- May 3, 2014
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Hi Trent, the last 3 are in Glencoe, called buchaille etive mor and the sisters. the main road north runs right through the base of that valley, a stunning drive but in the summer it's tourist central!
we have very strict laws here on what you can carry and why. I've copied and pasted this directly from the police website:
'It is illegal to carry any sharp or bladed instrument in a public place (with the exception of a folding pocket knife, which has a blade that is less than 7.62 cm (3 inches)).
A lock knife is not a folding pocket knife and therefore it is illegal to carry around such a knife regardless of the length of the blade (if you do not have reasonable excuse). A lock knife means a knife which is similar to a folding knife, in that there is a spring holding the blade closed. However, a lock knife has a mechanism which locks the blade in position when fully extended, the blade cannot be closed without that mechanism being released. A lock knife is not an offensive weapon per se (because these knives were made with a specific purpose in mind and not as a weapon). However, possession of a lock knife in a public place without reasonable excuse is an offence.
Possession of a multi-tool incorporating a prohibited blade/pointed article is capable of being an offence under this section even if there are other tools on the instrument which may be of use to a person in a public place (screwdriver, can opener).
The ban is not total, it is for the person in possession of such an instrument to prove on the balance of probabilities that he/she had good reason for its possession. It will have to be genuine, for example, someone back packing across the Lake District may reasonably be expected to have a knife for the preparation of meals. It will be far more difficult to justify on the streets of a city or town, but there will be occasions when someone is genuinely going to a martial arts sport or scout meeting (which is easily checked).
The penalty for committing this offence is a maximum prison sentence of four years.'
So basically a smallish useful knife is be OK to take with you but you need to be prepared to prove why you have it, which is fine, there is absolutely no reason why you'd need a machete or a flick knife in the Scottish wilderness. Our forests are mainly pine inhabited by squirrels, not dense jungles full of man eating crocodiles.
Ice axes etc are the same, carry one though the centre of town on a Saturday night and you'll pretty quickly find yourself up in court, but halfway up a mountain in the snow and no one is going to bat an eyelid.
we have very strict laws here on what you can carry and why. I've copied and pasted this directly from the police website:
'It is illegal to carry any sharp or bladed instrument in a public place (with the exception of a folding pocket knife, which has a blade that is less than 7.62 cm (3 inches)).
A lock knife is not a folding pocket knife and therefore it is illegal to carry around such a knife regardless of the length of the blade (if you do not have reasonable excuse). A lock knife means a knife which is similar to a folding knife, in that there is a spring holding the blade closed. However, a lock knife has a mechanism which locks the blade in position when fully extended, the blade cannot be closed without that mechanism being released. A lock knife is not an offensive weapon per se (because these knives were made with a specific purpose in mind and not as a weapon). However, possession of a lock knife in a public place without reasonable excuse is an offence.
Possession of a multi-tool incorporating a prohibited blade/pointed article is capable of being an offence under this section even if there are other tools on the instrument which may be of use to a person in a public place (screwdriver, can opener).
The ban is not total, it is for the person in possession of such an instrument to prove on the balance of probabilities that he/she had good reason for its possession. It will have to be genuine, for example, someone back packing across the Lake District may reasonably be expected to have a knife for the preparation of meals. It will be far more difficult to justify on the streets of a city or town, but there will be occasions when someone is genuinely going to a martial arts sport or scout meeting (which is easily checked).
The penalty for committing this offence is a maximum prison sentence of four years.'
So basically a smallish useful knife is be OK to take with you but you need to be prepared to prove why you have it, which is fine, there is absolutely no reason why you'd need a machete or a flick knife in the Scottish wilderness. Our forests are mainly pine inhabited by squirrels, not dense jungles full of man eating crocodiles.
Ice axes etc are the same, carry one though the centre of town on a Saturday night and you'll pretty quickly find yourself up in court, but halfway up a mountain in the snow and no one is going to bat an eyelid.
