UKC

as it says, may hillwalking trip is coming together, and we've booked into the youth hostel at alltbeithe in glen Affric- which has been somewhere I've been meaning to get round to going to for about the last 25 years!

very excited, and now just hoping for good weather...

so, where are the slightly hard-to-get to locations in the UK that have been on your 'will do that one day' list...?

cheers
gregor

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

great bothy and some fabulous hills to climb on the doorstep.i did a stint as warden in the late sixties.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Six of my last 20 munros are in Fisherfield. I think this is a good thing.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

My wife and I are booked in this summer as well.....

In reply to dollydog:

Yes- its an socach we're going in for, but it would be rude not to do ceathreamhnan again while we're there. ..

Being warden there must have been an interesting job!

In reply to MG:

Yes I've still to do them too.
I did lurg mhor and it's unpronounceable neighbour a couple of years back- two of the other almost mythically remote munros- but the weather was rubbish. Hoping for better this year, would actually like to see that part of the world for once...

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

I stayed last July for a couple of nights. It was busy and 2 couples were there doing the round of 3 to the North which were their penultimate Munros before completing. I really enjoyed it, it was comfortable enough and well equipped though the midges were out in force on that occasion.
I still haven't got to Corrour Halt despite promising myself to do so every summer for the past 25 years.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

What's difficult about cheesecake?
That's what everyone calls it.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

No showers! Well not at the hostel.

In reply to Gone for good:

Stayed at corrour halt twice- first time came by train, and stayed in the bunkhouse when it was on the platform. The warden was living in a caravan chained to the ground nearby- gave an insight into how bad the weather must get up there!

The second time was when we were planning to walk from Dalwhinnie to ft William- by then there was a new bunkhouse, with an austrian couple running it. I remember a very nice venison stew with austrian red wine ( no antifreeze in sight...).

The weather turned so bad we gave up the walk and took the train to ft William instead.

Even that was 15 years ago now...

In reply to Sean Kelly:

I had a shower when I was there. Behind a curtain behind the kitchen area.

In reply to MG:


Isn't there only 5 now?

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Both on Lewis/Harris. One is a circuit of the Pairc hills of Southeast Lewis, and another is a traverse across the Harris/Lewis border from Uig to Tarbert, via the foot of Sron Ulladale. A couple of brilliant 2/3 day camping trips that I need to find some time to do

I'm going to sound annoyingly smug, but the usual suspects (Fisherfield, Affric/Mullardoch/Cannich, Knoydart) are practically on my doorstep.

In reply to mac fae stirling:

Not on my list!

In reply to MG:

Beinn a’ Chlaidheimh was demoted in 2012. So, you could be ahead of the game!

In reply to mac fae stirling:
No, no, there are other consequences! I'm sticking with the list I started!

In reply to MG:


Fair enough. It is a great trip, enjoy!

In reply to malky_c:

yes, thats a place i'd love to visit. i did the hills on south uist, oh, 10 years back now- hecla was one i particularly wanted to climb, it just has such an evocative name. i remember it being a remarkably long and tough day given they aren't all that high... we didnt see anyone else all day, unsurprisingly- the outer hebrides really felt like stepping into a different world...

and what a doorstep you've got...! mind you, i've got almscliff, so its not all bad...

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

That would be another of my 'must go' places. I've been over Beinn Mhor an Beinn Coradail, but not Hecla. A visit to Hecla, Uisnis bothy and some of that wild east coast is high on the to do list! Height is mostly irrelevant out there - everything is good (and rough).

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

A shame Gill still isn't the warden there. Would certainly have meant for an entertaining stay

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

I'm glad you inserted 'slightly' into the descriptor, as there aren't really any 'hard to get to' locations in mainland UK which are open access- that is, if you use motorised transport and have a reasonable level of fitness.

Nowadays, separation anxiety from a vehicle, and the lifestyle of the mini break seem to influence the notion of 'hard to get to'.

The intended destination of refugees, and mediaeval pilgrims. Now, they seem to fit into the hard to get to category...It doesn't mean you won't enjoy your trip Alltbeithe though.

In reply to llechwedd:

Yes, the 'slightly' was put there deliberately- its only a couple of hours on a bike from the road (I think...), so not really that hard to get to.

But enough that, given the alternatives available when it comes to planning trips, these days from Yorkshire, it's taken a while to get round to. ..

In the slightly harder again to get to destinations, id love to go to mingulay- not so much to climb, im not good enough, but just to be there ... but even that's not really that hard, with a bit of effort.

Nevertheless, remoteness is relative, and these places feel a long way away from central Bradford, but also realistically accessible, in a way that properly hard to reach places aren't- that's their magic

It might be an illusion of inaccessibility, but its a useful one.

Any other nominations for 'fairly inconvenient locations in the UK you'd love to visit'...?

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:
Here would be nice
youtube.com/watch?v=91Sdp83Ulqs&

In reply to fmck:

Wow. Views from the front door don't get much better than that!

I've thought of another one- camping at sandwood bay. Not that remote in the grand scheme of things; but I have to drive past a lot of competing alternatives to get there and to date its not happened. ..

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

I booked a day trip to St Kilda a couple of years ago when on holiday in Tarbet on Harris. Because that days weather was marginal the trip got cancelled and we had to get the ferry back yo Skye the next day. I wonder if I will get a chance to go in the future.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:


A fantastic spot- and it seems well looked after. If you want the full 'sunset and sea' experience, you'll probably be in the dunes with loose sand. There are some big flat stones where the loch drains into the sea ( last time I was there, the stones were being put back where they came from after use, so it didn't look degraded). The stone tends to abrade tent lines when used as anchoring, so it might be worth taking some extra cord to tie down. Not many people have enough dry bags to fill and bury them as guy points, and although carrier bags could be used instead - I guess there's a risk that they get left as litter once they rip, or get sandy.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:


Heavens, so many. Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan is a hill I've always wanted to climb and you'll be in a good spot to try it on your trip. Here's hoping you do, the weather's fine and you take and share lots of good pictures!

T.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Did it some years back, from the west, via mullach na dhearagain - even with bikes that was a long, long day!

Its an socach we're in for, but will probably do ceathreamhnan again, it would be rude not to!

In reply to llechwedd:

Useful tips- thanks. ..

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Did the NW coast of Jura this January with a pal. Our mates said we were mad, it was a bit. Fantastic trip, bothying and camping. Did a few hills along the way. Topped it off with a night in the Jura Hotel where we were "the guests".

We've got a tour of the Cape Wrath peninsula bothys pencilled in for next January.

In reply to Removed UserDeleted bagger:

Well, at least you won't be bothered by midges!

I've looked at both those areas on maps- nw jura in particular has a remoteness that must be close to unsurpassed in the UK. What sort of weather did you have?

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

The shortest approach to Ceathreamhnan(if not staying at YH in Glen Affric) is from Morvich. Via Bealach an Sgairne. You can also take in the Corbett of Sgurr Gaorsaic en route.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:
Nice!

We're staying there just after the end of May as part of a walk from Achnashellach down to the Cluanie Inn. Hopefully we'll be taking in a lot of remote munros on the way through, although I've recently developed a bit of a habit of doing most of the legwork for remote Munros but not actually getting the tick. I've already missed out on Ben Alder (weather) and most of the Fisherfield Munros (knees) this year...