Camping in the Scottish Highlands

The Highlands are on a different scale to the rest of Britain. Distances that look like an hour on the map take three, mobile signal disappears for entire glens, and the weather on the tops can turn from summer to winter inside an afternoon in any month of the year.

It is also the only part of Britain with a legal right to wild camp, which changes the shape of a trip entirely.

Glencoe and Fort William

Glencoe is the obvious base and deserves to be: the glen itself is the most dramatic drive in Scotland, and the walking ranges from the short circuit into the Lost Valley to the full Aonach Eagach ridge, which is a serious scramble with no escape once committed.

Fort William sits under Ben Nevis and is the practical hub — supermarkets, gear shops and the West Highland Way finishing in the middle of town. The Mountain Track up the Ben is a long, dull, relentlessly steep six hours return; the CMD Arête is far better and far harder.

Wild camping and the right to roam

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act gives a right of responsible access, which includes wild camping on most unenclosed land. Responsible means small groups, out of sight of roads and houses, no fires on peat, everything carried out.

East Loch Lomond and parts of the Trossachs have seasonal byelaws requiring a permit between March and September. Check before relying on it.

Midges and weather

Culicoides impunctatus is active from late May to early September, worst at dawn and dusk in still, damp, overcast conditions. Wind above about seven miles an hour grounds them entirely, which is why coastal and ridge pitches are so much more pleasant than sheltered glen floors in July.

Carry a head net and repellent, and plan to cook and eat in the breeze rather than in the lee of the tent.