UKH

Hey all,

Imagine I lived in Mid Devon.

Please can someone who is cleverer than me (that's anyone reading this) tell me when I can:

Go to Dartmoor for the day. 

Go to Dartmoor and camp.

Go to the Lakes and camp.

Go to the Brecon Beacons for the day.

Go to Snowdonia and bivvy.

Go to Scotland and camp.

Thanks all!

BB

.

In reply to bouldery bits:

For English elements: I think all ok from the 12th of April (if we stick to the current rough timetable)

For Welsh elements: probably the same - but not totally clear

For Scotland - I'm totally unclear.

In reply to bouldery bits:

Well. If you were me that would be this weekend, but I think it’s going to be a bit windy.

That’s where you’re going wrong.

Apologies, I couldn’t resist.

In reply to bouldery bits:

Unlikely to be this side of hogmanay if Nicola has her wicked way.  f*ck! we live here and we can't even plan a camping holiday in Scotland for the summer. 

In reply to graeme jackson:

Never?  Whilst the English are being kept away from Scotland under the guise of the Covid regulations Sturgeon's Wall is nearing completion.  The border guards will be in place soon enough and walking and mountaineering in Scotland will be no more for the English.  

In reply to bouldery bits:

The BMC has this guidance:

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/how-does-englands-roadmap-for-easing-covid-restric...

In reply to bouldery bits:

You might want to define "can" slightly better.  Obviously you 'can' do all of it now.  Then there is 'can' as in ' can I get away with it in a court of law, with Mr Loophole on my team ?' And then there is the 'can I do it and not piss off my peers' and then there is the 'in all conscience, can I do it ?'.

In reply to bouldery bits:

It also depends on where (what kind of site) you intend to camp.

All comments below refer to England and not Wales or Scotland.

From 12 April (at the earliest)
"Overnight stays in England within your own household will be allowed in self-contained accommodation."
That means your accommodation must include your own toilet/washing facilities.  Campsites/caravan sites will not be able to operate communal washing/toilet facilities.

It would appear that the above restriction will be eased on 17 May (at the earliest), but it isn't entirely clear as some social distancing rules will still apply.

By 21 June (at the earliest) "All legal limits on social contact removed with accompanying guidance on how best to reduce the risk of transmission."

In reality, a significant number of people will just try and do what they want by Easter and it will be the same sad free-for-all we saw last year!

In reply to graeme jackson:

You can't? We've booked a cottage in Durness for the last week of the school holidays, what's stopping you?

It isn't guaranteed to be OK, but it probably will be. Just arrange something where you won't lose much if covid postpones it. (We get to reschedule, or get a refund, if that happens).

To the op: there are no dates defined for people travelling from England to Scotland yet; even for Scots, the earliest currently for travelling around looks like it'll be mid May (end of April to go back to levels system, then three weeks for the levels review allowing some or all areas to drop to one where travel between council areas is allowed). There's some chance this will be pulled earlier if things are going well - but the levels system will mean that it could be OK for some areas and not for others.

I imagine there will be a huge amount of pressure to get things opened up for the summer, if covid's coming mostly under control - the tourism industry is on its knees. However, there is a stated intention to follow an elimination strategy here (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56347695 ), so I expect restrictions will remain tighter than in England.

In reply to Ghastly Rubberfeet:

Yeah, if the weather's half-way decent at the Easter break I think it'll be hard-to-impossible to stop floods of people pouring out of the cities for day trips and rough camping. If camp sites aren't open, there may be a fair few 'shanty towns' springing up at hotspots.

In reply to skog:

I admire your optimism. I'd rather not think about booking anything until we've been told restrictions will be lifting.

The sad thing is, as soon as there's a slight easing of restrictions all the idiots will come out of the woodwork and start stretching or ignoring the rules and the R number will inevitably start to rise again. 

If, as you say, the Scottish government want to eradicate Covid (and who wouldn't?) then they will have to keep us under a lot tighter control that allowing us to take holidays would suggest. 

In reply to graeme jackson:

Just book something with a covid cancellation policy! Accommodation providers understand the worries, and they want to get bookings in if possible.

If you leave it last minute this year, I don't think you'll have much chance of getting anything!

Yes, but we also have the ongoing vaccine roll-out, which should help enormously, and summer itself, which should also suppress the virus (people doing less indoors, where it spreads much more easily). I'm not hugely confident about the coming autumn and winter, but I think summer, at least, has a good chance of being a lot better.

In reply to skog:

However, there is a stated intention to follow an elimination strategy here

Numerous eminent public health experts and academics have stated that it is now not possible to 'eliminate' covid.  What the current Scottish Government incumbents are proposing would be more accurately described as vigorous suppression,  until the vaccination rate hopefully curtails the viruses ability to spread. Note they still haven't followed WHO protocols in developing a strong mass testing capability, so we are flying without an insurance policy!

It is being termed an elimination strategy when it is not, for political purposes.

Entirely agree with you that there is a pressure-pot building regarding being able to get out, which will increase as the weather improves, one that politically and pragmatically the government will struggle to contain. 

The outside free-for-all last year has been academically shown to not have lead to any significant increase in Covid, or transmission in rural areas. So managing the city/Central Belt exodus in the outside environment is a mundane practical one surrounding facilities, parking, education of appropriate behaviour and the like rather than one of Covid suppression. Covid suppression becomes an issue in indoor venues.

One would like to think that Government and local Government have been planning for the past six months for this, but I think that is probably a false hope!

There is currently no scientifically logical reason for travel without interaction, to outside areas to be restricted now. Yet the government is allowing some increased social interaction as the first step.............make of that what you will!

As noted by Graeme if the pressure pot and surrounding politics in the run up to the election, doesn't burst the tier system or boundaries thereof (I think it will), climbers and walkers in urban Local Authority Areas are buggered until vaccination tips the balance.

In reply to ScraggyGoat:

Yep, it says that near the top of the article I linked!

Yeah - that's a real problem. It does become a lot easier if the amount of covid in circulation is kept low, though.

I agree on the stuff about needing to target indoor mixing rather than outdoor activities - but I think it's probably very hard to allow one without encouraging the other (car sharing, indoor mixing at the destination - people are breaking the rules on this at home, they aren't likely to stop when they're away).

I think a huge amount is riding on the success of the vaccination programme. That has the potential to turn things around enormously, but it probably isn't a silver bullet on its own.

In reply to bouldery bits:

As far as Scotland is concerned I've booked a cottage up North for end of June with the agreement that if we are unable to go due to Covid restrictions we get our money back.

Regarding camping, last Summer that was tricky because of the issues of using shared facilities, or not as that was prohibited. I guess we'll have to see what happens this Summer but if Scotland is going to try and get infections down to a minimum it may be the case that campsites remain closed to tents but open to RVs which have their own washing and toilet facilities.

In reply to Removed User:

Can't remember if it was different in the summer but by October it seemed to come down to individual campsites making the call themselves. Some opened with shared facilies adapted/signed some went for the self contained units only thing and yet others just didn't open at all.  I wouldn't be surprised if it was a similar mish mash this summer.

In reply to Removed User:

We did manage to book into several camp sites towards the end of last summer, staying in tents and using shared facilities - they weren't straight-out forbidden, but there were concerns about the safety of them and some sites weren't allowing it.

Another real problem was actually finding camp sites with space, as the demand far exceeded the supply, and the way some of them were only accepting vans further restricted the options for tents. This will probably be even worse this year with pent-up demand.

I'm thinking we're likely to do a lot of rough camping this year if weather and travel restrictions permit - walking in to places well away from roads, as everything roadside is likely to be hoaching. I'd like to do something on one of the islands, too, but getting spaces on ferries might be tricky.

In reply to skog:

I 've got a horrible feeling that there could be a lot of layby camping this Summer.

In reply to skog:

I'll definitely not be making any assumptions this summer and will phone ahead even if I'm bike touring. Normally I'd just rock up when touring but it's just too risky.

In reply to Removed User:

It was pretty mental last year in some places. I drove through Durness in August and every square inch of grass had a tent on it. 

In reply to Removed User:

Yep. It has actually already started around here, but we've only seen small numbers. But it's only March!

In reply to DaveHK:

Yeah, I fear the days of last-minute bookings may be behind us.

In reply to DaveHK:

I'm looking forward to getting up there at the end of the summer, but it may involve a mix of elation and horror...

I think we'll have to be creative about spots to visit, social media means that everywhere obvious or popular will be mobbed if people are allowed to travel.

In reply to skog:

Round the villages and obvious honey pots it was pretty mental but once you got away from them it was fine. On that trip I had 4 or 5 nights in the van and didn't share a spot on any of them.

In reply to DaveHK:

Lets hope Nicola keeps the border closed and Glasgow in about level 8 with a shoot to kill policy until cheap flights to Spain resume.

In reply to skog:

A lot of people will have a similar idea or will be trying to access the same areas for day hill-walks from their accommodation, so parking will be an issue.

Take for example Fisherfield access: Kinlochewe and car park 20-30 spaces shared with other tourists, Dundonnell Corrie Hallie 10 car spaces shared with day walkers for An Teallach, Gurnard access 20+  (and will be also used by tourist for the beach and people wild camping by the road), Western fannichs approach 10+ spaces shared with day walkers and campervans, Poolewe another 10-15. So 80-100 (maybe 250 if people park up and down the road-sides elsewhere in villages) odd spaces for a prime wilderness area, half probably being used by day visitors and camper vans.  Not much provision, so even responsible wild campers heading away from the road are going to struggle irrespective of their good intentions and independencendance of needing accommodation.

I did a trip to the Far NW at the tail-end of last summer for a Sea kayak weekend. Even though I have known the area for 25 years, not only were all the obvious spots inundated by the road-side courtesy of the disaster of the NC500, nearly every spot away from it was in use and I struggled to find somewhere responsible, nearly having to put to sea to find a spot to camp. 

Also the estate had blocked of ready access to the water where I'd normally launch because Campervans and motorhomes had been parking in their launching/turning area, on their slip FFS, and NEDS had been camping and lighting fires within a foot of the boat house. I had a chat with some local estate staff and they were still polite and friendly, but you could tell they were fed up with the public en-mass.

Lots of nerves are going to get frayed at best, and there are going to be lots of psychologically damaged people out (bereaved, lost jobs, failed relationships, stir crazy from being locked down), so it may be more than just nerves.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Ha!

Have you seen the local authority breakdown? About half way down here, and image added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53511877

The whole of Forth Valley health board area looks almost destined for extended lockdown, just now...

In reply to ScraggyGoat:

Aye, this was already true by late summer and autumn last year, before the second lockdown. Hills walks were a lot more social than normal! (I actually do mean that in a positive way, despite myself - folks were really friendly, it was almost a pub-substitute! We had several family walks that ended up with us teaming up with other people, generally those with a dog...)

Locals getting legitimately stressed out was becoming a feature, too - the pressure isn't sustainable without major infrastructure improvement, and there are a lot of people heading a lot further from home than they used to to leave a mess. I fear that the neds have discovered that Scotland isn't actually very big, that it's quite easy to get beyond the Trossachs.

In reply to Removed User: And a lot suppression of it making responsible parking even harder. Another theme las Summer with a hint of taking an opportunity to suppress land/water access in general (see Loch Tummel). I have been using the tactic of carrying  a bike with me  even when walking, for parking flexibility (a tactic that has always been necessary in parts of Perthshire)

In reply to skog:

Isn't the Forth Valley thing largely down to more testing?

In reply to Howard J:

That's interesting. It says from March 29th:

• People will no longer be legally required to stay at home but travel should be minimised wherever possible.
• Overnight stays away from home are not allowed.
• No overnight stays will by default limit travel to destinations that can be reached in a day trip from home, but there is currently a lack of clarity on any further limits to how far you can travel during this step.

So... perhaps that means one could drive a little further, from the immediately local to a more "normal" conception of the local, e.g. within 50 miles/1h-ish?

I guess ultimately we'll have to wait and see.

In reply to Robert Durran:

I don't know; I hope so!

It's weird that it's a whole health board area at the very top rather than just a council area, so maybe.

Or maybe there's more crossover between those three council areas? A spreading event at FVRH a wee while ago, for example?

Or a mix of things, I really don't know what has happened.

In reply to skog:

Yep, sadly true, the NEDS have discovered that while they can no longer hammer Lomondside, and Etive is in the press, the rest of Scotland is a short hop.

I always viewed Lomondside, Earn, Tay, Etive as a sacrificial buffer zone. But thanks to the LLTNPA they have been pushed further out, which combined with improved road infrastructure such as the road across to Mallaig and Arisaig, A9 improvements etc,  means things are accessible both psychologically and physically.

I still think the right to light a fire should be removed from the outdoor access legislation, which might dampen demand and provide an easy way for the police to intervene if needed

In reply to Robert Durran:

That seems to be the theory around here (including from a couple of medic neighbours with whom I've had brief discussions). Re the Stirling aspect of it, the theory also seems to be that the so-called "eastern villages'' (Cowie, Fallin etc) are a significant factor - I've heard more than one comment that the people there can't keep out of each other's houses. Mind you, as one of my medic friends also said, "You'd have thought they would all have had it by now."

In reply to ScraggyGoat:

I remember when Glen Etive was fairly quiet, and those using it didn't leave litter. It has really suffered in recent times.

It's hard to think much good of the National Parks, isn't it? They seem to be all about business, with very little consideration of the environment, or the people using the outdoors.

Maybe. There is a risk it would just push those wanting fires a bit further afield, though - I think I'd prefer there to at least be specific areas where it was allowed.

In reply to bouldery bits:

Conversely, imagine I lived in the Scottish mountains.

I'd like to go to Devon to see my family and climb some rock.

Unfortunatly, the Iron Lady plans to keep me locked up here indefinatley as it suits her political purposes to do so.

When do I get out?

It's a daunting time whichever direction you look at it from.

In reply to skog:

Etive always been a congregation spot for decades, how far are you going back?

I remember a couple of decades ago walking there on a crap drizzly morning. There was tent open with occupants laying on the ground or in chairs surrounded by cans and bottles, fire ring with live wood chopped & plastic burnt, they were half subconscious and every cm of exposed skin covered in midges but were too hungover to notice; it looked like they never made into their tent at the end of their session the night before.

Got towards the road-end and a hire van door opened, two lasses jumped out, saw us, laughed, pulled their trousers and knickers down and shat right in the middle of the road about five feet from us, and then grinned waiting for our reaction. We just dead-panned them and walked straight passed. They were pissed-off they failed to get a response.

In reply to ScraggyGoat:

30+ years, we used to use it a lot and there were generally other people there, but not problem levels and rarely leaving litter.

In reply to alan moore:

We already have that problem. My parents, both in their 90's, still live in northumberland. My mum had a fall in January and ended up in hospital with a broken hip but we haven't been allowed to cross the border to check my dad's coping. Phone calls don't quite have the same effect as a visit would. Pretty frustrating. 

In reply to skog:

It's a shame South Lanarkshire can't be sub-divided. We're very rural but tarred with the brush that is the East Kilbride, Motherwell, Hamilton triangle - they'd be better lumped in with Glasgow then we might have got a lower tier when it happens.

In reply to graeme jackson:

Sorry to here that. That's tough. I would have thought compassion alone would mean you are allowed down for a visit.

In reply to skog:

Alas so true. The truth is, Scotland is ruined now, same as the world

Edit : OK, so half joking but both are too crowded 

In reply to alan moore:

Thanks Alan. My bro lives very near Carter Bar and was able to sneak over the border for a day trip to my dad's so we were happy he was coping. Because we wouldn't have been allowed in the hospital to visit my mum we didn't have a valid reason to travel south of the border. Life's a beach. 

In reply to graeme jackson:

Graeme, You are allowed to leave home and  cross the border for essential reasons, providing care and support for elderly relatives is a bon-a-fide essential reason. If you have concerns isolate yourself before hand, and then go.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-stay-at-home-guidanc...

Examples of reasonable excuses to go out:

to provide care, assistance, support to or respite for a vulnerable or disabled person

In reply to Siward:

Ruined is a bit much, but yeah it isn't quite what it was. It's still fairly easy to get a hill to yourself, or to find a quiet spot - it just takes a bit more effort than it used to.

A lot of this stuff goes in cycles, too, it'll probably get a bit less popular again sometime as people get fed up with the weather and the midges.

There is a positive side to it too - there are a lot more people getting out and enjoying themselves. It's the mess and the limited facilities that need sorted, and perhaps the increased interest will help make that happen?

In reply to graeme jackson:

I have a friend whose father has just been diagnosed with fairly advanced cancer, he's facing similar problems.

You are able to travel to provide care, though - so I think it should be possible to do something.

In reply to alan moore:

I really don't think it is political.

In reply to skog:

Yes, for the sake of our countryside I'm half hoping the it pisses down this Summer.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Not entirely, obviously.

Like everybody else, I'm feeling miserable.

In reply to skog:

That may well need to happen, but it will probably mean areas become far more restrictive and expensive for parking and camping. In fact all the stuff which is rubbish and puts me off going south of the border at the moment

In reply to Robert Durran:

Yeah, I fear that may be the case.

Places such as Glencoe and the Northern Cairngorms may end up more like the Lake District; Loch Lomond pretty much already is.

I can't really see the whole Highlands going that way, though - it's a much larger area, with fewer large population centres adjacent.

Plus the pubs are mostly crap.

In reply to skog:

I hardly ever go to pubs, but that is good to hear if it has some sort of limiting effect on turning Scotland into the Lakes.

In reply to alan moore:

Yes, I realised things had hit a real low when I found myself posting on UKC about what's on TV

In reply to alan moore:I would like to head that way too, other than my partner I have not seen a member of my family for over a year. If England opens up I will be making a dash for it.

Just seen the care clause mentioned, so thanks to vaccination, I will probably be able to go soon. I used to spend a lot of my holiday time caring for my dad

In reply to ScraggyGoat:

Completely agree.

Although being pedantic, it has actually nothing to do with the "legislation", because in essence all the right to roam legislation - The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 - says is that access is allowed in accordance with the Outdoor Access CODE. However, only the Scottish Parliament can approve changes to the Code as recommended by ministers either unilaterally or based on the recommendations of Scottish Natural Heritage.

Given the SNP/Green majority, I'm sure it could be done easily enough if Nicola decided she was in favour but it's not as simple as either SNH or a single minister just making a decision...

In reply to skog:

That's my memory too - used to routinely camp at the roadside down Etive in the mid/late 80s, sometimes as a base for the hills thereabouts, sometimes as an overnight stop en route from Glasgow to further north, and it was invariably quiet and civilised. Is there not a theory that things started to go downhill after the 007 movie was filmed there?

(Not long back in from getting soaked on the Nebit above Alva. Went for a quick lunchtime up/down and got to the top in nice bright-and-breezy conditions. What looked like being a five-minute light shower skirting to the north then appeared, but it turned into a 40-minute mixture of all sorts, hail, sleet etc. It was still on when I got back the car but sunny again five minutes later when I was driving back along the half-flooded Hillfoots road.)

In reply to C Witter:

I'll certainly be taking a day trip or two to some of the closer crags to me from the 29th March onwards.

I routinely travel 3 hours each way for a climbing day trip, so travelling 90minutes instead is therefore IMO absolutely within both the spirit and the letter of the rules, given the Government's repeated refusal to specify exact distances.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Ha! I haven't been in the Ochils since the weekend - we were up Myreton and Colsnaur from Menstrie, on Saturday.

It's a funny day today, short beautiful spells and really heavy showers. I only got out for a walk to the pharmacy, but still managed to get soaked through!

In reply to skog:

I hardly seem to be anywhere else! The next Ben Cleuch outing will be the 100th since the start of last year, which is a bit ridiculous even by my standards. Might look to do that on Saturday - reasonable-ish forecast plus it's the 35th anniversary of the first time I went up it, so it would be a neat combination of obscure/esoteric events.

Yeah, I was radar-watching beforehand and thought I'd timed it just right - the top was really quite pleasant. Then noticed Bengengie/Blairdenon were disappearing, and five minutes later - splat! Wouldn't have wanted to be any higher - had zero thoughts of Cleuch today, not that I had enough time anyway. Was last up Myreton (without Colsnaur - another quick raid) last Thursday; while you were there on Sat I was doing a Blairdenon thing from the west.

Btw a polis van was lurking in the Blairlogie Meadow/Orchard car park as I drove past on the way out - haven't ever seen one there before.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Enjoy Ben Cleuch!

They seem quite selective in their patrolling - there were people camping at North Third last week, with a fire going merrily.

They maybe get less aggro from the people parking at Blairlogie, I don't know - but I'm not sure I see the point in them being there. Unless people were parking blocking the road or something?

In reply to skog:

Ta. Haven't got bored with it yet!

Possibly - although they might just have been using it as an inshot to nab passing traffic - I was driving so couldn't properly see, but the van seemed to be parked in the entrance to the car park. It gets used by folk visiting Blairlogie itself - carers etc - given how awkward parking can be in the actual village, so it was an odd place to see the van. It seemed ridiculous that Stirling council blocked off the Blairlogie car park during lockdown #1, given that it's not just a recreational one like Pendreich. If it was half a km further east, in Clacks, it would have stayed open.

A place where I've seen the polis lurking several times recently is the little lane down to Ditch farm near Tullibody, although I've yet to see them zoom out after anyone (eg me).

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Noticed lots of Police lurking going on near Fishcross and Tullibody. Might not be lockdown related.

In reply to alan moore:

Hard to tell - I'm working on the basis that whatever they're up to they're not interested in a single-occupant car, anyway (not that I'm breaking any laws, but I still don't want to be stopped).

Bloomin' chilly here - we've just done a mile along the road between showers and in the wind it felt much colder than earlier. Entirely happy not to be any more than 10m above sea level just now.

In reply to bouldery bits:

Thanks for all the info all.

Super useful. Going a little stir crazy at this point!

I wondered the other day if it would end up being possible to travel abroad before being ' allowed' to visit other countries within the UK.  The Welsh don't seem keen to have English visitors any time soon.

In reply to bouldery bits:

And the good news is that they are going to reinstate the scheduled rail service to Okehampton,  which shut decade's ago.

That opens up the prospect of Dartmoor north to south without the hassle of getting dropped at the start etc. Okey Station to Ivybridge Park and Ride Station. A very grand day out!

In reply to Wainers44:

That is great news - makes Dartmoor trips much more attractive 

In reply to Dr.S at work:

Yes and for those who haven't been before, Okey Station is an absolute gem. A proper proper railway station. 

The N to S run works well from the two stations as well. Nice start out to Hangingstone along the army track, and then a nice easy roll along the Redland Railway bed at the end. Middle bit can be a little damp!

In reply to Wainers44:

Do you have an idea of dates?

In reply to Dr.S at work:

They are just saying later this year.  Pre covid there was a very limited summer service,  but it was weekend only and smack in the middle of the day so not much use. I would guess that a better service will appear for the summer, and there is a report of 7 trains per day.

The £50m allocated will go on a new station with bigger car parks and better access,  probably out near the A30 junction?

If I hear a firm date i will post it on here.

In reply to Dr.S at work:

They are saying a service to Okehampton 2 hourly,  7 days a week.....horray!!

But estimate of start is now December.....boooo!!!

In reply to Ghastly Rubberfeet:

Followed about two weeks later by a rise in the R rate, increased numbers testing positive, increased hospital admissions, and about a month after that a rise in the death rates, followed by the start of a third wave and lockdown! 

And a feeling of deja vu......only this time round it will be the unvaccinated under 50s who will bear the brunt of the suffering.........

In reply to bouldery bits:

Looks like Scottish inter-council travel is now feasible from this Friday (rather than from 26 April):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56733608

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

That's very good news. Even though I live in P&K, which is one of the biggest LAs, I've been reluctant to travel very far outside Strathearn. With this lifting of restrictions, I may be inclined to venture a bit further. 

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Fantastic! I've got a long weekend this weekend so some biking in the Galloways calls.

NB I'm sure this message was made purely on data and not at all on the joyous scenes from England and Wales on Monday appearing in Tuesdays news feeds in Scotland.

In reply to Harry Jarvis:

Similar here in Stirling - I've recently had a Vorlich/Stuc day and done a Ledi loop but I've not been straying into the outer reaches of the council area even though it's been allowed (sort of) for a while. As of Friday however it looks like I can start revisiting various slightly more distant favourite places eg Lawers/Lyon stuff and some Glen Devon pottering. Plus an evening Chonzie at this time of year is a nice thing.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Currently on the plan is the Glen Sherup round which featured here a few months back. 

An evening trip on Ben Chonzie will be nice. I was up on the Knock yesterday evening and the views even from there were stunning - the cold air made for wonderfully clear air. 

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Great! And up to 6 adults from 6 households allowed to meet outdoors.

Still no overnight stays allowed, though. But this is a big step forward.

In reply to bouldery bits:

But still no staying away from home overnight, e.g. no self-catering?

In reply to Harry Jarvis:

Yesterday was a brilliant day - I got no further than the giddy 69m high point of King's Park, but the hills to the west looked great. One Stirling friend went round Caisteal/Chroin and another did a big Lawers loop, and both said they had a great time. Both also mentioned quite a bit of hard snow on N-facing slopes - one wore crampons for a while and they both used the axe.

In reply to Robert Durran:

As someone who lives in Glasgow, I really hope not!

(I know where you are coming from)

In reply to Toccata:

Well its not based upon the science, unless a single data point is being used; Glasgow and we are talking political science.

My compact urban local authority (200K) reached a recent 7 day moving average low of 26 cases per hundred thousand on the 17th Feb after a steep exponential decline (the scotland average at the time was >100), we have bumped around between that figure and a maximum of 42, now being at 30.

Glasgow is now currently at 60 cases per hundred thousand; my LA hasn't been at 60 since the 1st of Feb! That is a f*cking 10 week inequality I have had to wait out.

So the Scot. Gov. delayed restricting interactions in Glasgow in the autumn not wanting to upset their core supporters, and now when the sun comes out, the clocks change, pressure is mounting,  Glasgow gets close to the magic figure but from the graphs still has someway to 'bottom out'...and there is an election very close ..................bingo.   

I'm not suggesting that allowing people to get outside is wrong, I have been arguing that we should be have been differentiating on inside versus outside, and travel with and travel without interaction, for the physical and mental well-being of the population.

The inequity of it all is absolutely staggering.

In reply to kathrync:

Likewise!

Cheap flights to Spain may get the sports climber out there...assuming that's what RD meant??

In reply to Flinticus:

No, I meant weegy neds trashing every lochside within a few hours drive of Glasgow.

In reply to tjdodd:

Thought the wall was to stop any Jocks escaping.😁

youtube.com/watch?v=kam0WRzJW9g&

In reply to Robert Durran:

A lot of those now live outside Glasgow LA...Coatbridge, Paisley, Ayr, Wishaw, Carluke, Largs, Irvine, Motherwell, Alexandria, Clydebank, Port Glasgow, Greenock...

In reply to graeme jackson:

That's not going to happen is it?. Even now we still have significant intercontinental travel. 

How are they managing to control situations like rigs?

Plus you can't demand people get vaccinated (at the moment). Uptake in care homes was 90%. That's high risk.

At my wife's hospital in MA, 73% have opted to be vaccinated. I'd be amazed if we get to 2/3rds vaccinated in the US. Much over 75% will be impressive in the UK. It'll be enough to certainly help but eradication is all but impossible. Most seem to think a reduction in severity as it is now an endemic disease with much greater population immunity.

In reply to bouldery bits:

BBC R4 News 18:00:26-18:00:35 13/4/21

"People in Scotland are to be allowed to travel anywhere in the country for outdoor activities, including meeting others, from Friday"

https://www.gov.scot/news/accelerated-easing-of-restrictions/

In reply to bouldery bits:

hey hon 

nice 

me 

 
yep defo

yep 

ABSOLUTLY NO F£&KING WAY 

yep 

yep

yep .

hope that helps 

please like , share on Facebook and subscribe 

Mike . 

In reply to bouldery bits:

Not until the 26th April. 

Great

In reply to JeanMilburn:

just come in on this , when can i go to the lakes from Preston for the day , walking , climbing etc. 

and can i cross the scottish border to go walking   

In reply to bouldery bits:

Surprisingly quiet on a round of a few of the Lawers Munros today, both on the hill and - particularly - on the roads. Didn't use the NTS car park but it certainly didn't look to be full - the only busyish parking place was the end of the Tarmachan track. Met a few people on the hill during the standard Ghlas-Lawers section, but the Corranaich stretch earlier was almost deserted and the descent was quiet too. Suspect it'll be busier come the weekend.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Likewise in Glen Coe today. Went along the Beinn Fhada ridge onto Sgreamhach and didn't meet anyone until the summit of Bidean. Two climbers who had climbed Stob Coire nam Beith's Summit Gully. I met another 4 folk en-route to SCNL. That was my grand total for the day. Roads were blissfully quiet both ways. Totally gubbed when I got back tae ma motor right enough.....the past four months of hill inactivity has taken it's toll.  

In reply to Joak:

Funnily enough I'm feeling tired too. I've certainly not been inactive these past few months - masses of Ochiling  - but until today the year's total of bigger stuff had been a Vorlich/Stuc round and a Ledi loop, both in the past fortnight. I guess there's a difference between 3hr-4hr very local things and 5hr-6hr outings on rougher ground and involving a longer drive as well.

What were snow conditions like on Bidean? I walked in very little on Lawers (and didn't take an axe), but there's still quite a lot on the north- and east-facing slopes.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

The snow, as expected is all in the north and east facing corries with very little on the ridges. Surface softened neve at the top of the Beinn Fhada ridge. I put on crampons for descending Bidean's north ridge which was much more snowy. The two guys I spoke to who had come up Summit Gully reported very good snow conditions. I had considered going up either North Buttress or Curved Ridge on the Buachaille, but couldn't resist the chance for a wee play oan some snaw on Bidean. 

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Pennine Way... almost deserted. Companion not confident on rough ground so grassy Cheviot tracks ideal. And yes, before anyone asks.....

I did cross the fence! (Filthy TuMP bagger that I am.).  

Not sure if I am ready for big stuff.. will be a battle to get back. 

In reply to bouldery bits:

can anyone fathom what the new rules in Scotland mean from the 26th April?
 

I can see that travel to and from the rest of the U.K. is allowed for non-essential reasons , but are you permitted to stay overnight? 
 

In reply to Tim Davies:

Yes.

Bagged a couple hills in Brecon on Sunday, I talked myself out of wild camping because I assumed (wrongly) that it would be heaving and I didn't want to be fed up or feel like I was having to compromise in some way, but nope, only a couple tents up around Llyn y Fan Fawr and Llyn y Fan Fach and 1 up on the top of Picws Du. Outside of that I could have had my pick and there was not a breath of wind, barely any frost either when I set off for my walk at 5.30 as well. Was kicking myself a little bit for that decision. Certainly had got busier when I headed back out later that morning though.

In reply to Fat Bumbly2:

Moved to something bigger. Am Bioran and a couple of tops in Strathearn. Nobody around of course. Amazed that such a fine ridge is neglected.

In reply to Fat Bumbly2:

Indeed. It's 35 years or so since I was on it - and I haven't been back, I fear. Lovely day today. I was on Meall an t-Seallaidh from Balquhidder with a couple of pals (the separate-cars thing is expensive and a general faff). Very quiet - we met one chap on the hill who was doing the two Corbetts from Lochearnhead and an elderly local couple in the forest on the way down. Another pal did Chonzie from Turret and says that was quiet too - although the car park was quite busy.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

I went along the Aonach Eagach ridge today and miraculously I only bumped into two other folk car to car. Irrelevant information alert....ma grandfaither from my mothers side was laid to rest in the wee cemetery in Balquhidder in 1971.