There have been a couple of posts recently, form first time Challengers, about the cost of the event. They both seem a little worried about cost. One person has suggested that they should budget for over £500. Rather than fill up the message board, I thought I’d offer some thoughts here.
Like many events, you can spend as much as you want on the Challenge. However, for most of us backpacking and walking is, by necessity, a cheap activity.
First Challenge
On my first Challenge I wasn’t sure what to expect and so I found myself using a bigger budget. This route was a pretty standard one beginning at Mallaig. The main cost areas were:
Wed Night — meal with Challengers in restaurant. Stayed at sing-out hotel.
Tomdoun — in bunkhouse. Ate in restaurant;
Laggan — lunch in pub;
Kingussie — stayed and ate at the Silverfjord Hotel;
Braemar — one night in Youth Hostel. Ate in Fife Arms and at chip shop;
Tarfside — St. Dronstan’s Hostel
All other nights were spent either wild camping or in campsites.
Second Challenge
After understanding how everything worked I spent every night under canvas, other than one night spent in the St Dronstan’s Hostel at Tarfside. I tried to maximise the nights spent wild camping.
All of this reduced the cost of the trip considerably.
I do still like to stay under a roof on the night before the Challenge and it is nice to have a real meal before setting off into the unknown. But here are some tips:
Food
Try and get this well planned. I dehydrate my own — the dehydrator is probably the most cost effective piece of kit I have bought. Make sure you have enough food to cover each night that you think you’ll need it. Add extra for reassurance and to curb that appetite!
Use Campsites
The main campsites in Scotland (Fort Augustus, Braemar, Glen Truin, etc.) are superb. They all of washing facilities and some will have small shops.
Braemar
This sees to worry people. The centre of things is the Fife Arms pub and some of or colleagues hit this with real intention! You can easily spent the afternoon and the evening drinking heavily — but it is not obligatory! I certainly can’t keep up with the leaders.
I find a pint at lunchtime is quite nice. I then go back the site and do washing and other chores before returning for another moderate drink. eat at the Hungry Highlander, possibly one of the best chip shops in the universe.
I tend to have an early night in Braemar. Life’s safer that way!
Tarfside
The hostel here is comfortable and worth a visit. It does cost though. You can spend an evening on the recreation field which is made into a temporary campsite. Here, of course, you can eat your own food. Visit the hostel for bacon sandwiches and drinks — but leave early!
Montrose
The Municipal Campsite is fine and close to the Park Hotel.
I like to go to the closing dinner. But some folks prefer to eat more cheaply (and better) before returning to the function room, to buy a beer and listen to the speeches and the rest of the formalities.
I reckon you could do it for easily less than £200.
Postscript
I have not included the costs of travel (these obviously depend on where you live as much as anything else! Also my first draft had a typo — I had £100 in my costs when I mean £200.
Still, you should still be able to do it for much less than £500.
WEll, you’d have to get there and back, you’ve not included this in your budget.
And there’s your food and fuel on a daily basis. £100 for 10 to 12 days isnt much, if youre going to include campsites and a meal at Tomdoun (expensive!)
And you don’t seem to want to visit the dinner in Montrose. Twenty quid before you start!.
Presumably your £100 challenger is going straight home. Seems a miserable existence to me. You’ve got a year to save up. A fiver a week would be on the right lines….
I didn’t include the cost of travel!
£100 would only cope with my cheapo version. As I said (if you can be bothered to read it) is that I spent much more on my first Challenge.
As I also said (if you could be bothered to read it) you don’t have to eat at the dinner!
You can certainly do it far cheaper than £550!
You did say £100 initially (Yes , I know you’ve altered the “typo” since….)
The original TGO forum post said £550 inclusive – presumably of travel and everything else.
All I can say, though, is that in times when I’ve not had any money, £100 a week or maybe £20 a day was a very challenging budget for pure spending money excluding any food I might have in the pack at the start, fuel, travel etc.
If you add on travel and a couple of campsites,maybe a proper bednight, you’re easily adding on another £200. We’re fast approaching a convergence of the two budgets, here.
Incidentally, in the eight TGO challenges I’ve completed so far, I’ve only stayed in Braemar and Tarfside twice each. Its not compulsory to go to either of these villages and its not really true that “most” Challegers do go this way, although it is quite popular. You can potentially save a bit of cash and a reputation for being a bit of a puritan by routing via Glen Shee, Tomintoul or Kirriemuir – or anywhere else in fact.
I wasn’t having a personal crack at you Andy, by the way. I just didn’t think that £100, which is what you said at the time, was manageable. Your comment seemed a bit aggressive and quite embarrassing. Did you mean it like this?
Despite the typo error, this kind of article is exactly what is needed (in my humble opinion) to encourage more people (specifically some younger folk – no offense) onto the Challenge. Having listened to your and Podcast Bob’s audio series of the crossing, I have been able to picture the trip but I’ve found little concise practicle info like this. I’m sure that had I applied to enter the Challenge this year I’d know a whole heap more about this stuff but for the arm-chair prospecor this is a great help. Hmmm what am I doing May 2010?!!!
With careful planning, transport to the start and from the finish needn’t be horribly expensive. Two years ago I travelled Manchester – Glasgow return for £2.50 by Megatrain.
Like Andy, I dry my meals – you get decent meals of the right size for you that don’t cost a fortune.
I try and spend one or two nights in a bunkhouse – at least I can get properly clean AND get a good sleep.
I’ve not accurately costed a Challenge, but £200 should do it VERY comfortably….just don’t fall into bad company in Braemar!
Mike,
I did put up two options deliberately. It’s really about spreading cost to make it affordable and tat doesn’t come across in the original, I’ll post something else later.
Once you’re actually walking you don’t need to spend much. With planning you could do it for £100. As for the overall budget you could still cut massively into £550. Depends what kind of event you want I guess.
I reckon cutting our Braemar would save me over £100!
I’ve looked back at the last few trips we’ve done and I think excluding transport to start and at end, I’ve been looking at £250 – £300.
Like Andy I dehydrate, and this covers the biggest cost. However, the beers, socials, chocolate, occasional meal does add up. Campsite prices have increased also year on year. B&B’s especially so (I couldn’t find one less than £40 2 years ago). It’s the same Countrywide of course.
Rose and I think £350-400 is realistic for this coming year and that will take into account a 3 B&B’s and the rest camping. Plus of course it’s our wedding anniversary at this time and no matter how I try, a dehydrated meal, just doesn’t cut the mustard!!
There’s a bit of talk here about dehydrating food – it seems to be an often overlooked subject for long distance walking.
How about a new project Andy? It could tie in quite nicely with Humphrey’s culinary delights that you often allude to!
Funnily enough Steve I did start doing that once. I shall take it as a challenge.
I should point out that Bob and Rose will shortly be producing a dehydration cook book ..
.. AREN”T YOU BOB & ROSE!
Well put John ..
.. bad company and Braemar. No need to name names
;-0
Just get the finger out Cartwright
Darren’s talked me into being a Challenge Hag again, so I’ll be through to Braemar on the Saturday with his forwarded gear, and heading to the post office a few days later to return his pongy stuff in his pre-paid parcel.
Offer’s there to folk I know.
There’s a thought Duncan. Thanks.
I’m a bit baffled as to why anyone would think that the Challenge is expensive, or that the cost might put off ‘younger folk’. It’s cheaper than 2 weeks in Faliraki.
You are a droll one your Lordship — I had to look that place up!
Mind you it might not be that much cheaper, After all, there are no distilleries on Rhodes. And I guess it depends on the company your with. I understand that your Lordships footmen can often be something of a burden!
Yes, some ideas about dehydrating would be good, especially about which machine to go for, or whether DIY really works. Freezerbagcooking.com got me interested in this.
Sorry, I meant when I said “DIY” whether it is possible to make your own effective dehydrator.
Did challenge for first time last year, excluding travel spent about £300.00. BUT reflectively, I agree with andy and could halve this if I took the same route again with better knowledge.
Of course I didn’t spend anything over the monah…. Dohh mentioned those mountains again
I sincerely wish bob & Rose would publish a dehydrators guide as I sponsored the BPL shop for one and have generated nought but dehydrated pellets of such impregnable, waterproof nature that they challenge the abillities of kevlar. So if any of you want a bullet proof challenge meal then give me a shout – you never know when you need one……. You can’t eat it, but should you be targeted by a psychotic deer stalker,,,,,,
The next blog project here will be dehydrator project!
In the meantime there are two ways to re-hydrate you food.
Method 1. Half way through the day add some water to the container in which you have the food — this means using something like an Aloksak bag (from Bob and Rose). As you walk during the afternoon the motion and water will work together to re-hydrate the food.
Method 2 — and gaining in popularity. Use the pot cosy system. Bring your food up to the boil, stick the top of the pot, put inside a pot cosy and wait for half an hour, Magic!
I guess I’ll have to cover re-hydration in the project