1,185
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
==== Highlands ====
no edit summary
|hitch = {{very good}}
}}
Hitchhiking in '''Scotland''' tends to be far easier than [[England]], and can be ''incredibly'' easy in the [[Highlands]] (specifically towards the west coast and islands), with up to 1 in 5 cars stopping. In Dumfries and Galloway, on the Isle of Arran and on the Kintyre penninsula (south-west), hitching locally is reasonably easy.
For more general hitchhiking information, check out the [[United Kingdom]] article, which relates to all countries within the ''Kingdom''.
==Hitching there == There's two main roads to get to Scotland from England. *[[M6 (GB)|M6]]: The western road to Scotland, connecting Birmingham with Manchester, Liverpool and finally Glasgow. Not easy to get on from London, but recommended from anywhere in the West/Southwest as you can easily hop from service station to service station. To get to Edinburgh, fork off at Abington services to take the A road east. Hitching with a sign works better than asking at the services.*[[M1 (GB)|M1]]/[[A1 (GB)|A1]]: The eastern road to Scotland, connecting London, Leeds and Edinburgh. The M1 only goes up to Leeds where it becomes the A1. Relatively easy to hitch out of London on, but the last services before Edinburgh are near Leeds. Afterwards you can hitchhike along the road though as it's not a motorway anymore. There's ferries from Ireland and Scandinavia, but those can't be hitchhiked. There's always a chance of asking around in ports to find a small boat, though. == Wild Camping ====
Scotland has a code of access to all rural areas, particularly national parks such as the Caringorms and Lomand and the Trossachs. Camping is tolerated and allowed anywhere where public access applies, out of the way on Farmland, out of sight of houses and public buildings and out of sight of roads. One must take care not to damage the natural environment, and in upland and peat areas, open fires are discouraged due to the danger of peat fires and forest fires. Camping near A-Roads is not included under public access provisions, but it is well tolerated, making it easier to travel, as if you become stuck somewhere you can pitch camp as long as you are out of the way.
The Scottish Highlands are very easy to hitchhike around, however you should be careful to avoid major trunk routes as people drive very quickly, and even when you can be seen they are unwilling to stop. During the summer, there are a lot of tourists in highland areas who are much less likely to stop for hitchhikers than locals.
