DopeyLoser wrote:Normally, you seem to do quite well getting to and from the hills on public transport. Where are you hitting problems this time around? Is it the journey up from England, or to Fort William, or after that?
I expect you are already familiar with Citylink and Shiel buses.
A potential difficulty with leaving a car in a remote area is that you are forced to walk back to the car instead of walking a linear route. Or you have to get e.g. a bus back to the car, in which case you may as well leave it at a transport hub such as Fort William.
Earlier this year the problem was getting up there from SE England. I initially sussed the day train could get me to Glenfinnan (eventually), and I could walk to Corryhully bothy from there. Then when I checked the train times a bit later, the leg between Glasgow and Glenfinnan had vanished and I couldn't see another way to get there. I ended up booking a flight to Glasgow then a bus to Fort William, getting there in time to get an evening meal, then I was planning to get a taxi to Glenfinnan visitor center (I assume there are taxi services in Fort William). After doing that the early evening rail journey between Glasgow and Glenfinnan has mysteriously reappeared on National Rail Enquiries.
Coming back my plan was originally get a train back home all the way but there lies the problem of where to get meals (more specifically an evening meal). I had a look at flights to Gatwick from Glasgow or Edinburgh but they don't combine conveninently with the bus or train times getting to the airport, so I decided I'll just have to go hungry until I get home. Getting the bus to Glasgow instead of the train does get me there at a reasonable time to get a late lunch before getting the train to London. That was my plan until a few days ago. Since I arranged the trip there have been engineering works scheduled between Glasgow and Carlisle, closing the main line, so it is a replacement bus service to Carlisle. This means not getting home until gone 1am on Sunday. I looked into going across to Edinburgh and down the East Coast main line, but there is also major engineering work at Kings Cross which is reducing the number of services along that line. I then decided to look into alternatives. Can I get a bus to Kyle of Lochalsh, train to Inverness, and fly home? No. How about breaking the journey somewhere? After a bit of investigation I decided to book into a Travelodge in Glasgow for Saturday evening, and to keep the cost down, booked a coach to London on Sunday, which takes 11 hours but does get me there for around 9pm, which means I do at least get home well before midnight.
Here lies one of the issues in the UK at least. The advocacy is to leave the car at home and use public transport, both for environmental reasons and to minimise congestion, yet when you try to do it, it is a Herculean task to get everything coordinated and you pay through the nose. It feels like being in a position where someone in authority is demanding I do something and is then going out of their way to make it as hard as possible.
To summarise, to get to the start of my trek, I have to get to Heathrow (because my original Gatwick flight was cancelled), fly to Glasgow airport, then get a bus or taxi to the city centre. If there are no flight delays I will have enough time to get a camping gas canister before getting the 3pm bus to Fort William. Arriving at 18:15, I hope to find somewhere to get a meal then either get a taxi to Glenfinnan or hang around for the late evening train. Coming home, I get the bus from Shiel Bridge, pick up some cold food in Fort William, get a bus to Glasgow and stay there overnight. Next day, coach to London Victoria, train to Horsham, short bike ride home.
I am thinking that driving there and back over a couple of days each way and leaving the car in Fort William would have been much easier.