how bad are summer crowds in wilderness hiking areas?

[AMelville]

Hello, I am curious if anyone could comment on the level of crowds in the summer in the wilderness areas of the highlands? I am from the US and considering a long-distance hiking trip in Scotland, perhaps next summer. How crowded are the hiking areas in general during the summer months? Are there always other people camping in the nearby vicinity? If I was to do one of the more well-known long distance walks, how often would you say that you cross paths with others? Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

[davekeiller]

Depends where you go.
West Highland Way is pretty popular, and you'll see plenty of people every day.
Walk the Cape Wrath Trail and you may well only see one or two people each day.
If you wildcamp near bothies you're likely to have company, otherwise you are likely to be fairly alone.

[LaurenAlexandraAgain]

As davekeiller said, the West Highland Way is quite popular and you're likely to be within sight of other walkers for the duration, especially if you do it in the summer. That being said, it's popular for a reason - it's a very fun trail!

If you do almost any other Scottish long-distance trail, there will almost certainly be fewer people. I did a section of the Hebridean Way in June this year and met an average of 2 or 3 other walkers per day. On the Rob Roy Way and Speyside Way, maybe 5 or 6 other walkers per day. I haven't done the Cape Wrath Trail, but I know of people who've gone days at a time without seeing another soul on it. If solitude is what you're after, a few long-distance trails I'd recommend researching are the Cape Wrath Trail, the Affric Kintail Way, and the East Highland Way, all of which are more remote trails and therefore less heavily trafficked.

I don't camp (yet!), but my understanding is it usually isn't too difficult to find isolated wild camping spots. But if you're planning to use or camp near bothies you will probably have company, especially in summer.

[al78]

As a very general guideline, the further you are from a public road, or alternatively, the more time and physical effort required to get there, the quieter it will be. The West Highland Way does not go through a wilderness, so will be popular. Crossing Fisherfield means walking far from access by car, and is a big area with alomst no roads or buildings so will be quiet. When I walked the Minigaig in early June a couple of years ago, I only saw a handful of people over a day and a half because is goes across an unpopulated area a long way from roads and settlements. It will likely be a bit quieter if you avoid school holidays, in fact, it is arguably better to go to the highlands before the summer school holidays, because the midges are less active, and temperatures are comfortable for walking long distance with a heavy pack, as opposed to the warm humid conditions that can occur in July and August.