Brilliant backpacking - top tips, where to go and how to pack your bag
One of the best ways to explore remote places is through backpacking: carrying your own shelter and supplies so you can walk for a day and then prolong your adventure by staying overnight. Not having to return to a base at the end of a day can enable reaching much more isolated locations that are not within a day's walk from a car park or accommodation provider. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland provide ample explorations for backpackers - read on to find out more.
Scotland contains some of the UK's most wild places and offers some excellent routes for more experienced backpackers. The potentially inhospitable environment can more than repay the effort, with expansive skies and a sense of the landscape being 'untouched' by buildings, roads, and telegraph poles. For those seeking adventure our new larger-format guide details 30 backpacking routes in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, with both multi-day and weekend routes available. This book will become your bible if you're a seasoned backpacker with proficient navigation skills.
Scottish Wild Country Backpacking
30 weekend and multi-day routes in the Highlands and Islands
£25.00
30 wild and challenging backpacking routes in Scotland. Aimed at experienced and self-reliant backpackers, routes are between 2 and 4 days long and traverse the remotest, wildest and most spectacular landscapes the Highlands and Islands have to offer. The book also covers equipment, access, weather, safety and first aid.
More information
If you're not quite ready for that level of adventure then you can still get a taste of backpacking fun! Why not try getting a bivvy bag and staying overnight somewhere less isolated, or somewhere you know well? Sleeping on a hillside gives you, literally, a different viewpoint and it can be very satisfying being the only person enjoying the sunset somewhere well-trodden. Descending a touristy route as other walkers are climbing uphill can be fun too, and you can choose whether or not to smugly explain that you've camped out.
Staying in a bothy is another way to extend a day out, although you must always follow the Bothy Code which includes being prepared to camp or stay elsewhere is the bothy is occupied.
There are plenty of National Trails you could backpack as well - perhaps the Snowdonia Way or the Dales Way could help prepare you for more challenging backpacking routes?
Whatever you do, have fun and let us know how you get on!
