That gentle bubbling brook you thought looked so nice in the sunshine may well, after a bit of rain uphill, turn into a torrent.

It’s the law of the hills that this will happen at 2am, and you’ll wake to find the nice flat patch flooded and that you’re sharing your tent with several crayfish and a few hundred litres of water. This does happen. Look at the height of the stream – if it’s nearly overflowing anyway that’s a good sign to find somewhere a bit higher or further away.

Also, watch out for reservoirs that form part of hydroelectric schemes. I once camped next to one only to wake and find the water had risen by five metres, silently, in the night. It was now very close to the tent.

VIDEO – Watch a truly inspiring immersion in the wilds of Assynt in Scotland’s far north west as a group explore by canoe.