Northern England and Scotland trip.

Am going to post my travels here, will try to get some photos in, as well. I think I have the hang of posting pics...if they don't work out just bear with me, will get them posted eventually

Uk trip notes.

I did a lot of hiking in Northern England and a 5 day trip to Scotland. Most of this trip was a series of Day hikes, simply enjoying the scenery and countryside as well as a jaunt to Lake District National Park. I spent some time around Lake Wyndemere there and also traveled through Kirkstone Pass. The have a great inn there that has been in use for centuries. The scenery is absolutely brilliant.
One thing I enjoy about Northern England is that there are all sorts of monuments and overlook towers on just about every high point you can find. There always seems to be some sort of new thing that makes me want to go “Cool! Let’s find the trail to that!”

Notes from Scotland trip
Day 1 - Arrived in Scotland. Stayed first eve at Loch Lomond National Park near Balloch; loaded up packs and did 3 mile hike total, wild camped for free in park. Next morning at visitor center ranger was very helpful and recommended Kings House Inn for camping near Glen Coe
Day 2 - Arrived at Kings House Inn, lots of trails, amazing scenery, wild camping behind inn is encouraged. Use of toilet facilities and restaurant also allowed and there is a separate hiker bar if you want to use it. Food is great if a touch expensive. There are deer are around the inn and can be hand fed. They prefer brown bread and carrots. I will also point out that the inn’s menu has lots of venison dishes. About 2 miles away is also Glen Coe Mountain Café, a ski resort by winter and main hub in the area for trekkers during the summer. They are open year round, serve a killer Scottish breakfast, have some micro lodges for rent, as well as some pay shower facilities and a drying room for gear and clothing.

Day 3 - high winds yesterday yielded a significant rainstorm with winds in excess of 40 mph and gusting higher overnight. The valley created a wind tunnel and channeled it right over base camp, causing some issues with the tent but nothing that a healthy application of para cord and a large rock or 2 couldn’t cure. The storm blew through and morning yielded a massive midge attack, biting gnats that were small enough to get through standard mosquito netting. We went to Glen Coe cafe and cleaned up, then drove to Ft. William for final supplies for Ben Nevis tomorrow.

Day 4 - Ben Nevis hike today. This had to be one of the most physically challenging things I have done in years. The trail was pretty broken with a combination of old stairs, dirt path and scree rock towards the top. The upper half of the mountain was in cloud cover with lots of wind and rain. Visibility was less than 50 feet in places and very cold. My glasses fogged up to the point I took them off, better half blind than totally blind. There was still snow on top. It was almost as difficult coming down as going up due to rough trail conditions. Spectacular view coming back out of cloud cover justified the effort, though. I, personally, slept very well that night.

All in all, an amazing trip; one of the best I have ever taken.  If anyone can make it tot his area, I am sure you will have  a great experience.

PS  posting pics below, I can get them in replies but not in the post itself.