Seventy (!!) parking fines issued at Loch Lomond

[CharlesT]

Two hours! If only, that's a mere bagatelle. Minimum time to reach The Highlands for me is 8 to 10 hours. I can recall from when I lived in Hampshire driving overnight to Torridon at New Year, 12 hours, arriving at dawn, then climbing Beinn Eighe in full winter conditions after a short kip in the car. The same trip I climbed Slioch on my last day then drove home overnight stopping only for a refuel at Stirling.

Now I drive up and back in daylight, but back then I was working and hated the idea of giving up precious holiday daylight hill time to driving.

[MountainTrail]

Two hours! If only, that's a mere bagatelle. Minimum time to reach The Highlands for me is 8 to 10 hours. I can recall from when I lived in Hampshire driving overnight to Torridon at New Year, 12 hours, arriving at dawn, then climbing Beinn Eighe in full winter conditions after a short kip in the car. The same trip I climbed Slioch on my last day then drove home overnight stopping only for a refuel at Stirling.

Now I drive up and back in daylight, but back then I was working and hated the idea of giving up precious holiday daylight hill time to driving.

Exactly , I've seen me sitting in rush hour traffic daily for 2 hours between Edinburgh and Glasgow

[al78]

Two hours! If only, that's a mere bagatelle. Minimum time to reach The Highlands for me is 8 to 10 hours. I can recall from when I lived in Hampshire driving overnight to Torridon at New Year, 12 hours, arriving at dawn, then climbing Beinn Eighe in full winter conditions after a short kip in the car. The same trip I climbed Slioch on my last day then drove home overnight stopping only for a refuel at Stirling.

Now I drive up and back in daylight, but back then I was working and hated the idea of giving up precious holiday daylight hill time to driving.

I am a minimum of 10 hours from the highlands, living in SE England, but I am not talking about popping up for an overnighter or a weekend, I am referring to day trips where you are doing travelling and a long walk in the same day.

I do wish people would lose the strawmen and stop trying to counter me with flawed comparisons. Yes I theoretically could drive to the highlands on Friday, climb a hill on Saturday, drive home on Sunday, but I wouldn't do that, because the hiking does not compensate for the hell of driving for 20+ hours in two days. That is why I use the sleeper train, getting the tedious long journey done by someone else whilst I am asleep.

[McKendrigo]

How many of us actually take any public transport to climb hills,very few i would imagine whither the infrastructure is there or not.

Personally I've taken public transport several times for Munro walks, Bridge of Orchy, Tyndrum, Blair Atholl and Arrochar are all reasonably easily accessible by bus or train from the central belt.

I'd have used public transport more but often the problem is either that the schedules aren't useful for walks (arriving too late in the day, a 2hr wait if you miss the bus etc.) or it's not possible/guaranteed that you can take a bike with you to help you get from the station to the start of the walk.

[Walkinmyfootsteps]

Considerate parking shouldn’t be hard. It just involves a bit of planning and possibly luck to avoid disrupting others. If you can’t get parked just find somewhere else to go and walk back, at the end of the day that’s what you’re there for!
I travel from Merseyside for all my Munro outings. Usually up and down in the same day, fire up a couple of Munros and then drive back down. When time allows I’ll stop over.
This pandemic has brought unprecedented numbers out onto the hills. Probably the biggest influx since they became popular back in the day when mass unemployment saw men seeking adventure from the industrial heartlands of the central belt.

[iain_atkinson_1986]

Considerate parking shouldn’t be hard. It just involves a bit of planning and possibly luck to avoid disrupting others.

I'm not so sure. I was in Torridon on Saturday and there were plenty of people parking in passing places. Whilst they shouldn't be doing this the infrastructure along the NC500 should be much better than it is. Money will be tight in the coming years but if the powers that be want people to "staycation" then they're going to have to throw money at infrastructure in the Highlands so that car parks don't become camp sites and laybys, passing places and people's private property become parking spots.

[Walkinmyfootsteps]

Considerate parking shouldn’t be hard. It just involves a bit of planning and possibly luck to avoid disrupting others.

I'm not so sure. I was in Torridon on Saturday and there were plenty of people parking in passing places. Whilst they shouldn't be doing this the infrastructure along the NC500 should be much better than it is. Money will be tight in the coming years but if the powers that be want people to "staycation" then they're going to have to throw money at infrastructure in the Highlands so that car parks don't become camp sites and laybys, passing places and people's private property become parking spots.

It will be interesting to see what the longer term outcomes of this pandemic are. Better infrastructure for outdoor spaces should be invested in. Encouraging people to get outdoors and exercising can only mean a reduction in the need for healthcare etc. Scotland is the most obese country in Europe so I do agree. Whether it happens is an entirely different debate.

[BAZ1893]

Quite a lot of 'high and mighty' folk on this topic.

Of course some of the parking in the photos is wrong, that's a given. But to say that if you get to your destination for the hills you have planned only to find there is no parking spaces, that you should just turn around and go to plan B or C is over-simplifying things to the extreme.
I know that I like to be extremely well prepared for a day in the hills and spend most nights prior to going, pouring over various walk reports, studying maps, reading books to find out all the pitfalls of the area, escape routes etc. I wouldn't have the time to do this for various locations. Also, if you have driven 2-3 hours to get to say Loch Muick and find the car park full, which Munros could you then drive to in time to scale them? Linn of Dee? Say that is choc-a-bloc too? Along to the Punch Bowl, no spaces there either, down to Auchallater to find it is full too? Everywhere I have been the last 4 weeks has been heaving and it hasn't mattered if it's Wednesday, Friday or the weekend. You need a certain amount of time to climb the big hills so you can't spend 5-6 hours driving all over the country looking for a hill with a parking space.
Yes, you could go to a smaller hill but I know that my time on the bigger mountains is limited so want to get as many of them done before I have to content myself with the Grahams and Marilyns of the country.
People have other commitments in life too and may need to be back home at a reasonable time to fulfill them.
There is definitely more and more people going out walking in the hills, whether that continues or not remains to be seen but I think with the easy access of information and the belief that popularity breeds popularity it will continue to be. There needs to be a much better infrastructure with much more parking available in areas where walking is popular.
I should end by saying that on each of the outings I have been on this year I have managed to get parked by being just early enough so have not had to park illegally but usually on returning there have been cars strewn everywhere and on the journey home passing other areas I have seen the same situation. I just have a bit of sympathy with other people who are very possibly not able to change their plans or want to waste a day. Life's too short.

[MountainTrail]

Some fair and agreeable points Baz , but the last thing i want to see are large areas cleared for new car parks
Glen Brittle and the Fairy Pools is a prime example
I'm confident the post covid craze of hill walking will fizzle out with many , leaving the hills to the die hards once more
Same with the new craze of kayaking and canoeing , every second car on the A9 now has one strapped to the roof lol

[al78]

Quite a lot of 'high and mighty' folk on this topic.

Also, if you have driven 2-3 hours to get to say Loch Muick and find the car park full, which Munros could you then drive to in time to scale them?

Mount Keen.
The Glenshee munros from the Ski centre.

Unfortunately not being able to find a parking space is the luck of the draw. If you live in a densely populated part of the country (like I do), you have to take that risk every time you want to go somewhere by car where there will likely be a lot of people and limited space. That doesn't make it right to cause an obstruction or park in a hazardous manner. If the worst comes to the worst you go back home. It is not as if there hasn't been advanced warning that masses of people are descending on honeypot areas, so with a bit of studying a few OS maps you should be able to find somewhere that is very likely to be muich less busy. The other option is to drive (or walk, bus, cycle) to a railway station and use a train to get there and back, this is doable for some munros.

https://www.stevenfallon.co.uk/munros-by-train.html
https://www.fionaoutdoors.co.uk/2019/01/how-to-go-munro-bagging-by-train.html
https://www.mountaineering.scot/activities/hillwalking/car-free-walks
http://steverabone.com/MunroWalker/munros_by_public_transport.htm

Using public transport has the advantage that you don't have to finish in the same place you started, which adds flexibility.

[Tringa]

Quite a lot of 'high and mighty' folk on this topic.

Also, if you have driven 2-3 hours to get to say Loch Muick and find the car park full, which Munros could you then drive to in time to scale them?

Mount Keen.
The Glenshee munros from the Ski centre.

Unfortunately not being able to find a parking space is the luck of the draw. If you live in a densely populated part of the country (like I do), you have to take that risk every time you want to go somewhere by car where there will likely be a lot of people and limited space. That doesn't make it right to cause an obstruction or park in a hazardous manner. If the worst comes to the worst you go back home. It is not as if there hasn't been advanced warning that masses of people are descending on honeypot areas, so with a bit of studying a few OS maps you should be able to find somewhere that is very likely to be muich less busy. The other option is to drive (or walk, bus, cycle) to a railway station and use a train to get there and back, this is doable for some munros.

https://www.stevenfallon.co.uk/munros-by-train.html
https://www.fionaoutdoors.co.uk/2019/01/how-to-go-munro-bagging-by-train.html
https://www.mountaineering.scot/activities/hillwalking/car-free-walks
http://steverabone.com/MunroWalker/munros_by_public_transport.htm

Using public transport has the advantage that you don't have to finish in the same place you started, which adds flexibility.

Agree completely, al78. There is no excuse for people blocking areas, parking illegally or without consideration. There is plenty of space if folks are willing to put in a bit of effort.

Dave

[CharlesT]

Same with the new craze of kayaking and canoeing , every second car on the A9 now has one strapped to the roof lol

Are you sure that isn't just a bit of fashion statement one-upmanship?😄

[Glengavel]

The parking area at Eas Urchaidh in Glen Orchy had several campervans badly parked when we were there at the weekend. One in particular was parked in the middle of a bay that would easily have taken two vehicles. We bumped into (not literally, we observed appropriate social distancing measures) another couple on the hill and it was practically the first thing they mentioned. In several places along Glen Orchy cars were parked in passing places. Things aren't helped in that a lot of the passing places aren't signed as such; not that it excuses such behaviour.

[LobeyD]

Using public transport has the advantage that you don't have to finish in the same place you started, which adds flexibility.

Thus spake someone who has never had to 'sprint' to the station after a 8hr hike only to see the once-every-3-hour train disappearing out of the station .

[Gimbob]

Two hours! If only, that's a mere bagatelle. Minimum time to reach The Highlands for me is 8 to 10 hours. I can recall from when I lived in Hampshire driving overnight to Torridon at New Year, 12 hours, arriving at dawn, then climbing Beinn Eighe in full winter conditions after a short kip in the car. The same trip I climbed Slioch on my last day then drove home overnight stopping only for a refuel at Stirling.

Now I drive up and back in daylight, but back then I was working and hated the idea of giving up precious holiday daylight hill time to driving.

I am a minimum of 10 hours from the highlands, living in SE England, but I am not talking about popping up for an overnighter or a weekend, I am referring to day trips where you are doing travelling and a long walk in the same day.

I do wish people would lose the strawmen and stop trying to counter me with flawed comparisons. Yes I theoretically could drive to the highlands on Friday, climb a hill on Saturday, drive home on Sunday, but I wouldn't do that, because the hiking does not compensate for the hell of driving for 20+ hours in two days. That is why I use the sleeper train, getting the tedious long journey done by someone else whilst I am asleep.

not all of us can take a week off to spend up there let alone the ridiculous cost of the sleeper- which I'd much rather do btw, me and my wife are up to ullapool in November, return cost on the sleeper nearly £900 and 24hrs+ travelling, by car around £200 and if I'm quick 20hrs