My favourite running route in the UK is on the Isle of Skye

I've said this enough times that people assume I'm being promotional. I'm not. The trail run along the southern coastline of the Isle of Skye is the best running route I've done in the UK. I've run in Richmond Park and along the South Downs and on the Pembrokeshire Coast. None of it compares.

I'm saying this because I think it matters. When I built the eight-day Scotland trip, I put this run in on day four — not because it fit neatly into the schedule, but because I wanted people to experience it. The schedule bent to fit the run.

What the route actually is

The route follows Skye's southern coast, through terrain that most visitors to the island never reach. The crowds on Skye — and in August there are crowds — concentrate around the Storr, the Quiraing, and Portree. The southern coastline is quieter, by a long way. The path runs past remote beaches, through moorland, with the sound of the sea on one side and the Cuillin range on the horizon. The views have a quality that's hard to explain in text. One of those places you have to be in to understand.

It's not a hard run. The terrain keeps you honest — rough ground, some uneven footing — but the pace is exploration rather than training. You're there to see it, not to beat a time. We always finish with fish and chips somewhere close to the coast. That part is non-negotiable.

Why this route specifically

I've thought about why this run has stayed with me when other impressive routes haven't. Part of it is the combination of elements — sea, mountains, remoteness, a sky that seems bigger than it has any right to be. Part of it is timing: we do it on day four of the Scotland trip, after Glencoe and the Storr and a wild camp on Skye's north coast. By that point, the landscape has already gotten under your skin. The southern coast run is the moment it commits.

“People who have done this trip consistently tell me I undersold it. The run along the southern coast is most often the specific thing they mention.”

What comes before and after

The run sits on day four of an eight-day trip that includes two days in Glencoe, a wild camp and full day on Skye, a two-day expedition through Torridon, sea kayaking on Lochcarron, and a distillery tour in Oban. It's the most varied week we run.

The Torridon days come directly after the run — two days carrying camping gear across serious mountain terrain, with an overnight wild camp between them. That contrast is deliberate. The Skye run is the last easy day before the expedition section begins. Fish and chips, then drive to Torridon.