Hi all,
Was just wondering if anyone had a rough idea how much a two week holiday doing mostly hiking and staying in budget hostels/campsites would cost for someone who lives in England. I don't currently have time to check it while sorting out my gap year, but I thought at the end of that year it could be a fun thing to do. Anyone done it recently or have an idea how much two weeks would cost?
Cheers.
I'd rather suggest hiking in Scotland. Do West Highland Way!
You misunderstand me, I live in England, how much would two weeks hiking IN Scotland cost, just completely roughly?
And yes Scotland is beautiful to hike, been there once a long while back.
I think perhaps you may have to be a little more specific.
Are you planning on lone hiking or would you want to join a group?
Any particular area in Scotland? If you do the West Highland Way you can stay in the bothy's which is free.
Accommodation can be a little cheaper in Scotland compared to parts of England, unless you are from the north in which case they can be roughly the same.
The highlands will be more expensive due to their popularity.
As you may or may not know. There are no trespass laws in Scotland so you can pretty much hike anywhere you want to at no charge if I am not mistaken.
Give us a little bit more information and you may get a better response.
Good luck planning your year!
Ah, problem is I don't really know any more details. Lone hiking would be the way, prefferably doing to some of the little islands further north of Scotland. One or two weeks, self catering, camping...etc...I don't really know any more details as it was just an idea I had. West Highland is free is it? Or in the bothies you say?
Ok...do you have to walk the entire West Highland Way or is it possible to do say...a quarter of it, and then leave, or is it a once you've started its either all the way or turn back?
cheers for the help though!
I am not a hiker myself and not done the west highland way, my parents just live near it and my brother has cycled part of it. So yes, you can do little bits of it. I am told that not all the bothies are open and some hard to find, you would have to do some research I am afraid.
As far as I am aware you can hike pretty much anywhere in Scotland at no charge, you just need to find the routes. There are plenty of hostels up there too who may be able to help with that. The islands are supposedly beautiful. My sister was in Skye last month and said it was breathtaking, but then, so are all the islands.
A lot depends on the time of year you intend to travel, it can be damned cold and windy in the winter...and sometimes in the summer too!!
A few years back me and my parents and sister payed a local fisherman to take us out to one of the islands, and it was amazing, and thats partly what gave me the idea was thinking back to that. Ah well, Thank you for the help anyway, its greatly appreciated, and its given me a little idea of what I might need.
If you're prepared to rough it, you can do it dead cheap. The main cost is getting there. The Calmac ferries out to the islands are subsidised and not expensive at all.
The main expense is going to be getting up there in the first place, unless you can stomach a 20 hour megabus trip to Inverness.
A couple of my friends walked some of the chain of the Outer Hebrides last year and were blown away by it. That might be the sort of thing you're looking for. They're got their own website - here - though you'll probably have to look elsewhere for info on bothies.
Skye is stunning for walking, but it's not a small island. My favourite island of those I've visited is the Isle of Eigg, which I loved.
What about for people on their own? For example, I would be travelling alone and hiking alone, these routes your suggesting aren't too dangerous to do on ones self are they? I'm a fairly experienced hiker but nevetheless...
Did some digging on your behalf and found a German website where it said that you should plan on 200-300 pounds per week. The guy who wrote this has apparently done the West Highland Way recently.
He also wrote that it was possible to camp wild if you took your camping gear, according to him that is allowed in all places that aren't under special protection. Apparently wild camping is considered fair use and falls under the same rules as trespassing, see
http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/upload/ApprovedCodeindex06Sept04.pdf