetation - truly the most magnificent gorge Ive seen in Scotland.
Over the watershed by a small Loch the Bothy at 
Knockdamph is in excellent condition. Ensconced was two American 'hard core' walkers researching the addition of the CWT in the Appalachian Trail - good for business!!! 
Knockdamph is in excellent condition. Ensconced was two American 'hard core' walkers researching the addition of the CWT in the Appalachian Trail - good for business!!! Bad estate signage will result in a letter to the Local Access Forum. I thought landowners knew by now that such signs are unacceptable!
Great Hotel at Oykel Bridge - full of Posh 'Marvelous' fisher folk!
Day 2
Follow the beautiful bountiful River Oykel to a handy open Fishing Hut for some distance before turning into forestry to Loch. sat on the Vesty Bench to nosh the Lunch and dreamed in vain of a Toon win!!. Up the Glen to ascend a high pass next to Conival. Then down to Inchnadamph Hotel
Geology galore Cambrian quartz to Limestone in a few short miles! Another 18 mile day.
Day 3
Another pass over to Kylesku. The guide is completely wrong about the route here. The obvious route to the pass is great and we saw a Golden Eagle to make it better. However from the pass the route is just naff. 
In the book they foreshorten the journey by dragging you up and down all over the Corrie only to bring you out for a 5 mile w
alk on a road. If the road is your objective from the Coll do another 200m up hill the crest the ridge to the road and save a couple of hours. If your wanting to be true to the ethos of the CWT and want excellent back country landscape the descent all the way to the valley floor at the head of the Fjord below the UK's highest waterfall and make your way to Kylesku that way. I really think the authors of the guide book have lost it by now - the guide needs a rewrite to bring it up to date and get these mistakes sorted!
In the book they foreshorten the journey by dragging you up and down all over the Corrie only to bring you out for a 5 mile w
alk on a road. If the road is your objective from the Coll do another 200m up hill the crest the ridge to the road and save a couple of hours. If your wanting to be true to the ethos of the CWT and want excellent back country landscape the descent all the way to the valley floor at the head of the Fjord below the UK's highest waterfall and make your way to Kylesku that way. I really think the authors of the guide book have lost it by now - the guide needs a rewrite to bring it up to date and get these mistakes sorted!
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