A Slow Hike through the Quiraing.

Start. Quiraing car park.

Route. Quiraing car park - The Prison - The Needle - Fir Bhreugach - Sron Vourlinn - Fir Bhreugach - The Needle - The Prison - Quiraing car park.

Notes. Welcome to another breathtaking landscape on the Trotternish Ridge, The Quiraing (pillared enclosure), born out of the same turmoil as The Storr and just as hauntingly spectacular. Renowned for it’s dramatic cliffs, stunning rock formations. Tolkienesque in appearance with teeth of rock gnawing at the sky, but today the sky was gnawing back. So come take a wander with us through a landscape that could have come straight out of the pages of Lord of the Rings.

Just to make things easier a large pay and display car park welcomes visitors, just above a breech in the cliffs at the 850ft contour on the Staffin to Uig fell road. The place was busy but most stop only to soak up the view, which is quite spellbinding. We trotted off along the obvious path vanishing under grey cliffs and swirling cloud. There’s an easy scramble a short way along the path, it descends into a burn then up the other side, most day trippers turn back at this point missing the really good bits.

Along the path we wandered sheer cliffs to our left, stunning views through windows in the cloud our right, behind Cnoc a Mheirlich we walked followed by The Prison, the wonderful rock architecture just draws you in, the younger half of the team were having a wonderful time scrambling up the many impressive rock formations. Behind The Prison sheer cliffs terminated at The Needle, passed teeth of rock we walked, every step of the way something stopped us in our tracks. Eventually we reached a path ascending a grassy rake, this we climbed to reach Fir Bhreugach, a stile allowed access to the slopes beyond.

We continued climbing to what looked like the summit of Sron Vourlinn, where we stopped for lunch. We now had a problem, in the passed we have always climbed to the summit of Meall na Suiramach, the views to the west over Loch Snizort are mind blowing, but the path was closed, under repair. We opted to re-trace our steps and I was glad we did because the views and scenery look just as spectacular if not more so heading back over familiar ground.

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Above the Staffin to Uig fell road looking to Loch Leum na Luirginn with cloud caressing the the stunning scenery of Trotternish.

Viewing the cliffs and steep grassy slopes of Cleat.

Formidable cliffs and stunning scenery of the Trotternish Ridge.

Sue soaks up the views, Loch Leum na Luirginn and Loch Cleat with Cleat under cloud and Dun Dubh to the right.

Adam, Kirsten and Sue ascend into the swirling mists of The Quiraing.

Sue strides out under the cliffs of Maoladh Mor on her way passed Cnoc a Mheirlich.

Cnoc a Mheirlich with Dun Dubh rising above the cloud behind.

The massive cliffs of Creag Loisgte, to the right The Prison.

The Trotternish Ridge shrouded in mystery and low cloud.

One for the album, mother and daughter under the massive cliffs of Creag Loisgte.

Another for the family album, Adam and Kirsten.

The impressive cliffs and rock architecture of The Quiraing.

Ascending towards The Needle with the cliffs of Creag Loisgte to the left.

Stunning conditions over The Quiraing.

Another for the Album.

The trail stretches out towards this wall of rock, but there is a way up.

Ascending the grassy rake mentioned in the text above, this allowed us to access a path above the cliffs of Sron Vourlinn behind.

The ragged heights of Sron Vourlinn with views back over The Quiraing.

Massive cliffs drop in from the slopes of Meall na Suiramach.

Kissed by cloud Sgurr Mor.

Awe-inspiring the huge eerie landscape of The Quiraing.

Cloud drifts across the cliffs of Sron Vourlinn.

Seen from near The Prison, Cleat with Dun Dubh to the right, on the far horizon melting into the haze Beinn Edra.

Pinnacles in a fragile landscape, Dun Dubh and Druim an Ruma.

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