The early start race

[Moriarty]

Robin is right. This next generation of Corbett baggers isn’t materialising . How many others are doing a Graham round as I am ?

The Munros will look a lot better on their Insta feeds too

If I recall previous data correctly about 10-15% of Munro round baggers went on to Corbetts, a similar amount went on to a second round.

In the absence of a circle of bagging friends there's certainly much more recognition and validation to be had from Munro bagging than other hills.

Talk to the average punter about Corbetts/Grahams and you'll find that Ancient Phoenecian and English are co-equally bewildering.

I suspect that puts a lot of people off, why climb a hill if no-one is impressed by you doing so?

My bet is Corbett/Graham parking spots will remain relatively quiet.

[Coulags]

Getting more than a single Graham involves a LOT of effort eh Rockhopper .

I agree with Moriarty that lots of hill walkers seem to bag to impress . No point in setting off early if no one’s going to see your new Arcteryx windproof .

[Sgurr]

Having worked our way through Corbetts/Grahams, Marilyns came as a treat. You were guaranteed to find a parking space near any but the popular hills for the local wee town. Now I am back doing Wainwrights, it is a culture shock. I emptied the entire contents of my parking pouch into the first car park meter. Then hotels nearby do not seem to cater for reasonable starts: I was eating instant porridge in my room for a 7 am start and even then sometimes only just getting a space. What is the "wild camping" situation in the Lake District? If I took my tiny tent could I camp near enough to the car park not to kill self carrying it for miles? (Age 83 now)

[denfinella]

Apologies, my comment about Corbetts being next in line for an influx was tongue in cheek.

The number of people climbing (your average) Corbett has always been much smaller than the number of Munro baggers.

Even if the number of people climbing Corbetts ends up increasing by the same factor as the number of people doing Munros, it'll be from a much smaller start point, so we're unlikely to see the scores of people / dozens of cars that we are now seeing on Munros. (Except for the usual Corbett suspects like Ben Ledi.)

[WalkWithWallace]

Ironically I wild camped on the Corbetts; Beinn Dearg (Glen Lyon) and Beinn Tharsuinn (West Monar) and was surprised to meet fellow wild campers. It's like those who know, know: You get a lot more solitude on the Corbetts.

[Backpacker]

After my Munro round I started on a Marilyn round which has turned into a Corbett round. been meeting very few people on the Corbetts and as others have said the parking solely for the smaller less popular hills is almost dead

[iain_atkinson_1986]

One of the best bits about most of the Corbetts is that when you do bump into somebody you can stop and have a decent chat with them about routes and what hills they rate etc. There are some e.g. the more popular Assynt and Torridon Corbetts that are about as busy as a quiet Munro and as such you're lucky to even get a hello out of people.

For my money the best hills in Scotland are in Moidart, Ardgour and Morvern and I've never seen anybody else on those.

[goth_angel]

These days I do the vast majority of my hill walking in the Lake District and parking has become a major source of stress. I am not someone who can get up at the crack of dawn in order to get a parking space which has meant I tend to worry a lot about whether I will be able to get parked. I am able to make myself get up before 7 on occasion but at 5? Urgh no.

I do a fair bit of my walking in the Lakes using public transport but that doesn't work for some of the more remote hills (particularly the far West).

I think it has got worse since Covid due to more people doing staycations.

[simon-b]

These days I do the vast majority of my hill walking in the Lake District and parking has become a major source of stress. I am not someone who can get up at the crack of dawn in order to get a parking space which has meant I tend to worry a lot about whether I will be able to get parked. I am able to make myself get up before 7 on occasion but at 5? Urgh no.

I do a fair bit of my walking in the Lakes using public transport but that doesn't work for some of the more remote hills (particularly the far West).

I think it has got worse since Covid due to more people doing staycations.

I remember squirming at ads for outdoor shops saying, "This is the year of the staycation", knowing what it was likely to mean. We can't object to sharing the mountain regions with others who really want to be there. But as soon as those who go as a second choice, but would rather be abroad, can get back on their planes, the sooner we'll all be happy. Win win. And win win win if it means increased investment in environmentally friendly aviation.

[Giant Stoneater]

I have done a lot of hills by public transport and most times it is arriving mid-day and bumping into folk on the way back to their starting point after a couple of hours walking, a blessing at times.

[simon-b]

It's nice to do hills by public transport where it's feasible. In 2018 two friends and I were staying in Ravenglass and we used the narrow gauge railway to travel along Eskdale then climb Green Crag. A bonus was going to the pub before catching the train back, and we could all have a drink without worrying about driving.

[Sunset tripper]

There are far more folk out doing the Corbetts now than there has been in the past. Just look at the amount of compleaters per year now compared to 2 or 3 decades ago.
The numbers on the Corbetts may still be very low compared to the munros but some of the corbett baggers parking areas are very limited so more chance of filling up. Ben Hee I remember having very limited parking and Beinn Resipol also, though I do believe the campsite now offers parking - good to see highland hospitality still exists.

I was wondering what is the busiest standalone corbett car park? - by that I mean a car park that serves one corbett and no other munros / corbetts.

I was thinking maybe Ben Vrackie, though there are some in the deep south I may have overlooked.

[WalkWithWallace]

The car park and layby for Ben Ledi and Beinn Each respectively always look busy particularly the former.

[al78]

I was wondering what is the busiest standalone corbett car park? - by that I mean a car park that serves one corbett and no other munros / corbetts.

I was thinking maybe Ben Vrackie, though there are some in the deep south I may have overlooked.

Merrick?

[denfinella]

I was wondering what is the busiest standalone corbett car park? - by that I mean a car park that serves one corbett and no other munros / corbetts.

I was thinking maybe Ben Vrackie, though there are some in the deep south I may have overlooked.

I concur re. Ben Ledi.