Читать книгу The Speyside Way. A Scottish Great Trail, includes the Dava Way and Moray Coast trails онлайн

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The wilderness mountain areas near the source of the Spey suffer from much more severe weather conditions than the valleys, even though the walks in these areas (see Prologue section) do not go much over 1000ft (300m) in altitude. Winter comes earlier in these regions and spring later, and their very inaccessibility and remoteness mean that the walker cannot easily vacate the area if weather conditions suddenly and rapidly deteriorate. The long nature of the walks, with little possibility of finding shelter apart from the occasional bothy, mean that a walk that could easily be completed in two days during the period between spring to early autumn would require at least an extra day in wintertime, with its very limited amount of daylight. Very long, dark and bitterly cold nights would have to be tolerated in tent or bothy, and more food, equipment and warm clothing carried. Hence these traverses during the wintertime are only for the very experienced and very well equipped.

Snow, torrential or persistent rain, very high winds and low temperatures can occur in this environment at any time of the year, so all who venture there must be prepared for the worst. Never attempt these sections in periods of very unsettled weather; always check the weather forecast before venturing out. If rain has been heavy in the preceding days then the necessary river crossings may be dangerous or impassable.