How far will you go?

caorach

Well-Known Member
On another forum I was recently involved in some discussion about the most remote trout lochs in the UK and after investigation it appears that you probably can't be much more than 4 - 5 miles from somewhere that you can take a vehicle. I've done similar stuff myself and walked miles into the middle of nowhere only to discover, when I thought about it, that I was probably never more than 5 miles from a spot that someone could get to in their car.

I've also had the pleasure to stalk in some pretty remote spots but the truth is that although I might have walked a bit on the day (and i suspect that even in highland stalking most people walk a lot less far than they imagine) I was probably never more than 2 miles from a track or road, probably half of that most of the time.

Now I appreciate that argos and quad bikes have changed the concept of vehicular access a little bit but I wonder how far you can be from vehicular access (i.e. track, road or similar accessible to a 4WD) when stalking in the UK? Any advance on the 4 - 5 miles that the trout angler might come up with as the most remote spot they can think of?

As a sort of aside to this I was reading some research they were doing in the USA into deer movement patterns. Eventually they decided to track the hunters to see how hunter movements impacted upon the deer. Deer hunters were reporting walking miles into the wilderness but when tracked by GPS the average distance a hunter went from his car was 200 yards. So, estimates of how far we walk can be very wrong indeed.

I also looked at my Lewis fishing and I'd guess it is close to the most remote area of the UK but, again, the truth is that about 5 miles is as far as you can get from a road or track. Last season I walked to the Humble Loch and the GPS recorded the walk as almost exactly 10 miles (round trip) however when I get Google Earth on the job the actual straight line distance is a pretty disappointing 3.23 miles. Not really that remote for what must be one of the most remote spots in the UK.
 
Better to travel than to arrive.

Going you're full of anticipation, long strides, a light step, a quick pace. But coming back...empty...the journey is long.

Like being an Aston Villa supporter on matchdays?

Reminds of the time I went to Kelmarsh Game Fair two years ago...and Pat Walker Guns thirty years ago. Two Fool's Errands both!
 
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I walked from Straloch with my Dad out to Loch Loch, fished round the loch and walked back. Neither of us will do that one again unfortunately. Regards JCS
 
So now days I am rarely more than a couple of miles from a roadway, but often walk further.
However my Red deer stalking apprenticeship was served on Glensanda estate and that had NO vehicles and you could be 10 miles from the roads, in fact the house itself was 5 miles from the nearest road.
And yes Argos and quads would have made life easy, but I enjoyed the on foot experience and pony extraction.
 
I walked from Straloch with my Dad out to Loch Loch, fished round the loch and walked back. Neither of us will do that one again unfortunately. Regards JCS

Hello JCS, how far was that to me (the ill informed one!)

ATB to you & yours

Patrick

Patrick. I was hoping someone smart with OS maps could work it out for me Calculate distance between two OS National Grid Reference points

It was a long day. About 9 miles there and 9 miles back.

Thanks for your best wishes and all the best to you and yours too. JCS
 
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One estate I worked on the glen was 17 miles long, there was a track through the glen which you could travel by 4x4 at its worst or best depending on how you look at you could be around a 11 miles from the nearest habitation.
 
One estate I worked on the glen was 17 miles long, there was a track through the glen which you could travel by 4x4 at its worst or best depending on how you look at you could be around a 11 miles from the nearest habitation.

I know there are lots of places with tracks but you can basically get a car to them, at least a 4WD. Loch Loch has a track almost to the loch for example as JCS was saying so although I might not have permission to drive to it the truth is it is potentially only 100 yards from the car.

What I think amazed me was that it is very difficult indeed to end up any sort of decent distance from one of these tracks, or the public road. Now clearly not everyone has permission to drive these tracks but I was fascinated to find that, probably, there isn't a trout loch that you can't potentially get to within a few miles of it.
 
Just walked for 7 hours through bush after goats, ( it's always up very steep hills) only stopped for three breaks each about 10mins, had severe cramp , could hardly drive home, 20mins in the hot tub and a hangy put me right, and didn't,t get a goat, seen plenty, but with a bow you have to be accurate, only took one shot, which hit a small cross branch and broke the arrow.
 
If you pick a point on a map and measure as the crow flies your probably right. Usually in these high hill lochans, if there's fish someone has been there with a vehicle or at least ponies with fish in the panniers to stock it in the first place.
I suppose there is something to say for having to make effort to enjoy some fishing, just because you maybe could thrash a 4x4 into some spots without getting wrecked or stuck doesn't mean it's a good idea. Distance takes on it's own meaning and value when it's 60degrees up for the first 1.5km. I remember a wee stony tarn west of Farragon with some nice trout which must have got there on ponies originally. A long scramble from Aberfeldy and the only thing they would look at was tiny iron blue dun's.
 
When I was younger, I would drive miles off a paved road, then miles of dirt road, pitch camp and hike miles in all directions. As a boy, I would walk miles in to deep woods, sometimes 10 miles from the house, hunting small game.

I have also canoe hunted in Minnesota, Canada, and the southern US, where I was 40 or more miles from the last road, and taken canoe and kayak trips of 100 and 200 miles down rivers as they became larger and larger, under highways, but mostly in the woods, all the way to the ocean. And I have paddled as far as three or four miles from the beach to barrier islands to bow hunt deer, and brought them back in the front of my two-man sea kayak. There is a large lake in the mountains I like, with no houses permitted on it, and a 10 mile hike or 5 mile paddle across it to very good hunting and fishing - feels like you are in Canada: no lights, no sounds, a rare airplane very high in the sky.

I still walk for miles glassing for deer and boar in the mountains, or grouse hunting, but I also use a bicycle for getting to hunting and fishing grounds via logging and fire break roads, or off road. I am working on a new trailer now.
 
Ha! A motley crew of us including two old fella's hiked up to the top of the 3rd highest peak in the uk,Helvellyn in the lakes to fish for wild brown trout. The few people we bumped into were adorned in all the mountain gear, we were adorned in wellies and " NCB" donkey jackets with our what would now be termed old vintage wicker baskets slung over the shoulder. We did surprisingly well in Red Tarn, and the trout were likewise of a decent stamp, not as stunted as one might expect, and exceptionally tasty ! Happy dayz :)
 
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The real question you should be asking is 'how far do you need to go before you can be absolutely certain no one is watching when you go for a carefree dump'.

I find that's a very accurate yardstick for how remote somewhere is. In the UK, I have yet to find anywhere that allows one to sh*t with innocent abandon...
 
Ha! A motley crew of us including two old fella's hiked up to the top of the 3rd highest peak in the uk,Helvellyn in the lakes to fish for wild brown trout. The few people we bumped into were adorned in all the mountain gear, we were adorned in wellies and " NCB" donkey jackets with our what would now be termed old vintage wicker baskets slung over the shoulder. We did surprisingly well in Red Tarn, and the trout were likewise of a decent stamp, not as stunted as one might expect, and exceptionally tasty ! Happy dayz :)

The most remote place I have fished is Styhead Tarn which is below Green Gable and Great Gable. Styhead Tarn is still less than two miles from two different roads though, so not actually that remote.

The fishing was good though, with some lovely little wild brownies :)
 
Over here they will fly you in to fish remote streams, I was speaking to a pilot, who covers the Nelson district, fly you in and you can walk out if you like, how long to walk out? Two days he said.
 
Over here they will fly you in to fish remote streams,

I've got to say that does sound like an interesting adventure, maybe fly in and work your way back out over a few days.

It is an interesting reflection on our infrastructure that we really can't get far from a track.

Maybe another measure should be how many visitors a spot sees in a year? The Humble Loch that I mentioned previously probably doesn't see anyone in a year, though it is impossible to be 100% sure, but I'd be fairly certain I was the only visitor last season. On the other hand I sometimes fish a "very remote" loch which is 1.5 hours drive out a 4WD track plus another 1.5 hours walk. However, among those in the know it is a very famous sea trout loch and during the season I'd guess it would be a rare week when it doesn't have visitors and, indeed, at some times of year it probably has visitors at least 5 days per week.

As Mungo says you could easily be caught with your trousers around your ankles in a spot like that.
 
I own land where there are still parts that myself & certainly no other European decendant has set foot on yet. It's good to know there are still places like this.
 
I've got to say that does sound like an interesting adventure, maybe fly in and work your way back out over a few days.
Not far out of large cities like Minneapolis, Montreal, and Toronto, you can get to a float plane which will take you really far back. Some folks will get a large plane to fly them in with a canoe tied to the pontoon, and then paddle back out down a river. Most just fly into a camp or lodge. The fishing in Canada needs to be experienced.
 
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