Scotland Areas To Wild Camp

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UKYanky

Tenderfoot
Jan 25, 2017
90
0
Grantham
Title is vague i know.

I have my wifes friend and brother coming over from the USA in Aug. They're not boozers, and so I havent a clue what to do with them for 10 days.

I was thinking I might give them a tour of the North. Go to a few cities and head up to Scotland, show them the beautiful city of Edinburgh and then hopefully do a few nights wild camping. Can any of our knowledgeable members recommend any good areas to wild camp, preferrably near the the lochs? As Americans I'm sure they will want to visit Ness and Lomond.

They wont have any kit really so big hikes will be a no no, I'm thinking driving close to the camp spots so they can enjoy the majesty of the views.

Any advice at all really will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Neil.
 

Polecatsteve

Nomad
Aug 20, 2014
286
5
Scotland
Well you could camp loch side at a place called Firkin Point about mid way up the west coats of loch lomand. Carpark nearby so no walking, with nice weather the views are outstanding at sun down. Sadly though you may be eaten alive by midges if you do any camping near bodies of water during warm (!?!?) weather.

You have Arran, take the car from ardrossan via ferry, camp at glen rosa, again drivable. After that you can drive round to Lochranza and take the ferry to bute and drive round the west coast.

On loch Tay (I'm sure it's Tay) there is a town on the West Point called Killin(?)
It has canoe and kayak hire to go round the small islands. You can even stop on them for picnic.

Or camp overnight on one. That's fun.

Clay shooting? Always fun.

Not sure how long you plan to be in Scotland, Glen Coe is a good outdoor place. Some outstanding views. Again "Here be midges" should be scrawled on your map.

90% of the population live in the worst 10% of Scotland. Go north or south of the central belt and it's another country.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
I take umbrage at that…the central belt might be population heavy but our woodland and countryside is beautiful. It's also the best land….why it's the busiest bit.
https://www.visitlanarkshire.com
https://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/edinburgh-lothians/

Loch Lomondside in Summer is a no-go for wild camping. It is specifically excluded from the right to responsible access from March to September, because numpties were not being responsible :sigh:
By all means visit it, but pay heed to the byelaws and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park guidelines.
http://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/things-to-do/camping/go-wild/

Loch Tayside is lovely, but it's mostly surrounded by lands that are either someone's gardens (curtilege of a demense is also excluded) or it's public car parking areas, which are gated and locked at night or the patch along the lochside is next to a road and not comfortable, and not safe parking either. The roads are narrow and they are twisty. The locals have had a lot of bother with fishermen leaving a load of carp (and I don't mean the fish!) behind them. The islands are privately owned and it's considered courteous to have permission to camp. Not every one does, but, I know folks who own one or two of them and they're not best pleased at the mess tourists leave behind with their bbq's and camps. Can't say I blame them, tbh.

The midges are ravenous at times both along Loch Lomond and Loch Tay. Get hold of Beatons midge jackets or at very least head nets, just in case.

I think on balance, since you don't know the area and you don't know the sites or how the weather will be, that finding sites to camp such as Comriecroft, which you can use as a safe and civilised (for a given value of civilisation) base camp would be a good idea.
That site is very central in Perthshire, (on the river Earn….which means sea eagle and you can watch the ospreys flying along the river :) ) easy to get to and to travel from to other places.
There are masses of other such sites around, from Wiston to the ones up in the Cairngorms.

I hope you have really good weather, easy travelling and a good jaunt :D

M
 

Polecatsteve

Nomad
Aug 20, 2014
286
5
Scotland
I don't intend to cause personal offence. But i am of the opinion the central belt is over developed and covered in farm land. For a visitor to Scotland it is not the first area that comes to mind to try and sell. I am from the Ayrshire area so please don't think I'm just throwing abuse about Toddy. Granted there are many nice unspoiled areas.

There are just many many more elsewhere.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
It is very much a landscape of town and villages surrounded by farmlands….but there's an awful lot of wild land still too though.
There's also an enormous amount of good walking, and much of it now joined up so that one can follow a river like the Clyde virtually from it's rising right through to Glasgow, just walking along the woods and edges of the river banks. And, and it's a huge and :) the area is full of history, full of places of interest, full of wildlife.
It's also a lot more accessible and a lot less midgied than the west coast and highlands can be.

If they only have a few days, I'd still say pick somewhere central-ish and jaunt from there.
That's why the Comriecroft site. The Trossachs are one way, over to Kenmore the other, easy to get onto the motorway up to Inverness and the Isles too.
Masses of beautiful scenery, again loads of wildlife, and there is the history/archaeology bit too :)

M
 

UKYanky

Tenderfoot
Jan 25, 2017
90
0
Grantham
Great advice folks. Just you guys talking about the areas you know I can see their is passion for the country and i cannot wait to get a small glimpse of it under my belt. Youboth have given me a lot to think about but more importantly a great place to start!

Thanks again.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
How do you plan to travel ? I ask because there are so many beautiful places but travelling to them can easily eat up all of your time, rather than actually getting out and breathing fresh air :)

We happily nip across to Arran for the day, but you have to know to juggle ferries and mini buses if you don't want to stay over night. Similarly Mull or Skye….though the bridge makes that easy, just that the island is 60 miles long, over 600sq miles, and is no tiddler to walk round….or across either :D

The East coast can be very beautiful too, generally less midges, colder if the wind blows though, but is usually much sunnier…..for some reason everybody seems to want to see the West coast though.

What sort of things do your companions like ? maybe that'd give an idea of some places to enhance their visit. The journey North is full of history and archaeology. The modern motorway route (and pretty much the one the trains follow) follow the old route that has been in use since the Mesolithic, and the evidences are there still on the landscape.
Polecatsteve is right that the central belt from east of the Lothians through to the Ayrshire coast is population heavy, but that's for a given value of population, there's an awful lot of woodland, moor and hill too.

M
 

UKYanky

Tenderfoot
Jan 25, 2017
90
0
Grantham
Thanks for taking the time here Toddy.

We will travel by car. My wife and I are out doors 'enthusiasts' (what ever that means lol). We like to walk/ hike / camp. Our two guests, well one is from California early 30s woman and the other an 18 yo texan kid, both enjoy the outdoors but will be more touristy in style. It may be that I end up taking all this advice for the use of just the wife and I as I see this will be wonderful knowledge for us in the future. However, maybe for the time we go with our guests I may do something a little more 'sight seeing' style visit to Scotland and focus on the highlights...

I am thinking now as i type this that I will be more than likely using the info here to plan a trip with just my wife and I where we will have a little more time to explore and immerse ourselves in the country. So with that in mind, I need to go back to the drawing board with what I will do with the guests in Scotland. Edinburgh is definite, its on every yanks bucket list...I like the idea of travelling through the center and maybe heading west?
 

Highbinder

Full Member
Jul 11, 2010
1,257
2
Under a tree
How much driving are you happy to do? There are some amazing beaches and munros in the North west. If you're tight on time I wouldn't go as far as Caithness or Sutherland, but the Cairngorms are well worth a visit, Glencoe is lovely and high on most tourist lists I'd think.
 

UKYanky

Tenderfoot
Jan 25, 2017
90
0
Grantham
Thanks Highbinder, I went to the Cairngorms as a youngster. Great times. I'm actually using the info in this thread to plan 2 different trips now lol. One with the guests and the other as a proper trip with just my wife. For the trip with my wife, we dont mind the driving at all.
 

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