Suilven from Loch Drium Suardalain

Assynt may be one of the least densely populated areas in the whole of Europe, but it is home to some of Scotland’s most breathtaking mountains instead. Towering above Glen Canisp is the isolated and iconic Suilven, at 2,398 feet (731 m). The ‘crown jewel’ of Assynt requires a painfully steep 1,600-foot (500 m) ascent, but it’s all worth it once you step onto the ridge and are rewarded with panoramic views across a stunning lochan speckled landscape and out to the sea. Back in the valley, the only sign of the human hand in the landscape is the snug and inviting Suileag bothy. By bothy standards, this is very spick and span, with a fireplace and two separate bedrooms sleeping up to eight people each. It’d be a cosy haven on a winter’s day, when you could light a fire and warm up by the flames – a kind soul had even left some candles and an inch or two of whisky. We arrived on a hot early June day but found it was pleasingly cool and shady inside. Best of all, it kept the cloud of angry midges that had been following in our wake all day firmly outside.

The first day of the Sutherland Trail started after a hitchhike from Inchnadamph to Lochinver. A lovely couple from the Netherlands stopped to pick us up in their camper van with two Australian Labradoodles to keep us company in the back! We called in at the bothy on the way to our camp spot on Suilven and it was empty. We were tempted to stay but it would have made the next day longer, so we resisted! The ascent of Suilven was very steep but walking poles offered great assistance. The path was eroded in parts but there has clearly been a lot of hard work put into creating and maintaining these paths – in recent years the John Muir Trust led a major fundraising effort that brought £200,000 of footpath investment to this area and it shows. We wild camped at the col, making sure we followed the #LeaveNoTrace principles.