Campsites in Scotland

Q. Can you tell me where I might find campsites in Rowardenann, Tyndrum and Kingshouse, Scotland

Jamie Davis, Helensburgh

A. From the list of sites you mentioned, am I correct in assuming you are walking the West Highland Way? Rowardennan: There is no campsite here. I always stay at Milarrochy which is a couple of miles before on the WHW, or stay over at Rowchoish bothy, which is just after. There is a Youth Hostel at Rowardennan which you could use. Tyndrum: There is the excellent "By The Way" campsite in Tyndrum or there is another site at Auchtertyre a couple of miles earlier on the West Highland Way, which has more space for tents and a pretty good shop. Kingshouse: There is no official campsite here. You can wild camp just over the river and make use of the walker's bar for drinks and food. The pub owners used to be pretty unfriendly towards campers using their toilets in the mornings but the last time I was there there seemed to have been a major change in attitude. I recommend having one of their breakfasts in the morning as it really sets you up for the walk to Kinlochleven. Hope this helps. I have walked the West Highland Way three times so if you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Lloyd Atkins, Norwich

A. Wild Camping and The Law in England, Scotland and Wales.

Tents cannot be pitched just anywhere because every piece of Britain is owned by some individual or some organisation and according to the strict letter of the law permission must be obtained prior to pitching tent and camping.

In practice however, this is often impractical and wild camping is usually tolerated in the more remote areas - typically, more than half a day's walk from an official campsite or other accommodation providing you:

Keep groups small
Camp as unobtrusively as possible
Leave camp as you found it
Remove all litter (even other people's)
Carry out everything you carried in
Carry out tampons and sanitary towels (burying them doesn't work as animals dig them up again)
Choose a dry pitch rather than digging drainage ditches around a tent or moving boulders
Toilet duties should be performed 30m (100ft) from water and the results buried using a trowel
At all time, help preserve the environment
And if you are in any doubt about what you're doing, find out more

In Scotland, the current access legislation (which came into effect in early 2005) is explicit about your right to wild camp on hill land. However, there are exceptions. Since March 2011 you are not permitted to wild camp between Dryman and Rowardennan on the shore of Loch Lomond. See Loch Lomond Wild Camping Ban for more information.

There appears to be an exception to this with respect to camping in Dartmoor National Park where the right to wild camping is actually enshrined in the National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act, 1949 amendment Dartmoor Commons Act, 1985 - see Wild Camping in the UK for more details.

For the definitive answer with respect to wild camping in Scotland see the answer supplied by the Scottish Natural Heritage

For a few (tongue in cheek) tips on wild camping see Some Wild Camping Tips.

NB. go4awalk.com cannot offer any advice on suitable locations for wild camping - but click here for walks from exisiting campsites.

Hope this helps

Mike (Editor)

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