Can you believe it's taken me so long to climb the Old Man of Storr?
I really think it's true what they say about people never visiting the tourist spots in their own back yard. Despite having lived just over an hours drive from the Old Man of Storr, we had never made the journey to that part of the island.
When you get to the top, you come to realise why so many people say that travelling to the Old Man of Storr is highlight for any trip to the Isle of Skye. The views towards the Isle of Raasay and over Lochalsh and Wester Ross are stunning. Even on a grey and glum day like the one we had, we could clearly pick out the mountains.
The Old Man of Storr is really like no where else I had ever been! The basalt structures are honestly the stuff of your imagination. Over the years, I've noticed that you can see the Old Man of Storr from much further down the road (even as far south as Sligachan!) I can definitely see why so many people make this route a priority on their trip to Skye.
After getting back to our car and finishing our walk, we drove back towards Portree and had a look in some of the shops there. Thankfully, we also managed to stop for quick hot chocolate at Birch. I'm so thankful for that little pick me up after our adventure up the Old Man of Storr.
Some Tips
We parked in the newly developed car park at the foot of the Old Man. It costs us £3 to park for 3 hours, which was plenty of time for us to do the full walk and take some photos at the top. There is also a new toilet facility, which you pay 50p to use.
Walking shoes are ESSENTIAL for climbing the Old Man of Storr. There are a lot of steep sections on this walk, where you are almost scrambling between different rocks. We saw lots of people wearing trainers, which I definitely wouldn't recommend.
Although it didn't rain for us on the walk, it was very windy as we made our way up. We actually didn't manage to get the iconic image of the Old Man for above, simply because we didn't feel super comfortable walking to the viewpoint with Bru in the wind. I would recommend bringing a windproof or warm jacket with you, as well a hat.
I would also recommend bringing a scrunchie or hair bobble with you. I forgot one. It wasn't pleasant brushing my hair the next day.
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