#atlanticnorthwest

Immediately after returning from the Arctic I unpacked and repacked and after dropping Lauren off at the airport started driving north for the Highlands of Scotland. By driving back and forth repeatedly across the country, dodging the rain, we managed to manufacture an Indian summer of sorts!

Living the Atlantic Northwest Dream!

Road Tripping the Atlantic Northwest!

Despite wanting to head south of the border to the Lake District, the weather disagreed so we headed instead to the far northern tip of Scotland. Driving down narrow roads overgrown with grass through the flow country, the most extensive blanket bog in Europe, and through the complex post-glacial knock and lochan landscape of the west, we found the beauty and remote rock climbing that this sub-Arctic region deserves. We stayed in tents and in bothys, abandoned but well-maintained buildings left open for any passing walker or climber to use.

Some of the climbing is a little bit esoteric (i.e. loose, worrying and rarely climbed) but much is world-class solid gneiss and granite which in any other part of the UK would be swarming with climbers every day of the week. Some crags lie next to beautiful sandy beaches, others just a couple of minutes from the road, while many are several hours walk or cycle into the backs of remote glens. This region contains some of the best climbing in the country, and lies so far north that the nights are just a few hours long, allowing you to climb way into the late evening. It also lies so far north that you are very unlikely to meet another climber.

Scottish Backcountry Skiing