Though I’d give this a go last week with my girlfriend, or part of it at least. Did very little research about the route other than reading a bit of this thread and a few blogs. Brought a few bits from alpkit and off we went. Aim was to start from Fort Augustus and see how we got on. Weather was pretty wet for the first day and a half, so by the time we swam into Oykel Bridge it didn’t take too much persuasion to sack of the Northern Loop. Probably could have done with one extra warm layer.
Though we were moving pretty well until we realised how much the terrain changes after Ullapool. Big pushes, tough single track, slow going. The forecast for day 4-5 was pretty dire, so as this was ‘just a holiday’ we called it a day (or 3) after Poolewe and headed for the train line.
Great reccie of about 1/3 the route and good to understand what might be needed for a successful 550 attempt. Hope to post a blog in the near future.
PS, first night in a barn near Struy, 2nd in the School House bothy (no rooms available in Oykel Bridge as fishing season in full swing), 3rd in Shenavall.
Thanks to all those who have contributed to this thread in the past, some of the advice was very helpful.