So just got back from a wee trip to the Scottish Islands Pabbay and Mingulay; in the Outer Hebrides to be exact.  What can I say? It is a totally amazing place! It felt like a proper expedition, completely cut off from civilisation.  The trip started from Belfast with a wee flight over to Edinburgh to meet up with Dik and Barbour for a quick beer, which turned out to be very expensive! Before heading up to Oban we had to pack all our kit & food, see pics below! Top one is some of our food and the bottom one is the crews food!

We made our way early Wednesday morning to Oban, for a short 6hr boat journey across to Castle Bay, Barra, where Donald and Boy James picked us up.  This was the last leg of our journey and over 24 hrs after leaving Belfast, I had arrived on Pabbay.

The climbing was described as steep and juggy, that was very true and the first day on the Poop Deck pulled the arms clean out of us.  Managed to tick one of the 4star E5s The Raven (second go) as well as Ed and Greg who got the onsight.  This seemed to set the tone for the trip - with well protected E5s everywhere why not have a go? One thing I did notice was that the routes were a lot steeper then they looked, in a weird way it was similar to steep ice.

With out boring you word for word i’ll leave you with a few pics of the trip. Both islands are amazing and a total must for anyone looking for a bit of an adventure.

Fishing and climbing?

The magnificent Pink Walls, a must for anyone climbing E5!

Ed boning hard on Sugar Cane!

The Bonxie, E6.

The landing rocks, a bit calmer then when we left.

The Red Cliff, spot the climber?

Note, skyhook for belay, bomber!

Ally Swinton on Variations on a Dream, E5.

Greg has put a detailed trip report together so check that out - http://gregboswell.blogspot.com/.