Hiking in the fall

I would recommend Scotland or the Lake District. There are many places that
look particularly good in Uk in Autumn but the bringing together of large
stretches of water, mountains and autumn colours is especially good in these
two places. Generally it is quieter there in Autumn too because there will
be no summer holidaymakers and the weather, particularly in Septemeber and
early October is often more settled and quite warm.

Rob

"BuzzingThrough" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I know summer hasn't arrived yet, but I am planning a walking vacation
in the fall and I need some advice. I will be in the UK for 15 days in
October and I would like to spend most of it hiking. I have checked the
usual spots (The Peaks, Snowdonia, Scotland) so now I am full of
information and still not sure where to go. Does anybody have good
walks to recommand? I will be travelling by myself, am quite used to
the outdoors and won't have access to a car.

Thanks in advance!

It's worth noting that the days are getting 'shorter' especially after the
clocks are changed towards the end of October. Scotland looks great in the
fall!
This e-mail has been checked to ensure that it is virus free
Lucy
"Rob Devereux" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I would recommend Scotland or the Lake District. There are many places
that
look particularly good in Uk in Autumn but the bringing together of large
stretches of water, mountains and autumn colours is especially good in
these
two places. Generally it is quieter there in Autumn too because there
will
be no summer holidaymakers and the weather, particularly in Septemeber and
early October is often more settled and quite warm.

Rob

"BuzzingThrough" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I know summer hasn't arrived yet, but I am planning a walking vacation
in the fall and I need some advice. I will be in the UK for 15 days in
October and I would like to spend most of it hiking. I have checked the
usual spots (The Peaks, Snowdonia, Scotland) so now I am full of
information and still not sure where to go. Does anybody have good
walks to recommand? I will be travelling by myself, am quite used to
the outdoors and won't have access to a car.

Thanks in advance!

Lucy said:

It's worth noting that the days are getting 'shorter' especially after the
clocks are changed towards the end of October. Scotland looks great in the
fall!

Though it does depend where you are to quite some degree, as the degree
of deciduous tree cover varies from considerable to hardly any trees at
all. "Autumn gold" tourism is a bit pointless in Sutherland!

Perthshire probably a good spot to aim at for colours.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Following up to BuzzingThrough

Quoted message said:

Does anybody have good
walks to recommand? I will be travelling by myself, am quite used to
the outdoors and won't have access to a car.

Scotland is not the easiest place without a car. I think I would
suggest the Lake District.
"http://www.fellwalk.co.uk/eld.htm"
There are trees for autumn colour and it tends to have reasonable
weather at that time of year. I think there are plenty of buses
from Keswick or Ambleside to the starts of a lot of walks. Its
also perfectly possible to walk over the hill passes to other
bases. I would recommend spending part of your stay at the
Wasdale Head, no public transport to speak of
"http://www.fellwalk.co.uk/page01.htm" and
"http://www.fellwalk.co.uk/waspics.htm" (for pics)
but the easiest way there (for a competant walker) is to come up
upper Borrowdale and to Styhead and down into Wasdale. From there
you can do Scafell Pike, Scafell or Great Gable and take the
corpse road over to Eskdale (which could be another base- Boot),
which should be nice in the Autumn. So in 15 days you could do a
tour, Keswick, Wasdale, Langdale, Eskdale without using much
public transport, but you would have to carry all your stuff on
your back between bases, doing it that way.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-photos UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-photos Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Lucy said:

Scotland looks great in the fall!

It looks even better in the Autumn ;^}

Jim Ford

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It's worth noting that the days are getting 'shorter' especially after

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

clocks are changed towards the end of October. Scotland looks great in

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

fall!

Though it does depend where you are to quite some degree, as the degree
of deciduous tree cover varies from considerable to hardly any trees at
all. "Autumn gold" tourism is a bit pointless in Sutherland!

Perthshire probably a good spot to aim at for colours.

I have to say that I've found this throughout Scotland in Autumn and it isnt
just the tree colours but the fact that the heather, wild grasses and
bracken have gone brown too(which generally contrasts with the green conifer
trees). I admit that the deciduous trees help but it is rare in Scotland
not to find some variety everywhere.

Rob

The Reid said:

Following up to BuzzingThrough

Quoted message said:

Does anybody have good
walks to recommand? I will be travelling by myself, am quite used to
the outdoors and won't have access to a car.

Scotland is not the easiest place without a car. I think I would
suggest the Lake District.

Hmm - no railway system in Scotland to take advantage of right enough. I
mean, you wouldn't expect to see any decent autumn scenery around
Pitlochry or Blair Atholl, Aviemore, Kingussie, Carrbridge or
Newtonmore. Or anywhere from Glasgow, up Lomondside to Fort William. Or
on the line from Fort William to Mallaig. Or Loch Carron etc.

No buses either - or ferries.

In fact it's a wonder anybody lives there. . . .

Druidh

Thanks!

I must say I am now torn between a few places. I may have to split my
time between Scotland and the Lake District. Temperature will not be
much of an issue when it comes to deciding where to go, unless you tell
me I should expect endless rain. I'll be in the UK in mid-October. When
I was there at the same time last Fall, it was over 20 degrees. I know
this was a special treat but even though it is colder this year, it
usually snows a day or two in that period at home. So you see, this is
actually a trip to balmy Britain 🙂

On another note, should I make plans in advance for accomodation? Do
some the places close down in low season?

Ode

"BuzzingThrough" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I was there at the same time last Fall, it was over 20 degrees.
I know this was a special treat but even though it is colder this year, it
usually snows a day or two in that period at home. So you see, this is
actually a trip to balmy Britain 🙂

Balmy Britain in Winter feels much colder than Colorado, say,
because it is so much damper, even if the temperature is higher.

Quoted message said:

On another note, should I make plans in advance for accomodation?
Do some the places close down in low season?

Most but not all hotels and guest houses typically close from Halloween
to Easter. Some B&Bs should still be open, and youth hostels will be
no problem.

Following up to druidh

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Scotland is not the easiest place without a car. I think I would
suggest the Lake District.

Hmm - no railway system in Scotland to take advantage of right enough. I
mean, you wouldn't expect to see any decent autumn scenery around
Pitlochry or Blair Atholl, Aviemore, Kingussie, Carrbridge or
Newtonmore. Or anywhere from Glasgow, up Lomondside to Fort William. Or
on the line from Fort William to Mallaig. Or Loch Carron etc.

If you think its as easy to get round Scotland without a car as
it is the Lake District then go ahead and mislead the OP.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-photos UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-photos Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Following up to BuzzingThrough

Quoted message said:

I may have to split my
time between Scotland and the Lake District. Temperature will not be
much of an issue when it comes to deciding where to go, unless you tell
me I should expect endless rain.

you could get a wet week, I've usually been quite lucky in
October.

Quoted message said:

On another note, should I make plans in advance for accomodation? Do
some the places close down in low season?

I don't think October is low season, you're as likely to find
places full as closed.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-photos UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-photos Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

The Reid said:

If you think its as easy to get round Scotland without a car as
it is the Lake District then go ahead and mislead the OP.

Hitching can often be the best way to get about Scotland. I waited
about 2 minutes for a lift from Balmaha on the "other" side of Loch
Lomond to Glasgow at 7am the other morning.

As I am not much of a hitch hiker and two weeks is not long, I'll
probably follow Mike's advice and head out for the Lake District. I saw
your pictures and the region looks beautiful. What about the Peaks?
There seemed to be a local bus system, especially in the Dark Peak
region. Would there be more foot traffic in the Peaks than in the Lake
district?

As for the weather, I'll come prepared. I am Canadian, living close to
Quebec City, so used to cold, damp weather this late in the season. I
must admit, though, that I always pack extra warm clothes when visiting
Britain outside summer, as it is wetter (can I say that in English)
than home 🙂

Thanks again!

Ode

Following up to BuzzingThrough

Quoted message said:

What about the Peaks?
There seemed to be a local bus system, especially in the Dark Peak
region. Would there be more foot traffic in the Peaks than in the Lake
district?

both places you can get away from people by avoiding the most
popular routes, from my point of view the peak district is
"hills" where the Lake District is more "mountains", more rock,
more cliff etc. This especially applies to the SW Lakes

Quoted message said:

As for the weather, I'll come prepared. I am Canadian, living close to
Quebec City, so used to cold, damp weather this late in the season. I
must admit, though, that I always pack extra warm clothes when visiting
Britain outside summer, as it is wetter (can I say that in English)

I think so.

Quoted message said:

than home 🙂

have a good trip. BTW if you want the easiest way up Scafell Pike
its the Hollow Stones route from Wasdale. The quietest routes are
from Eskdale and to experience the whole of the massif, start
from Borrowdale and turn Great End on the east, then onto the
ridge for boulders and more boulders. The most interesting route
might by via the Corridor or the edge of Piers Ghyll on the south
flank of the mountain.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-photos UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-photos Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

The Reid said:

Following up to druidh

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Scotland is not the easiest place without a car. I think I would
suggest the Lake District.

Hmm - no railway system in Scotland to take advantage of right enough. I
mean, you wouldn't expect to see any decent autumn scenery around
Pitlochry or Blair Atholl, Aviemore, Kingussie, Carrbridge or
Newtonmore. Or anywhere from Glasgow, up Lomondside to Fort William. Or
on the line from Fort William to Mallaig. Or Loch Carron etc.

If you think its as easy to get round Scotland without a car as
it is the Lake District then go ahead and mislead the OP.

It depends where you are going and when. There are buses and postbuses
to suplement the railways but you need to plan ahead, two or three
journeys a day is the best you can hope for on most routes.

http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/index.php
www.royalmail.com/postbus
http://www.citylink.co.uk/ and
http://www.planajourneyscotland.co.uk/ may be useful sites.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

"BuzzingThrough" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As I am not much of a hitch hiker and two weeks is not long, I'll
probably follow Mike's advice and head out for the Lake District. I saw
your pictures and the region looks beautiful. What about the Peaks?
There seemed to be a local bus system, especially in the Dark Peak
region. Would there be more foot traffic in the Peaks than in the Lake
district?

Bus services are pretty good in the Peak District. There are even a
number of places inside the PD that are accessible by train e.g:
Edale and the Hope Valley
Buxton (from Manchester direction only)
Matlock and the Derwent Valley (from Derby direction only)

If you stay in the valleys you will encounter a fair number of people
but once you get out on the tops you should only bump into a few.
Maybe even me.

My favourite bits are the various "edges" which are millstone grit
escarpments. You can walk for days along the chains of edges,
and the views and colours are excellent.

Quoted message said:

As for the weather, I'll come prepared. I am Canadian, living close to
Quebec City, so used to cold, damp weather this late in the season. I
must admit, though, that I always pack extra warm clothes when visiting
Britain outside summer, as it is wetter (can I say that in English)
than home 🙂

You bet.

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

On another note, should I make plans in advance for accomodation?
Do some the places close down in low season?

Most but not all hotels and guest houses typically close from Halloween
to Easter. Some B&Bs should still be open, and youth hostels will be
no problem

.... if you can find any that haven't already closed down permanently.
Grrrr.
--
To reply see 'from' in headers; lose the domain, and insert dots and @
where common sense dictates.

I never thought I would get as many advices! Thanks to all of you for
your insights.

I'll most probably go to the Lake District but I may very well make a
little detour to the Peaks for a few days. I am a Stephen Booth fan and
I am curious to visit the places I read about 🙂

If you meet a French Canadian girl with a backpack in the Lake District
or the Castleton area next October, say hello, it may very well be me!
For the time being, I'll use up my walking boots around Quebec and
practice my British English (Autumn, Autumn, Autumn).

Ode

Following up to BuzzingThrough

Quoted message said:

For the time being, I'll use up my walking boots around Quebec and
practice my British English (Autumn, Autumn, Autumn).

fall doesnt matter, but dont use the term "fannypack". [censored] is
rude in UK. Its a bumbag here.
--
Mike Reid
Walk-eat-photos UK "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Walk-eat-photos Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap