Name: JUNE 12 - 16 - ISLES OF MULL & IONA (optional Staffa Island boat tour)
Start: 2024-06-12T13:30:00.000Z
End: 2024-06-16T13:30:00.000Z
Location: Glasgow Airport

**Backabush is going to Orkney for some Scottish island hopping in the far north!**

Cost - £659. Group size - 18. Accommodation - Hostel with twin rooms.

Orkney is an archipelago off the north coast of Scotland, famous for its tall sandstone cliffs, neolithic sites, wildlife, and seemingly endless daylight at midsummer. Come island hopping with us to a place with it's own unique Scottish character. The relatively low level walking on Orkney is in complete contrast to so many of the Scottish hiking trips that we have run in the past, Orkney's rolling hills, meadows, miles of coastline and archaeological sites provide hikers with so much to explore.

Our plan is to drive from Inverness on Saturday May 25th and catch the ferry across to St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay, Orkney. From there our road hops across a few little islands all connected by narrow causeways before reaching Mainland, which is the largest of the islands. We will stay for 6 nights on Mainland in the town of Kirkwall, Orkney's largest settlement, comparatively busy with restaurants, shops, picturesque harbourfront and historic Norse centre.

For our 5 hiking days we will have the chance to explore Mainland Orkney as well as some of the neighbouring isles accessible by short ferry rides. Some of Orkneys walking highlights include:

* Skara Brea & the Western Coastline, one of the best preserved stone age villages in Europe.
* The island of Hoy, with its craggy coast and sea-stack 'The Old Man of Hoy.'
* The island of Westray, 'Queen O' the Isles', RSPB reserve and broad bays of Tuquoy and Mae Sands.
* South Ronaldsay, the Tomb of the Eagles and Windwick Bay.
* Deerness, the eastern tip of Mainland, a beautifully rugged Orkney classic.

**ACCOMODATION**
We have hostel accommodation with a difference in Orkney. There are shared twin and private room options, bathrooms are shared.

Shared twin room £659

**TRAVEL TO SCOTLAND**
The meeting point will be in Inverness town centre at 10:45am on Saturday 25th May. We will meet in the car park outside the Morrisons Supermarket, which is just next to the train station.

We must depart Inverness no later than 11am in order to catch our ferry to Orkney. For this reason we would recommend travelling to Scotland the day before on Friday 24th and staying overnight in Inverness or nearby. There are plenty of hotel, b&b and hostel accommodation options to choose from in Inverness.

We will drop you off back in Inverness on Friday 31st at around 16.30pm so please consider that when planning onward travel. There will be a town centre and train station drop off as well as a stop at the airport.

**DIFFICULTY**
Although ascent on this trip will be minimal (Orkney's highest summit is 481m high) this is a wild and remote area with rough trails and some steep routes winding up and down the island coastal cliffs, surefootedness is necessary. On this trip we will need to be fit enough to walk 10 miles a day.

**WHAT IS INCLUDED:**

* 6 nights quality, hostel accommodation (we will sleep in twin share rooms booked exclusively for our group)
* All transport in Scotland and Airport transfers from Inverness.
* Guided hikes. Our leaders are Mountain Leader trained and qualified first-aiders.
* Financial protection in accordance with the Package Travel Law 1992

**WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:**

* Meals - Our accommodation will have self catering facilities and there are many local pubs and restaurant nearby
* Travel to Scotland
* Travel Insurance

**HOW TO BOOK A PLACE ON THIS TRIP:**

To confirm your place on this trip use internet banking **your RSVP is not enough to reserve a space on this trip**. Please use **ORKNEYMAY** as your payment reference. The account details are:

Account Name: BACKABUSH XPLORERS
Sort Code: 090127
Account Number: 22440622

Only payment secures your place. Please email backabushxplorers@yahoo.com as soon as you send payment so that we can confirm everything with you. Thanks. :)

BACKABUSH ADVENTURES - Travel & Outdoor Activity Group!

Geoff

Nathan

Mo Gray

MAY 25 - 31 (SPRING BANK HOLIDAY) - ORKNEY

Inverness

Backabush is going back to Scotland to visit the Isle of Mull as well as it's smaller neighbours of Iona and Staffa!

Cost - £395. Group size - 18. Nights - 4. Accommodation - Exclusive use of a quality hostel.

Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebredies (after Skye) and its rugged mountains and wild peninsulas make it a dream destination for adventurous hikers. Loved for its wild nature the island is also home to sea eagles, otters, seals and red deer.

Our plan is to meet up in Glasgow before we drive to Oban and catch a ferry to Mull where we have booked a lovely hostel for our exclusive use. Beds are in shared rooms, with separate male and female dorms. The hostel is in a fantastic loch-side location with a pub nearby and very little else so we can enjoy the true peace of Scottish island life.

Weather permitting we plan on hiking to the highest peak on the island, Ben More, which is the only Munro requiring a ferry crossing in Scotland. It's a fantastic rocky peak and great full day hike with ocean views that involves some very minor scrambling.

We also plan on hiking to the stunning and remote beaches of Iona which are well worth the effort. To get to Iona we will need to first drive the remote single track road spanning the south coast of Mull before taking the small ferry across the channel. This is also where boat tours launch to reach the iconic Fingal's Cave on Staffa Island, a sea cave formed in the basalt columns similar to the Giant's Causeway across the sea in Northern Ireland. Staffa also has puffins that nest on the island each year and June is a great time to sea them. If people would like to, we will have the option to join one of the Fingal's cave and wildlife boat tours.

**WHAT IS INCLUDED:**

* 4 nights quality, hostel accommodation in shared dorms
* All transport in from Glasgow, including ferry crossings, airport transfers and travel on Mull.
* Guided hikes. Our leaders are Mountain Leader trained and qualified first aiders.
* Financial protection in accordance with the Package Travel Law 1992

**WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:**

* Meals - our accommodation will have self catering facilities and we can stock up on supplies in Oban before we board the ferry.
* Optional Staffa island wildlife boat tour
* Travel to Glasgow
* Travel Insurance

If you would like to extend your stay in Scotland and explore another beautiful isle then why not join our trip to the Isle of Arran immediately before this one!

**TRAVEL & MEETING DETAILS**

The meeting point for this trip will be at Glasgow Airport on Wednesday 12th June. We will meet in the arrivals hall next to the Starbucks cafe. On Sunday 16th June we will drop you back at Glasgow airport. Our airport transfers will be timed to meet the following flights:

• OUTBOUND - Wednesday 12 June
British Airways flight BA1482
Departs - 12:20 London Heathrow
Arrives - 13:45 Glasgow

• INBOUND - Sunday 16 June
British Airways flight BA1495
Departs - 18:20 Glasgow
Arrives - 19:45 London Heathrow

IF YOU CHOOSE TO BOOK ALTERNATIVE FLIGHTS MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 13:45 ON 12 JUNE (WE HAVE A FERRY TO CATCH!) AND DEPART NO EARLIER THAN 18:20 ON 16 JUNE.

**HOW TO BOOK A PLACE ON THIS TRIP**

To book onto this trip please **email nathancapay@googlemail.com** and send full payment to the Backabush account. **Please** **use Mull as your payment reference.**

Account Name: BACKABUSH XPLORERS

Sort Code: 090127

Account Number: 22440622

**Your RSVP alone is NOT enough to secure your place.**

BACKABUSH XPLORERS - Hiking & Outdoor Adventure Meetup Group

Steve Garrett

JUNE 12 - 16 - ISLES OF MULL & IONA (optional Staffa Island boat tour)

Glasgow Airport

Backabush Pro

Search {networkName}

Groups

{PRO_NETWORK_NAME} is on Meetup Pro with more than {PRO_MEMBER_COUNT} members across {PRO_GROUP_COUNT} Meetups worldwide. Meetup Pro is the professional tool for organizing and communicating a network of users, partners, contributors and members.

Backabush Pro

Backabush Pro

Who we are

Search Backabush Pro

Upcoming events

Groups