where to leave the car?

[charlarino]

Hi everyone,

me and 2 mates will be visiting Galloway forest in september, and as its my first trip to scotland I was hoping for a bit of advice and guidance,

Firstly as we will be going late september (last week of the month) will we still get besieged by midges or will they have gone by then?

secondly can anyone recommend a good spot to park the car in safety for 4 nights? somewhere with a bit of security would be nice as we would like to be able to leave it and head of without worrying

As you will probably guess from the questions - we are relative novices when it comes to this type of thing but eager to learn and pick up new skills, we've camped a few times in the lake district, but not usually too far from civilisation, our last trip was to white moss woods near lake grasmere, which was nice, but a little crowded due to it being high summer and un-characteristically dry..

Now we are gearing up to do it properly, we've ditched the tents bought hammocks tarps and meths burners etc. and are looking forward to having as much fun as you guys seem to have judging by your posts.. so any words of advice will be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance for any answers

 

[HarrogateTobias]

I use this solution

sry i cant help. I just had the perfect picture

 

[Imagedude]

Ditch the hammocks and get a tent, that way you'll be free of insects and be able to cook in the rain. The tent will probably be lighter than the hammocks too.

 

[HarrogateTobias]

Ditch the hammocks and get a tent, that way you'll be free of insects and be able to cook in the rain. The tent will probably be lighter than the hammocks too.

tents are for girl guides...

 

[Alba]

get a tent....

 

[santaman2000]

tents are for girl guides...

Tell it to the Marines www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=18623&TabID=548 It's heavy, about 7 pounds, but not as heavy as the 10 pounds in the ad.

 

[Gaudette]

As hammocks and tarps are the most popular form of sleeping method, as proved by the currently running poll on another thread you are on the right track. Pack a mossie net and some Avon skin so soft. As for the car a giant camo kilt might work!


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"If we had some bacon we could have bacon and eggs, if we had some eggs"

 

[Bowlander]

There will definitely be midges if the weather is mild. On south Uist a few years ago I was on the end of the ferry pier listening to the Stags roaring and got eaten alive- that late October.

Take a midge net for your head. Skin so soft is ok through the day when there's only a few about but if its really bad they end up sticking to you in clumps of greasy midge death. Take ultrathon spray or cream - it deters ticks as well so I put some on my ankles and calves.

 

[brambles]

Tell it to the Marines www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=18623&TabID=548 It's heavy, about 7 pounds, but not as heavy as the 10 pounds in the ad.

The weight is'nt the thing that pops out of that link - it's the price, which is ridiculous! You could buy a an utterly bombproof Terra Nova Quasar for that.

 

[Expat]

The weight is'nt the thing that pops out of that link - it's the price, which is ridiculous! You could buy a an utterly bombproof Terra Nova Quasar for that.

Read about this a little while back... It is designed for combat theatre conditions, as it says, it has
black-out material so that light can be used inside without detection as well as some kind of
treatment to prevent heat signature detection. All-in-all, the price is not really surprising, but it
may be just a little bit "overkill" for your average trekker.....

 

[Barn Owl]

You could park the car in Newton Stewart and get a bus to Bargrennan then walk in to Glen/loch trool from there.
you could also park in Glentrool village.

 

[charlarino]

well thanks for the help will probably pass on the camo-car as we's never find it again, but looks like loch trool is going to be the place for us, as well as copious amounts of skin-so-soft and plenty of mozzie nets to keep us sane

:You_Rock_thanks again guys :You_Rock_

will try and post some pics when I get back, but I'm usually so awe struck by natures beauty that I forget to pull the camera out lol

 

[santaman2000]

The weight is'nt the thing that pops out of that link - it's the price, which is ridiculous! You could buy a an utterly bombproof Terra Nova Quasar for that.

Yeah the price gets to me too. I've seen them on e-bay but cain't remember the exact prices there, although I do remember they weren't cheap there either.

 

[santaman2000]

Read about this a little while back... It is designed for combat theatre conditions, as it says, it has
black-out material so that light can be used inside without detection as well as some kind of
treatment to prevent heat signature detection. All-in-all, the price is not really surprising, but it
may be just a little bit "overkill" for your average trekker.....

Exactly. I could be wrong but I believe Eureka makes a similar tent without all the military neccessities for a good bit less.

 

[Jinsin456]

How many of you are going?

 

[789987]

3

unless he's a schizophrenic

 

[redandshane]

Leave the car in a car park in Newton Stewart Get your supplies in Newton Stewart(some good shops and the last you will see for a while) and then walk or bus up to Bargrennan or Glentrool village. I used a small tent(Gelert Solo) as in reality its more suited to the varied terrain and midge proof.Take waterproofs lol

 

[charlarino]

there will be three of us going, and as much as I'd love to take a tent I only have a 2 man tunnel tent which isnt the lightest bit of kit going, will probably do as suggested and either leave the car in the car park at the southern end of loch trool or as redandshane says, park up in newton stewart and have a nice walk upto our camping spot.

 

[rik_uk3]

tents are for girl guides...

Rubbish.

OP, take a tent, do yourself a favour, enjoy yourself without being eaten.

 

[Petewhitefang]

Hi Chalarino.

I have just got back from Galloway Forest and had a great time. The areas I camped were very midgey so was very appreciative of my tent (banshee 200). They were up my nose while I was pitching the tent and pinging off the tent sides once I was in! Millions of the buggers. Skin so soft didn't really do much with this bombardment!!
I got the bus to Newton Stewart and made my way over to Loch Dee which is well worth a visit.
Other advice would be to take and wear good waterproofs/boots for very boggy terrain as you will find that the majority of paths on your map no longer exist and are replaced by a boggy wasteland. Sometimes knee deep.
Persevere though and you will be amongst stunning scenery and the finest tranquility.
Enjoy!