Free delivery on orders over £80Knoydart, Britain’s Last True Wilderness
Photos: Sidetracked Adventures
Knoydart, Britain’s Last True Wilderness is a remote peninsula on the West coast of Scotland. With no roads or access apart from a rough 16-mile hike in or a 45-minute boat ride. It seems obvious why it's classed as one of Britain's last true wildernesses. But what classes somewhere as wilderness?
Do we actually have any wild places left in the UK? There are no big predators left, you don’t find many views where you can’t spot some resemblance of man's presence in our country. So why is it that Knoydart gets this title?
Three days into a week-long trip here, my boots are soaked and everyone’s cheeks have the red glow you only get from hiking up something steep. As I begin to enjoy the warm squelch made every time I place a boot I wonder about the meaning of wilderness. We’ve not seen a soul since leaving the port days ago and apart from the unexpected frogs, we’ve felt quite alone.
It’s August and we are under no illusion that despite it being the height of summer we’re prepared for all seasons to hit us. It’s a strange victory when the gale force winds & rain batter against us as we make our way along a precarious ridgeline. This is Scotland and it’s the very reason we love it. The fleeting glimpses of skyline we are treated to on the first few days spur us on. Knowing that we are completely surrounded by epic views, it feels even more apt that we have to truly earn them.
Knoydart is a grand, high, wild, difficult place. It’s made for adventures, it’s the unknown that keeps you on your toes. Knowing that we had everything we needed on our backs, we just went with the flow and enjoyed whatever got thrown our way.
Wilderness is taking a step and wondering ‘has anyone ever trodden here’ before pitching your tent and feeling like you might be the only one to ever wake up with that exact view. For me wilderness is a place where you feel like you're intruding on nature - you get the feeling that life has just been allowed to evolve here without us. Sadly this is something you don’t get to experience much anymore.
On our third night we ate dinner outside of the tent for the first time; with this welcome break in the rain we were joined by the most unwelcome summer guest - the midges. Grabbing all of our cooking kit, we scrambled up towards the sunlight and the promise of a ridgeline breeze.
Bellies full, legs tired from an unexpected hill sprint and a big sigh of relief. The sun was hitting the ridgeline opposite, showing the exact route we had taken days before in zero visibility. We sat there in silence just enjoying the view with no midges. The small victories in life are the best.
Our final morning in camp and you could feel a group wide reluctance as we packed up. Even though everyone was physically exhausted with sodden boots and dreaming of a warm shower we savoured every minute of camp life.
Getting to explore somewhere so raw and untouched makes returning to the modern world even harder - it makes you feel alive. Despite thinking to myself that I was ready to go back home, the moment I stepped off the boat I wanted nothing more than to be back to bog dodging my way across Knoydart. Every adventure here will be different and that’s why it’s so special.
If you’d like to experience the wilderness of Knoydart this September or next year, take a look at the Sidetracked Adventure 5 day Knoydart Wilderness Expedition.
This article was first published on SideTracked Adventures, 1 Monday, 24 August 2020.
