The Old Man of Storr and Coire Faoin.

Start. Old Man of Storr car park.

Route. Old Man of Storr car park - The Old Man of Storr - Needle Rock - Storr Viewpoint - Needle Rock - The Old Man of Storr - The Sanctuary - Coire Faoin - Loch Parishale - Old man of Storr car park.

Notes. There was four of us in the team this week, my daughter and her partner have joined us, so the week will be spent introducing them to the wonders of Skye. First a landscape that leaves you breathless, it steals your breath away as you trek uphill depositing you in a magical realm, a place of Hobbits and Orcs where fingers of rock reach for the sky, a fairy tale landscape, or it would be if it wasn't for its popularity. So come along explore with us just ignore all the people on this island of many delights.

The Old Man of Storr is probably the most famous landmark on Skye, and definitely the busiest attraction. The Old Man is an 180ft high pinnacle of basalt rock which is all that remains of a 2,800-million-year-old volcanic plug. The Trotternish Ridge was created around 60million years ago by a massive landslip. Hot volcanic lava flowed onto the weaker sedimentary Jurassic rock beneath causing the latter to collapse and form the undulating cliff faces of the eastern coastline of Trotternish.

From the car park the route was obvious, after passing through a metal deer gate we just followed the well trod path up the hill, first through a felled forest, left to re-generate naturally, then out onto the open fell side under the magnificent rock architecture of The Storr. The path guided us and many other people under the massive pinnacle of The Old Man of Storr followed by Needle Rock, we continued, massive cliffs rising to our left until reaching The Old Man of Storr View Point.

Needless to say the view point was busy, but I have a theory, I’ve said it many times, “you don’t have to go very far from the honey pots to find solitude”. Up here amongst the many day trippers and keen walkers, dwarfed by the towering cliffs and pinnacles of The Storr we did just that. Re-tracing our steps to Needle Rock we then turned right, picked our way through a field of large boulders to find ourselves alone in Coire Faoin.

Just the four of us, the whispering mountain wind and echoes of unseen mountain birds reverberating around the corrie walls, an eerie place but stunningly beautiful. Faint paths guided us through the craggy landscape, eventually depositing us back amidst the people on the main trod. We descended with the crowds soon reaching a path junction, we turned right, this path was much quieter, it looped round passing tiny Loch Parishale before depositing us at the deer gate we passed through at the start of this spectacular short outing.

view route map.

home.

The impressive cliffs of The Storr, can you pick out The Old Man of Storr, no neither can I, but its there.

Hazy views to the Isle of Raasay.

Looking to Loch Leathan and Loch Fada collectively known as The Storr Lochs.

The Old Man of Storr a 180ft fang of basalt rock reaching skyward.

Kirsten and Sue soak up views to the Old Man of Storr.

Views across the Sound of Raasay taking in the islands of Rona and Raasay with the blue/gray mountains of Wester Ross melting into the horizon.

Approaching Needle Rock.

Views into Coire Faoin across the Sanctuary.

Eerie shaped rock pinnacles guard the Sanctuary.

Half the team have ascended to the base of the Old Man of Storr.

Striding out into the depths of the Sanctuary.

Looking back at teeth of rock piercing the sky.

Adam, Kirsten and Sue stop to drink in the view in the shot above.

At the end of the Sanctuary, about to descend through that breach in the cliffs, looking to Loch Leathan and western gentle side of Fiurnean and Craig Ulatota, on the east side giant cliffs plunge into the Sound of Raasay.

Looking over the once thriving township of Toterom, cleared around 1832 to make way for sheep, on the far horizon Beinn Mheadhonach.

Loch Parishale backed by the extraordinary landscape of The Storr.

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