Scottish Bothy Walks - 28 best bothy adventures

WALK 25
NEW CAMASUNARY BOTHY,
THE ‘BAD STEP’ & LOCH CORUISK
An epic day’s hike in the shadow of Skye’s
spectacular Black Cuillin Ridge, stopping at
New Camasunary Bothy before negotiating
the infamous ‘Bad Step’. Challenge over,
return via the breathtaking amphitheatre of
Loch Coruisk.
Skye offers some of the finest and most difficult ridge
climbing in the UK, but you don’t need to scale the jagged
pinnacles of the Cuillin Ridge, or the prow of Clach Glas
on Bla Bheinn to get a taste of the mental challenge needed
to traverse these lofty summits. The notorious ‘Bad Step’, a
boilerplate slab of rough gabbro jutting ominously into the cold
depths of Loch nan Leachd on the western shoreline of Sgùrr
na Stri (Peak of Strife), is a scrambling challenge to test the
confidence of any budding adventurer. No harder than classic
walking routes on, for example, Arran, Torridon or An Teallach,
it is the situation that focuses the mind. You are miles from
anywhere, with no easy means of retreat, and the unappealing
prospect of a slip-sliding drop into the water below. Once
committed there really is nowhere else to go but onwards.
During the late-1960s, local councillors with the support of
the landowner and constabulary, put forward a serious but
misguided proposal to dynamite the Bad Step. The aim was to
improve access from the remote area around Loch Coruisk,
principally to evacuate climbing casualties back to the safety of
Kilmarie. A track from the Broadford-Elgol road was blasted in to
Camasunary Bay, and a suspension bridge erected over the tidal
flow of the Abhainn Camas Fhionnairigh. Vigorous opposition
from the mountaineering community, however, curtailed the
most controversial aspect of the project. The following year the
INFORMATION
MAPS: LR 23 Southern Skye &
Cuillin Hills, Explorer 411
Skye-Cuillin Hills (recommended).
START/END GRID REF: NG 488
299. Car park at Sligachan
Bridge on the A87.
DISTANCE: 29km/18 miles
TIME: 10–12 hours
TOTAL ASCENT: 670m
HIGHEST POINT: 316m
NAVIGATION: Easy
TERRAIN: Hard. Well defined
paths and faint trail, river
crossing, rock climbing
traverse.
DIFFICULTY: Challenging.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: ScotRail
service from Inverness to Kyle of
Lochalsh. Scottish Citylink coach
service 915/916 Glasgow–Fort
William–Uig stops at Kyle of
Lochalsh and Sligachan.
SPECIAL NOTES: Bothy is open
all year round, no restrictions.
Please respect the privacy of
the lodge and old bothy.
Strictly no fishing in nearby
lochs and rivers. Rubbish
accumulation is a problem;
please take away everything
you bring with you.
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