GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 33

office is in the village of Inverie) can suggest
some good places to pitch your tent. One of
the best places to camp is a level area just
behind the “long beach”, a short stroll round
the bay where the ferry drops you off at Inverie
harbour. You can also arrange with the Knoydart
Foundation to hire a boat for fishing or go on one
of their guided walks to explore the sea lochs
and bays around the islands, including Folach
waterfalls and Sandaig bay.
After a day exploring the Knoydart wilderness,
spend the evening in Inverie village at The
Old Forge (recognized by the Guinness Book of
Records as mainland Britain's most remote pub),
where you'll have to compete with the motley
collection of folk musicians, friendly locals,
kayakers and campers for the pub's excellent
range of fresh food, including freshly caught
scallops, Loch Nevis langoustine, Loch Nan
Uamh rope mussels, Isle of Rhum lobsters and
Skye oysters.

048 wild CampiNG oN the
kNoydaRt peNiNSula,
SCotlaNd

Few places on mainland Britain are as remote as
the Knoydart peninsula in the West Highlands.
Bounded on either side by Loch Nevis and Loch
Hourn and facing across to the Inner Hebrides,
you can only reach Knoydart by taking the train
up to Mallaig and then the ferry across Loch
Nevis - or by walking in along a rough 25km
trek from the end of the road at Kinlochourn;
there are no roads across the intervening hills.
You're free to pitch a tent almost anywhere
in Scotland thanks to the Land Reform Act
(Scotland) 2003 - as long as you're well away
from dwellings and roads. There isn't a formal
campsite anywhere on Knoydart, but there are
plenty of places to pitch a tent in the wild: on
moorland, in wooded areas and by the beach. You
won't have any of the usual campsite amenities
to hand, but without running the risk of sharing
the experience with other rowdy campers you'll
be that much closer to nature.
Rangers from the Knoydart Foundation (whose

Need to know The Caledonian Sleeper train
travels from London to Fort William, from where
you can then take the local train up to Mallaig
( W www.scotrail.com; T [phone]).
The ferry from Mallaig to Knoydart is operated by
Bruce Watts Cruises ( W www.knoydart-ferry.co.uk;
T [phone]). Knoydart Foundation
Ranger Service: W www.knoydart-foundation.
com; T [phone]. The Old Forge
Pub: W www.theoldforge.co.uk; T +44 (0) 1687
462 267. Helpful guidelines on outdoor camping
are provided by The Mountaineering Council of
Scotland: W www. mountaineering-scotland.org.
uk/leaflets/ wildcamp.html.

Surveying the Knoydart
Peninsula

049 exploRe the NoRth
peNNiNeS

The North Pennines, which covers an area of
two thousand square kilometres, is the second-
largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB) and one of the last remaining protected
areas of wilderness in England. It's an upland