Hiking the Storr

The Old Man of Storr is one of the must-do hikes for any traveller exploring the Isle of Skye in the scottish Highlands. It’s one of the most well known and well worn walking paths, and for good reason! It's a medium intensity hike, with lots of ascending, so good shoes (and healthy knees) are a must. In our first Scotland-related post, we’re taking you through a quick guide for hiking to the Old Man of Storr.

You can see the Old Man of Storr, hiding just under the clouds.

From Portree, one of the main towns on Skye, head north on A855. You’ll see the Old Man and the Trotternish ridge long before you get to the car park. The car park is essentially a gravel pit off the side of the road with a billboard and a map. You can’t really miss it, it’s on the left where the road curves toward the left in front of the Old Man of Storr.

The trail is not marked by signs, but the way is clear... for the most part. Due to the popularity of the Storr, there are a number of smaller side trails that snake away from the main trail and criss-cross the cliffside. Stick to the largest, main trail to get to the Old Man.

At some point, the trail dips down into a valley of sorts, and you have to cross another gate. Congratulations -- you’ve reached what’s called the Sanctuary. Many hikers photograph the Old Man of Storr from this area at its foot, and wander around the grassy mounds and otherworldly looking rock pinnacles. You can stop here, but you can also keep going for an even better view of the Old Man!

So let’s keep going up! It’s another short walk up what feels like natural stairs with all the prismatic shaped stones littering the trail. At a certain point, the trail levels off a bit and you pass a large (approx 6’x4’) rectangular, vaguely convex stone embedded in the ground. You may or may not feel a strong impulse to sit in it like it’s a sofa. It’s actually quite comfortable. Plus you can lie back and it conveniently faces the Old Man so you get a great view. The picture below was taken from this reclined position. Also, make sure to take in the view of the bay behind you from up here, it’s breathtaking!

You likely don’t want to follow the trail that lead up to the base of the Old Man, unless you’re prepared for some scrambling and some bouldering. You’ll reach a point in your climb that is near vertical gravel and stone and have to turn back. Yes, that is what I did, and yes, I had to turn back. How could you tell? If you do choose to keep going up this way, be extremely careful: the ground is loose and prone to landslides. You can see in the picture from behind the stone spires a huge mass of gravel you definitely don’t want to be scrambling up.

The Old Man of Storr is massive! Sidenote, from where I’m standing it’s not easy to get to the top. I headed back toward the right (my left in the picture) to join the trail that continues there.

Rather, you’ll want to veer right and head up the trail that sits between the Old Man of Storr and the stone pires to its right. This point will get you a great view of the Old Man and the Sound of Raasay glinting in the sun behind him.

If the hike to the Old Man wasn’t enough to quench your thirst for a brisk scottish walk, you can keep going! The trails behind the spires lead up and around to the highest point on the Trotternish ridge!

Here’s a great resource for hikes in Scotland. I read up on a few before leaving for the trip.

One final tip: go early. Go early. Go early, as early as you’re capable. We got there around 7:30 am and shared the trails we a handful of other hikers. On our way down it was already getting really busy. At any other time in the day, it is absolutely swarming with all manner of hikers and walkers and tourists. Trust me, this is the kind of natural phenomenon you want to have the freedom to experience in relative quiet and peace.

On our way down, the trails were starting to get busy. You can also get a sense of how high up we are and this was taken from the last third of the trail.

We hope, if ever you’re on the Isle of Skye, that you take the time to enjoy the Storr in all its splendour!

Gen