Three or Four Days in Scotland, How to Plan?

[Tallgrass]

My family will be in the UK for about two weeks in 2019 – the last week of May and the first week of June.  My wife, who abhors backpacking, has consented to my son and I heading up to Scotland for several days, while she heads off to see some other things that are more interesting to her.

I’m curious about the logistics of planning for this trip.  I’m used to backpacking in the United States, where I typically plan our trip 6 months in advance, (securing transportation, permits, etc.).  Can/should I attempt to do this so early, for a trip to Scotland?  I’ve seen some posts that suggest that people should wait almost to the week of their trip to make plans, because the weather could be anywhere from great to horrible.  Additionally, I’ve seen posts that say that the weather can be very different in different parts of the country, and therefore I should have several options available to me — and then be prepared to choose the best option when the week arrives.  Am I asking for trouble if, this early, I lock ourselves into a trip to Caringorms NP?

I’d prefer to stick to rail travel, and avoid car rental and driving on the left side of the road.  But I’m concerned that if I wait until closer to the trip to do our planning, that we might have trouble securing rail tickets, or that the rail prices might go up astronomically.  Is that a valid concern?

Thanks, Bryan

[William Chilton]

I would start by asking over here.

[Tallgrass]

Hi William, I don’t understand.  Why are you suggesting that I use a different site?  Is that site Scotland specific?  Can you explain more?  Thanks!

[William Chilton]

It’s a UK based site and has quite a number of members with a lot of experience in Scotland (+ the rest of the UK, obviously). I think you’ll find more members with detailed knowledge on Scotland there than on BPL. It’s generally a friendly site too.

[Tallgrass]

Great!  Thanks!

[john hansford]

Despite what some people say, it doesn’t always wind and rain in Scotland. Also, most years somewhere in the last two weeks of May and the first two weeks of June there will be a heatwave, perfect for backpacking.

 

Problem is, you won’t know which week it is until very late. Therefore my preference would be to wait as long as possible, and take a hit on the higher train fares.

 

The Cairngorms are in the eastern half of the country, and are in the rain shadow of the prevailing westerly wind and therefore drier. Of course, if the wind is from the east during your week (unusual)  you want to be in the west, say west of the Great Glen.

 

You don’t need any permits or registration to hike in the UK, and in Scotland there is is no law of trespass, which means you can hike and camp anywhere you like, just don’t camp too near houses and gardens and the like.

 

 

[Mole J]

Good advice John

Though I  like your optimistic outlook on the weather! :)

I live in SW England, but in 5 of 8 of the last 8 years I have spent 2 weeks backpacking in Scotland in that time of the year. Maybe the other 3 years were hot, but only one ( this year) was a heatwave year.

Expect any kind of weather if camping in in the hills, in mid May, though extremes, temps have  varied from overnight dips down to 22F and daytime up to 80F. Winds up to 100mph on Cairngorm summits.  Usually somewhere in between – 50F down to 30F. 0- 40mph

 

 

I’d choose the Cairngorms. Good railway connections on the south, west and north of the park.  Less likely to get midges. And drier underfoot. More likelihood of late lying snow for prettiness.

May 29 3016

 

[Tallgrass]

Thanks John.  A heatwave the week we are there would be awesome. :-)

Sounds like heading toward the Cairngorms might be the best roll of the dice.  But I take your point about waiting as long as possible.

Thanks!

[john hansford]

@mole

“May 29 3016”

 

Great to know the planet will still look good in a thousand year’s time

 

; )

[Tallgrass]

Thanks for the reply, Mole, and for the reality check regarding weather possibilities. 100mph winds with -50F temps on the summits?  That would be chilly, for sure.

[Mole J]

Sorry that was a hyphen-dash! -50F is beyond UK temp lows in depths of winter!

 

I meant range +50high to 22f low is quite possible in mid May up high.

But just around freezing at night is more likely your lowest

That small lake (lochan) in the pic still has ice.  So it can stay cool

This year was amazing – walking in our underwear it was so hot some days!

 

@John :D .  Yes I borrow the TARDIS to check things out!

[Tallgrass]

Thanks for the clarification!  That sounds much better.

-Bryan

[Bruce Tolley]

@ Tallgrass,

I have done a couple of long walks in Scotland, Northumbria, and the Lake District where you spend the night in a hut or B&B but not backpacking.

I would not recommend waiting until the last minute to make a decision between 3 or 4 different options.  You really need to prepare for your walk, study the map, have all needed electronic tools loaded on your devices,  have a a plan B ready, and make a no or no go decision based on the weather report and your own experience level and risk profile. Plan B might well be spend 3 nights in the B&B and taste all the brews in the local pub,

IMO you really need to have excellent cross country navigation skills for when the rain really starts to fall, you cannot tell the difference between the trail or a rain fed stream and you only have 100 or 200 feet of visibility. So in contrast to summer hiking in the Sierra Nevada, you lose visibility in the Scottish weather, and do not have the visual clues to navigation provided by easily recognizable peaks. You need to rely more on basic navigation and reading the land.

[Tallgrass]

Thanks for the reply, Bruce.  And I appreciate your points on weather and navigation.  It looks like the Caledonian Sleeper rail cars have refundable tickets that aren’t much more expensive than the non-refundable ones.  I’m starting to lean toward planning on a trip to the Cairngorms NP and get a refund, if necessary.

[Amy Lauterbach]

We have walked extensively in the UK, including a multi-week walk in Scotland. The advice provided in the above posts is on target. I would emphasize, however, that you are going late enough in the year that midges are a possibility. If they are out in force, you will need to be prepared with headnets or your experience may be not so good. There are a few UK websites that provide midge reports, so we suggest you add a review of those just prior to your trip. Here is one: https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/

Bruce’s comment about Scottish trails disappearing under water is quite true. Unless you are really fortunate, just plan on having wet feet .

James and Amy      Doingmiles.com

[Rick M]

Scotland is a fair distance from London to go for just a 3-4 day walk. I would suggest for your plan B you consider walking a section of the SW Coastal path. The weather is mild, the wildflowers are in full bloom, baby lambs and wild ponies in stunning pastoral scenery on one side and spectacular coastal scenery and beaches on the other. Inexpensive accommodation (YHA) is plentiful as well as good food and beer every 10-15 miles found in the picture postcard villages. Virtually impossible to get lost. The constant up/downs along the route and nearly 17hrs of daylight for walking will give you a nice workout. And NO MIDGES!

Btw, there is a Bank holiday May 27 and week long school mid term break during your visit so keep that in mind when making your reservations.

[Tallgrass]

@drongobird thanks for the reply.  I’ve definitely been clued into the midge factor.  Unfortunately, our options are somewhat limited with my son being only 14 years old.  We are heading out on this trip two days after he completes the school year.  If we could go a little bit earlier, we would.  But the midge factor is the reason we aren’t waiting any longer.

@yamaguy thanks for the reply and suggestion.  I know that this is subject to one’s opinion, but Scotland doesn’t seem very far from London for us.  We live in Iowa.  And we must travel much longer distances for almost every backpacking trip we ever take.  When we are already in London, Scotland seems close to us. :-)

Thanks!

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