Adventures in Scotland

When people think about hiking in Scotland, Munros are often the first thing that come to mind. Scotland has 282 mountains over 3,000 feet, and climbing them all is a perfectly good reason to come here.

But it isn’t the only reason.

Some of our favourite walking holidays are built around exploring an area rather than working through a list of summits. And Assynt, in the far north-west of Scotland, is particularly well suited to this approach.

A different way to explore the Highlands – hiking in Scotland

Assynt has some of Scotland’s most recognisable mountains: Suilven, Stac Pollaidh, Quinag and Canisp are all distinctive landmarks. But you don’t have to climb every one of them to enjoy the landscape.

There are walks along the coast, around lochs and through glens, as well as routes that take you into the hills without necessarily requiring a summit. On a good day, the views can stretch from the mountains to the Atlantic and across to the islands.

And sometimes the weather dictates the walk.

That’s one of the advantages of being on a guided walking holiday rather than arriving with a fixed list of mountains to climb. If the cloud is down on the tops, there are plenty of other possibilities. If the forecast is looking good, we can choose something more ambitious. If the weather is particularly wild, a shorter walk followed by a good lunch can make much more sense than spending seven hours being battered on a mountain.

For us, the aim is to make the most of the landscape and the conditions rather than simply collecting summits.

Why Assynt works particularly well in autumn

Autumn is a lovely time to explore Assynt.

The summer crowds have gone, the heather and grasses begin to change colour, and the lower hills and glens take on a different character. The days are shorter, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the walking has to stop. It simply changes what makes a good day’s itinerary.

An autumn walking day might be a shorter hill walk followed by time on the coast, or a walk through one of the glens with time to stop and look at the landscape rather than rushing to reach a summit.

There is also something particularly appealing about Assynt when the weather is changeable. The mountains can disappear into cloud one minute and emerge dramatically the next. Light moves across the landscape, rainbows appear over the sea and, if you’re lucky, you can get those crisp, clear autumn days when the visibility seems to go on forever.

This is walking for people who enjoy being outside, rather than walking simply to reach a particular point on a map.

One base, lots of different walks

When we run a trip in Assynt, we structure the holiday around one base rather than moving accommodation every night.

This year, our base is in Reiff, on the coast near Achiltibuie. In previous years we’ve stayed in Achiltibuie itself and in Ullapool.

The particular location matters, but the most important thing for us is finding the right property for the group.

We’re a small company, and our groups are small too. That means we can choose accommodation that works for the particular trip rather than simply booking a block of rooms in a large hotel. We look for somewhere where the group can settle in, eat together and relax at the end of the day.

Once we’ve found the right base, we can build the walking programme around it.

That might mean heading in a different direction each day, depending on the weather and the interests and abilities of the group. We aren’t tied to a particular collection of walks simply because they happen to be close to a particular hotel.

It also means that guests can unpack once and settle in. There is something rather nice about coming back to the same place each evening, knowing where the kettle is and where you’re going to sit after dinner.

You don’t have to climb a Munro

There is a tendency to think that a Scottish walking holiday needs to involve big mountains and long days.

It certainly can.

But some of the best days we’ve had in the Highlands haven’t involved a Munro at all.

A good walk can be about discovering a remote beach, following a path beside a loch, finding an unexpected viewpoint or simply having time to stop and appreciate where you are.

Assynt is particularly good for this because the landscape is so varied. The mountains are spectacular, but so are the coastline, beaches, lochs, rivers and smaller hills. You can have a genuinely memorable day without ever needing to stand on a 3,000-foot summit.

And that flexibility becomes even more valuable in autumn, when daylight hours and weather conditions need to be taken into account.

Walking with a guide gives you more options

One of the things we enjoy about guiding in places such as Assynt is that we don’t have to follow the same itinerary every time.

We know the area and have a good selection of walks to draw on. We can look at the forecast, consider the conditions underfoot, think about what the group would enjoy and decide where to go each morning.

That might mean changing plans completely.

For us, that’s part of the point of a guided walking holiday. You’re not paying someone simply to show you the way to the top of a mountain. You’re getting local knowledge and the experience of choosing the right day in the right place.

And sometimes the right choice is a Munro.

Sometimes it’s a much smaller hill.

And sometimes it’s a coastal walk with a view of the mountains from below.

Exploring Assynt this autumn

If you’ve always thought of walking in Scotland in terms of Munro bagging, Assynt is a good place to try something different.

Come for the mountains, certainly. But don’t feel that you have to climb them all.

Come for the coastline, the big skies, the changing autumn colours and the chance to explore somewhere that feels genuinely wild. Come for good walking without the pressure of ticking something off a list.

And, if you’re travelling with us, we’ll find a base that works for the group and build the holiday from there.

Because for us, a walking holiday isn’t really about how many summits you climb.

It’s about having a good week in the Highlands.

Perfect autumn sunset scenery and light in Assynt, Scotland