Galloway Forest - can you actually walk through the woods?

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Puddock

Nomad
Nov 7, 2010
441
0
Dumfries and Galloway
Aye you can get lost :) The mountain rescue team are kept busy all year round :)

The forest is difficult to actually walk through, under the canopy so to speak. This is because it is reasonably densely planted pine forest. However there is a huge network of paths and unmade roads which criss cross throughout the forest.

There are plenty of places to pitch a tent or tarp and unlimited possibilities for hammocks. Some of the views are spectacular and sometimes you can go for days without seeing someone.

There are two downsides. The wet climate and midges - thousands of them :D
 

Barn Owl

Old Age Punk
Apr 10, 2007
8,245
5
58
Ayrshire
There are plenty deciduous woods nearby too.

Rspb has a lot of those as a reserve,e,g Wood of Cree.

But as Dan says there is still plenty of walks.
 
Jan 25, 2011
9
0
london
Paddoc - i'm gonna cut to the chase mate, is it like the Blair Witch - childish, I know, but we really want the sense of being deep within a dense, claustraphobic forest! we even wanted to avoid designated, well-thought out paths...your help is beyond invaluable! cheers.
 
Jan 25, 2011
9
0
london
or, can you recommend anywhere like that? we want somewhere that is totally isolated, wooded, and slighltly foreboding...we want to avoid openess...open planes, fields, hills, etc...and preferbly somewhere where you can get off the beaten, laid out paths...again, thanks if you can help!
 

Puddock

Nomad
Nov 7, 2010
441
0
Dumfries and Galloway
No mate it's nothing like the Blair Witch..........it's Scotland.

The nearest huge expanse of broadleaf forests I would think would be on the continent - maybe Germany?
 
Jan 25, 2011
9
0
london
this sort of thing, but will keep going for two or three days:

tom_judy_in_woods_2.jpg
 

khimbar

Nomad
Jan 5, 2005
271
0
birmingham uk
Paddoc - i'm gonna cut to the chase mate, is it like the Blair Witch - childish, I know, but we really want the sense of being deep within a dense, claustraphobic forest! we even wanted to avoid designated, well-thought out paths...your help is beyond invaluable! cheers.

There's pretty much nowhere like that in this country. Europe however is full of that kind of thing.
 

spartacus

Forager
Sep 10, 2010
158
0
Bulgaria
Hiya, Bulgaria as far as I can say has the longest uninterrupted expanse of woodland in Europe and it is pretty uninhabited. I live here and can go for ages without seeing a soul and you are free to walk wherever.
I should say I used to live near the Galloway Forest and I'm a native Scot and my surname is actually Cree lol. Still a great place to walk.
 
Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
Paddoc - i'm gonna cut to the chase mate, is it like the Blair Witch - childish, I know, but we really want the sense of being deep within a dense, claustraphobic forest! we even wanted to avoid designated, well-thought out paths...your help is beyond invaluable! cheers.

If it's Blair Witch you're after try Epping forrest,
 
Dec 29, 2010
9
0
stafford
I've done a couple of mountain marathons in the Galloway forest and also followed the Southern Upland Way through it.

To cut a long story short, it is incredibly boggy, some of the woods are almost impassable, and when venturing off-track the going is particularly difficult. In the main the area is either man-made forestry block or recently felled forestry block (which therefore means there is a whole world of tree stumps and debris underfoot).

In summary, it is not the best area to walk through, that said there are at least 2 bothys in the area so you can at least guarantee a couple of good nights sleep there.

Hopw this is at least food for thought.


Dom
 

Large Sack

Settler
May 24, 2010
665
0
Dorset
LOL...The further you go in Eastern Europe the more likely you are to be un interrupted, however...then my mind would start to wander away from 'The Blair Witch project' and start to move more towards 'Severance', 'Hostel' and 'The Train' :aargh4:

I wish you well :)
Sack
 

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