I'm not sure this is the place for this question, but I'll give it a go.

Before I start: yes I carry a map and compass and I yes know how to use them.

However, I primarily navigate digitally and I navigate with the map orientation fixed north with the direction of travel and direction I'm facing represented on screen by two different means.

What do you do, is your digital map fixed so it's orientated north or do you have it so that the map orientation represents the direction you are facing?

I'm hoping to hike the southern half of the Skye Trail this winter, starting at the Old Man of Storr and heading down to Broadford. From my research, the northern half from Rubha Hunish to Portree seems like a bad idea in winter because of the exposed ridges.

Would the southern half be manageable, or am I underestimating how dangerous it gets? This would be my first proper multi day backpacking trip in northern Europe.

Would regular waterproof gaiters be enough, or would I need something more specialized? Any advice on essential gear, routes to avoid, or things I should know before attempting this?

Thanks

Coming to Scotland in December from Oz. Teenage son 17, is keen to do some hiking. He isn’t an expert (but he thinks it is). Im not an expert. What’s something easy to hike?

Hello!

I have 2 weeks holiday left to take this year and had the idea of getting a tent box, heading up north and spending some time in areas of Scotland I haven’t visited yet.

Was looking to see if any users were planning on selling a tent box, or if anyone knows of a slightly cheaper alternative?

Cheers!

My wife has started taking up cold water dips, in and around Balloch. She mentioned for me to pick up items for her to use for Christmas gifts. What do people use? what brands to avoid and what is essentials?

Not sure if anyone is interested in this sort of thing but thought I would post in case some are.

The rural affairs committee are seeking opinions on Outdoor Access.

I'll be staying in Fort William on the 8th and 9th of November, and would like to hike up to the Lost Valley on one of those days, since it looks magnificent. From what I've gathered, it seems like a somewhat challenging hike when you get to the rock-scrambling parts, but nothing that looks impossible. There is also a river crossing at some point, which I've seen people circumnavigate when it was in spate, but I wouldn't want to stray too far off the path. As for my experience level, I've hiked a few trails that were somewhat easier than this one before, but during summer.
If this is indeed a bad idea, I would love to receive some alternatives.

Hi, I found a phone with a dead battery on the Skye Trail between Portree and the Old Man of Storr. If you've lost your phone around this area, please DM me with a description of the phone so I can confirm it's yours.

Also, does anyone know whether I should hand it in to the police or if there's a better place to leave it for the owner to collect?

I went there today and it was great, you should definitely check out the Lost Valley trail!! but I unfortunately left a pair of grey metallic Doc Martens there at the Three Sisters car park… if anybody happens to go there this weekend and you find them I would be happy to pay their postage home… thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

I am going for The Hermitage walk with friends this weekend In Dunkeld. We will be staying overnight and i was wondering which other walk we can cover nearby for two days to see autumn colours. We are taking the train from Edinburgh.

I know about the walking highland website, however I wanted to get some recommendations from people who have been there in autumn.

thank you so much 😊

Hi there, I’m heading to Dundee at the end of October. Hoping to visit Abroath, Crail/anstruther, queensferry, and around Dundee itself. Any favourite coastal birding spots? Thank you

Hi everybody, im am currently planning a trekking trip in Scotland. I've got moderate experience with camping and would like to spend anywhere from 1-2 weeks hiking and camping. I've seen some solid recommendations with Cairngorms and the likes. However I'm also intrigued by the Scottish coastlines so I was wondering if you guys could give me some headers as the trip will fall into mid- to late November.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: as some people have already commented on the weather being unpleasant that time of year - I really don't mind

[ALREADY TAKEN]

Hi everyone!

We’ve been travelling around Scotland and have a camping gas canister that we won’t be able to take with us.

We’re leaving Scotland tomorrow before 1 PM, so we’d love to give it away to someone who could use it rather than let it go to waste! We used it only one day.

If you’re interested, just let me know! 😊

I’ll be around Edinburgh’s Old Town and New Town today, so we can arrange a convenient meeting spot.

Cheers!

(Image in the comments)

does anyone have a good recommendation for hiking in the pentland hills? so far i’ve done the harlaw reservoir, threipmuer reservoir, and bavelaw marsh one, and scald law, east and west kip circular. it’s gonna be raining all weekend but i’m keen to get out anyway, so anything with decent views through the rain would be great!! ideally something around 12-15 km but happy to do something shorter if there are good suggestions! 🫶

Hi everyone, my partner and I will be visiting Edinburgh for maybe a week or so this February coming. We both like hiking but my partner prefers trails that have fewer people on them, so I'm hoping people here might be able to point us in the right direction.

The trails don't have to be 2-3hrs although that'd be ideal, but we will be relying on public transport so anywhere we go has to be near enough to a train station or bus stop.

As for experience levels as per rule one, we're in decent shape and my dad dragged me all over the welsh mountains when I was younger, but we won't be doing anything that requires special gear like crampons.

I'm really grateful for any suggestions anyone has :)

I’m thinking of doing Ben Macdui and Derry cairngorm and have seen photos form the summit of Carn Etchachan and would love to summit it on the same day. However I can t find any paths marked on any OSmaps. I have had a look and I have see one person recommend coming up on to it from the south following Garbh Usige Mor. I would love to hear if anyone has any previous experience of this hill and what route they took.
Thank you very much.

You know when you have the walking bug and just want to walk up hills on your days off but it’s October and the forecast is moderate wind/low cloud base/bit dreich? Does anyone have any munros they recommend for these kinds of days?

Just to say I’m not suggesting walking in severe or dangerous conditions, just munros that are a bit meh in terms of views or technical skills, that aren’t best saved for those lovely clear days

Maybe ones more obscure aka not the glenshee three, but less discussed

Looking at the Met office app for Mamores tomorrow they predicted a full day of >95% rain from morning till evening. We are in holiday in Scotland and planned a hike around the ring of steal tomorrow. We have no other opportunity to do it later unfortunately.

Would you still go or is it too dangerous?

Hi there just new to this page, I joined as I’m a rather outdoors person love being in nature and spending some good quality chill time most of my outdoors work is stemmed around camping usual with a wild swim or hill walk in the morning just here to speak to like minded people enjoying the lovely Scottish outdoors

Like the title suggests I am in need of some ideas for base layers for our trip next month to Scotland. We will primarily be in Edinburgh, but driving to Inverness and Oban for a few days. We do plan to do some hiking weather permitting, but nothing more than 5 miles or so. Thank you 😊

Hi everyone! 👋

Me and my friends are planning a 5-day Scotland motorhome trip from Monday to Friday, starting and finishing in Edinburgh.

Our rough itinerary is:

Day 1 – Edinburgh Overnight: Edinburgh

Day 2 – Edinburgh → Loch Lomond → Glencoe Overnight: Glencoe

Day 3 – Glencoe → Fort William → Glenfinnan Overnight: Glencoe

Day 4 – Glencoe → Fort Augustus → Loch Ness → Inverness Overnight: Inverness

Day 5 – Inverness → Cairngorms → Pitlochry → Edinburgh

For those who know Scotland well, does this itinerary cover the major attractions and scenic areas we should see in 5 days?

More importantly, is this too much driving and not enough time actually sightseeing and enjoying the places? 🚐😅

Are there any must-see places we’re missing, or would you recommend removing/shortening any part of the route to give us more time to explore?

Also, as we’re travelling by motorhome, where would you recommend for cheap places to camp/park and sleep overnight along this route? We’re happy to pay if needed, but would love to know about affordable options.

We’re mainly interested in beautiful scenery, mountains, lochs, viewpoints, Highland villages and iconic Scotland attractions.

Any advice or changes to the itinerary would be greatly appreciated! 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿