The outdoor guide Scotland
has been missing.
1,449 hills, 82 bothies, 42 wild swim spots, 30 gravel routes, trail centres, wild camping — practical guides, honest reviews and tools that help you plan. Written by people who actually go outside in Scottish weather.
Written by the OutdoorSCOT editor — Glasgow-based Munroist and hillwalker with 10+ years on Scotland's hills, and the developer who built the tools on this site. Editorial policy →
What we cover
Hillwalking
1,449 hills · 824 in the classic lists (282 Munros · 222 Corbetts · 231 Grahams · 89 Donalds) · 562 Marilyns · 63 sub-Marilyns
Every Munro, Corbett, Graham, Donald and Marilyn in the tracker, with route info, terrain notes, winter conditions and maps. Our editorial depth goes where WalkHighlands doesn't — the Corbetts, Grahams and the hills most guides skip.
Bothies
82 shelters · Walk-in distances · Condition notes · Stalking seasons
Free mountain shelters, properly documented. Walk-in distance and time, sleeping spaces, fireplace, water source — and an honest call on whether the walk-in justifies the night.
Wild Swimming
42 spots · Lochs · Rivers · Waterfalls · Beaches
Scotland gives you statutory access to swim almost anywhere. We cover 42 spots with water temperature ranges, SEPA water quality status, cold-shock safety notes and nearest parking.
Gravel Cycling
30 routes · Railway paths · Highland epics · Island circuits
Gravel routes from 25km to 130km — railway paths through to multi-day highland epics. Surface breakdown, named climbs, water sources, cafés and resupply points — the detail most guides skip.
Mountain Biking
32 trail centres · 7stanes · Fort William
No "WalkHighlands for MTB" exists. We're building it. Every trail centre reviewed with café hours, bike wash, uplift, parking costs — the stuff Trailforks doesn't tell you.
Wild Camping
Access Code · Midges · Camping zones
Wild camping is legal in Scotland. But "legal" has rules. The Access Code explained properly, Camping Management Zone permits, midge strategy, and spots that aren't on every travel blog.
From the city by 10AM
Pick where you're leaving from.
- Hillwalking
The Cobbler
50 min drive · 6 hr day
Arrochar · 884m · Corbett
First proper mountain west of Glasgow. Short scramble to the true summit; most parties stop on the south peak and call it.
Read the route →
- Wild swim
Loch Lomond — Rowardennan
55 min drive · half-day
Eastern shore · sandy beach · cafe
Shallow, gravel-bottomed entry. Warmest by mid-June; book the Rowardennan car park early on weekends or you'll be parking a mile back.
Read the route →
- Easier day
Loch Lubnaig
75 min drive · gentle day
Trossachs · waterside path · 12km loop
Easier mood. Walk the eastern path, swim at the south end, eat at the Mhor 84. Good for a first wild swim or a recovery day.
Read the route →
Hill of the week · WEEK OF 14 SEPTEMBER
Tinto
711.6m · 2335ft · Donald · Southern Uplands · NS953343 · OS Explorer 335
The nights are drawing in, so here is the hill you can still get up after work. Tinto sits on its own above the upper Clyde, eight kilometres and 480m of ascent on a wide engineered path the whole way — the busiest hill path in southern Scotland on a sunny weekend, and a fair first Donald for anyone starting from the Central Belt. Bronze Age cairn on top, and the isolation means the view does far more than the height suggests.
- Nearest parking
- ML12 6FN
- Standard route
- ~8km · ~480m ascent
Bothies
Free mountain shelters — walk-in distance, sleeping space, fireplace, water and an honest take on the night.
Corrour Bothy
Cairngorms · 10km walk-in · sleeps 6 · fire
Shenavall
North West Highlands · 10km walk-in · sleeps 10 · fire
Sourlies
Knoydart · 18km walk-in · sleeps 8 · fire
Ryvoan Bothy
Cairngorms · 3km walk-in · sleeps 6 · fire
Peanmeanach
Glen Coe Lochaber · 4km walk-in · sleeps 6 · fire
Ben Alder Cottage
Cairngorms · 16km walk-in · sleeps 8 · fire
Scottish Glens
Valley guides — access, parking, hills, bothies and what's at the end of the road.
Glen Affric
Ancient Caledonian pines, clear lochs and high Munros — the finest combination of forest and mountain in the Highlands.
Glen Nevis
The glen under Britain's highest mountain — a gorge walk, a wire bridge, a 120m waterfall, and a 7-hour slog to the top.
Glen Etive
Nineteen miles of single-track dead end — river pools, Skyfall scenery, and midges that will eat you alive if you stop moving.
Glen Coe
Scotland's most dramatic glacial glen — dark history, serious ridges, and the constant weight of big mountains on every side.
Glen Torridon
Torridonian sandstone and ancient quartzite — the oldest mountains in Britain and some of the finest walking in the northwest.
Glen Rosa
A sea crossing, a 3km walk, and then granite mountains above a glacial trough — the most complete mountain day reachable from Glasgow without a car.
Right now in the hills
Autumn stag stalk: to 20 October
Most estates stalk stags from August to 20 October, busiest in early October — though stags can legally be shot all year since 2023. Your access rights don’t change; check for active stalking before a hill day.
Winter boots: buy and break in before the snow
A summer boot will not hold a crampon. B1, B2 or B3, the boots worth buying, and how to fit them — read before the first winter Munro.
Recent guides
All 115 articles →- Mountain Biking6 Sept 2026 · 11 min
The Badger Divide: Glasgow to Inverness by Bike
The 338km off-road route from Kelvingrove to Inverness Castle — the real distance and climbing, the 100 miles with no shops, and how it relates to An Turas Mor and the HT550.
Read → - Gear2 Sept 2026 · 24 min
Best Winter Walking Boots for Scotland: B1, B2 or B3?
Which boots take crampons and stay warm on a Scottish winter Munro, when summer boots are not enough, and honest B1, B2 and B3 picks with fit and care.
Read → - Long Distance15 Aug 2026 · 11 min
Hebridean Way: Complete Planning Guide
Plan the Hebridean Way — 156 miles and ten islands from Vatersay to Stornoway, with ferries, machair, white sand beaches and the wildest waymarked walking in Britain.
Read → - Blog15 Aug 2026 · 6 min
The Dramathon 2026: Scotland's Whisky Marathon Along the Speyside Way
The Dramathon runs Glenfarclas to Glenfiddich along the Speyside Way on 17 October 2026 — marathon, half, 10K and relay. Distances, entry fees, logistics and where to stay.
Read → - Safety10 Aug 2026 · 14 min
Snow Gates in Scotland: Which Roads, Who Closes Them, How to Check
Where Scotland's snow gates are, who decides to shut them, how to check live status before you drive, and what to do if a gate closes while you are on the wrong side of it.
Read → - Hillwalking9 Aug 2026 · 12 min
Elie Chain Walk: Fife's Tidal Coastal Scramble, Explained
The Elie Chain Walk rounds Kincraig Point between Earlsferry and Shell Bay on eight fixed chains — and it is impassable at high tide. Route, tide planning, safety and honest advice.
Read →
Tools
Free. No sign-up for most.- 222 + 231 + 89 hills
Hill Tracker
Log your Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds. See nearest unbagged, track progress, plan the next one.
- 10 regions · 12 months
Midge Forecast
Seasonal baseline for all 10 Scottish regions plus a live 7-day forecast for any location. 120 region × month deep-dive pages behind it.
- 32 centres mapped
Trail Centre Finder
Every Scottish MTB centre on one map. Filter by grade, facilities, drive time from wherever you are.
- 7 activity types
Gear Checklist
Scotland-specific packing list by activity, month, duration and experience. Midge net included.
Printables
The Bothy Companion — A roof, four walls, and eight nights worth writing down.
22-page A4 PDF · instant download.
See inside · £8The Corbett Log — 222 hills, and the ones people skip on the way past.
20-page A4 PDF · instant download.
See inside · £12Gear
What to carry for Scottish conditions — checklists and honest reviews, no filler.
Kit lists — 8 checklists
Scotland-specific packing lists: day walks, wild camping, bothy nights, winter Munros, midge survival. What to carry and why.
Crampons and ice axe
What a winter Munro asks of your kit: which crampons fit which boots, axe length, and when you need them.
Waterproof jackets for Scotland
Scottish rain is sideways. Budget, mid and premium jackets rated by the specs that matter.
More to plan
Long-Distance Routes
29 routes with day-by-day stages, from the West Highland Way to the Cape Wrath Trail.
Northern Lights
Live Kp alert, 18 dark sky sites and where to actually stand. The 2026/27 season opens in September.
Ski Scotland
All 5 Scottish centres — honest beginner ratings, touring notes and SAIS links.
Walks Near You
Town-by-town guides to the hills within reach of 25 Scottish towns and cities — drive times, public transport and the best local walks.
Dog-Friendly
Hills, bothies, swims and routes filtered for dogs — livestock warnings included.
Itineraries
Multi-day trip plans with the hills, bothies and transport already worked out.
Why this site exists
WalkHighlands owns Munros.
2,208 walks. 18 years of authority. We don't compete. We cover the verticals they never will — bothies, mountain biking, Corbetts, Grahams, wild camping.
Honest, not scenic.
If a trail is boring, we say so. If a route is dangerous in winter, we say that clearly. No "hidden gems." No "breathtaking scenery." Grid references and parking postcodes.
Tools, not just words.
Nobody built a Corbett tracker. Nobody mapped every trail centre with facilities. Nobody built a midge forecast you can embed on a route page. So we did.
One email. Every week.
New routes, gear we actually rate, trail conditions, the odd bothy story. No spam.