Three days, roughly 50 kilometres straight across the Highland wilderness. Past imposing mountains, over rocky passes, to glorious lochs and lakes. This is the Wilderness Walk between Ullapool and Poolewe.
It’s not an easy walk. You don’t have to climb the whole of the rugged, rocky An Teallach massif, but there’s still a fair amount of ascent involved. Where a path exists at all, it’s usually muddy or stony underfoot. And of course, you’re entirely at the mercy of the weather and the Scottish midges out there. Fitness, experience, good footwear, enough food and water, and an Ordnance Survey map are all essential.
But the impressive mountain ridges and the untouched lochs and rivers make the Wilderness Walk one of the finest hikes I’ve ever done.
One note: this route description shouldn’t be taken as an exact template to follow. Our own starting point, for instance, was Altnaharrie, where the ferry used to land – but the Ullapool-to-Altnaharrie crossing no longer seems to exist. You can, however, set off from Dundonnell House instead.
If you’d just like a taste of the Wilderness Walk, I’d recommend the circular route to the Shenavall bothy. I didn’t walk the whole thing myself (we obviously didn’t turn back!), but it covers a good half of it – around 20 kilometres.
Here’s a short account of how we made our way to Poolewe. You can get a good overview of the area, with paths marked, here.
Day one
We started in Ullapool, on Scotland’s west coast, right in the middle of the Highlands. As mentioned, we took the ferry across Loch Broom to Altnaharrie back then. Once on the other side, the path climbed steeply straightaway. At the main track above, we kept left, continuing straight on all the way to Dundonnell House.
Past Dundonnell, at the Corrie Hallie car park, we turned right onto the walking path through Gleann Chaorachain. We had to keep our wits about us here: at the level of Loch Coire Chaorachain, our path branched off to the right. That way, we skirted around the An Teallach massif on the south-eastern route, until we reached the Shenavall bothy by Loch na Sealga, our quarters for the night. The bothy is free and open to any walker.
I was rewarded that evening with a stunning sunset – see the photo – and there were even deer visible at first. But that’s exactly when my film ran out (this was the early ’90s!). By the time I’d changed the roll, the deer had unfortunately moved on.
Day two
From the bothy we headed off cross-country, fording two rivers, along Gleann na Muice. We had to be careful here not to miss the turn-off to the right into Gleann na Muice Beag. Along this stretch we gained around 400 metres of height in one go. At the top: breathtaking scenery and views. We continued on past Clach na Frithealaidh, skirting Lochan Feith Mhic’ Illean on the right, then down to Fionn Loch and Dubh Loch – the two large lochs are separated only by a narrow footpath. We crossed the causeway and walked on a stretch further along the south shore of Loch Dubh.
Finally, we pitched our tent right on the shingle beach. Wonderful nature, silence, the gentle lapping of water. Fantastic!
Day three
An almost relaxed stroll – if it hadn’t been for the deep mud holes. I no longer remember the exact route, to be honest, but we walked on paths running roughly parallel to the mountain massif until we reached the woods near Kernsary. From there, proper paths already led on to Poolewe – for instance, along the River Ewe.
Scenery-wise, this day was more shaped by woodland and heather.
Once in Poolewe, the first thing we did was wash up… which was much needed, thanks to the muddy paths at the end.