HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS
Cape Wrath wrings poetry from the landscape
at the extreme northwesterly point of the
British mainland – with no land beyond until
the Arctic. The Orkneys play peekaboo through
the cloud to the northeast, and the view to the
west gives glimpses of the Outer Hebrides.
The peninsula holds a special place in the
hearts of those who make the long, arduous
journey. In summer, birdwatchers eye colonies
of puffins nesting in the cliffs, and walkers
endure the final stages of the Cape Wrath
Trail, an unofficial long-distance walk over
extreme terrain from Fort William. For many
the draw is the lighthouse, the remotest in
Britain, built in 1828 atop pink-hued cliffs
by master architect Robert Stevenson. It’s a
memorable symbol of humanity’s desire and
ability to tame the world’s wildest places.
F Getting to Cape Wrath is a challenge. There
is only one road, separated from the main road
network by the Kyle of Durness. Take the
passenger ferry, then the minibus to complete
the eleven-mile journey (visitcapewrath.com).HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS
The Knoydart Peninsula (pictured opposite,
centre) is known as Britain’s last great
wilderness, and the world feels more alive
here, wild and vast. It is pristine, since there
is no direct road; visitors rely on the ferry from
Mallaig, or a 16-mile hike over rarely visited
moorland. Once you’re there, Knoydart
reveals itself slowly, from the crest of
a quartz-topped munro, from horseback
or mountain bike, or while you’re waist-deep
in the Inverie River angling for trout. There
are catches: the journey, and the fierce
midges. But it becomes intimate quickly,
as if each footstep to a summit or paddle
to the shore is already a prized memory.
F More information: visitknoydart.co.uk. Ferries
run three to four times daily from Mallaig (the
journey is 30 minutes; westernislescruises.co.uk).Escape
civilisation
Truly getting away from it
all may never have seemed
harder, yet there are places
in the UK that modern life
has barely touched
PHOTOGRAPHS: THE LANDMARK TRUST, FOREST HOLIDAYS, CRAIG EASTON, JUSTIN FOULKES