logo Walking Britain
Home About Holidays FAQ Email MENU ☰

The Storr & Old Man of Storr from Loch Leathan

Highland Walk

County/Area - Highland - Isle of Skye

Author - Stephen Boulton

Length - 5.5 miles / 8.9 km    Ascent - 2500 feet / 758 metres

Time - 5 hours 20 minutes    Grade - moderate

Maps Ordnance Survey Logo Anquet Maps Logo

Ordnance Survey Explorer 408Sheet Map1:25kBUY
Anquet OS Explorer 408Digital Map1:25kBUY
Ordnance Survey Explorer 409Sheet Map1:25kBUY
Anquet OS Explorer 409Digital Map1:25kBUY
Ordnance Survey Landranger 23Sheet Map1:50kBUY
Anquet OS Landranger 23Digital Map1:50kBUY

Walk Route Description

Photo from the walk - The Storr & Old Man of Storr from Loch Leathan
Click image to visit gallery of 9 images.

The Old Man of Storr rises to 535 metres and is visible from the main road between Portree and Staffin on the west coast of Skye. Dominating the scene and visible from many more parts of the islands the Storr is the hill immediately west of the Old Man and rising to 719 metres with dramatic cliffs on its eastern flank.

There is a small car park opposite Loch Leathan (Grid ref. NG509529) on the west side of the A855 heading north from Portree to Staffin. From here a refurbished path leads up through the woods to emerge below the Old Man of Storr.

You can scramble up to the base of the Old Man, although the heavily eroded slopes leading up to it suggest you would not be the first person to do so. The rock architecture is superb, lots of pinnacles backed by the imposing cliffs of The Storr. To reach the summit of The Storr we walked north, contouring across the top of Coire Scamadal to a point at about grid ref. NG 494553, whereupon we turned back on ourselves to head south across the easy, grassy rise to The Storr's summit cairn.

A short walk east from the trig point takes you to the cliff edge and a wonderful view over the pinnacles below and out over Loch Leathan and over Dun Caan on Raasay and further to the mainland. On the day we were there you could clearly make out the Five Sisters of Kintail.

From the summit we walked west south west for a hundred metres or so to avoid the top of an obvious gully (might not be so obvious in the mist or snow though), then turned south and then south east to follow the rim of Coire Faoin with the Old Man coming into view again as we descended.

At Bealach Beag we picked up a burn and followed this down through the crags at about grid ref. NG 493531 (steep in places, probably not very easy in snow & ice) to emerge on grassy land which we followed to a stile in the fence by the road at about grid ref NG 503525. From there we turned left and it was a short walk of about 600 metres or so back to the car park. A fine day out.

Other walks nearby

Walk 1165 The Quirangeasy3.2 miles
Walk 2002 Dun Caan, Isle of Raasaymoderate10.6 miles
Walk 3760 Glamaig (Sgurr Mhairi & An Coileach)mod/hard4.5 miles
Walk 2589 Marsco from the Sligachan Hotel, Isle of Skyemoderate8.7 miles
Walk 3216 Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh and Sgurr na Banachdichvery hard5.5 miles
Walk 2197 The Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr Mhic Choinnichvery hard6.0 miles
Walk 1167 Glen Brittle & Coire Laganmoderate4.6 miles
Walk 3753 Blabheinn via south ridgemod/hard8.0 miles
Walk 1344 Beinn Alligin & Sgurr Mormod/hard6.0 miles
Walk 1166 Loch Coruiskeasy4.0 miles

Recommended Books & eBooks

Walking the Munros Vol 2 - Northern Highlands and the Cairngorms

Walking the Munros Vol 2 - Northern Highlands and the CairngormsGuidebook to walking the northern Munros, covering the northern Highlands, the Cairngorms and the Isle of Skye. 70 routes are described, including those up Ben Macdui, Braeriach and Cairn Gorm. Routes range from 7 to 46km, requiring a fair level of fitness. The second of two guidebooks to walking Scotland's Munros: peaks higher than 3000ft.
More information

Great Mountain Days in Scotland

Great Mountain Days in ScotlandInspirational guidebook to 50 challenging routes for mountaineers, scramblers, hillwalkers and fell runners, many long enough to backpack over 2 days, especially in winter (12 to 25 miles). A mix of classic routes and unsung gems across Scotland from Galloway to the Outer Hebrides in widely differing wild landscapes. With customised OS mapping.
More information

Messaging & Social Media

Message Walking Britain and follow the latest news.

Facebook  Twitter

Mountain Weather

Stay safe on the mountains with detailed weather forecasts - for iOS devices or for Android devices.