Wild camping near Rothiemurchus

We dipped in to our Adventure Jar last Wednesday morning and out came ‘Rothiemurchus wild camp’. Plenty of options there then. We started to get all the gear ready, and looked at a few walk and camp options depending on what the weather would be like. It was forecast to be windy on the Saturday with it dying down by the evening. A bit of rain was forecast overnight but clearing by 10 or 11am, which we thought would be ideal; a chance to chill out in the morning. So we were packed and raring to go, car parking found and we were under way by 9am. Our son wakes us up early so we didn’t waste any time!

Our aim was to walk to Loch Einich and find a camp spot there, but it was looking like that was becoming more unlikely the further we walked. The wind was howling, and the further up we got, the stronger it was getting. We passed a couple of other walkers who commented on how windy it was up by the Loch. They weren’t kidding. The wind was blowing straight at us, we were nearly there, we could see the loch, but walking was getting difficult. We could see sheets of water getting blown off the loch, and decided to look elsewhere for a less ‘lively’ camp spot! It was only 2:30, so we turned around and meandered along back the way we came.

 

We walked back the way we came, and found a lovely sheltered spot down off the path, by a stream. They had forecast the wind to be dying down by now, but we were happy to have found somewhere to put the tent up and crawl inside and stop for a bit.

The camp spot was a brilliant find, we were able to sit outside and feed our bellies and then our son was off, with the camera we had given him, and taking pictures of pretty much anything and everything he could find. It’s great to see what captures his interest.

With it still light at gone 9pm, our son was still awake…. just a few hours past his usual bedtime. I’m all for letting routine go out the window when we’re camping, but he pushed it just a little that night. At 4am, he was awake again as the sun came up. It took him another hour or so to get back to sleep, and at nearly 8am he finally rose from his slumber, complaining at how tired he was.  He didn’t get much sympathy from me or my husband… It was raining outside, so we ate breakfast in the tent and packed up slowly. We only had about 4km to walk out back to the car that day. Our son was in the back carrier to begin with, apparently waking up very slowly but he soon got in to it again when he saw a deer and wanted to get out and take a picture. The rain stopped and we enjoyed a slow return to the car, getting back at lunch time and devouring the food we had left there for when we got back.

Trip report

• Location: Cairngorms
• Nearest town: Aviemore
• Length: About 18km
• Duration: We did 13km on the first day, (out to the Loch and back to find a good camp spot). The rest was done on a leisurely walk the next morning, back to the car in time for some lunch.
• Elevation: Starts at 250m, the Loch is at 500m
• Level of difficulty: No steep uphills, gentle plod over a few km.
• Exposure: Exposed – pack for everything.
• What to wear: See above – Pack for everything!
• Kid friendly: Definitely! The path was mainly on big tracks or smaller paths, but presented no difficulty.
• Any tips? There is a small parking area by Whitewell, as well as the Loch an Eilein car park where you can start the walk from.

The above are opinions of Adventurous Little Legs. Use your own discretion when heading out to the hills. Check weather forecast and pack appropriately.

***Please note: This is a blog that was previously published on another of our blogs Adventurous Little Legs, and linked to an online store we also had. We have closed these both down. All content and pictures remain those of Stacey and Keith at Adventurous Little Legs and An Outdoors Family.