The Dirty 30 - a thirty mile walk
The Lochalsh Trail Club is proud to announce the creation of an annual walking challenge within Lochalsh named the ‘Dirty 30’, with its inaugural event being part of the Battle of Glen Shiel anniversary commemorations in June 2007. The launch will also coincide with a programme of events being arranged in Lochalsh to celebrate the Scottish Year of Highland Culture in 2007.
With long distance walking/on-foot challenges ever increasing in popularity, it is hoped that as well as the annual Dirty 30 event, this interesting and historical long distance circular route will become an established and popular Lochalsh attraction, hopefully luring long distance walkers and runners from around the country to tackle this route whenever they like.
This also presents the perfect opportunity to repair, renew and upgrade parts of the route to high quality and environmentally friendly paths, which will not only attract more outdoor enthusiasts into the area but will also provide safer access to the less experienced but no less enthusiastic person, to parts of a mountain usually ‘out of bounds’ to all but the experienced walker, trail runner, climber and backpacker.
The Route
Set in the North West Highlands of Scotland and with the Isle of Skye as it’s neighbour, Lochalsh is renowned for having some of the most breathtaking scenery in the British Isles and the Dirty 30 lures participants to an array of imposing glens, stunning hills and spectacular coastal paths, whilst tackling its differing terrain and weather systems. As the name suggests, the circular route is approximately 30 miles in length and promises to challenge the able bodied and test even the fittest of participants. It starts and finishes at Glen Shiel’s campsite underneath the famous Five Sisters of Kintail and South Glen Shiel Ridge mountain ranges. In a nutshell, the course will head past Ratagan, Letterfearn and Totaig to the north of the route, continuing anti-clockwise around Arditoul Point & Garbhan Cosach headland, skirting Bernera Barracks & Glenelg then switching back east past Dun Telve and Dun Troddan brochs before heading back up into the hills again toward the Five Sisters of Kintail as a fitting finale. The annual Challenge commences at 12 noon and this will give the ‘participant’ a unique opportunity to experience walking the glens at midnight but at a time of year that usually gives just 3 hours of darkness, for added safety. For those not wanting to walk in the dark or if needing to recuperate, rest facilities will be available en route.
With this amazing location, The Lochalsh Dirty 30 promises to be one of the most beautiful and historical long distance 24 hour challenges in the British Isles and will hopefully be a popular natural visitor attraction for many years to come.
Participants
The Dirty 30 annual challenge application price for 2007 is £20 per person. It is expected to attract a good mix of local and national challengers who want to test themselves over a longer distance than normally covered in one day out.
If you are interested in taking part in this exciting event or assisting with the marshalling, please contact either of the following committee members for more information:
Margaret Arscott margaretarscott@btopenworld.com 01599 577219
Stella Baker letterfearnsubmariner@hotmail.com 01599 555243
Ian Philp info@trekhighlands.co.uk 01599 511311
Pat or Kara Cowdroy info@914outdoor.co.uk 01599 555362
Clive Pearson glenelg.clive@virgin.net 01599 522236
The Lochalsh Trail Club - link coming soon
The map below can be dragged, zoomed and scrolled - enjoy exploring Lochalsh
Map showing the Lochalsh area
