15 Things You NEED to Know Before Wild Camping in the Outer Hebrides
Wild camping in Scotland is totally accepted, but there are rules. If you’re planning on camping in the Outer Hebrides, make sure to follow them to keep it free for all.
This is your chance to go to sleep somewhere beautiful and wake up with the sunset looking stunning. I’d been wanting to go wild camping in Scotland for a few years, but what with the ‘current situation’ and the fact summer was ending and I didn’t feel like I’d had an ADVENTURE, I rounded up my friend, and off we went.
Helen and I went wild camping in Scotland with a tent and a car, not a motorhome (next time!). More on that below.
We went wild camping in the Outer Hebrides, to be precise, and in the middle of September.
– HARRIS: That pile of mud next to me really started to smell in the night…
I’d originally planned for us to wild camp every night, but the weather, the wind and us being underprepared meant we just couldn’t. Honestly, the winds were wild. The locals were even talking about ‘the gales’ in the shops.
You need to be prepared for wild camping in the Outer Hebrides. Let me take you through a few lessons learned the hard way, so you don’t make the same mistakes as us.
Despite having a few nights of terrible sleep on our Scottish wild camping trip, we both had a fab time and I’d definitely do it again. I’d recommend wild camping in Scotland to anyone who wants a bit of adventure, and doesn’t mind a bit of wind, rain and effort.
Tips for wild camping in the Outer Hebrides
I’d strongly recommend you take note of all these tips for wild camping in Scotland so you can have the best trip possible!
This is the Scotland wild camping guide I should’ve read before I went.
1. Plan your route, roughly
Ok, number one. When wild camping in the Outer Hebrides plan your route, a bit.
Our trip was all quite last minute and neither of us knew much about the Western Isles of Scotland (as they’re also called) at all before we went. I’d come up with a rough trip itinerary, but we hadn’t researched any Outer Hebrides wild camping locations or anything.
I quite liked this. It meant we could either go where we fancied, or what we actually did, which was ask for a suitable spot in the local restaurant when we were having dinner.
Check out my Outer Herbrides road trip itinerary to find some suitable spots along the way.
2. Choose your camping spot wisely
So, first night of wild camping in Scotland and we thought we were so clever camping on a hill. Beautiful views we thought. Nice and private.
Turns out it’s a terrible idea, especially in the Outer Hebrides. The wind was BLOWING. Ferociously.
When you camp, look for some sort of shelter. At least from one direction. But, don’t camp between two high points as the wind will funnel through to you.
We set up our tent in among the famous Outer Hebrides machair wildflower grassland, with no thought to the fact that that fresh sea air would soon become a howling gale.
Don’t camp next to a stream, or any body of water, as little brooks can easily turn into torrents. You do NOT want to wake up to a river in your tent.
Another problem we had after finally battling to get the (huge) tent up in the wind, was then we couldn’t get the pegs in the ground. So much of Scotland is either boggy, or dry – so you’re going to have trouble with the tent pegs. I’d recommend these storm pegs, as the standard tent pegs I had didn’t stand a chance against the Scottish ground, or wind.
Don’t move rocks or dig ditches to make your camping spot better. That’s not how wild camping in Scotland works. And don’t camp near people’s homes, or within view from their house – they won’t like it.
Sounds like a lot of rules, but basically just think of others and be respectful, and overly prepared. They’re the standard tips for wild camping!
READ MORE: 9 Tips for Eco Friendly Camping
3. Look out for wildlife when you set up camp
When you’re wild camping in the Outer Hebrides you need to look out for wildlife.
When we wild camped in Harris we camped next to a field of cows but I scoured the fence first to make sure they were well fenced off. Did NOT want to be camping on their patch.
Just be aware of the wildlife around – so you know if it’s safe, and what those noises are in the night.
4. Take a tent fit for purpose!
Although my £300+ Coleman Spruce Falls tent is great for festivals and general campsite camping, it turned out to be pretty useless for wild camping in Scotland. It was just too high, too hard to put up, and too much fabric – especially for two.
Before I went wild camping in the Outer Hebrides I’d deliberated over which tent to take, and, thinking of the rain, I decided to take this one. But at over two metres high it was no match for the winds. It was so hard to put up, and to peg properly and then there were so many moving parts it was flapping all night.
Thankfully I’d also taken my Vango 100 bikepacking tent, which takes about 5 minutes to put up and sits a lot lower so the wind went over it. Shame I hadn’t pitched it very well on the third night, and the pegs were rubbish – still managed to keep me awake with its flapping.
Take the time to make sure every part is pegged down properly!
5. Take quality equipment
You need good quality tent pegs. This is something 2020 has taught me. Not the crappy ones most tents come with, but better storm pegs. I’ve said this above, but just want to reiterate.
The winds in the Outer Hebrides are like no winds I’ve experienced before – well, apart from the winds whipping up the sandstorms at Lake of Stars Festival in Malawi that is.
You’ll wish you spent that extra few quid when you’re wondering in the night if your tent will blow away.
TOP TIP: Take a trusty bag!
It was great having this Osprey Archeon 25 Women’s bag for my week in the Outer Hebrides. Although we had the car, we did hike out a bit to do the wild camping, and so knowing I had somewhere safe and dry to put all the bits and pieces I needed overnight was great.
This bag is such a great size for a day or two’s hike. You can fit your drinks in the front, there’s even a space for a laptop down the back, and it rolls over at the top to keep everything dry and safe. There’s this nice buckle on the front too. It comes with a rain cover, and all the materials its made from are recycled.
It comes in deep blue and red, and is specially designed for women. I used it on the beach for my camera equipment, in the forest, while we were camping, and I’ve also used it for weekends away in hotels too – so versatile!
6. Break it up with a proper bed
My experience wild camping in the Outer Hebrides was fab, and a real adventure. I’ll admit I was so happy when we got to our Airbnb though.
We stayed in a private room in a house in Cromore, in Harris. It was probably the best £21 I’ve spent in a while. Tracey was a great host, it was lovely to be in a comfy, warm house and there was all the facilities we could want.
After a few nights of wild camping in the Outer Hebrides Helen and I arrived at the Airbnb for check in at 2pm, had a shower, and then both accidentally fell asleep until 7pm. Still managed to sleep at 11pm all night.
Outer Hebrides wild camping is tiring!
We also stayed in these cool hiker huts at Pine Trees in Loch Lomond National Park on the way up – they were great!
Breaking up your wild camping in the Outer Hebrides is a great way to get a shower in, and to refresh for another adventure.
7. Your stove might not work
Despite taking an array of camping equipment, it was all pretty useless in the wind. Couldn’t even get the stove working actually as the flame was blown away and wouldn’t cook what I put on top. I’d made some amazing cheese toasties on my camping trip to Norfolk by cooking outdoors, but the thing just wouldn’t work in the Outer Hebrides wind.