The Ardnish Backpack Story

The Ardnish backpack is launching 28/05/25, that's tomorrow at 10AM GMT!

The backpack boasts a whole host of very cool technical features, fabrics and hardware that you can read all about here. Instead I want to tell you about a hiking trip with friends that inspired the name Ardnish. P.S if you read all the way to the end you will find a way you can win 10% off your backpack order!

In late August 2024 my brother and I took two close friends on a trip to Scotland. It can be hard to find the time but as a group we try to do at least one mountain a year, and Ben Nevis was on the cards.

I pieced together a route that skirted around the less trodden south eastern side of the mountain and it is possibly one of the most beautiful mountain hikes that I have done. The paths were scarce and took us through an ancient woodland, a vast valley with a beautiful waterfall, through a swamp, up an alpine meadow and along a boulder strewn arete. After a 1500m ascent and over 24 miles we were broken, which meant the very long journey home the next day was not on the cards!

(if you would like to hike the route I would be happy to send over the GPX)

After frantically hunting around we found an Airbnb to stay in for another day. To me this meant more walking (not sure that was what the others had in mind) so I quickly got onto OS maps to look for a slightly less demanding hike for day two. My criteria was a beach with no roads leading to it, this would ensure that the 4 of us could hang out in place where we felt like the only humans for miles. I’m sure a lot of you hikers out there can relate to the bliss of feeling like the only human in the landscape.

By total chance I landed on the Ardnish Peninsula, and my god am I happy that I did. There is something magical about this peninsula, although not actually that far from civilisation it makes you feel as if time has stood still.

We hiked for 4 hours in glorious sunshine, chatting away about pretty much everything and anything. Its rare you get to have that sort of unfettered time with friends as an adult.  During that time, we were treated to a visual feast of incredible views, taking in lochs with crystal clear waters, craggy mountainous landscapes, ancient woodlands, abandoned homesteads and an abundance of wildlife. The Ardnish hike has left an imprint on my mind, it represents why I love being outdoors and I truly hope I am lucky enough to visit again one day.

For those that are interested, there is a lot of history on the Ardnish Peninsula that dates all the way back to the Vikings. If you can tell me the names of the last two people to live in the Peanmeanach Bothy, I will give you a 10% discount code for your first order of an Ardnish Backpack.

You can DM me on Instagram with your responses here

Or email them via: james@route-unknown.com

View the packs here