Jagged peaks, gorgeous lochs and wonderful wildlife
Of all the Great Scottish Journeys I have had the pleasure to explore and photograph over the past few years, the 85 miles between the village of Invergarry and the staggering beauty of The Storr, on the Isle of Skye, is perhaps my favourite.
The trip really does encapsulate everything an excursion through this glorious country of ours has to offer – jagged peaks, gorgeous lochs, intriguing history, fascinating buildings and wonderful wildlife.
This trip along the A87 and then the A855 may well take several hours due to the exceptional scenery around almost every corner. And therein lies the point of any Great Scottish Journey – it’s to encourage the traveller to take time to stop, look, be inspired and truly appreciate what we are incredibly fortunate to have.
The A87 rises for several miles from the River Garry before an exceptional view opens out across Loch Garry towards the muscular mountains of the West Highlands.
It is onwards through a relatively wild and open landscape, past Loch Loyne and Loch Cluanie (the Cluanie Inn is a great spot for a pit stop).
The topography then rises skywards where the best views are of the 12-mile-long Cluanie Ridge and the mighty peaks of Kintail. Eilean Donan Castle, sitting out on Loch Duich, needs no introduction but the best is yet to come. As the route hits Balmacara, the Skye Bridge comes into view, as do Skye’s Red Cuillin mountains. Once on the Misty Isle, the A87 twists its way through an exceptional landscape, one dominated by the formidable contours of the Black Cuillin, breathtaking in its savage beauty.
After Portree, the A855 runs alongside the Trotternish Ridge to reach the astonishing landscape of The Storr. For the intrepid, a 45-minute climb culminates beneath the Old Man of Storr, one of the finest views in Scotland and the end of this particular Great Scottish Journey.