Hikes or walks in Scotland
 

Yet another request for advice about hiking or walking in Scotland!

My husband and I will visit the Highlands during the first week of July, and would like to do some walks/hikes. We have been to Edinburgh, but may prefer to fly into Aberdeen or Inverness and rent a car from there. We have a number of tour books and travel guides, but if anyone can be of help with the following, we really appreciate it.

The caveats and considerations:

We want to see some coast and some mountains. Isles of Mull? Skye? Whiskey Trail? Highland mountains?

We are quite fit in our early '50's, (my husband still runs a number of miles every day!), but we prefer hikes/walks that are more about scenery than challenging our endurance. We've done a number of hikes in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland, if that is any guide, but again, the point is scenery, not necessarily exercise.

We prefer circle hikes, since we plan to rent a car, not backpack. Of course, we can re-trace.

Since we are combining this with a business trip, and don't want to have to take more extra stuff than we need to, we plan on only using our (good quality) running shoes and jeans/shorts for hiking. Any trail that needs more equipment than that is out.

That said:

(1) What were a few of your favorite hikes in Scotland? Where do you pick up the trail?

(2) Are there any "central points" that we could stay a few days and have a number of good options?

(3) Aside from what is found on Barnes & Noble.com, can you recommend a good guide or set of maps for hiking? Have you found any of the local visitor's bureau helpful with hiking brochures?

(4) Any recommendations for food or lodging near good trails is appreciated. We are financially comfortable, but appreciate good value,, i.e. it doesn't need to be fancy, but we are not on a tight budget.

I'm really answering this to bring your question back to the top for one of the Scottish specialists to answer properly.

The best set of walking guides for Britain as a whole (though they have a bit of a bias to excessively easy 8-12 mile walks, which most fit 60 year olds regard as gentle strolls) are the Ordnance Survey - Jarrolds Pathfinder series. Any decent bookshop should have them, and they're all over the web. Go to the Jarrolds site (http://jarrold.hosted.pipemedia.net) and you can see other similar ranges Jarrolds do. The Scottish guides cover Edinburgh/Borders, Fort William/Glencoe and Loch Lomond/Trossachs, so if you want to stay away from the Edinburgh area, you might actually find Glasgow's the best place to pick up your car.

You can, BTW, now download the OS 1:25000 series (at a cost) to PDAs or GPS toys. And the Get a Map feature on the OS site (www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap) noe gives you free access to most of the OS catalogue to print out

If this ttt doesn't flush out an expert, you really should find ample resources ar www.walkingworld.com and www.ramblers.org.uk

I agree that the Pathfinder guides are well worth getting and should be available through Amazon. The walks are generally circular, aimed at car drivers and include the relevant section of map detailing the route. The books start with easy 1 to 2 hour strolls at the front of the book and get progressively longer and more challenging towards the back. Where I disagree with the previous poster is that some of the more challenging walks in the mountain areas should not be taken lightly and should not be attempted without good boots, waterproof equipment, a map and compass and the ability to use them. Boots are generally recommended in Scotland, as the paths can be muddy, even in summer and you may need waterproofs even in July.

Saying that there are many shorter, lower level walks that maybe OK without boots, if the weather is fine. The west coast gets more spectacular the further north you go and Skye, Mull and many of the other islands are beautiful, especially if the weather is kind to you.

I agree with Maria. Nobody who has knowledge of highland walking is going to take seriously a request for where to walk in the highlands wearing running shoes and jeans/shorts.

Every TIC in Scotland will have little booklets or pamphlets on local walks. Some will be short,low level on good paths where MmeX's clothing will be suitable.

I agree w/ just about everything mentioned above. From what you say about the gear you will have - you aren't talking about "hikes" anywhere in the country. I'll risk some wrath here - but often what Americans call "hikes" are really just long walks. It's just a semantics thing. But the sort of walk you want to do are possible just about anywhere. For instance my "Loch Lomond and Trossachs Walks" Pathfinder Guide lists 28 routes from easy 2 mile strolls, up to strenuous 10 mile treks which might take a full day (and mostly need real hiking gear).

You can get the Pathfinders in Barnes and Noble or Borders (if they don't have them in stock they can be ordered) or on Amazon, or from Elstead Maps (which is a terrific UK company that has an amazing selection of maps, guide books, road atlases, etc)

The whole of the UK and especially Scotland is a wonderful place to walk - there is public access just about everywhere and walks are signposted from the roadsides.

Oh - another source is "Scotland the Best" by Peter Irvine. Available at all the stockists mentioned above except (probably) Elstead Maps.

This is my very favorite single resource for all things Scottish. The book does not have maps/routes or that sort of thing. But it lists the "best" everythings all over the country - best pubs in Edinburgh, best real ale pubs, best beaches, most interesting coastal villages, best viewpoints for Dolphins, best driving tours - etc, etc, etc.

It lists about 80 "best" walks -- long walks, serious walks, woodland walks, coastal walks, river walks, Munros (mountains) and more . . . . .

The caveats and considerations:

We want to see some coast and some mountains. Isles of Mull? Skye? Whiskey Trail? Highland mountains?

We are quite fit in our early '50's, (my husband still runs a number of miles every day!), but we prefer hikes/walks There are a couple of magazines published here monthly- TGO and Country Walking being the two that spring to mind.

Apart from their content, obviously they have lots of people advertisinga nd that works too.

Lonely Planet does a walking guide to Scotland and there a couple of almost coffee table books called Wilderness Walks and More Wilderness Walks.

What ron says about TICs is quite right, and your friendly neighbourhood hotelier will have a view too.

I'm tempted to suggest 2 bases, one on the west coast- Gairloch springs to mind- and one on Speyside.

Or Islay.

Or Deeside.

Or Fife.

or... the list is endless.

Frankly, I'd strongly suggest at the very least a good pair of walking shoes (not boots). This is Scotland, you know. We're rough tough types, here:)

While not a challenging walk for seasoned hikers, the Birks of Aberfeldy walk (www.scottravel.org/pics/twalk10.jpg) is very beautiful. It inspired Robert Burn's poem of the same name. The Birks of Aberfeldy are in Aberfeldy, Perthshire.

First, many thanks very much to all for suggestions and guidance. Thank you for reminding me about the best sources of maps, etc.

Yes, I understand the difference between the walks/hikes you take with decent running shoes vs. real hikers (we have both adn do both,) but there are grey areas that suit us just fine. We've been to Scotland before, and know enough to bring rain jackets, backpacks, etc. and have some sense of what we are getting into. But you'd be surprised what we can do in decent running shoes. The ankles are still strong, as recent hikes in New Zealand can attest.

Pack either an extra pair of shoes or some extra socks in case your feet get wet on your hikes and your sneakers don't dry out overnight. This happened to me when I went hiking up in the Orkneys, and I had to double-layer my socks the next day to facilitate drying.

If you're going in July, don't forget the midge repellant.

Hello
You may like to have a look at www.walkingbritain.co.uk. They have details of walks all over the UK, many with pictures, and I believe all are circular. They are graded, with a basic outline map, and tend to be between 5 and 8 miles long.
M

AGain, thanks so much. Espcially Morgana -- very helpful reference to the website.