Walking through Scotland

[Alan H]

I have to say that my personal dream vacation in Scotland would be with a pack on my back. If I got to a town with a bed and breakfast place every, oh 20-25 miles so I could warm up, have a meal that someone else cooked and take a shower every other or every third day, then I wouldn't mind slogging around in the rain now and then.

I know about hiking the Great Highland Way, but if I wanted to hike through Glencoe and Glen Etive,and make my way over to Loch Awe/Inverness, would it be possible to camp along the way?

[Ayin McFye]

I'm glad you posted this Alan. A goal of mine in the next 5 years is to start at the northern tip of Ireland and back pack all the way to the southern tip, doing pretty much the same thing you mentioned. I'd like to expand Alan's question to if anyone knows if this can be done in Ireland as well.

[Alan H]

There are extended trail systems in England, and a long-standing custom of "hiking rights". You can cross certain well-marked private lands if you close the gates behind you, STAY on the trail, and treat the land with care. Whether that extends to setting up a tent, I don't know.

[Derek Conley]

I'll follow this thread with interest, as I've been wanting to do this type of thing for years now. I've never heard of the "Great Highland Way", however...

[AL-58]

This website appears to have the answers you seek:
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ldcamping.html

Al

[Redshank]

Well Gentleman, let me pitch in here by saying first off, Fantastic Idea, what a superb way to see the land of your forefathers as they would have seen it, secondly I can see this thread running and running, some may know I work for Visit Scotland tourist info, for those that don't, now you know, bearing that in mind, should anyone need help in planning such a trip as has been described and feel that I can be os some assistance in route planning, where to stay, where to eat, etc etc then please feel free to contact me via the pm system on this forum.

I will start off with the Highland Way walk aka The West Highland Way, it's a superb walk of about 150 kms taking you from Glasgow to Fort William, not having done the walk myself I cannot comment on it in any great detail, suffice to say I see tourists when I am at work who have done it, and their reactions are very positive, it's quite a well known and much done walk so the route should be very easy to follow, for those interested in doing this walk I have attached a link to one of the many site that cover it (try googling it) http://www.walkinginscotland.org/

Next up, Alan H mentioned the extended trail system, known as public footpathsin England, whilst this is centainly most correct, that is in England, and here we are talking about Scotland, in Scotland a law was passed under the Land Reforms Act of 2003 that gives the public the right to roam just about anywhere, however respect and common sense is to be used.

Wild camping is also permitted, prividing it's not done in someones garden, or field of crops or cattle, meaning that you can camp just about anywhere, open fires are somewhat of an issue though, fire pits from previous careless campers are a blot on the scenery, a responsible camper will leave no trace of them being there, suggestion make a camp fire on a dry riverbed, in that way it will not set the peat alight below it which can burn for months, and will also be washed away in the first floods.

The right to roam and wild camping is all about a sensible, no-nonsense approach, with utmost respect and common sense being requied by the roamer, much information is available via the internet on this subject, England's Ray Mears is world renown on the topic
http://www.raymears.com/


So you know your route, your rucksack is packed, map and compass in hand you set of on your adventure, there are some natural predators you will no doubt run up against, these may be small, but can be a big problem, so be warned, be prepared, and your journey will be a joyous one, what am I talking about, yes you guessed it the mighty west coast midgie for one, these are not only found on the west coast, but all over scotland, be prepared, long sleeved shirts, hat, and a midge net can sometimes be necessary, and if your wearing a kilt, you will soon find the answer to the myth that is what's worn under the kilt, so pack some shorts just in case your not the highlander you imagine yourself to be, also a femanine beauty product as used by the SAS when on training in Scotland can be most helpful, it's a moisturizing cream made by Avon, called Skin So Soft, it's just about the only thing that will keep the little critters from biting, I suspect you can get it online.
Midge's are a very small flying insect, their bite can on some people no be detected or felt, on others it's a small irritation, on some it can cause swelling and discomfort, June to August being the worst months, for more info see http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...atures/midges/

The other little critters you should be aware of are Ticks, http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...bkg/ticks.html

Again, just be aware, take the necessary precautions, carry the correct first aid equipment and you will be fine, no worries, dont be put off, I am just making sure you are aware and in a position to deal with the problems of nature should it arise.

The area you will be wandering through is very remote, be aware that in the next Glen there will not be a MacD's burgerbar or a KFC, so carry rations/food with you, plus a wee gas stove, drinking water shouldn't be a problem as most of the remote house in Scotland take water straight from the hills from lochs, burns or rivers untreated, you may not wish to, in that case bring a filtration system, accomodation can be wide and varied, and may even be found in the remotest of glens, from youth hostels (even old people use youth hostels) to a wide selection of B&B's (private houses that offer bed and breakfast at a price), Inn's (pubs/bars that offer accomodation) hotels (cheap to very expensive)
Be aware that the cheaper options of Youth Hostels and B&B's do not offer evening meals, these must be sought elswhere depending on your location, pub/hotel/restaurant/cafe etc.


For Ayin, there is talk of re-introducing the Belfast - Campbeltown ferry service in the next year or two, thus bring you from Ireland straight onto the Mull of Kintyre and into the Scottish highlands thus avoiding the lowlands of Scotland,

Hopefully that should just about cover the questions raised thus far, I am at hand to answer anymore either on this thread or by pm, though I feel with the subject it should be on the open thread, your question maybe one that someone hasn't thought about,

attached link takes you to Youth Hostel website, please note advanced booking is recommendedhttp://www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/web/site/home/home.asp

Hope this helps

Chris

[Derek Conley]

What an excellent post. Thank you! I'll be checking out those links soon.

How cool would it be to get a group of X-Markers together to do this?

[OFCJAX]

I've backpacked on the Wicklow Way in Co. Wicklow Ireland.

Granted I was a bit heavier then (270 and with a 86 lb pack) so I would beat almost all my times now. It was great. I need to do that again. Alan, if you need a trailmate gimme a hollar.

[Scot01always]

My girlfriend and I thought of doing that. There was a company that would carry your gear from place to place/B&B. That way all you would have on your back was a day pack. We are not as young as we wish! We were going to hike The West Highland Way. But, we never did.
Good luck on your trip when you go.
Cheers, Leslie

[Jack Daw]

I appreciate Alan H for starting this thread and the posts by AL-58 and Redshank. I've gone to Scotland only 2 times so far and was hoping to make the next one a hiking/camping excursion.