Scotland 2 week camp?

[Arhurwaythere]

Hi all.

I’m thinking of taking myself to Scotland around the end of the month for a couple of weeks. Ideally I would like to find a good remote spot to use as a base. Then spend the time brushing up on my bush craft skills. I will take my tarp, bivi hammock etc in case of emergency but would ideally like to construct a shelter from available materials. Needless to say I would not cause damage and would leave the area as least as good as I found it, but given that I would look to stay around the base for 10 or 12 days it would need to be a place that I would not inconvenience or upset anyone.

Any Ideas?

Cheers Richard.

 

[Clouston98]

Wild camping is legal in scotland so pitching a base camp should be no problem however there is a rule that your tent is only allowed to stay in one spot for either 2 or 3 days (it's one or the other but not sure which) to stop the vegetation underneath dying.i think you would be fine in a hammock and tarp or bivvy but in a large tent I think you would probably have to move or a ranger might find out or tell you off.

Hope this has helped. Good luck finding somewhere nice.

 

[Uilleachan]

Scotland isn't that wooded, that said the majority of the boreal remnant is in scotland, cally pine forests.

For remote tundra-esque consider rannoch moor, jump off at Corrour railway station right into the middle of it;

http://uk.ask.com/wiki/Corrour_railway_station

http://uk.ask.com/wiki/Rannoch_Moor?qsrc=3044

It's a SSSI, but provided you don't wreck the place I'm sure no one will mind. Very few trees there so shelter building is out (Traditional dwelling were built from turf and roof timbers were imported much valued and reused generation to generation). I'd take a tent map and compass full winter waterproofs etc, a bushcrafter died out there a year or so back, it was winter but on Rannoch at the end of september the weather can get poor, killer poor so you'd need dependable shelter and kit.

Fire wood is also none existent, but you can burn heather and if you keep fires small, pot sized, a little dry heather goes a long way. There's the odd bits of preserved timber in the bogs to supplement the heather, often it burns wet as it's full of resin and bog oil, bits of dry peat can be found if you get clever about looking. Just don't set fire to the place and be very careful if it's dry, that may mean not having a fire. Out there a wild fire would be devastating, fire can also travel much faster than a person, so potentially deadly too should the wind turn and it's doing that a lot at the moment with this jet stream thing up setting the normal patterns.

That could be a serious trip, depending how far you venture from the station, more a wild wilderness camp than a bushcraft trip but the chance to take the train right into the heart of a little wilderness make it unique in the UK or north western europe. The moor is 50miles sq, (and around 400m in altitude so a good 4ºC on average colder) but it's set in among high hills making the area north of the A82 difficul to access and very remote. Bogs and lochs form natural barriers so corrour with it's established paths makes it an ideal starting post. Me, I'd journey either west to Kinlochleven, or east to Dalwhinny, or just hang around munching porridge

 

[Arhurwaythere]

Thanks for the info.

Should have probably gone into more detail.

In the past did some pretty serious trips but after a lengthy break (wife / kids etc) looking to get back out.

I’m looking for a wooded area ideally on the coast; want to try out some long lines. Also would like to experiment with making some fish traps and other traps using available materials, also might like to make a bow (have not made one for years). I am aware of laws regarding hunting and trapping in the UK and so would be doing this more to increase and refine skills rather than obtaining food.

Thinking of a big trip to Canada next year and wanting to get a handle on areas I need to work on before then.

 

[Uilleachan]

Thanks for the info.

Should have probably gone into more detail.

In the past did some pretty serious trips but after a lengthy break (wife / kids etc) looking to get back out.

I’m looking for a wooded area ideally on the coast; want to try out some long lines. Also would like to experiment with making some fish traps and other traps using available materials, also might like to make a bow (have not made one for years). I am aware of laws regarding hunting and trapping in the UK and so would be doing this more to increase and refine skills rather than obtaining food.

Thinking of a big trip to Canada next year and wanting to get a handle on areas I need to work on before then.

Argyll oak alder & birch woods would be a good bet. Don't discount Rannoch from Corrour then. You could spend a couple of days walking in from there to kinlochleven, lots of coastal woods down there. Plus plenty trout fishing en route

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

We were canoeing today in the Balqhuidder area. No midges in the breeze but at Strathyre, in tne trees at the roadside, they were biting. Definitely nearing the end of Midge season.

 

[Uilleachan]

We were canoeing today in the Balqhuidder area. No midges in the breeze but at Strathyre, in tne trees at the roadside, they were biting. Definitely nearing the end of Midge season.

Aye, the first frosts are hitting the inland glens that helps put them down. 10 days or so should put an end to them for the season, although they can hang around into October all be it for an hour in the morning and evening.

 

[StuMsg]

Abernethy forrest? beautiful place. Possible quite busy with walkers but if you choose somewhere off the beaten path you should find a nice quiet secluded spot.

Just be careful with firewood, I'm sure the rangers would be angry if you started to burn lots of the native scots pine.

 

[Uilleachan]

Abernethy forrest? beautiful place. Possible quite busy with walkers but if you choose somewhere off the beaten path you should find a nice quiet secluded spot.

Just be careful with firewood, I'm sure the rangers would be angry if you started to burn lots of the native scots pine.

Abernethy is indeed bonny, however it is now part of the national park and the focus of intense activity for many interests so crawling with people, one wouldn't be a popular bushcrafter if captured lighting fires in about it, personally I steer clear of it for stopping out.

There are plenty other places where a body wouldn't be bothered. All the cally pine remnants are protected but not all are as busy.