The Isle of Skye is a hugely popular destination with many honeypot locations for walkers and climbers.

Yet, just a little way off the beaten track you can find a wealth of much less visited routes surrounded by peaceful wilderness.

The best walks, scrambles and low-grade climbs have been brought together in a new  edition of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) guidebook, Skye Scrambles.

Author and climber Noel Williams has spent the last decade fully revising the popular book – and adding more than 30 routes to the comprehensive cross-island collection.

He has also supplemented the guide with his expert insight into the wildlife, history and geology of the island, located off Scotland’s north-west coast.

Noel says: "No one could have foreseen the enormous increase in the number of visitors to Skye over the last decade – and since the previous Skye Scrambles edition. Several locations on the island now attract a huge number of visitors.

"Fortunately, there are still many places on the island where you can have more of a wilderness experience. I hope the routes described in the new guidebook will give hill-goers plenty of ideas.”

What is scrambling?

Noel explains: “Scrambling covers the intermediate area between walking and rock climbing. The lower boundary is easy to define – once the hands are needed for progress, you are scrambling – but the upper one is more problematic.

“One approach is to say that scrambling covers ground too easy for most rock climbers to need a rope, another is to say that scrambling becomes rock climbing once the interest of the moves become greater than the interest of the situation.”

SMC’s Skye Scrambles 3rd edition

The third edition of the SMC guidebook Skye Scrambles includes 234 routes with venue and route information. The book is presented in a contemporary style with high-resolution photo diagrams and beautifully rendered maps for greater clarity and accessibility.

The guide focuses on the magnificent gabbro mountains of the Cuillin, for which Skye is renowned, and also visits the neighbouring Red Hills and the dramatic landscapes to the west and north of the island.

Skye Scrambles offers routes to suit all tastes and aspirations, from short, accessible outings to more committing adventures, including classics such as the Trotternish Ridge on Skye’s northern peninsula and the “Main Ridge Traverse” of the Cuillin.

Noel’s deep knowledge of Skye has been built over many decades exploring the island’s mountains and sea cliffs. In addition to all three editions of Skye Scrambles, he has authored and edited a wide range of Scottish scrambling guides, bringing together careful research and an eye for detail.

He is a long-standing member of the SMC and former president, as well as being a past member of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team.

Skye Scrambles is published for SMC by the Scottish Mountaineering Press. It is available to pre-order at a price of £27.50 with delivery early June, 2026, at Skye Scramble Scottish Mountaineering Press