Eat Sleep Wild
Routes Recipes and Wild Experiences from the West Coast of Scotland
This is less of a trip report and more of a feature on one of my favourite local hills, Breabag, just south of Ben More Assynt. An ascent of Breabag is a shortish 11km round trip from the Bone Caves car park (NC2529 1788). These caves are worth a visit in themselves – natural limestone …
We had three dog-free days during a spell of some windy but reasonably good weather. The original plan was a circuit via Foinaven. But as this was our first backpacking trip of the year and we didn’t fancy negotiating the windy exposed ridges of Foinaven with laden bags and rusty legs, we crafted this journey …
Quinag’s dramatic western face is one of those hallmark views as you drive west from Lochinver. Its sheer, seemingly unscalable slopes make it look daunting for casual walkers, which explains why most ascents start from the east. I’ve been curious about alternative approaches and stumbled across a route in the Cicerone guide to Scotland’s Far …
The Fannichs are a group of remote mountains in the northwest of Scotland near Ullapool. There are nine Munros in the Fannichs, and many require a rather long (and boggy) walk in. But as this day proved, it’s totally worth it. It helped I had spectacular weather: cloud inversions, a calm breeze, balmy weather for …
Field notes from a hike up spectacular Arkle in Sutherland. With its fascinating geology and exciting ridge scramble, this is easily one of my favourite hills in Northwest Scotland! FYI: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I might earn a small commission. Thanks for supporting the …
One Sunday last November 2022 we decided to seek out the remains of the American B29 Super Fortress that crashed near Strachur on 17th January 1949, just after the end of World War II. I’m not great on my history, so part of this undertaking was a learning exercise. I was born in 1979 and …
The landscape around Ben More Assynt is a great area to explore on foot as there are numerous options all around depending on the weather and what you’re in the mood for. This point to point journey took us on a section of the Cape Wrath Trail from Inchnadamph to Glen Oykel with a diversion …
Assynt is one of my favourite places in Scotland for a backpacking trip. With few people and even fewer roads, it doesn’t take long to journey on foot into some wonderfully remote and wild places. I’m grateful to live here with a lifetime ahead of me to explore Assynt on foot. This adventure took us …
Mark Reid runs Team Walking, a hill skills and outdoor adventure company based in Yorkshire. Having previously enjoyed his Advanced Navigation Course and NNAS Gold Award earlier in the year, I was excited to book myself and my friend, Simone, onto his Yorkshire Dales Geography Field Day for a more nerdy day out in the …
Highlights from a week in the northwest highlands…here’s my day-by-day notes from the trip where we took in some iconic hills including Suilven, Stac Pollaich, and Ben Nevis. To quote Mark, “the whole trip was a huge success – a good thing came out of every hill we climbed” – in fact a good thing …
Our Ford Transit Connect campervan conversion project is far from finished. So behold the concept of Minimum Viable Camper (MVC*), our version of the camper with just enough features to be usable for a night out. Frankly, I could sleep in anything, but as our overnight was destined to be in winter, there were a …
Something I love about baking bread is the progressive sharing of knowledge that’s required to make a successful loaf. We all start somewhere, and I can name some key people who’ve been pivotal to my bread baking journey. Some of these people are famous personalities (Jim Lahey, Dan Lepard) but most of these people are …
Eat Sleep Wild has always been about adventures and wild places, with great food along the way. In this time when such adventures are a no-no, I’m determined to at least keep the spirit of adventure alive, albeit on a much more local level. And so I’ve launched a new venture, Eat Sleep Wild @ …
A few highlights from a February walk around Pen Cerrig-calch and Table Mountain inspired by the Cicerone guide’s Walking on the Brecon Beacons book (Walk 40). A little outing for some micro-navigation practice and a bit of rock study turned quickly into a day of mostly Type II fun. Cold weather and heavy wind made …
This trip report includes notes and photos from a winter ascent of Bac an Eich (849m), a Corbett above Strathconon in the Scottish Highlands. For a detailed route description, see the Walkhighlands website. I’ve come to Scotland for a January escape. Scotland may not the most obvious place for a winter holiday – the daylight …
I’ve been thinking about the outdoors and mental health lately. You’ve probably already heard that spending time in nature can help with mental health problems including anxiety and depression. In Scotland GPs have even started prescribing “nature prescriptions” to people suffering from a range of conditions, including mental illness. It makes sense – I’m sure we all have …
