Sorry lads, one last NW Scotland camping trip before winter

[AndyCook]

just for you Chris

Headed to Achiltibuie area, port a'braigh campsite for a long weekend
Hilux fully loaded with borrowed canoe on roof, for a spot of camping, sea fishing and canoeing and pub lunch with good seafood
Fantastic weather today, and set to be good all weekend

Hilux pulling very well with the Steinbauer module, performance is similar to it completely empty of kit and canopy.

Some piccies,
Stack pollaid is the distinctive mountain

 

[Towpack]

Go for it Andy! Make the best of the half decent weather we're having before the clocks go back. Here's a couple of places I'll be visiting in the next two weeks, a bit further South than you. Can you guess where they are? First one should be easy. Sorry no prizes!

 

[Chris]

Christ on a bike man, are you just taunting me?

 

[Gary820]

Next year's must do is camping in Scotland.

 

[GeekOKent]

nice! we are also definitely going back to Scotland in the summer next year.

 

[AndyCook]

Don't recognise that castle towpack - guessing Argyll area ?

 

[AndyCook]

Good weather today for canoeing in morning. And hauling in pollack this afternoon fishing off rocks with my beachcaster.
Paddling in a canoe was much harder work than our sea kayaks, we are borrowing a friends, but don't think we will play get one. Great to take Jet the lan with us.
Amazing weather for October

 

[clivehorridge]

Fantastic!

There's something about Scotland at this end of the year, when it's not foggy or raining, the clear days can be spectacular!

I toured up the west coast once, some time ago now - I think it was at the end of 2002 - after visiting friends in Glasgow. We went north, crossed on the ferry at Dunoon and if I remember the name properly, up to loch Eich.

It was December, -4 degrees, sunny, clear and not a breath of wind. I took photos of the loch and it was such a mirror image in the reflection, you can invert the photo and it looks the same!

Wonderful place.

 

[AndyCook]

Drove down onto beach to launch the canoe yesterday. Steep track and some boulders to drive over. Traction control kicked in on way off beach, for a moment I was worried I might need to get the V8 landrover owner to let me use his landy as a winch anchor. Left my maxtrax at home...
But Hilux got unstuck by itself

Yes a great timeout year Clive and rare settled spell for October
Down to 7 deg C last night here, but frosty at home on east of Scotland
We had the wood burner ticking away all night on coal to keep tentipi warm inside

 

[AndyCook]

Oh no, more sunshine and fish today

 

[stumog]

Why are your pictures always sunny? I was under the impression the weather that far north was shite.

Also when is best to visit to miss the miges?

Really want to see that part of the world but always been put off of the above?

 

[Chris]

Tell you what Andy, you're not making any friends here ...



C

 

[clivehorridge]

Fantastic!

There's something about Scotland at this end of the year, when it's not foggy or raining, the clear days can be spectacular!

I toured up the west coast once, some time ago now - I think it was at the end of 2002 - after visiting friends in Glasgow. We went north, crossed on the ferry at Dunoon and if I remember the name properly, up to loch Eich.

It was December, -4 degrees, sunny, clear and not a breath of wind. I took photos of the loch and it was such a mirror image in the reflection, you can invert the photo and it looks the same!

Wonderful place.

Not wanting to divert from Andy's thread, but in response to Stu's comment about rain and midges, May and and after September have been the best "midge-free" experiences I've had with Scotland. Here's the photos I mentioned of Loch Eik (spelled correctly this time I hope) and it was early January 2003.

If Andy or Admin wish to delete them (I don't mean to thread-jack) it's all OK with me...

 

[AndyCook]

Lovely shots Clive, bit of snow in hills too.

As for midges, we did get any this weekend. But did last year on 25th September.
And we camped out a lot in spring, and the midges first got us on 1-2 June weekend trip, so we stopped going on trips then apart from family trip to Harris in August and had a few incursions of midges when the breeze dropped.

May was ok, it was a cold month though. But as Clive said, September to May is usually midge free

 

[Towpack]

Don't recognise that castle towpack - guessing Argyll area ?

Bang on. Kilchurn Castle Loch Awe. The other is Loch Chon in the heart of the Trossachs. J