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There is a decent sized car park by a forestry plantation
on the west side of the A855 road a few miles north
of Portree. Its situated about 450m after the end of
Loch Leathan and just after the road to the power station.
An informative information board by the car park shows
a map and local information.
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The Storr & Loch Fada
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Forestry Footpath
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From the car park a path leads out of the top end near
the information board, go through the gate here and
follow the obvious path into the forest. This first
section is often busy and don't be surprised to find
literally coach loads of people walking through the
forest path. The path climbs, steep in places, through
the forest and every so often coming to small openings
where if you look behind the views start to open up
as you gain height and the sea and the mainland come
into view. The footpath through the forest was rebuilt
recently by the Skye and Lochalsh Footpath Trust and
is now in a much better and longer lasting state.
At the end of the forest itself there is a fence with
a gate. At this point you can now look up to the huge
cliffs of the Storr itself and will also begin to see
the many rock pinnacles of the Sanctuary and most of
all the Old Man of Storr. Go through the gate and still
follow the obvious path now heading steep up towards
the Old Man of Storr. The path eventually snakes off
to the left before steadily climbing to the foot of
the Old Man of Storr.
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The Sanctuary
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The Storr
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From the foot of the Old Man of Storr you can now gaze
up to the Storr and its huge cliffs or look down into
the Sanctuary with its many rock falls and sculptured
rock formations. It is fascinating also to step back
from the Old Man of Storr and watch others standing
underneath it being dwarfed by its giant presence. If
you get to the foot of the Old Man you can if your careful
in good weather walk all the way around its base, on
the northern side of its base you can sit and admire
The Needle.
The Needle is from this viewpoint a huge cone shaped
rock that comes to an almost perfect point at the top.
However to continue on our walk to The Storr descend
the from the Old Man of Storr from its south side following
your steps back a few hundred metres and then head down
and behind the Old Man of Storr into a valley of rockfall
boulders. A sign here warns you to go no further as
the small valley obviously suffers from falling rocks
from time to time. Follow the path over the boulders
and then up until you are stood next to The Needle.
You will see from here that The Needle takes on a whole
new shape and is actually a kind of long wedge of rock
with a few holes in it, the view from this angle gives
it its other name of The Cathedral.
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The Old Man of Storr
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The Needle
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The eastern side of the Trotternish Ridge consists
of huge volcanic buttresses and basalt cliffs that drop
dramatically like a huge step towards the sea and where
this effect is at its most powerful it creates a landscape
of beautiful and unique rock pinnacles. The geology
of the Trotternish Ridge is absolutely fascinating.
The dramatic landscapes seen today on its eastern side
are created by the longest and most spectacular landslip
in Britain. The landslip is caused by lava flows from
the Paleogene Age, between the age of the dinosaurs
and the last Ice Age, falling away from the weaker Jurassic
sediments beneath.
The landslip effect has left us with unique landscapes
like the Sanctuary and the Quirang that contain extraordinary
rock formations and pinnacles including The Old Man
of Storr which is believed to be the remains of an ancient
volcanic plug. The rocks we see today are a result of
these rocks then being eroded by the weather. The ridge
is still slowly slipping towards the sea and down on
the beaches below the power station you can take a walk
down a steep cliff path to find pebble beaches teaming
with fossils that have fallen from the basalt sea cliffs.
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The Needle & Old Man
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Trotternish Ridge
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The footpath now heads north and uphill away from The
Needle. You will no doubt by now have seen numerous
rabbits, I saw more rabbits in this place than I have
ever seen anywhere in my life, they seem to thrive on
the weak soils and grassy banks. After climbing uphill
on the footpath you'll eventually come to a slight col
where you need to cross the barbed wire fence with a
stile in it. After the stile follow the path round to
the left, the path seems to fade for a while but it
then obvious again after the small scree on the left.
Heading north west now you follow the footpath as it
heads north and seemingly away from The Storr towards
its neighbour Carn Liath. The footpath is clear and
crosses a few streams, to your left you'll have the
cliffs of The Storr's north ridge and to your right
you'll be looking over Coire Scamadal and Loch Scamadal
to the Sound of Raasay. The path will start to head
slightly uphill towards Carn Liath but before it does
so simply make your way left up hill to the top of the
ridge and then once on top of the grassy ridge simply
head south for a good kilometre along the north ridge
to the summit of The Storr.
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The Storr Summit
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Behind The Storr
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The Storr at 719m above sea level is the highest point
of the Trotternish Ridge. At the summit there is a stone
cairn and a stone trig point pillar. From here the views
on a fine day are amazing with 360 degree panoramic
views of Skye all the way to the Outer Hebrides and
the Scottish West Coast. Both the Red and Black Cuillin
Mountains seem so close. You should now also be able
to see the contrasting east side of the Trotternish
Ridge with its rounded grassy heather moorlands. You
can also go to the edge of the Storr cliffs and look
down into The Sanctuary although take care as the drops
are not forgiving.
From the summit of The Storr you must now head in a
south west direction for a few hundred metres going
round the tops of the dangerous gullies on the left
before heading down the grassy south side of the mountain
until the slope eases off and a stream leads down into
an obvious low point on the cliffs at Bealach Beag where
an obvious but steep and rough path follows the stream
down to lower ground and then heads over boggy land
back to the road. At the road turn left and after 450
metres you'll be back at the car park.
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Duration
: 4.5 Hrs
