The Empty Quarter

A hiking holiday in Scotland is an experience hard to beat. Empty of people maybe, but not of hillwalking interest. This is the very distinctive wilderness of Assynt & NW Sutherland, where the superlatives really start to flow – ‘island mountains’ rising abruptly from a vast loch-pitted tableland. The sense of space is superb. These are the most eye-catching of mountains with fantastic walking.

HIGHLIGHTS of your hiking holiday in Scotland

• Starting and finishing at Fraoch Lodge to break up the travel
• Accommodation throughout the walk in a cosy, cottage in the Assynt area
• Full board included throughout your trip
• 5 days guiding
• Transport included by 9 seater Caravelle
• Transfers from Aviemore station and Inverness airport included

ROUTES

• Suilven (which features in the full length movie “Edie”)
• Stac Pollaidh
• Ben Mor Coigach
• Cul Mor
• Quinag

Hiking holiday in Scotland (Assynt, the Highlands of Scotland)

Arrive: Fraoch Lodge on day of arrival, preferably before 7pm so that you have time to settle in and meet the rest of the group before dinner.

Day 1: We head Northwest for the dramatic looking peak of Quinag. The array of rocky features belies a relatively easy but exhilarating tramp in typical Assynt splendour. We return from the mountain to our accommodation nearby.

Route info: distance – 14km / 8.75 miles; walking time, excluding breaks – 7.5 – 8.5 hours; ascent – 1130m
NB stats shown are for the whole horseshoe walk including all 3 Corbetts of Quinag. We may well be doing a shorter version of this route.

Day 2: We climb Cul Mor. Standing head and shoulders above its neighbours it’s a formidable peak. From its plinth, its craggy south, west and northern slopes sweep up at great angles to its summit plateau. Fortress like, it dominates the view across the loch strewn wilderness to the Atlantic beyond.

Route info: distance – 13.5km / 8.5 miles; walking time, excluding breaks – 4 – 5.5 hours; ascent – 808m

Day 3: With Ben Mor Coigach you couldn’t ask for more from a hill. It has complex landforms, a nice ridge, and several tops. The biggest advantage of BMC is that you can see Suilven, Stac Pollaidh, Cul Mor and Beg all in one view from here, with the Summer Isles and An Teallach, Beinn Dearg and Fannichs, and Western Isles filling the remaining quarters.

Route info: distance – 10.5km / 6.5 miles; walking time, excluding breaks – 5 – 7 hours; ascent – 870m

Day 4: From breakfast onwards this is a day off. It’s a chance to explore Ullapool a little more, or go for a gentle walk along the shore. The day is rounded of with us all going out to dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 5: Suilven – the area’s most depicted mountain – its western prow stands defiant ahead of this fin of a mountain. The approach is a wonderful gander leading to an enthralling ascent of this incredible peak.

Route info: distance – 19.5km / 12.25 miles; walking time, excluding breaks – 7 – 9 hours; ascent – 834m

Day 6: We head up to Stac Pollaidh before heading back to Fraoch Lodge. This modest but striking mountain gives a superb viewpoint to view the week’s routes.

Route info: distance – 4.5km / 2.75 miles; walking time, excluding breaks – 2 – 4 hours; ascent – 510m

Depart: morning after walking finishes.

OUR GREEN POLICIES

We have achieved Gold Star Awards from the world’s most highly respected green accreditation scheme, Green Tourism, and were awarded Highly Commended in their Green Star Awards 2013 for both Scot Mountain Holidays and Fraoch Lodge. We offer a Green Travel Discount of £15 to any guests who travel to us by public transport. Our primary aim is to minimise the carbon footprint of our holidays, and to this end we donate 1% of the price of our tours to the RSPB’s Abernethy Reforestation project.

It is a holistic approach we have to the care of the environment. Andy your adventure guide has a passion for the natural world – whether it’s the flora, fauna or fungi. He has a background in geology and a lifelong interest in natural history, as well as being a keen gardener.  He knows a Golden Plover from a Dotterel, a Green Shank and a Dunlin. He also makes no apologies to being very excitable upon spying a Golden Eagle!

For further information, please don’t hesitate to check out our Environmental Responsibility page, or contact us directly at info@scotmountainholidays.com.