In April 2026 I solo-hiked the Cape Wrath Trail Southbound. It is one of the most remote long-distance hikes in Europe. No waymarking, few bridges and many rivers to cross, and the weather is very unpredictable. I got the worst of weather at the start of my journey, with gale-force winds blowing me and my tent down the hill. Luckily, my trail ended with the sun on my face.
I set myself a task everyday: to paint a watercolor painting. I did not manage every day, but quite some days! Below you can see the paintings I made along the way, from North to South. After the Cape Wrath Trail I hiked and scrambled in Glencoe for a few days with my dad, of which doing the Aonach Eagach Ridge was the biggest challenge, and after that I filled my 4 leftover days with hiking the Great Glen Way up to Inverness. Every bothy has a bothy book, in which visitors write down their stay. Besides making my own watercolors, I made a watercolor painting in every Bothy book where I slept, which, I heard, have kept inspiring people long after I finished the trail myself! I feel honoured! (text continues after pictures an at the end of the page there are more pictures of the trail itself!)
The first one-and-a-half week I hardly met anybody, but when the weather cleared the trail got busier and I was thankful for the encounters along the way. Thanks for the hugs Julia, the lunch company and tips for crossing the worst river of the trail two Robs, for the end-of-trail whisky Robert, the talks and food John, the firewood two brothers from Latvia, the two full meals Ian (who proclaimed he had never seen a human being eat that much in his entire life so he ordered me a desert too), the warm place to sleep to two mountaineers, Neil who brought me all the way up to Kinlochverbie, the women who lent me a kayak in the middle of the night, and many, many more people! The encounters were nice and always full of talk about the weather conditions, trail conditions and where to get (more) food and coffee. What more do you need?
The trail in a nutshell:
- 601 km total including Glencoe and GGW (400km on the Cape Wrath Trail, I took the detour to Inverie and the long routes where possible)
- 23.000 metres of ascent (that’s almost three times Mt. Everest!)
- 80 snickers (I still like them!)
- 3 kilo’s of couscous (with some herbs to make it tasty)
Favourite moments? Coffee in the morning, dinner, taking off my shoes, bathing in the streams and lakes, having snacks, talking with fellow hikers. What I loved the most was being out there all alone, with the deer, many plants and all possible weather. I have never been prepared so well for anything in my entire life, and apparently it does make things so much easier! I knew my exit points, foul weather alternatives, weather forecasts, was prepared to wait out storms, heavy rain, mist or injuries. I had 5 (!) jackets, waterproof pants, two wool leggings, two wool long sleeves and a lót of food. I have not been hungry or cold, except for after I crossed a river waist deep. That might have not been my smartest decision because it could have ended badly would the river have swept me away. Thankfully I made it through. This trail has been both the easiest and hardest trail of my life. I did not miss anything in my pack (yes, maybe a decent pair of bothy slippers! However, my handmade lightweight slippers made from a sleeping matt made me quite famous).
