cyclonetracey1961 wrote:Hi Everyone, I am travelling to Scotland from Australia in October and was wondering if anyone could help me decide on what walks to do and the best place to base myself. I am of reasonable fitness so am able to complete most walks except hard hikes of mountains! I am looking to complete at least 5 day walks in the 8 days I will have available. Also looking for advise on where to stay and if I can base myself in the main towns such as Inverness, Perth and Glasgow to do the walks?
Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated as I have not been to Scotland before! Cheers Tracey
I would suggest Fort William, because
- It's got a huge variety of walks on the doorstep, including many low-level and easier options for wet days. The woodlands in Glen Nevis will look especially beautiful at that time of year. If you are walking in order to see beautiful scenery, I would avoid the main Ben Nevis path, but definitely do the walk to Steall Falls.
- There is a wonderful contrast between the mountains and the coastal areas, so very varied scenery
- It's on a railway - you can get to several interesting walking spots, including Corrour and Rannoch, Morar area and Mallaig. Some of these places are worth a visit in themselves on wet days. The beaches of Morar are among the finest in Britain.
- There are plenty of eating options, and a wide choice of accommodation
- although you say you want to avoid "hard hikes", several of the mountain walks are actually not difficult, eg. Mullach na Coirean in Glen Nevis is just a steady uphill walk with amazing views from the top.
A couple of other things to be aware of
- midge season may not be quite over, especially if you are going in early Oct
- the first half of Oct is still stalking season, this can affect some of the hill routes but you can access sources of info from this site. Personally I often visit Scotland in Oct and I have never found it a problem.
Tim