About OutdoorSCOT

Why this site exists

Most Scottish outdoor coverage falls into two camps: a handful of genuinely useful niche resources, and a large amount of tourism-board copy dressed up as advice. The middle ground — practical, honest, Scotland-specific writing across the full range of outdoor pursuits — barely exists.

The gap is worst for planning information. Where do you park? Is the road single-track? Is this bothy worth the 8km walk-in or is it a ruin? When does the midges get bad in Glen Affric? These are the questions Scottish walkers actually ask, and they're the questions OutdoorSCOT is built to answer.

What we cover

• Hillwalking. All five Scottish hill classifications — Munros, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds and Marilyns. 1,449 individual hill pages with OS grid references, access notes, approach distances and difficulty ratings calibrated to Scottish conditions.
• Glens. Valley-level planning guides with road access, parking, nearby hills, bothies, wild swimming and what's actually at the end of the road.
• Bothies. Mountain Bothies Association open bothies across Scotland, with walk-in distances, condition, water sources, mobile signal and seasonal access notes.
• Wild camping. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code in plain English, regional guides, midge severity ratings and permit zone information.
• Mountain biking. Every trail centre in Scotland, the 7stanes network and gravel cycling routes.
• Wild swimming. Lochs, rivers, waterfalls and sea pools — with SEPA water quality data and safety information.
• Long-distance routes. All major Scottish LDPs from the West Highland Way to the Cape Wrath Trail.
• Tools. Interactive hill tracker, Naismith calculator, midge forecast, daylight planner, gear checklist and trail finder.

How we write

Direct, plain, specific. Numbers where numbers exist. No tourism-board language. If a trail is boring in places or a bothy is a difficult walk-in for questionable reward, we say so. If a glen is worth a four-hour drive, we explain why.

Pages are written from personal experience where possible. For programmatic data pages (hill classifications, grid references, heights), we source from the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH), Ordnance Survey, the Mountain Bothies Association and Scottish statutory agencies (SEPA, NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland). Read the full editorial policy for sources and update cadence.

How we make money

OutdoorSCOT earns affiliate commissions when readers buy gear, maps or guided trips through links on the site. We participate in programmes run by Tiso, Cotswold Outdoor, Ordnance Survey, Macs Adventure and Amazon Associates. You pay exactly the same price whether or not you use our links — the commission comes from the retailer's margin.

Affiliate income does not influence editorial decisions. We don't accept paid placements, sponsored reviews or payment for coverage. If a trail is overrated or a product is poor value, we say so regardless of any affiliate relationship.

Full details: affiliate disclosure.

Who to contact