THE DEVILS TRAIL, SCOTLANDS HARDEST TRAIL

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The Devil's Trail

The Devil's Trail is 666 miles, over 1000km of sustained Scottish mountain and coast walking, on beautiful paths and through remote wilderness areas.  It starts in Oban and finishes there and visits; Iona, Mull, Ardnamuchan,Loch Shiel, Knoydart, Skye, Harris, Lewis, Sutherland and on the way down; Fisherfield, Knlochewe, Torridon, Kintail, Glen Affric, Glen Garry, Loch Arkaig, Lairaig Leacach, Glen Coe, Glen Etive, Appin and the Isle of Lismore, before returning to Oban by Ferry. 

It uses the Iona Cape WrathTrail as the first part of the trail then continues down using most of the Cape Wrath trail until near Fort William. After which it goes down Glen Etive and then over to Lismore where a ferry to Oban takes you over the last sea crossing to the end of the trail.

It provides sustained and interesting walking away from roads (mostly) and is a logical route, put together here and tested by myself over the summer of 2023. I think it rivals many classic trails for beauty, variety of landscape and in its difficulty. On this trail you have significant periods where you see very few people and there are few walks which go through as many and as great a variety of wild places. It combines the great glen and moor walking from the Cape Wrath Trail with coastal paths and dramatic sea cliffs. It takes mostly traditional paths through the landscape and sometimes short pathless sections.

The Cape Wrath Trail was the benchmark of difficulty for generations. As outdoor equipment, clothing, route finding aids, knowledge and fitness has increased so its challenge has begun to appear less, though it is still a trail that will stretch even the most experienced walker. Longer trails in the British Isles have included; cross country traverses, which have included less interesting sections away from wilderness areas, or routes from North to South, which again include considerable compromises on terrain, requiring a lot of manoeuvring around urban areas and much road walking. 

It is possible to combine the West Highland Way with The Cape Wrath Way to create a longer walk, and this ensures a period of adjustment on the easier trail to Scottish conditions before restocking in Fort William and any remote walking is undertaken. The Cape Wrath Trail is so good it is worth reaching the tip of the country and coming straight back down, and it includes enough obvious variations to make that a tempting proposition.  However it looses some of its adventure when you are retracing your steps. 

The question is therefore is there a trail which can recreate the former challenge of the Cape Wrath Trail, to combine the grandeur and remoteness of the Cape Wrath Trail but be more demanding and include more variety of walking. If there is a criticism of the Cape Wrath trail it is that it reaches predominantly through Scottish mountain glens. A scenery which has a similar feel most of the way up. The space for this has to be on the west of the Cape Wrath trail so I was looking for a costal walk, possibly through the Islands.  

I thought maybe Oban was a nice place to start and to finish if a continuous loop could be achieved, with no repeated sections. This then became the model for my research into a new trail. It should be easily accessible from Glasgow so that trail walkers from abroad could quickly and simply get to the trail head. So where from then? Well, Iona is easily accessible from Oban and as every long distance walker has something in common with a pilgrim, Iona makes sense. It is a spiritual Island, where Christianity first came to Scotland through the works of a group of 12 monks led by St Columbus in the CE 563. The monastery they founded was one of the most important in the British Isles. 

I have researched the way on maps and internet resources but there are parts of the route, which are crucial to its success, that I do not know are passable until I undertake the journey. So this account is an exploration as well as a journey and an inauguration of sorts. I may be mistaken but I have found no accounts of this particular trail being done before, though of course it many have been. If I have missed this I would love to know and read the accounts. It would reinforce my certainty that it is a good route. Part of the route takes in established trails parts traditional walks such as Coffin Paths that connected villages with consecrated ground, other parts are dictated solely by the geography of the land. Most of all it is a combination of logic and the need to be in the most remote places and  to avoid road walking as much as possible. 

Scotland is a beautiful place to walk through and the Scottish Access Rights 2003 give you the right to access land in Scotland for recreational and educational purposes, be it running, walking or pitching a tent. There are a few exclusions, like near private buildings, farmyards, quarries, railway property and airfields. However you have to respect the interests of other people, care for the environment and take responsibility for your own actions. So the ‘Right To Roam’ goes hand in hand with the ‘Leave No Trace Code’. So when visiting wilderness areas you leave nothing behind and do not damage nature or fences, gates, paths and structures as you go along.