August holiday in Scotland, some questions

[Thijzzz]

Hi all,

We'll be in on holiday in Scotland in the first 2 weeks of August. Mostly B&B but a tent is coming with us (no tarps, to much fuss with a mozzie net), and maybe a hammock.

Down below are some questions, hope someone could help us out!

1st week:
Newscastle - Galloway Forest Park - West Coast - Loch Lomond/Argyll Park/Alexandria (Mackintosh House) - Mull.
On Mull we'll be staying 3 days including a wildlife tour - maybe spot some otters?

Route: http://maps.google.nl/maps/ms?ie=UT...l=55.70545,-3.817749&spn=2.519652,7.13562&z=8

2nd week:
We have about 6 days to make our way back to Newcastle.

Now.....

About them midges:
- Does Avon Skin so Soft really help or is DEET 50% better?
- Any place where I can get a good "forecast" on midges activity?

Weather & Traffic:
- What's the best site for Scotland long term weather forecasts?
- Where can I check road works on my planned route?

Wild Camping:
- I checked the post on the UK and Scottish laws on wild camping, but I've also seen a post about the byelaws for Loch Lomond. What's the generally accepted rule now?

What to see and do:
On the way to Mull: all tips welcome! We're life members of the National Trust, so we've got the handbook and some plans.

Interested in bushcrafty things all around, "area's of outstanding natural beauty" - I just love the way you've come up with such a term! - Art Deco/Mackintosh/Art Nouveau estates, crafts, agricutural shows, sheep herding shows, etc etc. And if Billy Connolly is performing somewhere by all means let me know!

On the way back:
We'll travel through Argyll Park and Queen Elizabeth Park on the way back. Maybe we'll like it so much that we'll spend a few days there on the way back. Another possibility is somewhere between Glasgow and Newsastle. Any area's that are nice in that direction?
Is Northumberland Park nice?

All tips are greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,

Thijs
The Netherlands

 

[Highbinder]

It doesn't really fit your route and it'd involve some backtracking but I would recommend if you are planning on camping on loch lomand to camp up the east coast. It is in effect a dead end and a B road opposed to the west side's A road so the traffic is a LOT less. If you travel almost all the way to the end of the road (there is a long metal blockade gate with space to park 4-5 cars infront, just beyond a path starts, follow to the right) there is a series of three beaches which are a lot quieter than the camping spots closer to the city - Lomand can get busy if the weather is nice due to the closeness to Glasgow. I go there often and it's a cracking spot.

Depending on how you are time wise it's worth going up through the Trossachs, but again it's a 'dead' end'. Camping is a little tricker at loch katrine but it's easily done as a day trip and the road out is lovely and scenic. It's a bit of a detour but would only set you back half a day going at a leisurely pace - plus theres a great big whopping hotel at the end of the route so you could have a nice meal once you reach the loch.

You'll enjoy galloway forest park - I have friends that live down that way and it's really beautiful. I'm actually going down there tomorrow and plan a night or two of camping under my friends (the local) instruction. If I find a particularly good spot I'll post the details here.

Looking at your route it's just a pity you're missing out the north of Scotland! Sutherland in particular is mindblowing, I just came back from a weeks camp up north, some of the beachs up that way are to die for;

Heres a good website to have a gander at if you haven't found it already,
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

As for the midgies.. Skin So Soft works for me. They haven't been out bad so far this year, I got plastered in em when I was out chopping wood last. I'd say take some DEET to be on the safe side but SSS works well enough for me.

/e: Oh yeah and it's not bushcrafty in the slightest but if you're passing through Glasgow it's worth going to Kelvingrove Art Museum. As well as the building the grounds are lovely, kelvingrove park is the heart of Glasgow as far as I'm concerned

 

[Barn Owl]

Hi Thijs,

You might see Otter anywhere in Galloway or Ayrshire too,on Mull they are often just off the road at the village of Salen sleeping or feeding on the rocks.
Ask where to see Sea Eagles,there are tours I believe you can pay to be taken to sites.
You should see Golden Eagle too.
(Sorry,see you're doing a tour).

Go and see the Red Kites near Castle Douglas,there's a feeding station for them.
Osprey are in that area also.

Threave Gardens at C Douglas are National Trust and there's a tour of the Big House.

Culzean Castle and park (Nat. Trust) is on the Ayrshire coast,Ive watched otter from the clifftops and seen them in the Swan pond (even in the afternoon).But it is a hit and miss.

Outside Dumfries near New Abbey is a museum for costumes,Shambollie (sp?),girls seem to like it.

There's really too much to list tourist wise,leaflets from the Tourist offices will be better for that.

Tom.

 

[Gailainne]

Like Tom says there are otters just outside Sleen along from the wrecked fishing boats, you'll see seals on the rocks and perhaps porpoise/dolphins further out. Tobermory there were a pair of otters frequently in the harbour, I believe one has since died. Calgary bay is another great spot, beautiful beach, and if you walk along the track on the north side to the quay I saw otter and mink, and on the boat another day on the sea cruise from Tobermory we saw bottlenose dolphin, basking shark, didn't see any Minke whale but they were there (sea was to rough to spot them) and a multitude of seabirds, Golden eagles are often spotted on the cliffs outside Tobermory, you may have guessed I like Mull , if your interested here's my blogg of my 50th birthday trip there last year.

Ah Midges and ticks;

Midges, Nordic summer works for I think everyone I know who has tried it, some just dont like the smell, I have high hopes for Autan, which has a family version, and is also good for ticks apparently, available from boots.

Weather forecasts, shrug take with a pinch of salt, there too many micro-climates up here, see my 50th post above. On line I found www.netweather.tv to be pretty good, and if you have an apps phone xcweather has been getting some good reviews.

 

[Bigfoot]

For traffic reports and route planning, you can use both the AA and RAC :

www.theaa.co.uk
www.rac.co.uk

For weather, I usually trust the Met office (www.metoffice.gov.uk) but recently have been trying out Met Check( www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE), which so far has proved to be quite accurate. (A lot of the free ones are now trying to get you to pay for premium services and so the free reports become less accurate).

Skin so Soft does work but not for everyone, it seems. I also heard a rumour that the new formula is not as effective? You could give it a whirl and try it out but perhaps also have some DEET based product just in case. I also find that eating garlic on a daily basis helps

 

[locum76]

Metcheck has worked well for me this year.

 

[Sanji]

I live in Oban, which is where the main ferry terminal is, that you take to go to mull, very beautiful island, loads of otters and might see some eagles if lucky

 

[johnnytheboy]

Skin so soft is murder for much longer than a few days, I have used it feels like it tends to pickle the skin after a while, its oily and if its sunny you'll likley get burnt with it.

 

[Thijzzz]

Thanks for all the great replies!

@ Highbinder
Sounds good! Is that the B387 to Balmaha that you mean? On Google Maps it seems it turns into a B-road that goes all the way up to the north side of the lake. Where about are those beaches? (lovely pic!)
Trossachs look nice too, I'll keep it in mind. Kelvingrove was recommended already, if we can stand a busy city we'll visit Glasgow and the museum.
Are there any parking spaces outside the city with a shuttle to the center (Park & Ride) ?

And we absolutely want to go to the North and the Highlands one day. Unfortunately hiring a 4x4 is mindblowingly expensive

@ Barn Owl
Otter spots noted: Salen it is
Castle Douglas / Threave Gardens / Culzean Castle and park were on the list already but now have been underlined extra,thanks!

@ Gailainne
Again, Salen it is!
Tobermory / Calgary bay noted!
Read the blog on your birthday trip, great reading and beautiful pics! Lucky you with the pic of the mink, prolly a wannabee model .
Judging by the weather in your pics I'm guessing dressing in layers is the way to go. www.netweather.tv doens't have an app for google phones but I'll have internet acces in the UK as well, so I'll put them in my bookmarks.
The otter pics made my GF's hart jump by the way.
(She suffers from see sickness but wants to go to Scotland so bad she's willing to spend 11 hours ona boat to Newcastke and another 45 min on the ferry to mull.)

@ Bigfoot
Thanks for the sites, will check them tomorrow.
2 bottles of Tropicare DEET 50% and a roller with DEET 20% will be at arms lenght at all times. okenest:
Mmmmm.....garlic goooooood......might scare the bats away though.

@ locum76
Metcheck noted!

@ Sanji
Hope to see otters especially, but Golden Eagles would be cool too.

@ johnnytheboy
Mmmm, we'll try it and if we don't like it we'll go for DEET. Thanks for the warning.

New question: I'd love to go on a guided boat tour spotting whales/dolfins. Found some but they cost big bucks. Anybody know some good ones that don;t break the bank?

Thanks again,

Thijs

 

[Sanji]

Yes my father who worked in mull for few months with our local council, did see a golden eagle. cant remember where it was about though he seen it.

 

[pango]

Hi Thijzzz,
I truly hope you enjoy your visit.

There are a few sites which purport to forecast midge activity. http://2010.midgeforecast.co.uk/ I can't comment on these sites as midgies are not a priority for me. It's psychological warfare out there. Don't get rattled, hyperventilate or allow them to get you into a panic. They detect vibration, movement, heat-source and CO2. Bear that in mind and you already have an advantage!

I find Skin So Soft to be a hassle. You must apply it regularly, it's oily and I find it uncomfortable. Jungle Formula has been my mainstay for years, but not for children. I bought a bottle of Autan Plus last year from Lidl for £1.75/100 ml. It worked well so I went back and bought another 3 bottles.

As a mountain weather report I use http://www.mwis.org.uk/ Scottish weather is a something of a luckybag, though. My philosophy is that if you love the Scottish countryside, you take what you get and are thankful for it! I am trying to help you here, honest!

Our wildlife has recovered well over the last few decades with the demise of heavy industry. We must look on the bright side and the relative explosion of wildlife nationwide is quite astonishing. Otter are now common in Scotland's rivers and around the coastline.

Camping restrictions have been imposed on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond due to vandalism, selfishness and disregard for the environment by a minority. And I stress "minority", so please don't let them spoil your visit. I suggest you read the following before making plans. http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/loch-lomond-camping-ban-approved/001851/

Enjoy your holiday and I hope you decide to return some day.

Sliante!

 

[Thijzzz]

Thanks Pango, especially for the Midge forecast. Oban looks....mmmm.....I'll get me DEET.

We'll see about Loch Lomond then, shame some ruined it for the rest.

I'm off to bed !

 

[Highbinder]

Thanks for all the great replies!

@ Highbinder
Sounds good! Is that the B387 to Balmaha that you mean? On Google Maps it seems it turns into a B-road that goes all the way up to the north side of the lake. Where about are those beaches? (lovely pic!)
Trossachs look nice too, I'll keep it in mind. Kelvingrove was recommended already, if we can stand a busy city we'll visit Glasgow and the museum.
Are there any parking spaces outside the city with a shuttle to the center (Park & Ride) ?

That photo is from a beach near Cape Wrath. Beautiful cliffs across the north coast. It's my favourite part of Scotland for scenery.

Re Loch Lomand, yes that's right it takes you up through Balmaha. I'm afraid I don't know how to link a map with it shown but if you switch to Satelliete just before 'Loch Lomand Lodge' you'll see the ones I mean. Decent enough parking either at the lodge or at the layby, and it's a common enough walking route so the path is reasonably decent.

Plenty of park and rides. The subway is nice and easy and is novel to go on as a tourist (IIRC 2nd oldest subway in the world, its tiny) but I wouldn't recommend it on a very wet or very hot day as it gets rather clamy down there. Plenty of the trainstations will have parking - I know East Kilbride in particular has a large carpark. Parking in Glasgow isn't too bad anyway, and theres parking at Kelvingrove or across the road at the Transport Museum.

In regards to Galloway Park, we went up through to Loch Grannoch from the South (you can drive to ~1mil before theres a locked gate) and hiked the rest. It's nice but I think there are better spots further into the park. I'm planning another couple of trips down to explore the rest of the lochs.

 

[Thijzzz]

Hi guys, just returned from our holiday. Not a bushcrafty one, but enjoyed the Scottish lands as much as we could.

THANKS TO ALL for the tips and tricks!

It's been a great trip, most of it spent on the Island of Mull (below Skye). Beautiful island with much wildlife: we've seen basking sharks, seals, otters, sea eales, hen harriers, popoise, red deer, you name it. One night of wildcamping on a bay in Mull, will post pics later. If you ever have the chance: go.

On the culture side: Culzean Castle, Duart Castle, The Hill House,
the Mackintosh House, centre of Glasgow, Kelvingrove Museum and more.

On the way back enjoyed a great short day in Glasgow: the Kelvingrove Museum is GREAT. What a feat for a city to have such a place free of admission. We lunched there....suddenly the organ in the central hall starts playing! Turns out there's a half hour concert every day! Truly unbelievable. And lucky us: bagpipe festival on George Square when we went back to the centre!

Got some great souvenirs: 2 stag antlers one of the owners of a farm-B&B gave me for free, some stick-making supplies like butts, rings etc. (guy on Mull, has a webshop!) and finally a Highlander Forces 44 pack. And lots of great memories.

Thanks again!!

 

[Barn Owl]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip.

I'm not far from Culzean,I should've tried to meet for a chat,sorry.

It's amazing the amount of Netherlands cars that I see in just going to town in Ayr most days.

 

[Thijzzz]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip.

I'm not far from Culzean,I should've tried to meet for a chat,sorry.

It's amazing the amount of Netherlands cars that I see in just going to town in Ayr most days.

Would have liked that, maybe some other time then.

Not many Dutch cars on Mull though. Some people seemed to be getting to know our car though - only white Dutch van on the island driving like a local

 

[Sanji]

Ahhh glad you had so much fun n enjoyed the island of Mull, with a few trinkets too I seen you managed to get a rucksack, was it in the places i suggested in Oban? Sorry i wasnt able to tell you what the stores exactly had in them, was working on the day you arrived into town, so didnt get chance to read/reply the last msg ya sent me. Looking forward to seeing the pics

 

[Thijzzz]

That's OK, we found them all but none had Highlander gear. We went to Adventure One in the centre of Glasgow, they're stacked with Highlander.

 

[Nonsuch]

It is an incredible country. Don't tell everyone

NS

 

[sirex]

sounds like you need the midge forecast: http://2010.midgeforecast.co.uk/

edit: really helpful thread this. Were heading up for 2 weeks into scotland from manchester at the end of september. Should be taking more or less the whole north and west coasts down to oban, so any suggestions on nice campsites and wild spots is much appreciated.