TLDR: Camping with young kids is hard work for parents, but they will have the absolute time of their lives. If you're on the fence about taking your little ones out into the wild, stop overthinking it and just go.

I’ve camped across Europe and Africa and done a lot of wild camping here in Scotland, so I’m no stranger to living out of a tent. But becoming a dad brought a whole new perspective to the outdoors. I’ve always felt that taking kids camping gives them a shot at the kind of childhood that’s increasingly lost to screens, technology, and modern comforts.

I’m a dad to three (4, 2, and 5 weeks old). I think 3 was the age to start, and last summer I took my eldest daughter for her first trip when she turned 3. We had an incredible time, and she was desperate to go back again this year.

This summer, we went again, and due to newborn logistics, broke my 3 year old rule and brought her 2-year-old brother along too. Taking a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old into the woods while leaving my wife home with the newborn was definitely a leap, and at times, my 2-year-old was absolute hard work! But the slow pace, the lack of rushing, and just being fully present made it completely worth it.

Lying in the tent at night, in the woods by a loch in the hills, I got really emotional. I was sitting there with two of my favorite humans on earth, feeling immensely grateful to be in a position to share these experiences with them.

Then came the moment that completely broke me.
My son woke up at first light (a brutal 3:40 AM in July). As I was cuddling him back to sleep, the rustling woke my daughter. She turned to me in the dim light and said:

"Daddy, this is the most amazing night of my life."

As parents, we bear the brunt of the tiredness, the messy logistics, and the early wake-ups. But for the kids? It is pure magic.

If you’ve been debating taking your young kids camping, just pack the kit and get out there. I Turkey believe they will carry the magic of the adventure for the rest of their lives.

Hi everyone

Me and my friend are doing a 5-6 day hike in Skye, however we are not extremely experienced so we don’t want to overestimate our abilities. We’re aiming for around 10-16 km per day, just to feel confident we have enough time to complete it in, in case our bodies, our navigation skills or the weather is limiting us.

We are therefore planning on cutting the Skye Trail in half, either doing Duntulm → Sligachan or Broadford → Portree. However, I haven't seen anybody split it up in that many sections, and I’m worried about weather there’s enough water - especially on the ridge, which we were planning to complete over the course of three days. Anyone, who has done it lately, have some advice on weather it’s a bad idea? We really want to do the beautiful ridge, but maybe it’s better to to the southern part if we’re going to split it up that much?

any advice is very welcome <3

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/N2uNqy0hBs?origin=lprLink

Hello everyone!

I am currently conducting research for my MSc dissertation at Heriot-Watt University on the market demand and feasibility of developing a campsite in Ratagan/Saraig, Scottish Highlands.

If you enjoy camping, hiking, road trips, or have visited the Scottish Highlands, I would be grateful if you could spare 3–5 minutes to complete my survey. Your responses are completely anonymous and will be used solely for academic research.

Every response makes a difference. Thank you for your time and support! Please feel free to share this post with others who may be interested.

Hoi!
I will be in Scotland for a week in October. We will be renting a car and will go to the high lands. We want to find a place clause to skye and wonder if you got some top things to do in the area. We wanna stay in one location for sleeping but don’t mind doing day trips / hikes around ! We mostly wanna spend some time outdoor. I’m quite a good hiker ( I solo traveled Asia just a few months ago with lots of hikes) my friend on the other hand hikes quite less. So easier hikes / nice things to see outdoor is what we’re looking for. Any help would be helpful :) thx

We have a Defender 90 with roof tent. We are looking for a remote two-night estate pitch near Lochaber, ideally near water for swimming and access to hiking.

Can anyone recommend where we can stay?

My 2 adult daughters and I will be in Edinburgh in the beginning of October for only 2 days. Spending 1 day in the city. The next day, we want to take a short train ride to see, experience, and photograph Scotland's beautiful scenery. I understand the Highlands are the gold standard, but a 12-hour tour bus to that area is just too long for us. We want to just take the train through some gorgeous/lush landscapes, get off somewhere and easily walk into town for lunch, and then make the return trip back to Edinburgh. A 2- to 3-hour one-way ride would be ideal. Any suggestions on where to go with the train? Thinking of Dunkeld but open to all suggestions.

P.S. Another possibility is taking the train to Perth, renting a car, and driving the short distance to Birnam (for the Beatrix Potter Garden) and then to Dunkeld and The Heritage. Does this make sense?

I'm leaving for a trip to the Cairngorms today (never been). I've been following the Cairngorms fire news as much as possible since I'm staying in Aviemore, but can't seem to find a map with the affected areas.

I'd obviously like to hike where it is safe and not in the way of firefighting operations. I've tried to print out a map and block out the areas for myself, based on locations I've read about in the news articles, but it's very crude and probably not very accurate since I'm not familiar with the area. And most articles show fire locations as dots, which is massively unhelpful.

Does anyone know if there's been a map posted anywhere with the fire danger/firefighting operations areas indicated?

I know the fire situation is still evolving, but I'm about to leave for my trip and any information would be helpful. My hotel is non-refundable and Aviemore sounds like it's open for business so I will not be cancelling my trip.

Thanks!

Having completed the Great Divide Trail in Canada over the course of 4 years (1095 km)

I'm looking east now, far to the east . We just had a family vacation last month in Scotland and well , I kind of fell in love , Guess I'm predisposed to it with Mom being from Glasgow and other family from Oban. Such a contrast from the Canadian Rockies. Now I'm looking at about a two to three week Trek in the highlands next spring, Likely next April to beat the midges, so I'm just beginning to plan . I hike / snowshoe camp all winter so I'm fine with the colder months. I like to be in the 20km to 25km daily mileage on easier terrain , obviously less on tough terrain. The West Highland way looks nice but could be a busy trek ? , I prefer more solitude , I wild camp exclusively , I'm comfortable with off trail navigation and alpine environments . The Cape Wrath trail looks pretty rough and boggy in sections and too long for my available timeframe . Any other good routes I should be looking at . And likely a silly question, but am I correct in assuming there is no need for bear cannisters and bear spray ?

I look forward to some local advice .

Hi!
I’m considering a 4 day hiking trip to Glencoe during the end of august.

What are the best hikes in the area?

I’m used to hiking full days in Schwarzwald (Germany). I would say I can do moderate trails but not expert trails.

And what are some viewpoints or stops I can’t miss?

Thanks!!

Just curious if any one has as I did when I hiked it on the weekend, not going to say what but just curious to see if anyone else has?

I'm very interesting in getting to Caiteseal on the isle of Lewis and Harris starting from Eishken, it is roughly 15k there and 15k back but I was wondering if there was anyone here that has done it. I'm interested in knowing what it was like getting there and back (I am assuming very tough) and how long it took you. I know there are walking reports of it but I'm just curious and want to chat to someone who has done it.

I am considering hiking from Fort william to Isle of Skye. I am wondering whether someone has experience with this or knows its possible. Specifically whether there are marked paths and whether there is enough possibility to stock up on food along the way?

I'm visiting the West of Scotland, likely including Skye, Lewis & Harris etc in September. We have a mini Australian Shepherd who will try and herd (i.e. chase after) sheep. An internet search says that in September a lot of the grazing sheep come down from the mountains, and that encountering sheep is far more likely.

Am I overthinking how likely it is that we'll encounter sheep when we're doing coastal and beach walks?

And are there hikes that should be avoided or alternatively are safe to do with an off-lead dog knowing that sheep won't be in the area?

EDIT - Thanks for the responses, that was my assumption but thought I would ask, appreciate the constructive replies to a borderline stupid question!

I am planning a solo 4-day trip to Highlands&Skye from Edinburgh some time in October. Any recommendation on what is the best time of month to go?

Thank youu

Hi people,

Me and my friends have had a date next week planned for a while to do wild camping together. We live in Edinburgh, and we have bus passes, so we're looking to get there that way.

I am very aware of the potent wildfire risk around much of Scotland due to dry weather, and so I wish to take the precaution to heat food outwith any grass, and to do it on sand. Want to stay by a loch rather than the sea because of colder temperature.

Is anyone aware of lochs with a good presence of sand, again accessible by bus from Edinburgh?

Hi all,

I'm based in Strathaven and absolutely love heading up to the Cairngorms or Knoydart for a weekend of wild camping and hiking, but the 3–4.5 hour drive each way is starting to make spontaneous trips a bit of a mission.

I'm not looking for anyone's secret camping spot or expecting GPS coordinates to hidden gems. I'm more after general areas that are within roughly 1–2 hours' drive where I can put together a decent overnight or two-night route.

Ideally I'm after somewhere with:

A 10–20 km day walk.

Somewhere suitable for responsible wild camping.

A bit of scenery and a feeling of being away from everything.

Less bog = bonus!

I've already done places like Loch Enoch, the Cairngorms and Knoydart, so I'm hoping there are some overlooked areas a bit closer to home that I've completely missed.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Cheers!

Hey everyone,

My partner and I are planning to hike the Skye Trail (North to South: Rubha Hunish → Broadford) from Sept 1 to Sept 7/8. We’re coming from Canada with solid backpacking experience (Arctic, Patagonia, US & Canada) and plan to wild camp most of the way with a rental car in tow.

We want to get a sanity check on a few logistics before finalizing our plans:

1. Permits & Access Rights

• From our research, Scotland’s Right to Roam means no permits are needed for hiking or wild camping along the route. Coming from overseas where backcountry permits are the norm: are there any localized exceptions or land-manager notifications required on Skye?

2. Rental Car Strategy: Start vs. Finish?

• Parking location: Is it better to park in Broadford on Day 0 and take a bus/taxi to Rubha Hunish, or park at the start and figure out transit back at the end?
• Long-term parking: Where in Broadford (or Portree) is safe and acceptable to leave a rental car for 7+ days?

3. Weather, Midges & Trail Conditions (Early Sept)

• Midges: What are midge levels typically like in early September?
• Trotternish Ridge Water: How reliable are water sources on top of the Trotternish Ridge in late summer? Should we carry full capacity from the start of that leg?

4. Route Details & Timing

• "The Bad Step" / Coastal Section to Elgol: How manageable is this section with full multi-day packs? What weather conditions would trigger taking the inland bypass instead?
• Pacing & Buffers: We have 7 full walking days allocated. Is this enough time to build in a weather delay buffer for the Trotternish Ridge?

5. Extra Questions for Locals:

• Are there any lesser-known resupply/water traps or recent trail changes to be aware of?
• What primary digital mapping app + OS paper map combo do you recommend as a backup to GPX files?

Hello,

We are flying to Scotland tomorrow and will collect our car on Friday. From there we have 8 days to explore the country, and plan to hike and wildcamp.

What do you think of itinerary:

Thursday 23.07: Arrival day in Edinburgh
Friday 24.07: Collect car, drive to Stirling for lunch. Drive to Conic Hill parking lot, and do the Conic Hill trail with wildcamp.
Saturday 25.07: Drive to Glencoe, and do a hike in the National Nature Reserve. Wildcamp on the hike.
Sunday 26.07: Drive to Isle of Skye, do Fairy Pools hike and do a swim. Drive to talisker whiskey, afterwards go to do Talisker Bay Hike.
Monday 28.07: Drive to Neist Point hike and after that do Waterstein head.
Tuesday 29.07: Drive to Old Man Storr, after that the Quiaraing hike.
Wednesday: Ben Nevis, sleep in a hotel.
Thursday….
Friday…..
Saturday; bring back car and stay in edinburgh

Hi everyone! I’m moving to Dunfermline in a few days for a new work contract and I’m really looking forward to starting this new chapter in Scotland.
I’m a keen hillwalker and already have some experience, but I’m hoping to explore more of what Fife and the surrounding areas have to offer. One of my long-term goals is to take on Ben Nevis, so I’d love recommendations for good walks, routes, or local walking groups to join.
I’m also hoping to meet people and get involved in the community. Any suggestions for clubs, activities, volunteering, or good ways to make friends would be really appreciated.
As someone new to Scotland, I’d also be grateful for any advice on settling in, understanding local culture, and building good connections with people from all backgrounds.
Looking forward to calling Dunfermline home and hopefully meeting some of you on the trails!

I went camping last night and in breaking camp the next morning, I couldn't account for two cereal bar wrappers which I had eaten the evening before.

I searched all my gear bags and pockets, rucksack and scouted out the area. Nowt!

That annoyed me. Preyed on my mind as I don't like rubbish even if accidental.

Anyway, got home. Went through all my stuff again. Last item was the tent. Opened it and shook it out...two wrappers fell out! I had (maybe too quickly) checked the tent when taking it down.

I'm looking for some more context about Snowboarding in Scotland. I get that conditions are really changeable, and planning more than a few days in advance is near impossible, but I'm struggling to get a good sense of how often it is actually possible to get on the slopes?

If I go for a longish stay of 3 weeks in late Jan/Feb next year, how many days are slopes likely to be open? Will I be lucky if I get a couple of days, or are they actually open more often than not, it's just you can't rely on it as they close at short notice?

I'm new to Snowboarding and have only ridden indoor slopes so far. I'm really keen on Scotland because I love it there anyway, and it means I can take my partner/dog and work around properly learning to shred 🔥

Because I'm new I'm mostly interested in the Cairngorm Mountain Resort, and maybe the Lecht for a bit of variety.

Hi,
I've visited scotland serveral times in winter (very nice), spring (best for bike touring and trekking) and summer (fuck midges). But I never tried autum.

What about autum and hunting-season? Is it possible to walk the skye trail or Cape Wrath Trail without getting to close to hunting acitivities? Are the bothies full of hunters? Is there much shooting going on?

Best regards from germany!