Isle of Jura camping meet - 24-26 July 2026

The annual IMC camping meet was organised to the Isle of Jura, home of the legendary ‘Paps of Jura’ (the hills, not the Whisky) that are visible from many a mountain top across Scotland.

Although difficult to get to there was plenty of enthusiasm for visiting the island. The two options involved the Islay ferry from Kennacraig on Kintyre and a wee ferry to Jura, or a twice-daily passenger ferry from Tayvallich direct to Craighouse. Martin, Mel and Graham added some hill days on beforehand, and drove across. Steve and Meg saw dolphins from the car ferry as they arrived. Greg and Kieran travelled directly and came as foot passengers. Sadly Lucas and Charlotte had to drop out due to illness.

Convening in the Jura Hotel on Friday night, Greg had already cycled halfway up the island to Tarbert and sampled the Jura whisky. Martin and Mel arrived from Islay and promptly visited the compact Lussa gin distillery, where the gin is infused with botanicals all grown on the island. A social evening followed in a packed hotel bar, catching up on past adventures and planning the next day.

For most people Saturday was going to involve the Paps of Jura, planning to complete in time for dinner at the hotel in the evening. Steve, however, was seeking to pick up a few more of Jura’s nine Marilyn-height hills, taking on Cnoc an Ime and visiting Ardlussa community.

To climb the Paps, estimated 9-10h, required an earlier start than the clearing weather forecast. Therefore Graham, Greg, Kieran, Martin and Mel set off into drizzle and then driving rain across the notorious bogland.. which thankfully was fairly dry after a warm summer. After traversing the S. side of Loch an t-Siob the tracks disappeared and a 2 km rough tussocky traverse was required towards Beinn a’Chaolais and up to the cloud-base. After following a couple of steep gullies they were about to start up a scree mountain when a narrow path seemed to weave off around the SE side. On following this it became a steep ‘path’ between scree and heather towards the summit. Three-hundred metres higher a ridge was found and the summit appeared shortly afterwards. A view was too much to ask for though. Descending, a collective decision was made to follow a clear scree path, rather than the winding ascent. The path was not in the best condition and was navigated on a scale of confident to tense, by the group despite the damp conditions helpfully wetting the scree.

On reaching Mam an t-Siob bealach, Greg decided his body wouldn’t allow any more descents and he departed back down to the loch and out to Craighouse, via a track we’d failed to find earlier. One pap down, one man down.

A winding path up Beinn an Oir picked a clever route through the rock terraces until a loose boulderfield at 650m. A couple of dislodged boulders led to some panicked movements, but adrenalin was the only casualty. Everyone was thankful to emerge onto a boulder ridge and the summit shelter. Beinn an Oir was one of Ordnance Survey’s triangulation points, for mapping the islands, and a Colby Camp was established near the summit. As a result there are a couple of buildings in the summit ridge bealach, and a curated path along the summit ridge where boulders have been moved aside to form an aisle – all very strange.

Descending out of the cloud and down the primary baggers route up Beinn an Oir, the group surprised a herd of deer grazing on the bealach. The final Pap, Beinn Shiantaidh, looked steep but without scree on its West side as a route was mapped. A small path was found weaving its way through rocky outcrops before finding a bouldery cone of rock near the summit. This time there were views out to Argyll, across the sea, and down to Craighouse. Congratulations and photographs on the summit, before a seemingly vertical descent path was found onto a scree channel. This scree was more compact and easy to walk on, if your head could cope with seeing straight downwards. About one third of the height had been lost when the scree gave out to a boudlerfield, and then heather, before a traverse path appeared to escape the steep face. Following a further bog-trot the team returned to the cars ten hours later, but highly satisfied by their day and the improving forecast. Clothes that had got soaked in the morning were largely dry by the return and everyone made it back in time for a celebratory meal.

On Sunday most people had booked ferries, with various delaying tactics including a campervan card school outside the hotel. Steve, meanwhile, got drenched on Corra-bheinn.  Ironically, two different methods of leaving the island four hours apart (by car via Islay and two ferries, and by direct passenger ferry to Tayvalich) resulted in a vehicle convoy from Loch Melfort to Fort William!

For some of the participants there is still unfinished business with the hills of Jura, but everyone reflected on an enjoyable and satisfying weekend.

Taking part: Graham, Greg, Kieran, Martin, Mel, Steve and Meg.

Words: Martin; Photos: Kieran, Graham, Martin.