Camping in Scotland

[eddclarke]

Hi

I've never been to Scotland before, but me and the gf are off camping for a bit, at the end of August/Start of September. We should have plenty of space on the bike to take camping gear. I've just made a top box out of a large tool box, and then we have side panniers, and a tank bag.

The only camping gear we have so far are a tent, and two sleeping bags, small gas stove, and some army surplus solid fuel fire things.
What else will we need? we plan on staying at camp sites instead of just pitching in a field.

The shopping list so far is:

Torch
Mess tins/small pan


Thanks
Ed
____________________
Honda XR125L 06 ----> Yamaha FZ6 05 + ex SAS XR250 --> VFR800 + XR250r

[ram_doom]

Spare gloves

Sandwich bags to keep stuff like sugar, phone, etc dry

A hat for those chilly morning toilet runs

Spare bike gloves for when your others get wet

Firesteel. Well handy, as it'll strike even when wet

If you have room, a self inflating airbed is so much comfier than a mat

small bottle of washing up liquid

Thats a couple of things anyway, loads of other essentials...
____________________
TL1000s, KDX200

[Mudskipper]

You will find that your camping list gets refined after a few trips - there will always be stuff you packed but never used, as well as stuff you wish you'd taken.

In your situation, additional to what you have down I would take:

Something to sleep ON.
Foam rollmats are cheap, adequate but bulky.

Airbeds are great if you have the space and a way of pumping it up.

My favourite is a thermarest (self-inflating mattress) so you're lying on part foam and part air. No pumping required and they pack small.

Pillows
Might not be needed if you are a flexible youngster, but my old neck can't face a pillow-less sleep anymore.

Options are:
inflatable pillows (cheap, but useless)

buying value real pillows from tesco that are compressed in packaging (but if you are moving between campsites this isn't much use)

or my favourite - take pillowcases and stuff them with your spare clothes! (Also means your clothes are warm in the morning!)

A waterproof tarp is very handy to extend your porch area. Get one with eyelets and pack extra tent pegs.

I have been through many torches, the best I have is a wind-up LED one. No messing with batteries.

Cooking stuff - mess tins pack down nicely but in practice aren't very good unless you are cooking only army rations.
I make space to take a proper shaped pan set (£10 from Tescos type thing) as the lids can be used as frying pans. Mugs and knife/fork/spoon sets can be had cheap including at some pound shops. Don't forget a mini bottle of washing up liquid and a sponge scourer - cleaning a bacon pan without them is no mean feat!

Baby wipes.
Something to carry/store water in.
A small camping towel is useful, if only to dry off if you get caught in rain.
Loo roll in a ziplock bag (even campsites can run out!)

You can take the kitchen sink, you can take the bare minimum. I like it somewhere inbetween.

These threads give some ideas, and some different views:

'i wanna tour' thread

'What to pack?' thread

'So what is your touring core of essentials?' thread

IMPORTANT EDIT: Scotland in late summer? INDUSTRIAL MIDGE REPELLANT!!
____________________
CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[stinkwheel]

100% definately need a camping mat of some sort, either foam rubber or a self inflating one.

Mess tins are handy but its better to have one with a lid than the traditional rectangular type. I personally favour a stainless steel teapot which I filched from a motorway service station.

Insect repellant is utterly essential when camping in Scotland.

EDIT: Oh yeah, something I found unbelievably useful when camping, but slightly tricky to pack is a plactic bucket. For everything from doing the dishes to collecting firewood, sitting on, using as a bin or having a wash in. I can slide my drybag inside my bucket so it doesn't take up that much room.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[BanditJeff]

I'd be interested to see a pic of your bike with a toolbox as a topbox bolted on ??

[map]

[eddclarke]

Ok.... I've made a list of what I think ill need.

This is for two of us, and we are both on the same bike, so space is kinda limited

2 x Waterproofs
2 x hoody/fleece (1 each)
8 x pants (4 each)
8 x tshirts (4 each)
spare bike key
4 x trousers (2 eeach)
Crazy super strong bug repellent
Camera + spare battery
2L of water
Matches/Lighter
headlamp
torch
Disposable bbq (maybe)
2 x knives/forks
2 x plastic cups
4 x sandwhich bags for mobiles and wallets etc
3 black sacks for lining luggage
2 x bungee cords
gas camping stove
Deoderant
shampoo/soap
tooth brushes +tooth paste
baby wipes
maps/gps
ipod + mini speaker
4 pairs of bike gloves
Tent
2 x Sleeping bags
1 x air bed + small pump

All this has to fit in 2 large side panniers, a large tank bag, and a top box. The tent and sleeping bag will be strapped to the top of the top box.

As well as this I will take a can of tyre weld, 1L of motor oil, bunch of cable ties and some duct tape (I will make sure i get brake down cover before going)

We will also both have bike trousers and jackets.

What else have i missed?
____________________
Honda XR125L 06 ----> Yamaha FZ6 05 + ex SAS XR250 --> VFR800 + XR250r

[BanditJeff]

This is my camping checklist for bike rally's..... i only camp at them nowadays.

Tent 4 man with small mallet for pegs.
Single airbed with integral pump.
Sleeping bag & pillow.
Canvas fold up chair.

Trangia stove and meths fuel, fits inside 2 saucepans and frypan.
Plate, bowl, cup, cutlery.
Water bottle and 5L roll up water sack.
Tea bags, powdered milk, saccharine sweetners.

Wet wipes.
Toilet roll.
Soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, deodorant.
Microfibre towel.
1L Fabric softener bottle to use as piss bottle in night.

Waterproofs.
Jeans.
Teeshirts.
Fleece.
Socks & Boxers.
Caterpillar boots.

Mobile phone with MP3/radio & charger & headphones.
12V socket attached to bike battery.
Sunglasses, spectacles.
Reading book.
Camera + spare batteries.
Wind up torch & headtorch.
Map.

The art with bike camping is how you pack stuff and load the bike. Although admittedly i dont have a pillion passenger.

[david mcc]

recommended place to stop at....

Side of Loch Lubnaig. No sites but plenty places to camp up. Stunning!
____________________
David McC
Honda Deauville 650 V3

[ram_doom]

You might save a bit of space if you can roll the airbed up with the tent if the tent bag's fairly baggy.
____________________
TL1000s, KDX200

[Mr.Everready]

As for the midge repellent, Avon "Skin so Soft" is supposed to be the best for it. It's obviously not made as a repellent but it does work.

Currently half price direct from Avon.

https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ul7NYD4wL._SS500_.jpg
____________________
the undemocratically unelected mod of the Scottish section

[njd27]

[Dom]

I bought some mega strong deet stuff before heading up a couple of weeks ago and was surprised to find I didn't need it once. Most (all? I forget) days there was some rain but on the whole it was sunny and dry. I even camped by a river on one night. Guess I got lucky.
____________________
Photos and that

[southglasgow]

Agree with Mr Everready. It may be an urban myth, but the Avon stuff is supposed to work well against the west coast midge. (At least the girlfriends mother claims - and who am I to argue.)

Alternatively, one of my ex girlfriends used to use a base oil with lavender essential oil added. Smelled nice, and in my experience, no bugs.
____________________
CBT June 09 - Kymco KR 125 July 09 -> Sept 09. Suzuki RV125 June 10 -> Theory June 13, MOD 1 July 13, MOD 2 August 13. Woohoo -> April 14. Yamaha XJ6N.

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

I take a flask of hot water for brews at rest stops. Refill it in the mornings. Pickup a 1/2 pint carton and have a proper cuppa where you want.

Pat
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[G]

[don]

I would check the mesh in the tent vents are small enough to stop a midgie, not a mozzie.

If not you'll be needing the duct tape!

I find skin so soft works, DEET is pretty poisonous stuff,
____________________
cbr600

[transporter]

Avon Skin so soft deffinately works for us, do a lot of camping up around the west coast of scotland in our camper van, midges are horrendous at certain times of the year, there is a site dedicated just to forecasting midges. We spray skin so soft on the flourescent lamps in the van when we shut the doors at night. The midges are drawn to the lamps, they land on them and die instantly dropping in to the sink, a kind of chemical insectorcuter. It clears the van of the little bluggers in minutes. Hoping to get up there with the bike next year....

[don]

Skin sooooo sooooft on a light? Now yer talkin'.
I can stop using my flamethrower now!!

If a tents not midge proof you can have a camping tent repair shop sew fine midge mesh into the vents.(theres one in in Newcastle, who also do embroidery, patches and badges etc.

A mate bought one of these,midge monsters, he lives near Kielder,NE England next best thing to being in Scotland, I asked him how many midgies they kill, he said he would put it on for an hour, next day he arrived with a honey jar,500cc? full of midgies.

That was an HOURS worth. But you have to keep the thing running in the garden for a week of nights to get real benefit, so a big gas bottle is a necessity, but after a week , for the first time in 10 years he could sit outside with the family at night in probably the worst midgie area in England.(I'd give it 80 out of 100 versus scottish midgies)
Midgies see by infrared spectrum and see the carbon dioxide exhaled for, well miles?? the machine replicates this, and when they are just puckering up for a wee taste,,,,whoosh...into the vacuum they go! You can fill a bin bag in a week, how many midgies is that???
So they do work but at first in a small area, 10 sqm? but for a group with a car or van wanting to see the sun set on a beach,without being eaten alive, it may be worth it,

below is BBC Scotland midge forecast and others of interest!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLNnLrXvrUg
https://www.midgemonster.co.uk/
https://www.poolandpatio.co.uk/WebPages/InsectControl.asp
https://www.midgeforecast.co.uk/2008/
https://twitter.com/Midgeforecast
https://blog.midgeforecast.co.uk/index.php/2008/09/bbc-scotland-the-real-blend-midges/

remember,,, a midge in your hand is worth two up your kilt !!
och aye!
____________________
cbr600

[Suitor_Stu]

Also add to the list;

Barr's Irn Bru - 70cl Glass Bottle of
Fish supper - remains of. Preferably wrapped in some sort of pseudo porn news paper (eg Daily Star)
Skag - small bag of.

Any/all of the above should be able to be traded for anything else you possibly could need.

HTH,
Stu

[don]

fish supper.....unheard of,,, should be deep fried pizza surely?
My local chippie has started doing haggis pizzas, unfortunately not deep fried,
____________________
cbr600