UKC

Can anyone confirm whether you are allowed to travel to the Scottish Highlands from England at the moment. I am presuming you can. Also has anyone done any rock climbs on the Ben over the last few days? If so were they dry? 

Many thanks.

No. The Highlands are officially full. Earliest summer bookings available for people from England are for summer 2024.

You're allowed to go, but Glasgow is in level 3 restrictions, which means you're not supposed to enter or leave, and the relevant area includes the M8. 

You are allowed to travel through a Level 3 area if your origin and destination are outside it. 

Where did you find that? I couldn't see it in the guidance, and we're just about to head back south so would be helpful. 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-travel-a...

I'd be surprised if many rock routes on the Ben were dry, there's a lot of melting snow about still.

I know you (half) jest, but it is starting to feel that way, isn't it? We walked in to camp at Smirsary beach on Saturday, and found no fewer than twelve tents there when we arrived, one equipped with a boom-box!

Abandoning the plan and walking out, we passed several more people on their way in to camp. Never seen anything like it.

It took a little work but we found somewhere a bit quieter for the night - but even the usually-quiet beach we were on yesterday was rammed by lunch time.

I think this summer is going to be horrific; I imagine things will be a wee bit quieter next year if foreign travel's on again properly, but I suspect some of this is here to stay. I'm kind of hoping for a really miserable, wet, particularly midgey summer so that people don't get too encouraged...

And the actual legislation is here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/344/schedule/4

Para 14: 

(1) A person who does not live in a Level 3 area must not enter or remain in that area.

(2) But a person who does not live in a Level 3 area may travel through it in order to reach a place outwith the area.

Thanks - turns out I should read more carefully! 

Social media has a lot to answer for, ten years or more ago I never thought Smir’ would get on many peoples radar.

Fortunately the spot I picked can’t be accessed by foot, so no problems.  Only saw two people all weekend, turned out one of them I knew and hadn’t seen for three years.....funny old world. 

To be fair, about half the people there were kayakers, which I should really have expected (though perhaps not in those numbers). But about half had walked in.

I suspect Peanmeanach and the other spots around the Sound would have been similar; I spoke to some people who said it was pretty much impossible to even get parked near the beaches the other side of Arisaig.

I may stick to inland beaches for a while - although the midges have started to emerge.

Several commercial, including two local, Sea Kayak course/trip providers now use it.  So it might be a been an organised group.  

such groups (due to needing to have contingency for mixed ability) generally have short days, so can be in residence quiet early. On the up side those groups are normally politely supervised and gently encouraged to treat the environment with some respect.  The downside is these spots get better ‘known’ and end up on social media....look where I was type of posts.

I don’t go anywhere near the Arisaig area except very late or very early in the season, it’s become the new Lommondside.

And the schools haven't broken up yet...

I'm always surprised that people are so mystified that multiple people can have exactly the same idea as them. If one person thinks a certain venue is a good idea, then chances are several others will too - especially on a sunny day on an (English) Bank Holiday weekend.

For me it goes in the same category as people complaining about traffic as they sit....in the traffic.

I'm not sure who you think is mystified, sorry!

I'm seeing a huge increase in the number of people going to places that have been pretty quiet for decades, places I've often been able to have to myself, or shared with very small numbers of others. You've maybe not had the good fortune to experience that, I suppose.

It's pretty obviously down to them being posted on the internet lots, particularly through social media, with an additional surge due to more people getting outdoors more often through covid times and desperate to get away post-lockdown, and fewer getting abroad, probably also coupled with a rise in car ownership. A lot of this is good - people getting out more and seeing great places - but some of it is not - littering, fouling, irresponsible fires, music in formerly quiet places.

It's not really much of a mystery, though!

The point is that just a few years ago it would have been much more likely that nobody else would have had the same idea.

Having said that, I think it is still not too difficult to get a beach to oneself with a little imagination and luck. Nothing worse than having to share a beach!

Im just back from a non climbing area Dumfries WIld camping...  sems legal drive in, gorgeous sandy beach about 2 miles long, including air bnb cottages but no locales.  Maybe 15 people tops. Untouched bouldering and climbing known good surfing on your door step and multipitch guidebook climbing within 40 mins drive . Very warm all weekend. BBQ in to the night. Use you're imagination.

Within 3 hrs from edinburgh its what makes scotland good right!

Depends on the beach length

Well, you've f*cked it now!

It's OK - despite the earlier poster's disbelief that it's possible to think of somewhere to go that won't be busy on a bank holiday weekend, we did have a wonderful wee shell sand beach to ourselves later in the afternoon, and a gorgeous river pool on the way home in the evening - and we do frequently manage such. I'm not saying where, though!

Don’t know about the Ben but was on Beinn Eighe yesterday and the Far East Wall and Eastern Ramparts were dry, with the former getting the sun from around 4pm. Spoke to someone who did Piggott’s on Centrl Buttress and they said it was dry. 

Thanks for the info Misha. Looks like Centurion was climbed on the Ben yesterday and a few things in Glen Coe so am going to head up. 

Aye, anything on Buachaille Etive Mor would be dry, or further into Glenco at mid level. 

On Ben Nevis id expect most of Carn Dearg to be good now but things around the Orion Face will still be subject to snow melt.

Bone dry on Garbh Bheinn day before yesterday, Applecross yesterday and Beinn Eighe today!

haha brilliant... and true!

Just come back from a few days climbing/camping in the Galloway forest park, absolutely fantastic climbing, everything bone dry and we saw no one in 3 days! So not all doom and gloom.

Climbed Torro on the 24th April (granted a while back) and was bone dry until the last pitch which had been in the shade, the rest of the crag was also pretty much dry. There isn't much snow left hanging over Carn Dearg Buttress and Centurion was logged yesterday so imagine many other routes will be in dry enough condition.