Scottish Highland High Route

Overview

This is not a waymarked trail, and that is the point. The Highland High Route is a self-devised 160-kilometre traverse from Aviemore to Torridon that stays high wherever Scotland allows: across the sub-arctic gravel of the Cairngorm plateau, over Creag Meagaidh's cliff-rimmed tableland, through the ancient pines of Glen Affric, along the Five Sisters of Kintail, and finally onto the 1,000-metre quartzite and sandstone ramparts of Liathach and Beinn Eighe above Torridon. For a fortnight you navigate ridge to ridge by map and compass, sleeping in a mix of wild camps and bothies, and when the cloud is down - it often is - every summit is an act of faith in your bearing. June to September is the window, but the true adversaries are Scottish: midges that make June to August evenings unbearable without a head net, spate rivers after rain, and multi-day blows that force valley detours, so build in two spare days. Resupply at Fort Augustus or Shiel Bridge; otherwise you carry everything. The whole traverse costs perhaps £600 including trains and food, which may be British adventure's best value - but the navigation and commitment are a full grade beyond any waymarked national trail.

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Prefilled for 1 June 2027 — the next best-season window. Search on partner sites — opens in a new tab.