The Cape Wrath Ultra® has always held a special place in my heart. As the race organiser, it remains my favourite event in the Ourea calendar. I think that’s because of the extraordinary sense of journey it offers; there’s simply nothing else like it. The Scottish Highlands are truly spectacular, and even if you’re only driving between overnight camps, you can’t help but feel immersed in the vast, wild beauty of the Scottish Highlands. 

The Cape Wrath Lighthouse. Stark, windswept, and spectacular - it marks the end of mainland Scotland and the finish line of this extraordinary journey. For eight days, participants in the 2025 Cape Wrath Ultra® have pushed through some of the UK’s most remote and rugged landscapes, with this iconic beacon in their sights.

The landscape is ever changeable on Day Seven as our runners traverse moorlands, mountains and around some of the most beautiful deep sea lochs Scotland has on offer. Glacial erosion in the area has created more substantial glens and larger hill lochs, with small rocky outcrops, fondly described as ‘knock-and-lochan’ topography.

Day Six of the Cape Wrath Ultra® dawned with the same clear blue skies and promise of sunshine, but a sharper, chill in the air than previous days. With clouds set to roll late afternoon, there was definitely a change in camp, runners are starting to feel the toll of five days on the trail and this would be their longest day yet.

After the rugged grandeur of Torridon on Day Four of the Cape Wrath Ultra®, runners awoke in Kinlochewe to face a new kind of challenge: the vast, uninhabited expanse of the Fisherfield Forest, often dubbed 'The Great Wilderness'.

Day Four of the Cape Wrath Ultra® brought a shift in distance but not in challenge. Although one of the shorter stages, the route from Achnashellach to Kinlochewe is known for its rough and technical terrain, with plenty of heather bashing and careful footwork required.

Today the route carved its way through the majestic but unyielding mountains and glens of Kintail, rising and falling through rugged passes before descending to Shiel Bridge. From there, it’s long push for participants to Camp 3 at Achnashellach past the most voluminous and tallest waterfalls in the UK, the Falls of Glomach.

From the very start of Day Two, the Cape Wrath Trail leaves behind any lingering sense of civilisation. The route ascends quickly into remote, rugged terrain, brushing the ends of Scotland’s two longest dead-end roads - both of which fade out at the heads of isolated sea lochs.