MMM... culture shock

[esterling]

OK, I've been camping in tents since I was three. I've hiked and kayaked and camped in campgrounds and wilderness areas, mostly in the Western part of the US, for my whole life. There are a bunch of assumptions I make about camping that are kind of thrown out the window here. There are things like "never go camping without a fixed blade knife". Oops! Not legal here!! Or "always read up as much as you can about the trails you'll be section or through hiking". But it seems like here in Scotland it's ALL a trail... I haven't comprehended an equivalent to, say, the Pacific Crest Trail. It's more like, "Here's some land, and there's places on it you can walk" or something. And if I were in the US and going off-trail I'd need to get a permit and file a travel plan. Don't have to do that here, right? (bonus!) But I'd still like to have some clue as to where I'm going and what I can expect out there. Yeah, I've read the Scottish Outdoor Access Code online and the resources at http://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/activities/walking/wild-camping but I'm still totally unclear about where to think about heading short of, "OK, I'll just walk out my front door and keep walking until I collapse and have to camp for the night." Which is, you know, a way to camp, I s'pose.

Sooooo... What great knowledge and advice can y'all give an ignorant American about finding places to go, getting to the start of the walk without a car, and local information about things like areas where a woman camping solo is in more danger of running into nasty people and that sort of thing. (I'd much rather run into a bear in a Pacific Northwest forest or a cougar in the hills above Silicon Valley than a person with criminal intent anywhere, if ya know what I mean.)

 

[Toddy]

Ehm....welcome to the forum and where would you like to start from ? It's a varied terrain, and the worst thing you'll come up agin (outside of Winter in the 'gorms) is the midge.
Indeed I sometimes think we take more heed of preventing/discouraging/ protecting agin, the midge than north Americans do against the bears

Frankly, avoiding curtiledge, SSSi's and scheduled ancient monuments, growing crops and fields with livestock, I pretty much go where I want. Leave no trace and no one'll bother, usually.
Public transport is good, but better through from March to October. Generally rural public transport is too poorly used to be viable in full coverage outside holiday/tourist seasons. There will still be some provision though. Timetables and routes are all available online.
Don't try for Loch Lomondside for much of the year; the numpties trashed it and the park brought in restrictions.

So, North, South, East or West ? Islands or mainland ? Where would you like to go ? scenery or history ? Hills or water ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[santaman2000]

.......And if I were in the US and going off-trail I'd need to get a permit and file a travel plan.

Where out west were you? It was all open range when I lived out there.

 

[John Fenna]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Chainsaw]

"never go camping without a fixed blade knife". Oops! Not legal here!!

Lol that's about the only time you can carry a fixed blade knife as you then have good reason(ish) As Toddy says, what do you want to do, Munro bagging? I like to walk out to some of the plane wrecks in the very NW of scotland, most are memorials but they are almost always in isolated places and great walks. Best thing to do is grab a map and plan a walk. There is usually very little danger out there other than the weather, and usually very few muppets out there to give you trouble, it's too far from the road! Maybe the west highland way but that's a bit of a tourist trap, how about coast to coast along hadrians wall starting with a train to carlisle. May be some info here, here and here

Oh BTW cougars off Skyline Blvd no-one told me!

 

[ged]

Perhaps first of all you should do a little research on the gepgraphy and the climate in your new part of the world. There are truckloads of publications, both paper and online, for your delectation.

You will want to know the geography because some of it in Scotland can be a little testing. You haven't said how long ago it was when you were three years old, but that might be an issue on the steeper, higher, colder, wetter parts of the countryside. Scotland by the way has some of the steepest, highest, coldest and wettest parts of the British Isles.

We have these things called 'Ordnance Survey Maps' which sound a bit military but are no longer just about the best places to site defensive positions. They're a tremendous resource. The 1:25,000 series are probably the best for planning your walks. When you get used to the way they're presented you might never want to use anything else, but there are electronic gadgets which can contain all the same information and a lot more besides -- or so they tell me, the only electronic gadget I take with me into the wilds is a head torch.

There are many people on this forum who can help you with more detailed local information. Why not look at the 'meets' section to see if there are any planned near you?

For a lot of people who don't have a car, a bicycle works just fine.

If you plan to go out on the sea in a kayak, do your homework carefully. The shores of Britain can be very much more dangerous than those of the west coast of the USA.

 

[esterling]

It's a varied terrain, and the worst thing you'll come up agin (outside of Winter in the 'gorms) is the midge.
Indeed I sometimes think we take more heed of preventing/discouraging/ protecting agin, the midge than north Americans do against the bears

*snorfle* Yeahhh... I've heard about the scourge of the midges. Does a repellent spray made from eucalyptus and lavender oils in an alcohol base work as well against midges as it does against mosquitoes? (That stuff is as good or better than DEET against mosquitoes, but I don't know what midges like or dislike.)

So, North, South, East or West ? Islands or mainland ? Where would you like to go ? scenery or history ? Hills or water ?

Homebase is Glasgow. As for where I want to explore, well, eventually, everything I can! For now I'm sticking to the mainland and probably within an hour or two by train or bus, but come next Spring I expect to get farther afield. I expect to be having many opportunities to travel within Scotland for work purposes, and I intend to tack extra days onto those trips for exploration.

So far I've only been on a few day hikes. I spent a day hiking at Loch Katrine. I spent two and a half days hiking in the area around Dalkeith, just south of Edinburgh. I haven't done any overnight camping here yet at all.

You will want to know the geography because some of it in Scotland can be a little testing. You haven't said how long ago it was when you were three years old, but that might be an issue on the steeper, higher, colder, wetter parts of the countryside. Scotland by the way has some of the steepest, highest, coldest and wettest parts of the British Isles.

I'm an ancient and decrepit 41 year old. Actually, I'm looking forward to something a little more testing that my local walks have been, and something a little more breath taking. If I haven't worked hard enough to earn my sleep at night, what's the point, right?

For comparison purposes, the camping I've done in the last few years has been in Snoqualmie National Forest in the Cascade mountain range in Washington State, in the Clearwater National forest which straddles the Idaho-Montana border, and Klamath National Forest in California. I spent New Years 2012 snow camping solo up in Snoqualmie, which was pretty much the best New Years I've ever had.

We have these things called 'Ordnance Survey Maps' which sound a bit military but are no longer just about the best places to site defensive positions. They're a tremendous resource. The 1:25,000 series are probably the best for planning your walks. When you get used to the way they're presented you might never want to use anything else, but there are electronic gadgets which can contain all the same information and a lot more besides -- or so they tell me, the only electronic gadget I take with me into the wilds is a head torch.

Ah, yes, Ordnance Survey Maps! I've seen that you can order them online. There must be shops somewhere where you can paw at the maps in person before you buy them, aren't there?

I have a quirk in that I don't like to bring or use electronics when I'm doing the exploration thing except for my phone, and even that I prefer not to use except as a camera unless there's an emergency. I generally stick the phone on "airplane mode" so that all the radios are off and it uses less battery so that if I really DO need it, it's available. I do love all the gadgets at other times. I make my living helping build hardware and software for use in low resource and disaster situations, but the whole thing about packing my backpack and heading out the door to get away from it all is that I'm trying to get AWAY from all that. So, yes, paper maps and a real compass are where its at.

There are many people on this forum who can help you with more detailed local information. Why not look at the 'meets' section to see if there are any planned near you?

Good point.

For a lot of people who don't have a car, a bicycle works just fine.

Yeah, I need to get a bike. That's on my list of "must buy soon".

 

[esterling]

BTW cougars off Skyline Blvd no-one told me!

Yup. Every couple of years someone gets eaten while out on a dawn or dusk trail run. It seems like it's almost always a woman, and it's nearly always a female cat that gets tagged for the killing. There are pamphlets and signs about what to do if you see a cougar at many of the trail heads.

 

[santaman2000]

*........Ah, yes, Ordnance Survey Maps! I've seen that you can order them online. There must be shops somewhere where you can paw at the maps in person before you buy them, aren't there?......

It's been a while since I was over there but they used to be in almost EVERY shop; the same way you'd find roadmaps in gas stations here.

 

[santaman2000]

Yup. Every couple of years someone gets eaten while out on a dawn or dusk trail run. It seems like it's almost always a woman, and it's nearly always a female cat that gets tagged for the killing. There are pamphlets and signs about what to do if you see a cougar at many of the trail heads.

I don't think that's the kind of cougars he meant

 

[Toddy]

If you're in Glasgow, find Tiso's, Black's, Nevisport, or WHSmith's and have a look for the walker's waterproof maps. These are composite maps of areas where walking and climbing are particularly choice. Made by Harvey's.
http://www.harveymaps.co.uk/

HWMBLT tells me to advise you to google for OSgetamap, which allows you to print out single sheets for free.

If you fancy the Aviemore area for walking and climbing then there's an express bus leaves from Buchanan Street Bus Station that'll take you right there.....they even feed you and serve coffee too inclusive in the ticket. You really do need to book in advance though to guarantee a seat. Similar bus goes up to Aberdeen and another to Campbeltown, one to Oban, Fort William and to Skye. Well worth sussing out.

I think your spray 'might' work for some midgies in some areas, but it won't work for all. Nothing does. Beatons midgie jacket or at the very minimum buy a headnet. Mosquito nets will not do, the holes are too big and the midgies fly right through

Hope you have some brilliant walks

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Goatboy]

On getting to and from places try this website LINK Works out the public transport side of things for you.

On the Harvey's Maps they are based in Doune, Perthshire, FK16 6BJ. A place worth a wee trip in itself, especially if you're a Monty Python fan as the castle there was used for all the castle scenes in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They even keep coconuts in the gate house so you can do the "horse riding" stuff.