Ben Tianavaig, Skye

Ben Tianavaig looking south to Red Cuillin

Friday, 14 May 2021

Ascent:        440  metres

Distance:     5 kilometres

Time:           1 hour 11 minutes

Ben Tianavaig    413m      41mins

We had spent the day touring the north of the island, three shortish walks near Uig, Flodigary and Staffin. Gregor suggested an evening ascent of Ben Tianavaig, which is just south of Portree and has claims to be one of the best viewpoints in Skye. He was going to run it so I dropped him as we turned off the A850 at Peinmore. It would give him a 4-kilometre warm-up run before the start of the climb from Tianavaig Bay, where I parked and started the climb. I was walking well, no stops and a reasonable pace or so I thought until he caught me before the halfway point of the climb. 

A Strava crown was his objective and he managed the 413-metre climb in 18:33, beating the previous record by 3 minutes. Donny Campbell, the holder of the fastest Munro round, was now 4th fastest and 4 minutes slower. Gregor had to wait 10 minutes or so, cooling in the evening breeze before I joined him on the summit. The views were all that the books had promised although the evening sky was cloudier than we had hoped. The descent was interrupted by photo stops but this is a near-perfect hill that has everything.

The ascent

Looking South

Portree from summit

Portree Bay and the Storr

G running down

Black Cuillin