My Favourite Camps of 2024 & The Tents I Used

Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh, April. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL.

The winter solstice is when I to start looking back on the year that's ending and at the trips and camps I've done. For the fifth year running I didn't venture beyond the Scottish Highlands. As I said last year, there is so much to do here! Most trips were just two or three days. The longest was eighteen days on the Cape Wrath Trail in the Northwest Highlands in mid-May and early June, the second longest six days also on the Cape Wrath Trail in October. And I still didn't quite complete it! 

Last camp on Cape Wrath Trail near Sandwood Bay, October. Uncomfortable but sheltered from the worst of the wind. Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstars. Tony Hobbs has just lowered his as we packed up in the rain.

I camped at least once every month except for August and December (I don't think I'll manage another trip between now and New Year). Overall I had some great camps and splendid walks. Here's some pictures from each month. As someone usually asks about one or two of the tents this year I've made a few comments about them. I've also given links to my posts about the trips.

Dawn in the Cairngorms, January. Nortent Vern 1 (Version 1).

My first camp was in January in snow on Miadan Creag an Leth-choin in the Cairngorms. The temperature fell to -7C and I needed crampons and ice axe for the walk over the Northern Corries the next day. The Vern 1 is the only tent I had to test this year. I never reviewed it as the design was changed drastically and I never received the new version. 

On the Moine Mhor, Cairngorms, January. Nortent Vern 1 & Hilleberg Nammatj 2.

January saw a second Cairngorms trip, this time two nights with Tony Hobbs. There was less snow than earlier in the month and we pitched on frozen ground.

Down in Glen Feshie, January.

After crossing the Moine Mhor we descended into Glen Feshie for a sheltered camp in the forest as the wind picked up.

Deep in the forest, February. Hilleberg Soulo.

February saw another forest camp in the Cairngorms with Tony, this time in Rothiemurchus Forest. We had intended camping higher but couldn't find a site that was reasonably sheltered from the fierce wind and not sodden from recent rain and snowmelt. Down in the trees I didn't need the Hilleberg Soulo, the strongest most storm-resistant tent I have. A much lighter shelter would have been fine.  The next day we failed to reach a summit due to the wind.

By the Allt Coire Bhlair, Glen Feshie, March. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL. 

March saw three trips. Early in the month I walked through Glen Feshie and camped where the forest starts to fade away before heading up to snowy Mullach Clach a' Bhlair and back down to the glen. For this trip I took the DuoMid XL pyramid tent, which has been a favourite for a decade. I love the room inside, especially when used with just a groundsheet, as I usually do.

Below Sail Mhor, March. Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar.

Two weeks later I made the first trip of the year away from the Cairngorms when I headed west to An Teallach to join the It's Up To Us path work for a feature in The Great Outdoors. My magazine work finished I walked up the Allt Airdeasaidh glen to camp between An Teallach and Sail Mhor. I climbed the latter from camp on the spring equinox. The superb Trailstar tarp I used has been a favourite for over twelve years and by far my most used shelter in that time as it's been on several long-distance walks including the Scottish Watershed. 

 

Spring snow camp, March. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL.

My third March trip was back in the Cairngorms on the annual Inverness Backcountry Snowsports Club igloo building trip on the Moine Mhor.  Having helped with the igloos I retired to the quiet of my tent. This was the last camp on snow until the autumn.

Dusk in Coire Ardair, April. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL.

In April I was joined by Tony Hobbs again for a walk into Coire Ardair below the great cliffs of Creag Meagaidh. From our camp we went over snow-covered Creag Meagaidh. Ice axes were still needed.

Upper Glen Affric, Cape Wrath Trail, May. Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

Mid May to early June I was on the Cape Wrath Trail, completing most of it before storms persuaded me to leave the rest for better weather. The first five days were superb with clear blue skies and sunshine. Then it became rainier and windier. I took the SoloMid XL as it's lighter than the DuoMid XL and has a door that can be closed, unlike the Trailstar. I gave it Best Buy in a review of solo tents in The Great Outdoors.

Lovely evening light at Loch Coire Fionnaraich after a wet day, Cape Wrath Trail, May

There was fine light at times though, even if short-lived, and I still had some good camps.

Glen Oykel plantation, Cape Wrath Trail, June. Tony with the Mountain Laurel Designs Grace Tarp.

Tony Hobbs joined me for the last four days of this trip, during which the weather worsened. After one wet and windy day we found a sheltered site in a plantation in Glen Oykel, not a scenic site but a very welcome one. The next morning the sun shone for a short while and we were able to air our damp gear.

Last camp on the Cape Wrath Trail, June.

After crossing a high pass in very strong winds and with a forecast for even stronger ones to come along with heavy rain we had one last camp before I decided to end the walk at Inchnadamph.

Stormy by Loch Eanaich, July. MSR Hubba NX Solo.

July saw just one camp before an operation on my hand put me out of action for a couple of months. Back in the Cairngorms I walked up Gleann Eanaich to camp by Loch Eanaich. The weather was wet and windy and the next day I walked back out the same way, which was no hardship in this beautiful landscape. Forgoing pyramid tents I took the MSR Hubba NX Solo, a good three-season tent I like but for some reason don't use that often. I should take it out more often.

On the Cairngorm Plateau, September. Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

August was spent waiting for my hand to heal. By early September I felt ready for an overnight trip so I went up to the Cairngorm Plateau. The weather was hot and dry and after a comfortable camp I wandered up Ben Macdui and then back across the Plateau. 

At Fuaran Diotach, September. Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

Ten days later I was out in the Cairngorms again, this time camping on the flanks of Sgor Gaoith before traversing that hill and Sgoran Dubh Mor in mixed weather.

Below Scotland's highest waterfall,  the Eas a' Chual Aluinn, Cape Wrath Trail, October. Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar.

Early October saw a return to the Cape Wrath Trail with Tony Hobbs and a five day walk from Inchnadamph to Sandwood Bay in increasingly stormy weather.

At Lone, Cape Wrath Trail, October.

On this walk I took the Trailstar for the extra room and storm resistance. I didn't need a mesh inner as midge season was over nor a zipped door for privacy on camp sites. I just took a groundsheet and revelled in all the space.

Shelter in the forest, October. Hilleberg Niak.

Later in October I had a camp in Glen Feshie, a place I always visit in the autumn as the colours are wonderful. I used the Hilleberg Niak which had just been returned by Tony Hobbs who'd had it on loan for a year or so. Whilst it's a bit heavy compared with the pyramid shelters it is very roomy and quite stable. The latter was needed on this trip as it was quite windy.

In Strath Nethy. November. Hilleberg Niak.

I liked using the Niak so much I took it out again in November for a camp in Strath Nethy in the Cairngorms before I went up to The Saddle and back to Glenmore via Ciste Mhearad. 

Early morning, November. Hilleberg Soulo.

My camping in 2024 ended as it had begun with a camp in the snow on Miadan Creag an Leth-choin. This time the temperature fell to -9C. I took the Hilleberg Soulo, which was appropriate up here rather than in the forest, though the weather was less wind

My First Feature, My First Long-Distance Walk

Searching through boxes for an issue of The Great Outdoors with a feature the editor wanted I came across a tatty old magazine that brought back a flood of memories as it contained the first piece I ever wrote for a commercial journal. This was the April 1980 issue of Camping World, which long since ceased publication. It mostly covered car camping but did run the occasional backpacking piece. Like most magazines back then it was black-and-white except for the cover. Unusually it was printed on newsprint and in tabloid newspaper format. The quality was not good!

My feature was about my first really long-distance walk (I had previously walked the Pennine Way), from Land's End to John O'Groats in 1978. That was the walk that triggered my love of long-distance backpacking and effectively set the pattern for the rest of my life. This feature was equally important. I was paid for it! Maybe, I thought, writing could earn me enough to fund more long walks. It has, just about. 

Peter Lumley, who published the article, also gave me some valuable advice - get a decent camera and learn to take photos, you'll find it much easier to get words published if you have good pictures to go with them. On this walk I'd started out with a cheap compact film camera that didn't make it much past Bristol. As I wasn't taking photography seriously I didn't replace it. The three pictures here, all from colour prints, were taken in the first two weeks. I'm pleased to see the one of my first camp as I have no idea where the originals are. 

Following Peter's advice I bought a second-hand Pentax SLR and taught myself photography. As it was a fully manual camera - no auto exposure and no auto focus, which didn't yet exist - I made many mistakes and found it very frustrating. Peter had also said ditch the colour print film and use black-and-white print and colour transparency film, which made learning even harder. I'm glad I persevered. 

Days of Frost & Beauty

Sunset, Friday 13th

The weather is changing. After four days of cold and calm the clouds are thickening, the temperature rising, and the wind starting to blow. The magic of frost and ice and winter sharpness is fading. For now. It will return. It’s still a week to the winter solstice.

Venus, birch, mountains

The first frost came on an evening of serene beauty, the blue sky fading into black, the bright white dot of the planet Venus in the sky, a half-moon rising. The temperature soon fell below freezing. It was to stay there the next three days.

Dawn came with a white world, frost decorating every stem of grass, every twig. Only the conifers escaped, staying mostly dark and sombre.

The Cairngorms

The mountains looked magnificent, shining and bright. I longed to climb up there, into that snowy world, but I couldn’t as I’m recovering from a bad cold and getting used to new medication following an unexpected overnight stay in hospital. Instead I wandered the local woods and fields, admiring the beauty of the frost and crunching over the hard frozen ground.

Silver & gold

The world was not just cold and silver, it was also warm and gold at the same time as the low sun cut across the landscape, lighting the trees and hills with a pale glow. Glorious, just glorious.

Sgor Gaoith & Sgoran Dubh Mor

Feeling a little recovered the day the weather changed, Friday 13, I went up little Tom Mor, a local hill. The temperature was only a touch above freezing but the frost had already gone. The mountains were beginning to sink into clouds, the snow on their flanks already streaked with dark bare ground as the thaw set in.

Cairngorms fading & thawing

A cold wind swept the summit. I sheltered behind the huge cairn – far bigger than on most much higher hills – for a hot drink. The sky turned fiery red and orange, a spectacular sunset.

On Tom Mor

As the colours faded I turned and headed down into the growing darkness. Soon I switched my headlamp on, picking out the patches of ice on the track. All was silent. All was dark, A winter’s night. I love walking by headlamp. Although less than a mile from home as the crow flies it felt remote and wild. Occasionally a distant car’s lights shone briefly. Otherwise I was enveloped in darkness.

Frost in the forest

Hiking & Backpacking Books for Xmas

If you're looking for a book about hiking or backpacking as a present for someone or even yourself I've written a few that might be of interest including stories of long walks and guidebooks.

For those who've already enjoyed any of my books please tell others and post comments and reviews on social media and online bookshops. For writers this makes a huge difference. Word of mouth and personal recommendations are invaluable.

 

Winter Camping Photos

Well bundled up at a bitterly cold camp on the Moine Mhor in the Cairngorms. February 2016.

Last week I had my first camp on snow this winter and it left me longing for more. I love winter camping! Especially when it's really winter, when there's snow and frost. Too much Scottish winter weather isn't that wintry, just grey and wet and windy and cold. I do go camping then but it's not the same as when there's snow.

On Carn na Loine, a local hill in Strathspey. I skied here from my front door. Using skis and ski poles as tent pegs! February 2009

Thinking of the winter to come and hoping for plenty of sharp frosts and snow in the hills my mind drifted back to previous camps in the snow and I started looking through my photos, which made me even more excited. Here's a selection from the last fifteen years.  

Waking up to a view like this is always wonderful. Below Broad Cairn in the Southern Cairngorms. February 2010

I often use a single skin tent with a separate groundsheet in winter and only close the door if the weather is stormy. No midges to worry about. The camp below Broad Cairn again.

Below Orion on a brilliant night just below the summit of Mullach Clach a' Bhlair above Glen Feshie. February 2013.

A breezy site below Bynack More, Cairngorms. November 2013.

Melting snow for coffee as the sun rises. Often an essential winter camping task. November 2013.

Sometimes there's water, which saves time and fuel. By Loch Etchachan, Cairngorms. December 2014.

On the Moine Mhor above Glen Feshie. February 2016.

A hot drink on the Cairngorm Plateau. In an insulated mug. March 2016.

It's not always sunshine and blue skies! Misty on the Moine Mhor above Glen Feshie. December 2016.

A brilliant starry sky above the Shelter Stone Crag in the Cairngorms. The clear weather didn't last. March 2019.

Snow falling the morning after the starry sky. I closed the tent door! March 2019.

Sunrise on Tom Mor, another local hill which I walked up from home. Not enough snow lower down to ski. January 2021

Gentle snowfall in Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh. December 2022.

Dawn in the Cairngorms. February 2023.

A frosty night in the Cairngorms. January 2024.

An ice axe is useful for levering out frozen snow pegs. January 2024.