The Scottish Highlands offer numerous excellent camping and hiking opportunities as they’re full of beautiful scenery and naturally sheltered camping spots. There are many secluded areas for wild camping as long as you take care of the land and clean up after yourself.
However, there are certain things you can do to make your trip more enjoyable.
The first thing you need to do is plan for a variety of conditions, including terrain and the weather.
When camping in Scotland, be aware that there are more hours of daylight the further north you travel.
It can be light at 11pm in the summer and that means you can plan your hiking and camping around it. But when winter comes, you may have as few as six good hours of daylight to enjoy and erect your tent in.
When the weather gets colder, the softest patches of grass can turn cold and hard and it’s a good idea to insulate your tent from the ground with an inflatable device or a mat. If you have neither of those, then use some clothes and stack them on the floor of the tent.
There aren’t too many mosquitoes in the lowlands, but in the highlands in the summer they can be pretty bad. While insect repellents work up to a point, you’d be better off taking mosquito nets.
You should also take a first aid kit, extra clothes, waterproof clothes, string, and a hammer or mallet. It’s a good idea to pitch the tent late and get up early to get the most out of your adventure.
