wild camping the LeJog

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
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longwaytothepub
Posts: 3
Joined: 24 May 2016, 3:18pm

wild camping the LeJog

Post by longwaytothepub »

Hi , I am planning this trip for September and do not wish to commit to booked BB. Also too poor. I wonder if anyone has done the whole trip using a small tent or a bivvy bag. I have a few friends along the way with bathrooms and I have a small Hilleberg 1.6 kg tent.
I just wondered how folks got on and what sort of pannier weights you ended up with?
Also-any trouble with farmers or landowners experienced?
This will be a 3 week trip, I am slow and doing traffic free routes where possible.
I have forgotten what the wild camping rules are! Thank you in anticipation- Ali
Bigdummysteve
Posts: 353
Joined: 24 May 2015, 9:29am
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by Bigdummysteve »

Hi I did my jogle entirely wild camping, I used a hilleberg nallo which is not too small and had no problems or trouble. I did my trip in late June/July and a lot of places had just cut the hay which made things easy. If you've not wild camped start getting your eye in, I can't help myself now, even in the car I'm constantly spotting potential sites.

Scotland has an open policy about wild camping ( it's actually encouraged) the Caledonian canal is nice to camp on. It starts to get a little trick in the urban central belt but you just need to time your days to be clear by camp time.

One tip I would give is to be flexible, if you look for the idea site you could ride a lot extra, there's nothing worse than riding an extra 15 miles thinking I wish I camped back at that nice spot I saw earlier!

Another tip is water, make sure you top up in good time before you start looking for a site, I like to arrive with some in my riding bottles and ideally 1.5 ltr for cooking and brews, I can face anything as long as I've had my morning coffee.

Do allow for the odd night in a b&b/ cheap hotel as its nice to wash and dry out the camping kit after a week or so.

Mostly just don't worry you WILL find somewhere to sleep
If you want a look I can post up a link to my joggle route which was very quiet and had lots of camping opportunities
longwaytothepub
Posts: 3
Joined: 24 May 2016, 3:18pm

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by longwaytothepub »

Thanks for the response and the tips. Yes I see the problems with suburban sites and there might be a few undesirable types about too I guess.
Cheers, your jogle link would be handy to check out as I am not on a speed mission and just want to arrive a bit fitter than when I started out. I will be doing the scenic but safer routes hopefully. Ali
hilloverthehill
Posts: 38
Joined: 9 May 2016, 11:14am
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Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by hilloverthehill »

Hi
I did JOGLE in November mostly wild camping plus a few pubs when i was absolutely soaked. Managed around 35% traffic free using canal systems and cycle paths. No problems camping wild in England, though it was usually getting dark by the time I stopped. If you want to check my route my blog's hilloverthehill@blogspot.co.uk. Have a great ride!
Chris Ince
Posts: 118
Joined: 13 Jan 2008, 5:14pm

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by Chris Ince »

Ali, No probs in Scotland where I live but if you can give me some idea of your intended route you may be able to access independent hostels and bothies. By mid Sept midges should be on the way oot and weather can often be pleasant with early Autumn high pressure. Happy to help as am only 1 hour away from the usual routes via Perth or Glenshee-Inverness as well as the Great Glen.
PhilWhitehurst
Posts: 260
Joined: 9 Aug 2011, 4:14pm

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by PhilWhitehurst »

Lot of pubs will let you camp in the beer garden if you drink and eat there (and ask)
longwaytothepub
Posts: 3
Joined: 24 May 2016, 3:18pm

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by longwaytothepub »

Thanks guys for the advice, I am trying to formulate a safe route which takes in as many JD Wetherspoons on the route north as possible since I am raising awareness/funds for Diabetes UK and they will post promotional material to the pubs. Also their grub is calorie calculated(and cheap) and there is WIFI (for a blog/twitter feed).
I have just acquired a Garmin 1000 so will download GPX files when I have conquered the instruction book and worked out how to use all the features (this is the biggest challenge for me!....the boring bit) And keeping the weight down. Hopefully my own power to weight ratio will increase day by day.

I have a solar panel to recharge electronic gear and phone. Will post the intended route v soon and get some more opinion! Thanks so much. Ali
rareposter
Posts: 1993
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by rareposter »

longwaytothepub wrote:I have a solar panel to recharge electronic gear and phone. Will post the intended route v soon and get some more opinion! Thanks so much. Ali


At a guess, you'll find that virtually useless. Mine used to take hours to add even 10% to the charge. A better option is to buy a small power pack (I've got one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/anker-powerco ... lver-a45ux which can mount by the stem to recharge the Garmin on the go but other larger capacity ones are available) and then every time you stop at a pub/cafe etc, plug in everything you can while you eat!
moonboy
Posts: 26
Joined: 29 Aug 2012, 11:14am

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by moonboy »

Solar panel in September will not be very useful!

They take forever to charge anything even on clear blue sky days.

Better to make sure you have a plug with multiple USB outlets then charge everything every chance you get
hippyonwheels
Posts: 144
Joined: 25 Jun 2009, 8:52pm

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by hippyonwheels »

As others have said yes totally poss, I did it in the summer of 09 and loved it!

General advise would be start looking for a site an hour or two before dark but only put a tent up towards darkness if you are somewhere obvious and then move off early. Ordanance survey maps are really useful for identifying potential sites away from habitation, I used to look for spots near rivers, reservoirs or ocean so I could have a dip. Iron age fortresses and stone circles also make pretty cool sites (obviously not stonehenge!!) Found some amazing spots and the freedom it brings to the trip is massive. I used a trailer, was prob about 20 kg with camping and cooking gear. Have a great trip!
I never panic when I get lost lost- I just change where I want to go (Rita Rudner)
Kiwisue
Posts: 18
Joined: 13 Jul 2016, 7:38am

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by Kiwisue »

What is a jogle? I am following these posts with great interest regarding wild camping. It is my much preferred way when travelling the back roads of NZ.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my SM-N920I using hovercraft full of eels.
hodge
Posts: 89
Joined: 12 Aug 2014, 3:48am

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by hodge »

Kiwisue wrote:What is a jogle? I am following these posts with great interest regarding wild camping. It is my much preferred way when travelling the back roads of NZ.

John o groats (jog) to Lands end (le)

John o groats - northern most tip of Scotland
Lands end - southern most tip of Cornwall
Also sometimes referred to as 'end to end' (of this island)
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horizon
Posts: 11275
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by horizon »

Kiwisue wrote:What is a jogle? I am following these posts with great interest regarding wild camping. It is my much preferred way when travelling the back roads of NZ.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my SM-N920I using hovercraft full of eels.


You're not the only one: I thought LeJog was brand of French leisure clothing until .... I discovered Smirnoff? :shock:
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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kylecycler
Posts: 1378
Joined: 12 Aug 2013, 4:09pm
Location: Kyle, Ayrshire

Re: wild camping the LeJog

Post by kylecycler »

Kiwisue wrote:What is a jogle? I am following these posts with great interest regarding wild camping. It is my much preferred way when travelling the back roads of NZ.

There was a thread on here a few years ago about the NZ equivalent - I'm sure you'd have been a good source of advice! :D

viewtopic.php?t=85664

There was also this (referred to in the above thread), if you haven't seen it already - you'll relate to it a lot more closely than most of the rest of us, but NZ sounds like a wonderful place...

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o= ... 5982&v=10p

A bit ironic, though, given the current state of affairs here, that his first concern was 'for goodness sake will the pound please begin to stabilise' :lol:

I'm also following these posts with interest - I've no real notion to do LeJog but I'd like to just do the Scottish equivalent - from the Mull of Galloway to Dunnet Head, or something similar - and wild camping is the way I'd do it.
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