r/OutdoorScotland is not a travel agency for un-researched trips, we cater in fine-grained info you cannot find elsewhere.

Looking at the Met office app for Mamores tomorrow they predicted a full day of >95% rain from morning till evening. We are in holiday in Scotland and planned a hike around the ring of steal tomorrow. We have no other opportunity to do it later unfortunately.

Would you still go or is it too dangerous?

Hi there just new to this page, I joined as I’m a rather outdoors person love being in nature and spending some good quality chill time most of my outdoors work is stemmed around camping usual with a wild swim or hill walk in the morning just here to speak to like minded people enjoying the lovely Scottish outdoors

Like the title suggests I am in need of some ideas for base layers for our trip next month to Scotland. We will primarily be in Edinburgh, but driving to Inverness and Oban for a few days. We do plan to do some hiking weather permitting, but nothing more than 5 miles or so. Thank you 😊

Hi everyone! 👋

Me and my friends are planning a 5-day Scotland motorhome trip from Monday to Friday, starting and finishing in Edinburgh.

Our rough itinerary is:

Day 1 – Edinburgh Overnight: Edinburgh

Day 2 – Edinburgh → Loch Lomond → Glencoe Overnight: Glencoe

Day 3 – Glencoe → Fort William → Glenfinnan Overnight: Glencoe

Day 4 – Glencoe → Fort Augustus → Loch Ness → Inverness Overnight: Inverness

Day 5 – Inverness → Cairngorms → Pitlochry → Edinburgh

For those who know Scotland well, does this itinerary cover the major attractions and scenic areas we should see in 5 days?

More importantly, is this too much driving and not enough time actually sightseeing and enjoying the places? 🚐😅

Are there any must-see places we’re missing, or would you recommend removing/shortening any part of the route to give us more time to explore?

Also, as we’re travelling by motorhome, where would you recommend for cheap places to camp/park and sleep overnight along this route? We’re happy to pay if needed, but would love to know about affordable options.

We’re mainly interested in beautiful scenery, mountains, lochs, viewpoints, Highland villages and iconic Scotland attractions.

Any advice or changes to the itinerary would be greatly appreciated! 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Disclosure first: I made this, solo, as a side project.

TrailWise tracks your rounds across the Scottish lists (Munros, Corbetts, Donalds, plus the English, Welsh and Irish ones if you stray south). Strava sync ticks summits off from your recorded walks, so there's no manual logging. You can download offline maps before heading into Knoydart or the Cairngorms. There's also a live location link you can send to someone at home, and they don't need an account to follow it.

Core tracking is free. Premium is 99p a month for the extras.

A question for the Munroists: if you're on a second round, how would you want that tracked? Separately, or as one running record? I'm trying to get this right.

trailwise.io

I'm trying to be a bit more sociable these days, I'm enjoying getting out running again after knee surgery but it would be nice to have someone to run with occasionally.

I don't live near any clubs unfortunately and I don't use Facebook to find local groups.

I live near Dunblane, if anyone nearby is looking for a running buddy give me a shout. In my forties , trail and hill running is my preference, 10- 15km runs.

Hello,
I’m planning a road trip around Scotland (focussing on the west coast - Isle of Skye etc). I was wondering if anyone has recommendations on things to see/do?

I am a reasonably experienced hiker and I enjoy history and hiking and catching cool scenery.

Bearing in mind the weather could be wet, I’m thinking I will have to stay in hostels as opposed to camping. I presume I could book these as I go as I doubt they will be full this time of year?
Many thanks

Hello, I'm hoping to do an intro to lead climbing course at the Glasgow Climbing Center with the aim of getting into outdoor sports climbing next year. If anyone was interested in pairing up for the course let me know 2x 1hr 45min lessons @£85pp. I could get through to Ratho if they did similar.

I’m travelling to Scotland in April–May. Please suggest a practical layering system for top and bottom wear suitable for Scotland’s cool, windy and rainy weather.

Please cover:

• Base layer: recommended materials and brands.
• Mid layer: fleece/sweater/light down jacket options and brands.
• Outer layer: waterproof, windproof jacket specifications and brands.
• Bottom wear: trousers, thermal leggings, trekking trousers and waterproof trousers—when each is needed.
• Brands: suggest good budget, mid-range and premium options (e.g., Uniqlo, Decathlon, Columbia, The North Face, Patagonia, M&S, Regatta, Mountain Warehouse).
• ANY OTHER TIPS

Please clearly identify what is essential vs optional for April and May.

P.S. - I am from India

Any advice for ticks this coming weekend in loch lomond? Planning on a hike around the munros, not sure which yet, but will be wild camping for a night, wherever we decide is best depending on our position. Heard there are still ticks at this time of year but feel like its getting quite cold now? Would love an opinion from people more experienced or in the know, thank you for your time.

Hi everyone, sorry if this comes across as a dumb question, but I thought I'd ask here for a peace of mind. A few friends and I were planning on doing the Arran coastal way next May (I know it's still a little early) and are planning to wild camp some days. We do have prior wildcamping experience. However, we've never visited anywhere with relatively high tick populations, and from what I've read they're quite a problem in the aforementioned area, especially in the summer. I've done my fair share of research and it definitely seems like a manageable problem if we're careful, but my friends are understandably a little paranoid and afraid. Can anyone tell me how bad the tick situation really is on the island? Is there a real and significant risk? And are there any areas on the island that we should watch out for? Thanks all in advance.

Hi all, trying not to intrude with a general question but thought some advice could be forthcoming from this group.

I had wanted to make a birthday deer stalking trip to Scotland this year for my birthday, but it kind of got away from me in a busy year. I lived in Scotland for a couple years as a young person and have always wanted to get out into the wilds there hunting.

I would want a dear friend to join me, former British army and father of one of my godchildren. I understand we are very late to the game and he would only be available the last week of October when the kids are out of school.

I did a fair bit of research earlier in the year and understand by that time it is Hind and roe deer that are on season.

I'm looking for any advice on the best way to find a last minute booking for two. The websites and bookers that I've looked at don't seem to offer much in the way of partial group or last minute type information.

If anyone had any resources or information that could push me in the right direction I would be very grateful. Thanks in advance y'all!

Hey! I currently work for an environmental charity but more and more I'm desperate to get out and work in the outdoors. I just want to get out of the city and work october/november/december in a new place. The problem is I can't drive and the summer season is over so places are looking for less staff. I also kind of want to avoid hospitality and actually work in the outdoors. I don't have an environmental science/ecology degree or anything, just a passion for wildlife.

Does anyone have advice on how to get seasonal work? I feel so stuck. I was considering WWOOFing, but I need money haha. Has anyone done this before?

Thanks so much!!

I'll keep this vague as I live in the area I'm discussing.

I have been running over the course of the summer and found some routes which take me into a private estate and then up either of 2 rough paths/4x4 tracks into a group of small hills. I haven't had any issues over the summer and of course always stick to the access code of closing gates and generally being respectful of the land and the animals grazing it.

Recently I encountered who I think is the gamekeeper of the estate who was basically extremely unfriendly. He told me at one point that I couldn't be there in general as it was 'private land' and then when I mentioned right to access he basically said 'right of access my arse' so shows you his general attitude to the whole thing.

He told me specifically that I needed to leave at the time because they were shooting. He said there was a sign, I'm not entirely sure about that, I didn't see any new signs but it's possible I missed it as it's a normal route for me so I wasn't expecting any issues.

I totally get the need to restrict access for shooting and have no issues with that. However he essentially said that they are shooting between now and January and that there is no access at any time except on Sundays. This is for both paths which lead to the hills, he said that you can use a lower path which goes along the loch. This means you cannot get up to these hills for nearly 4 months unless it's a Sunday.

Does this seem reasonable to people? Does anyone have experience of speaking to the councils access officers about stuff like this? Can I expect them to actually do anything or is this just the way it is?

I will be staying near Dalmally in a few weeks times and was wondering if anyone knew any good routes/ websites with good routes in the area. I’m an active person but not a mountaineer, so take that into account please 👼

Hi all, I'm looking for suggestions for a 3-5 day long distance trail in the Highlands or further north. I live in the Borders so have easier access to the southern routes, but looking to plan a trip with a friend next spring or early summer.

The WHW doesn't really appeal to me with so many people doing it, just seems a bit busy. I've been looking at the Affric Kintail Way or part of the John o' Groats Trail. Any recommendations for or against these or some other less busy trails?

My friend and I are experienced and comfortable in the outdoors, both fit, but limited experience with wild camping. Not looking for anything too serious like the Skye or Cape Wrath trails.

I'm looking for a new hard shell for climbing and winter hill walking and am keen to try keela. The pinnacle is well rated for winter climbing, but the Cairn appears to also be a 3 layer shell that's literally half the weight of the pinnacle. Is it just as waterproof? The website is a bit vague about it.

As he often does, Nick Kempe makes seem very valid points here about unnecessary closures/exclusions.

We will have car while visiting Inverness the next few days, is there a good Munro we could do?

I did do a search of the group and got some good recommendations for walks.

So my gf and I are planning a Scotland roadtrip in a campervan near the end of september.
Does anyone have tips or know which products we should use to keep the midges from eating us alive?
Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I’ll be staying in Inverness in late October and I’m planning a few proper hiking days in the Highlands. I’m considering the train from Inverness to Aviemore early in the morning, then walk from Aviemore towards Rothiemurchus/Coylumbridge rather than simply waiting for the bus, before taking the bus up towards Cairngorm Mountain. From there, I’m considering doing Cairn Gorm via the Northern Corries.

I’m an experienced hiker, will have proper trekking boots, waterproofs and suitable cold-weather clothing, and I’m comfortable with long days and poor weather. Obviously I wouldn’t blindly commit to the plateau if the actual conditions suggested snow, significant ice, very strong winds or otherwise genuinely wintry conditions.

What I’m particularly interested in is the local perspective: Would you consider Cairn Gorm via the Northern Corries a sensible objective for late October, assuming the forecast and ground conditions are reasonable?

How often would you expect proper winter conditions up there by the third week of October?

Would you recommend this route at that time of year, or is there another substantial walk in the Cairngorms you’d choose instead?

And for someone travelling from Inverness without a car, does the Aviemore → Rothiemurchus → Cairngorm Mountain approach make sense, or is there a better way of doing it?

I’m mainly coming to Scotland for trekking, so I’d much rather spend the day walking than sitting on buses or doing conventional sightseeing.

Any advice from people who know the area well would be very welcome.

Hello people! I am currently running a short survey (10min) with support from NatureScot looking at « Cultural barriers to nature-rich school grounds in Edinburgh ». 

https://forms.gle/XfZY5TzaJumRaEXY6

Please take the time to fill it if you are a parent, teacher or staff involved with a Primary or Secondary school in Edinburgh!