Wild Camping Suggestions??

[FZSteely]

Steely, your bike will be safe. I stayed in Ullapool a few years back for 2 nights. Arrived at about 3/4pm and parked outside the B & B. Took the gear off the bike and headed in. Never touched the bike the whole time. When I was leaving, I cold not find my keys anywhere. Panic set in. I headed out to the bike to find they were in the seat lock  . Point is, nobody touched them. Good folks up in the heelins (Highlands to you I guess  ) You can leave your bike by the side of the road for days mate, no one will touch it. Just take the keys with you.

That's good to know. I've always liked Scotland although I've only discovered a small part of it so far. (I was 23 when I first stayed there, I'm 27 now) I can't wait to take in the scenery really, sit by the tent, get a coffee going on a stove. Simply speaking I don't think there's anywhere else that can compare or offer that experience.

[adeejaysdelight]

It is a pretty rugged wilderness and is nothing like the rest of the UK. The highlands are as geographically north as south Alaska, which subjects the landscape (and people) to some fierce weather. That makes for some jaw dropping mountains (and rough faces  ). The best of them are from 15 miles north of Fort William, mountains that is. If that is what you are really after, up the West coast is the way for you. You can PM me if you like, and let me know when you are thinking of doing it and I can tag along for an hour or two and show you a few roads.

[esetest]

 I just got back from Scotland last night  , if your looking for a wild camp you could pitch up by the lake halfway up Ben Nevis , joking aside I found Glen Nevis  campsite at the foot of Ben Nevis  wild enough for me , and an idea base to ride out from.

[adeejaysdelight]

Did you climb Nevis?

[esetest]

Yes , I  made it to the top and back down in 7 hours , the average time is between 6 -8 hours  I thought I was pretty fit until I saw people running up the mountain pass me   , I got really bad cramps in my thighs about 900m up but I still made it up , I didn't have the right footwear though , it was a choice between canvass shoes or motorcycle boots so I wore the boots , glad I did it though . 

[Exupnut]

Next time u come to us

[FZSteely]

It is a pretty rugged wilderness and is nothing like the rest of the UK. The highlands are as geographically north as south Alaska, which subjects the landscape (and people) to some fierce weather. That makes for some jaw dropping mountains (and rough faces  ). The best of them are from 15 miles north of Fort William, mountains that is. If that is what you are really after, up the West coast is the way for you. You can PM me if you like, and let me know when you are thinking of doing it and I can tag along for an hour or two and show you a few roads.

Thanks for the offer. I might take you up on that mate. I'll spend some time this weekend piecing ideas together.

[caretaker]

i'm up on the west coast next week, so if it's raining, it's my fault. and i'm camping as well but using campsites.

[adeejaysdelight]

Have fun caretaker.

[adeejaysdelight]

Yes , I  made it to the top and back down in 7 hours , the average time is between 6 -8 hours  I thought I was pretty fit until I saw people running up the mountain pass me   , I got really bad cramps in my thighs about 900m up but I still made it up , I didn't have the right footwear though , it was a choice between canvass shoes or motorcycle boots so I wore the boots , glad I did it though .

I climbed up it about 7/8 years ago with my mate. We had shorts, trainers, 20 fags each (a few of which were deconstructed and rebuilt to our liking ), a sandwich, a can of irn-bru and spent the night before in a bob the builder tent (courtesy of his brother-in-law) which we pitched beside a tidal loch with an inflatable mattress inside. Woke up a 5am floating and had to swim about getting our gear back  . Beautiful morning though, and the midges had a right good feed on us. Ah, the things you do in your yoof! It was a great day that I will never forget though.

[bigbluebear]

That takes me back....minus the early morning dip

[VNA - BMW Wank]

As long as you are well away from the central belt, as others have said your bike will be fine.  Obviously you want to be clear of busier areas like Fort William and Inverness etc.

But if you want to go somewhere remote, then there is no prob parking your bike and leaving it, just be sensible where you park it, ie so it doesn't cause an obstruction.  You can park it up, walk off and pick it up a week later if you want. 

And if you do head off, don't forget to leave word with somebody roughly where you are heading and when they can expect to hear from you again.  If you are going remote you probably won't get a mobile phone signal.  Leave them details of your reg number and where roughly it will be parked.

Just give a bit of thought to where you are heading, make sure are prepared and you can navigate confidently.  A few folks have gone wild camping or using bothies in the last year and didn't return.  In a couple of cases it was a few months before their bodies were located.  One of these sad incidents was in an area I know quite well.  Makes you think.

Another consideration is midge, and at the moment even worse than that are the clegs.  Never mind wild camping, which I've never or have yet to get into, but as a hill walker I haven't been up any hills since the begining of June, firstly due to some very warm weather, secondly the clegs are out in force and trying to eat folks alive.  Popped up my local hill and fought them all the way up and all the way back down - foc that, it was miserable.

But with luck things might improve over the next few weeks. 

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Ben Nevis?  Not done that one yet, hopefully pop up there at some point.

But the Mountain Track looks like a bit of a drag.

I'd go for this route, probably a good bit more effort but should be well worth it - http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/fortwilliam/carnmordeargarete.shtml

[Hedgetrimmer]

I've done Snowdon, Cadair Idris in Wales, Scafell and many other tops in the Lakes region, but not had a chance to do Ben Nevis yet. Don't know if I'll ever get to now as my fitness is not what it was. Scafell I did on a whim, got to the top and realised I had forgotten my camera, and the views were stunning! Didn't have a camera when I did Snowdon either - it was very crowded at the top. Route is a very important consideration to me, cos if you just do the easiest ones, it's bound to be busier. Coming down from Snowdon, the miner's track actually had queues on it, whilst I took the Pyg track - met only 2 other people the whole way down, and as the path stayed higher for longer, much better views, espec. of down the Llanberis pass.
A path with a bit of scrambling I find much more enjoyable than a straight walk, but obviously you need to choose something within your capabilities!

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Done plenty of good hill walks and not met a sole the whole day. 
There's nothing like walking alone and not meeting a single sole all day.
I don't like busy hills.
I'm not the best at getting up in the morning, but some of the more popular hills, the only way to do it is to get up well before dawn and get on the hill before the crowds arrive.

But at the moment I'm, waiting for the cleg population to wane a little before I head out again.