After abandoning a prior wild camping trip, our writer returned triumphantly thanks to a new website that increases trust in multi-day walks
Ten years later, my last wild camping trip in Scotland is still a mild memory. I packed up at 3am, seeking warmth at a drive-through near Glasgow due to misplaced gear and a late frost. I sat with takeout coffee and watched the sunrise instead of on a remote loch.
My experience may not improve my outdoor credentials—I’m more of a Raynaud’s than Ray Mears—but it makes me a perfect fit for CampWild’s Wild Trails. With this campaign, the UK’s leading wild camping site CampWild hopes to increase confidence in off-grid experiences by promoting multi-day, self-led walks.
These walks, which are unmarked but follow trail corridors—zones where hikers can take their own route instead of following a predefined path—are inspired by wilderness routes in the US and Canada. The first walk is in Perthshire, in Invergeldie, which is close to Comrie. Oxygen Conservation purchased this 4,856-hectare (12,000-acre) former sporting estate last year for natural capital purposes. Today, SSE Renewables oversees hill farming, tree planting, hydropower projects, and peatland restoration.
Sufficiently rough for the task at hand, yet not too remote. Three paths are available in Invergeldie; they are all ideal for extended weekends, lasting two or three days each. Wheelchair users who are daring can enjoy the Moors Trail, which is the most accessible. It spans 12 miles (20 km) and is primarily on old hunting and SSE trails. The Peaks Trail, a high-altitude, mostly off-track trek of 21 miles (35 km), is the most difficult. Nestled between them is the 12-mile Lochs Trail, which my friend Helen and I scouted before to its debut last month. The trail is somewhat on-track and partially off-track.
The starting point of all three routes is the Ben Chonzie parking lot, which is four miles northwest of Comrie. Hikers receive a “adventure pack” with a kit list and code of conduct, an OS app-generated personalised route map, and a trail guide that highlights wildlife and suggests camping locations.
Though it can be intimidating to find alone in the outdoors, the benefits are profound
Tom Backhouse from CampWild
Helen and I open the OS app at the parking lot to start the Lochs Trail. We enter Invergeldie Estate by crossing a small hump-backed bridge and go along a narrow road towards Loch Lednock reservoir. Skylarks chirp overhead in the afternoon sunlight, and we pass two hikers without backpacks near Spout Rolla waterfall—the only humans we will see for the next two days.
We’re relieved to find one of the permitted Wild Space camping spaces along the route after three hours of trekking from the car park in the beginning of a light rain
Although we are aware that there won’t be any other CampWild members there (trails are reserved exclusively for 48 hours to prevent crowding), we are nevertheless aware that, similar to much of Scotland, recreational wild camping is available for those on foot at Invergeldie. We’re excited to welcome experienced hikers, but while Invergeldie’s rough terrain is perfect for CampWild’s remote experience, it doesn’t have the same dramatic appeal as locations like Torridon or the salt-washed grandeur of the Rough Bounds.
Some people might be concerned about paying for natural experiences given Scotland’s freedom to wander. Tom Backhouse, a co-founder of CampWild, says that the community component and the extensive study that goes into each trail are what make them valuable. “Seclusion in the outdoors has many benefits, but getting there can be difficult. Although a small percentage of people feel comfortable going out alone, experienced people may do so.”
There is a significant educational component in addition to supporting and enabling individuals to explore the outdoors. “Even though it’s legal to camp anywhere in Scotland, it’s important to think about the environmental impact,” Backhouse adds, bringing up issues like fire safety, trash, and possible harm to the surrounding ecology. The goal of the CampWild strategy is to preserve and encourage appropriate access to these habitats.
We find a charming location close to a little plantation of pine trees for a nice swim, eager to chill our heated feet in the cool water
The history of the shepherds, farmers, and drovers who once lived in these areas occurs to me as I drop off to sleep in the gentle twilight. Glen Lednock was home to 21 communities prior to the 18th and 19th century clearances; the occupants of these settlements were probably familiar with this now-remote terrain.
When the sun comes up, we cautiously make our way down the valley lined with bilberries to a thin drovers’ trail, then head up the slopes of Creag Uchdag for views of the loch. The route today takes twice as long and seems far more alone down the opposite side. As we get used to the off-grid pace, each step reveals more as we wonder at the vivid lichens and the play of cloud shadows over the moors: a mountain hare here, a black pheasant there, and a circling red kite. In this area, golden eagles have also been sighted.
Though there are plans to build a windfarm on the far side of the loch, for the time being we may enjoy the trail and the birds. Beside a little grove of pine trees, we happen across a charming location for a cool dip, and we happily drop our hot feet into the frigid water.
The second campsite on the Lochs Trail is An Dun, which is close by. A 20-minute walk from the trail’s conclusion, it’s a lovely spot with rushes that shine gold in the sunset sunlight, and a little lochan tucked between two hills. But there are wind gusts today, which makes setting up our tent difficult. After looking at the route map, we choose to take a diversion to the Moors route camping location in Lednock Wood.
This is where Tom’s value-related point becomes evident. We would have wasted a lot of time looking for a different camping location if CampWild hadn’t provided us with assistance. It’s possible that we even (hustly) packed things early and moved towards Glasgow’s suburbs. Rather, we spend our last night eating bowls of spiced dal by a remote riverbank while willow warblers sing and the sound of water tumbling over pebbles soothes us.
