Firstly, I know there are a lot of people out there who think everyone should be staying at home, even though a lockdown hasn’t been announced yet (though somehow I expect that will happen very soon, if not tonight). So we just want to start by saying that we believe we wild camped responsibly – We had booked and set off on Friday before it was announced pubs etc were to close. We got our permit for our 2 nights camp through the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park website. We stayed fairly close to home (about a 50 minute drive) and took everything we needed with us. So no stopping off for fuel, food, to use toilets or anything that would bring us into contact with other people.

So here’s a wee write up and some photos from our trip, which sadly could be the last one for quite some time…

The spot we picked was on a small(ish) peninsula reaching out into the loch. We had camped there before back in October. The ground is hard and stoney, and it was hard to get the tent pegs in, but it was worth the effort for the views we had.

For anyone who may want to camp out here when (hopefully a “when” and not an “if”) everything returns to “normal”, Loch Drunkie is near Aberfoyle and within the Three Lochs Forest Drive. To get a permit to wild camp (which is required from March to September, outwith this, just turn up, but bear in mind the road in may be closed after October) go on to the national park’s website to book.

There are toilet facilities at Permit Area “J”, however the toilets were closed this weekend. We camped at Permit Area “I”. If having toilet facilities is important to you, it is about a 1.2kms walk back to the toilets, but to drive you have to go out and drive back in as it’s a one-way system. Tip: we bring a “toilet bucket” with us, double line it with bin bags and use cat litter to decrease the smell, then tie the bin bags up and bring the bags of waste home inside the bucket to dispose of. Obviously we thoroughly clean the bucket out afterwards. 

So we arrived about 4.30pm, took our tent down to see if the spot we wanted was free (it was) and pitched up the tent. The peninsula we pitched on is probably about 400 metres downhill from the small car park, and it took us about 3 trips as we brought our picnic chairs and table, 4 sleeping bags (we needed them as it was really cold!), airbed, logs to make a fire, etc. I guess we were doing a glamping version of a wild camp!

Although there is space for a couple more tents on the peninsula, we were lucky to get it to ourselves for both nights. There was a family on the hill quite high above us as we could hear the kids playing and smell the fire they had lit, but they were out of sight and stayed quiet in the evening. On Saturday night they had gone and there was no-one near us. On both nights, once it got dark, we could see a couple more campfires further along and on the other side of the loch, but there were very few campers. We did see quite a few walkers during the day though.

The sun shone on Friday and Sunday, but Saturday remained mostly overcast. It was unseasonably cold for the end of March, below freezing at night, and still very cold during the day, especially on Saturday as there was little sunshine. But despite the really cold weather, we really enjoyed our little piece of paradise.

Our new Geertop tent

On the Saturday we just took a walk, and in the early evening we got a BBQ on, then got the fire going straight after and huddled around it with some wine & beer to drink and marshmallows to toast. A campfire must-do!

Sunday was warmer, especially when out of the wind, and we brought our inflatable canoe down to take it out for a paddle around the loch – bliss! We took some photos of out pitch from the canoe, which gives a different perspective…

Finally it was time to head home and face the realisation that this may be the last camping trip we would have for quite a while. The national park announced on Sunday that they were closing everything, all campsites and permit camping areas, all car parks, toilets etc. It looks like we won’t even be able to drive up to Loch Lomond and go out in our canoe, as we won’t have anywhere to park the car. So it seems we shall be keeping it VERY local for a while, hopefully the Kelvin walkway (which is a few minutes walk from us) and the parks will remain open…

So this afternoon we headed out to the Trossachs with the intention of getting out in the canoe, however the water was pretty choppy due to the wind, and we missed the car park, so instead we took a wee road trip. Along the way we found some wonderful places we had never even been to before!

First stop was Loch Ard. We had originally intended to canoe over to the bothy on the island of Eilean Gorm on Loch Ard. However, having not been before, we somehow managed to miss the car park as we bypassed the village at Kinlochard – doh! (We found it on the way back, so now we know for future reference – a gate across the road leads to the lochside). It was nice and calm when we stopped on our way back, but a bit late in the day to get the canoe out, so next time…

On to Loch Chon to check out the campsite we had heard about. We had a look around and were impressed. Very basic, but with toilets and drinking water, so that’s cool. We chose the pitch that seemed perfect for us for our first visit, which we hope might be next weekend, weather permitting. Easy access to the loch with our canoe, and not too far to carry our camping gear from the car parking space.

Continuing on, we then stopped off in Stronachlacher on the shores of Loch Katrine (we had visited there before by taking our bikes on the boat from the head of the loch and cycling back). This time we decided to have some coffee and cake in the Pier Cafe. It was lovely, with a conservatory with excellent loch views. The cakes are fab, by the way!

A stunning rainbow appeared while we were there, I hope you like the photo…

Further along towards Inversnaid, perhaps a half mile before the hotel, we took the short walk to Rob Roy’s View, accessed over a “weak” bridge, which in itself was kind of interesting! The walk in through the forest was also really pretty.

Inversnaid is as far as you can drive before having to turn back, and sits on the banks of Loch Lomond. We parked up at the hotel to admire the views, then spotted the most incredible waterfall right next to the hotel. As we walked over to take some photographs, a couple of really cute goats trotted down to meet us!

Stopping at the Inversnaid Bunkhouse on our way back to take this photo of another stunning rainbow…

We saw a very tempting advert for the bunkhouse (which looks amazing, I just checked out their website) – for £45 pp you stay in a double or twin with breakfast and dinner. Trust me, we want to do this! The “bunkhouse” is a converted church, it looks awesome, and more like a boutique B&B than a bunkhouse! And it has an outdoor hot tub!

Our final stop was at the Lake Hotel on the Lake of Menteith. In the past we have watched some stunning sunsets there, and we thought we would pop in for a drink and see how tonight’s shaped up. Unfortunately it just kind of faded tonight, but it was a nice place to stop for a drink before our drive home.

I am really not sure whether to be scared or whether I think the world has gone just a little bit mad right now. With all the scaremongering on social media etc is it really as bad as we think? Or worse??? Or has it all just been blown a little out of proportion??? I really hope it’s the latter…

This morning I was in Asda for my weekly shop, which included toilet rolls and dried pasta, only to find both shelves bare…! (Plus of course the hand sanitiser shelf was also bare – still!)

Despite this the store was eerily quiet compared to normal.

These last couple of weeks have seemed like a slow version of the first 5 minutes of an apocalyptic horror movie, and I worry how it might escalate over the coming weeks. I must admit I was turned off more than usual when the glass of wine I had in our local pub came with someone else’s lipstick marks still on it! We went out for dinner on Saturday night, but we couldn’t help but wonder how well the cutlery had been washed (however, the meal was delicious so we soon forgot our worries!)

As luck would have it, we haven’t booked any holidays abroad this year having decided some time before the Coronavirus was even heard of, that we would spend this year exploring more of our home country, the UK. All being well, Norfolk in April and Scilly Isles, Bath, Cotswolds & Dorset in June.

Next weekend we hope to finally try out our new tent if we can get a weekend without (too much) rain, so watch this space…

Meantime, stay safe everyone, and feel free to comment below and add your own thoughts or experiences you have had during this rather strange time…