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| A superb view of the Old Man of Storr. Whilst many people hike right up to the Old Man of Storr - few people walk beyond it to a better view point in my humble opinion, which is around where this photo was taken. Make sure you visit this viewpoint and follow the map route below to discover how to get there. |
Where is the Old Man of Storr?
The Old Man of Storr is a distinctive rocky pinnacle out-crop on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, and is a probably the most iconic and popular walk when on the Isle of Skye. It's in the north-east of the Isle of Skye, over looking the Sound of Rassay and the Old Man of Storr sits under the summit of The Storr.
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The Old Man of Storr is on the Isle of Skye, Scotland - where the red pin is. On the Isle of Skye you'll find the Old man of Storr just north of Portree on the north-east coast of this beautiful Island.
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How long does it take to walk to the Old Man of Storr?
The walk is surprisingly short, with a car park close by and it took us 1 hour 30 minutes for the full round trip with a few stops for photos and a bite to eat, overall the distance was 3.9km.
Old Man of Storr Walk details:
Distance: 2.4 miles / 3.9km
Time: 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate (ok for reasonably fit adults and children)
Old Man of Storr Walk map route:
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| This walk starts at the large car park just off the A855 north of Loch Leathan. It follows a well-marked path for most of the way (however visibility can change quickly up here and I do suggest having a phone map app to keep you on the right track). I personally think the best walking route is in an anti-clockwise manner, which doesn't immediately go to the foot of the Old Man of Storr rocky pinnacles - instead you walk away from it a little bit to get the best view from a slightly more elevated viewpoint at the very top of the route on the above map. After this you then head towards The Needle and the iconic Old Man of Storr rocky pinnacles, where you can have a mooch around at leisure ;-) Click the button below to view & download the full interactive map route (subscription required to OS Maps for full features) |
If you don't have a Phone Map App - I really recommend the one by Ordnance Survey. You can download route maps to your phone and the app will show you exactly where you are on the route even when you have no signal - so no more taking a wrong turn :-)
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Read on to discover where to get the best views of the Old Man of Storr
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The Old Man of Storr Walk with photos of what to expect:
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Approaching the Old Man of Storr on the A855 - you can just about make out the distinctive rocky pinnacle of the Old Man of Storr to the below right of The Storr summit
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The car park is under development (Sept 2020) - but you can see it's rather large and accommodating for plenty of cars. You will have to pay about £3 for a couple of hours.
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The path to the Old Man of Storr is pretty well marked for a lot of the way.
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Here you can see the summit of The Storr (not to be confused with the distinctive rocky pinnacles of The Old man of Storr which sits just belowThe Storr and what we will be visiting today) At this path junction - most people take a left and go straight up to The Old Man of Storr - but for some superb views that most walkers don't go to - I'd recommend heading straight on first, towards the viewpoint marked above where the best views are of the Old Man of Storr.
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| Impressive eh! The best views of the Old Man of Storr are up here in my humble opinion! You can see the distinctive jagged rocky Old Man of Storr - with the higher summit of The Storr to the right just cropped out of the picture but we won't go that high on this walk. |
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| Simply stunning views of the Old Man of Storr with Loch Leathan to the left in the distance and the Sound of Rassay to the far left. |
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| This is the spot where you'll want to get that perfect photo and soak up the views with the impressive backdrop of Loch Leathan. |
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| After the superb views from a distance we now head towards and upclose to The Old Man of Storr where you can have a bit of an explore. I love the sign here :-) |
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It looks like a movie set up here and is very atmospheric.
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The actual Old Man of Storr is pictured to the right here - with the higher summit of The Storr in the background to the far left.
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We head back down now but look back at the imposing rock face of The Storr!
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Heading back down with some useful steps on the path!
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The path winds it's way all the back to the car park.
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So there you go - I hope that sheds some light on The Old Man of Storr walk and it inspires you to visit the area. Before I done this walk I really wasn't sure what to expect, I thought it would be a very long walk that isn't accessible at all - but this route is quite short and not as remote as you might think and can be done in under 2 hours. It was my favourite place on the Isle of Skye (images of the Old Man of Storr are what attracted me to the Isle of Skye) and I would definitely say it's a walk not to be missed. Some people only visit the Isle of Skye once - so make sure you do the best things!
The weather can change dramatically though in this part of Scotland, with visibility reduced to a matter of feet and I really do recommend downloading the route to your phone so you don't get lost. If you don't have a Phone Map App - I really recommend the one by Ordnance Survey. You can download route maps to your phone and the app will show you exactly where you are on the route even when you have no signal - so no more taking a wrong turn :-)
Top 10 must-see places on the Isle of Skye
Before you go, check out my other blog post on the Top 10 must-se places to visit on the Isle of Skye to make sure you cover everything on your trip! Click the banner image below:
HAPPY TRAVELS!
Post by Stuart Hodgson
'The Hiking Photographer'
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Thanks for taking an interest in my blog, all comments and questions are welcome! Best, Stuart