UKC

Next summer I need a low budget adventure, I was thinking of doing a walk in Scotland that will take a few days, maybe 30 to 70 miles. Where is considered to be the remotest and wildest part of Scotland? I'd like it to feel comitting to be able to do it and hardly see anyone else. I was thinking of somehwere in Cairn Gorm, or the north west, or maybe one of the islands?

Cheers

In reply to Red Rover:

Knoydart, the Fisherfields, Seana Bhraigh or the area between the A87 and A890 (Monar etc).

In reply to Red Rover:

I think you should be okay anywhere near Ullapool - I didn't meet people on mountains in 3 days, though the weather was completely rubbish.

In reply to DaveHK:

Thanks those areas look good. I'm expecting the weather to be mixed but it can't be as bad as Norway.

In reply to Red Rover:

I once got to the summit of the most remote Munro, in March, just as another 4 groups arrived.

Most remote can be popular too. A good way to play it would be find the biggest empty space on the road map, get the OS map, and plot a course straight through it.

In reply to Red Rover:

The North West corner around Cape Wrath. Anyone who's there goes to the end of the road. But there's a big area inland that's rarely traversed. Likewise, inland Caithness.

In reply to aln:

The only mountain in Caithness is Morven although a walk along the Caithness/Sutherland border can certainly be remote.

Try Foinaven for remote (as it doesn't have a munro)but don't forget that the Ben Klibreck and Ben Loyal areas can be relatively empty especially if you go for some of the lower peaks around them (there is a small horseshoe to the east of Ben Loyal which isn't well used.

That said Quinag or Suilven (I can't be arsed to check spelling)are really great places and I didn't see a single soul on my Suilven traverse.

In reply to Red Rover:
As some others above are implying, if you go anywhere there are Munros you are unlikely to 'hardly see anyone else.' But, conversely, if you avoid such areas, you can still make a trip which will feel committing and lonely enough.

I don't want to suggest specific areas, but that's my general suggestion.

In reply to Red Rover:

Thanks. I don't care about munroes, whats so special about 3000 feet, but I've been to some isolated places (underground) and like the lonlyness in a perverse way, and was wondering if I could find it in Scotland. I probably can. The advice about lokoing for a blank area on the road map sounds good.

In reply to Red Rover:

Dont take the road map with you though ^_^

In reply to kwoods:

Well I'll use it to get to the right bit of road then use the OS map for walking

In reply to Red Rover:

I recommend Glenfinnan to Shiel Bridge. Perhaps not the most remote but an inspiring walk.

Or the big glens Affric, Monar, Strathfarrar. Many ways to link together.

For solitude avoid Munros and link up a number of Corbetts and smaller hills.

In reply to Red Rover:

For long roadless journeys, try plotting these

Glen's Shiel to Carron

Glens Shee to the Drumochter Pass (heather-plod hell?)

Glenfinnan to Inverie or Kinlochhourn

Blair Atholl to Braemar

Kinlochewe to Oykel Bridge (nearly roadless)

In reply to Red Rover:

You might want to look at parts of Galloway as well as the Highlands. Bits of it are very remote and you will almost certainly see no one if you pick carefully (unless you count goats).

In reply to Red Rover:

Knoydart

Moidart- easy-ish access from the South and no bugger there

In reply to Trangia:

I have been to Knoydart a few times I have always seen people out on the hills , often lots of them if a holiday weekend.

But if he avoids peak season, weekends, national holidays, the main Munro/Corbett peaks (and usual access to them) he might just be lucky there.

In reply to Red Rover:
or maybe one of the islands?
Just back from a Cycle of the Outer Hebridies, a long way away, reasonably cheap to get to (without a car), and if you Go to Harris(Tarbert) avoid the Only Corbett (and usual access routes,and avoid peak season, Holidays, weekends etc that might be another one worth looking at.

I did Clisham a couple of years back without seeing anyone, when tghe forcast was iffy (but I got it dry-just)

However there were a few walkers in the hostels when I was there this time (last week)

If there is a crap weather forcast, then that too might be in your favour (but not very enjoyable

In reply to Red Rover:


Govan.

In reply to Red Rover:
I thoroughly recommend this book. Although it's based on a winter adventure , Mike ventures through some very lonely and remote areas on his journey. It will definitely give you some ideas!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hell-Journey-Through-Scottish-Highlands/dp/17802703...

In reply to Red Rover: If you bag munros it takes you to places you wouldn't go to otherwise. You don't need to ask where to go like you are.

In reply to Phil1919:
Well said. I like your F off attitude

In reply to gerryneely:



Yes! Very inspiring book.

In reply to kwoods:

Why the descriptions of Scotland as Europe's last wilderness? Surely France, Spain have more wild areas that Scotland. If you start to include middle Europe and Scandinavia then the statement is just laughable. Don't get me wrong, some of it is pretty wild and away from civic amenities, but 'last wilderness' it is not. And nothing that could eat you.

D

In reply to Skol:

F off attitude? Anyway nothing wrong with monros but if you want solitude then theyre best avoided as other people will be out ticking them, thats all. Thanks for the advice everyone.

In reply to Sally Bustyerface:

Another vote for a like button

In reply to Red Rover:


What's a monro?

In reply to aln:

Munro even

In reply to Red Rover:

Spent a few days pottering in Benn Eighe Nature Reserve a while back and did not see another soul the whole time we were there, we walked South West from the Visitor Centre by Loch Maree. I expect others' comments about Munros = people to be true.

In reply to Sally Bustyerface:


It's not quite GTA ,but its not somewhere I would want to live.

I belong in the sticks.with the sticks.

Oddly enough I shall be leaving the sticks tomorrow to pick up some new gadgets in the Govan area (ish) ; the lovely ,sophisticated, Tradeston.

In reply to Red Rover:


Obviously. Sorry. I've chastised my inner pedant.

In reply to aln:

It's OK Monro sounds like it could be something as well

In reply to Dauphin:

Excuse me?

In reply to Red Rover:

Another recommendaton for Knoydart, or spend some time around Torridon if your not fussed about hitting up the Munro's and just want the remoteness there's some nice stretches of walking and smaller peaks that will be less trodden.

In reply to Red Rover:

I think you have to stay away from the honey pot areas that strangely seem to be mentioned here time and again. Knoydart is not quite in the summer in fact I cant remember ever walking through in summer and meeting no one. Its like the forge inn being the remotest pub in Britain, you expect it to be quite. Thats why everyone goes and its mobbed.

If you want remote, trackless & pathless NW Jura is quite something. The paps are nice but they will be the magnet for any walkers on the island.

In reply to kwoods:

Its in the description for that book. I hear it time and time again, Europes last Wilderness, Europes last lung. Its not.

D

In reply to fmck:


How busy is it, though? I mean, personally I find that if I cross paths with one or two small groups of other walkers in the course of a day, it doesn't spoil the "wilderness experience" that much - I'm still basically finding my own way and looking after myself. On the other hand, following the centipede up the tourist track on the Ben or along the WHW does lose something...

In reply to Red Rover:

By the way, sorry if this is stating the obvious, but it's probably worth going in about May if possible rather than waiting until July or August - the weather is often about as good, the midges are much less bad, and any remaining snow patches will probably be avoidable, particularly if you're not dead set on doing the highest peaks or if you have a reasonably flexible plan.

In reply to Ramblin dave:

Having paths and Landrover tracks all over it is a giveaway that its probably not a wilderness. Knoydart & its access has signage everywhere. Pretty wild in places indeed but actually a working estate, with people, vehicles, transportation, tourism. I love it, so not a knock, but maybe NW Jura is more of a wilderness. Certainly fewer souls traversing it.

D

In reply to Dauphin:



Yes the description (if you're reading the same one) also says it connects every portion of wilderness in Scotland - no, it leaves out Coruisk.

Blurbs aside, it is a very good book and one that I return to time and again.

In reply to fmck:

Watch out for May and the Jura Fell race season , it is mobbed at the Hotal and routes to the Paps.
http://www.strava.com/activities/145439002

In reply to Jim C:

It wouldn't matter really Craighouse and the paps are a long way off and near enough on another Island. If you wander the coast n hills from North Corryvreckan/Glengarrisdale/Ruantallan bothy to Tarbet. Craighouse will feel busy any time of the year afterwards.

Incidentally the Jura music festival is the weekend of the 26th September. Its a good friendly event bit like a street party but not for those looking for solitude by a long shot.

In reply to DaveHK:


Some kids I had doing their Gold D of E assessment expedition in June in the Fisherfield area commented that it was busier than any other area they had done an expedition in! So best go to the Ochils for solitude then..... Undoubtedly aim for roadless areas without Munros; the same kids had met no one else in three days the previous year in Ardgour (great hills there too).

In reply to Dauphin:


Oh, sure. I just mean that if you're somewhere near Carnmore bothy or halfway from Glenfinnan to Inverie then you still haven't got many easy options if you decide that you'd rather not be there.

In reply to Red Rover:

I hope all the 'Yes' voters realise that this would change their sainted lands forever! There won't be the huge areas of untrampled land after independence. It will be too important to exploit their meagre reserves.

In reply to Al Evans:

Please explain Al. I'm all ears. Or eyes.

D

In reply to Red Rover:

Another very remote area is Pairc area on the Isle of Lewis. In fact Caiteseal is considered to be the hardest hill to climb in the UK. This is physical not technical hardest.
It can be reached across loch Seaforth by boat easily enough but by foot is a real wilderness and hard journey.

In reply to Ramblin dave:

I spent ten days walking around Knoydart and Kintail in June, I met two people in Glen Dessary, another one at Sourlies. A solo walker and a group of five on the Mam Barrisdale path. A crofter and a German at Barrisdale, also the man who runs the cafe at Kinloch Hourn along with a couple on the South Sheil ridge. I didn't think that was bad for ten days in the UK.

There is no where in the British Isles where the work of man can't be see, even some of the most remote glens once supported quite large populations. There is nothing left of the original wild woods even the few remnants of the Caledonian forest have been coppiced for the last 9000 years. So no pristine wilderness here or anywhere else in Europe for that matter.

In reply to Red Rover:

'Remotest'- what a cliche!
Having then 'done' the 'remotest', I guess it'll feel second rate from that point onwards, every subsequent trip being less than the remotest.

The Inverie Forge is marketed as the 'remotest'-but remote from what and from who?
The RIB from Mallaig will get you there smartish. Paradoxically, the Old Dungeon Ghyll in the crowded Lake District would be more remote if you had to walk there from far away.
It seems to me that for many hillwalkers, the concept of the remote has less to do with distance per se, instead, distance away from your car seems the measure.
It seems that 'remote' is more used in the sense of far removed in connection or relevance. The journey to that point where there car is parked becoming slightly irrelevant to the sense of 'remote', excepting that if it costs you more in fuel to get there, then it'll have fewer visitors.

As to being likely to 'hardly see anyone else', sure you can lessen your chances by travelling at quiet times of the day, week, or season. But paths are made because people tread them, and people tread them because they have some interest in the route. I wouldn't worry about the meeting of other people- you can find solitude in the most unlikely of places and have it disturbed where you anticipated meeting no one. If you have yet to personally discover places that suit your need for solitude, it sounds like you've got a lot of potential adventures ahead of you.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/looking-for-an-unspoilt-country-where-e...

In reply to Red Rover:
Hardly see anyone in cairngorm, that's almost funny! The thing is with Scotland the harder it is to get to the more highly prized it is, also anything over Munro height will have people. If something was classified as the hardest and most remote walk in Scotland you can almost guarantee its popularity!

Thanks for all the replies sorry I've not been on much I've got a lot of work to do. Some intresting points. You're right, remotest, hardest etc will be relativly busy. What I should really aim for is obscurest. Or just obscure. I won't be fussed if I bump into others now and then it will probably be welcome. I ust fancya big walk where it feels comitting and I have to be self reliant. I'll take a midge net and waterproof map...

In reply to Red Rover:

Flowerdale forest. If you approach the torridon hills from the north you won't find many people until the munro tops. Some of the minor hills in Coigach are very quiet (beinn an eoin side, south of the road)

In reply to Red Rover:

I've just returned from a stint in the highlands ticking off my last remaining Munros, and can hapilly say that I hardly encountered a single soul, in fact 3 in 2 weeks and then only from a great distance, until that is I topped out on Ben Lui (my last Munro) and it was swarming with bodies and dogs! And this was prime holiday season.
A short account on my blog here http://seansmountaincamera.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/mission-accomplishedall-m...

In reply to Robert Durran:


Even the standard Ochil loops can be remarkably quiet given how many people live within an hour's drive and with public transport close by too. On fine summer's evenings it's routinely the case that there's hardly anyone up there - kind of nice but kind of disheartening too. Is hard to tell as it's anecdotal, but it feels like the Ochils have become quieter in the past two or three years - dunno why that would be the case even supposing it's true. I've heard of a couple of people who have been put off by the windfarms, but that can't be all of it.

In reply to Red Rover:

West end of Loch Arkaig.Had plenty of good trips from here without meeting anymore.
Great views too.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

On last weeks Thursday shift rest day I went for a walk with a mate from work over two of my most visited local hills, Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin. Both hills are clearly visible from my house and most others in the Central Belt's Forth Valley. "Wilderness and remote" they certainly are not. Despite being high summer tourist season we only saw a couple of other folk all day (we had an early start!). With heavy showers to the south obscuring the distant plumes from the Grangemouth petrochemical plant, aesthecially we could easily have been a hundred miles further north. Nice and far from disheartening

Pairc, Ben Armine and westwards to Ben Loyal and Ben Hee, Caiplich (north of Glen Avon, Banffshire), Monadh Ghaig (plateau between the Dalwhinnie munros and Glen Tilt), East side of South Uist, Morven, Ardgour.

In reply to Red Rover:

If you're after a committing adventure, just pick a nice big area with lots of hills and not many roads and spend a few days walking around it. Don't tie yourself in knots trying to find somewhere totally off the radar - just pick somewhere that suits you that isn't an obvious, accessible honeypot. It's worth avoiding Glencoe and the Northern Cairngorms, but I wouldn't worry that if you go too near a minor munro in the North West Highlands on a wet Tuesday morning then your sense of adventure will immediately be ruined by an endless caterpillar of tourists traipsing along looking at each other's heels.

For my part, Knoydart (and the stuff north of the A830), Fisherfield, and the big area around Loch Mullardoch are high on my list of places to go...

In reply to Red Rover:

This thread now has me massively distracted from work as I scroll around in Bing Maps daydreaming about multi-day routes from Glenfinnan to Inverie to the Cluanie Inn to Achnasheen...

In reply to Red Rover:

As well as the mentioned areas - I reckon the area around Loch Morar would be a good bet. The Black Mount area is also worth a look and not as hard to get to.

The NW is one of the most stunning and quieter bits of Scotland. Well worth a visit but quite an effort to get to. It gets progressively quieter the further North from applecross you go IMO (applecross isn't 'that' quiet) and Torridon area is quite popular but less so than Glen Coe / Applecross).

Somewhere like the Monadhliath Mountains will probably be pretty quiet but you have to weight that up against being somewhere more visually stunning! That's basically it, the further from the central belt / away from roads / less stunning / less high / less well known the area the more likely it will be quiet however you have to weight that up against what you are after.

In reply to Red Rover:

Went to St Kilda for a few nights recently and hiked over to the back of the island.

That felt pretty darn remote.