Human waste
If you need to urinate, do so at least 30m from open water or rivers and streams. If you need to defecate, do so as far away as possible from buildings, from open water, rivers and streams. Bury faeces in a shallow hole and replace the turf.
Dogs and dog walking
Ptarmigan on Beinn Bhan
Access rights apply to people walking dogs provided that their dog is kept under proper control.
Your main responsibilities are:
Ground-nesting birds: During the breeding season (April–July) keep your dog on a short lead or under close control in areas such as moorland, grasslands, loch shores and the seashore to avoid disturbing birds that nest on the ground.
Farm animals: Never let your dog worry or attack farm animals. Don’t take your dog into fields with young farm animals.
Public places: Keep your dog under close control and avoid causing concern to others, especially those who fear dogs.
Dog waste: Pick up and dispose of carefully.
Fuller details can be found at www.outdooraccess-scotland.com.
Roadside camping
There is no legal right to roadside camping from a car. At one time it was common practice and this led to pollution problems in popular areas such as Glen Coe. You will find people camping beside the road, particularly in remote glens, but you should realise that you have no right to do so. You should obey any prohibition signs and you must leave if requested to do so by the landowner. Take particular care not to cause any form of pollution.
Motorhomes are a good base if you are walking in Scotland and there is rarely any difficulty finding somewhere to park. Caravans are much less flexible and should use caravan sites. Many of the single-track roads with passing places that are still common in the Highlands are not really suitable for caravans.
Roadside camping is legal under the access laws if you are walking or cycling.
Mountain Bothies
The author in Kinbreack Bothy, north of Loch Arkaig (Route 22)
The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) is a charity that maintains about 100 bothies in Scotland. These are shelters, usually old crofts, which are unlocked and available for anyone to use. Almost all of the bothies are in remote areas and are only accessible on foot or possibly by bicycle. The MBA itself does not own any of the bothies; they are usually remote buildings that the landowner allows walkers to use.
When going to a bothy, it is important to assume that there will be no facilities. No tap, no sink, no toilets, no beds, no lights, and even if there is a fireplace, perhaps nothing to burn. Bothies may have a simple sleeping platform, but if busy you might find that the only place to sleep is on a stone floor. Carry out all your rubbish, as you would do if you were camping, and aim to leave the bothy tidier than you find it.
If you intend to make regular use of bothies you should join the MBA to contribute towards the costs of running the organisation. The MBA organises working parties to maintain and tidy up the bothies and they would welcome volunteers to help with this task. For more details on using bothies, consult the MBA’s excellent website: www.mountainbothies.org.uk.
Navigation
The 1:100,000 maps in this guide are good for planning purposes and will give you a general idea of the route, but they don’t give enough detail for accurate navigation in difficult conditions. For this reason it is essential that you carry the relevant maps.
The Ordnance Survey (OS) 1:50,000 maps, available in paper form or for GPS devices, are very good and should be all you need to follow the recommended routes. In popular areas updated OS 1:25,000 maps are available but not really necessary. Probably the best maps are the Harvey maps (mainly 1:40,000) but they don’t have full coverage of the Scottish Highlands.
The contour lines on all of these maps are remarkably accurate and should be seen as your main navigational tool. Inexperienced walkers going out in good visibility should learn to relate contours to the ground so they are better prepared if they get caught out in mist.
You should always carry a good compass (those produced for orienteering by Silva and Suunto are probably the best). In good visibility it should be sufficient to orientate the map using the compass, so that north on the map lines up with north on the ground. At present, magnetic north is near enough to grid north not to have to adjust for magnetic variation. Learn to take bearings from a map and follow them using the compass in clear conditions, before you find yourself having to navigate in mist.
The most difficult thing in navigation is knowing how far you have travelled, which can be important when navigating in mist on Scottish hills. In extreme conditions it may be necessary to pace-count to measure distance – practise this skill in good conditions, so that you are prepared.
Probably the most common navigational error is to head in the wrong direction when starting to descend so it is a good habit to always check your compass when leaving a mountain summit, even in clear conditions.
GPS
If you are experienced at using map and compass, a GPS unit is not essential for navigating the Corbetts. However, even experienced mountain navigators will find they can make navigation easier in mist and the less experienced might find that using a GPS unit allows them to navigate safely in poor visibility.
Safety
The most important thing is not how to deal with accidents, it’s how to prevent them. There are three main tips for reducing your chance of a mountain accident by about 90%:
Learn to navigate!
Learn to navigate better!
Learn to navigate even better!
The 90% figure is not a made-up statistic. Research done about 40 years ago suggested that poor navigation was a major contributory factor in about 90% of Mountain Rescue incidents in the Scottish Highlands.
Three more tips should account for the other 10% of accidents:
Make sure you have a good tread to your walking shoes or boots. Don’t wear shoes with a worn tread.
Use two walking poles – this greatly increases safety on steep grass slopes and during any difficult river crossings.
Always have waterproofs, hat and gloves in your pack, whatever the weather.
Finally, if you are intending to do any walking in winter you should take some training in walking in snow-covered mountains. There are excellent courses at Glenmore Lodge National Outdoor Training Centre (See Appendix B for details).
Areas in this Guide
1 Mull, Morvern, Sunart and Ardgour
SE face of Garbh Bheinn, towering over Loch Linnhe (Route 6)
The southern section of this guide contains some of the most magnificent, rugged, rocky mountains in Scotland, with the scenic value being enhanced by the fjord-like Loch Shiel, Loch Eil, Loch Linnhe and Loch Sunart that