Touring Scotland
can anyone help. We're thinking of touring Scotland for the last 2weeks of August . one week on the east coast and the other week on the west coast. Bit worried about midgies though. Also any site recommendations would be welcome. We have a year old cocker
spaniel. Like walking , beaches, pubs. Etc.
Looking forward to hearing your views.
Comments
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we live at the south end of Loch Lomond and I have to say, midges are rarely an issue for us until the sun goes down. In August, that's quite late! We always carry a can of Smidge with us though, just in case.
There is a site just across the road from us called Lomond Woods which seems to be quite good. We've never stayed, as it is literally across the road, but all the reports I've heard have been good. From there you have great access to Loch Lomond Shores, where you can do everything from outdoor sports to shopping to walking to eating out to loch cruises... It's a great base and there's also good transport links to Glasgow by train or road.
Good luck with your planning, there's loads to see and you'll be spoiled for choice!
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We toured Scotland about three years ago and the problem that we found was that it was imperative to book sites well in advance, (if using CC sites at least). We were hoping to do as we do in France and just go where and when we please for a three week tour
starting in mid June. We then heard that most of the sites would almost certainly be booked up at weekends. This meant that we needed to be at specific booked sites at weekends. When we looked further into this we found that some other popular sites would
also probably be full during the week if we hadn't booked. This really curtailed the spontaneous tour that we had hoped for.0 -
JohnM20, unfortunately your tour would have partly coincided with the Scottish school holidays which generally start towards the end of June. This would have made sites particularly busy. Weekendgypsy's visit at the end of August will avoid the Scottish
holidays, although English families will still be off.Regardless of school holidays, it does get busy up here in the summer so I would always recommend booking in advance.
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August is a busy and expensive time to use either of the two Club's Sites. Also is a time when the midges can be at their worst on the west coast.
Best to leave the North West ( the most scenic part of Scotland) until you can go at the end of May into June, and concentrate in the Eastern and Southern parts of Scotland when holidaying in August. More choice of alternative Private sites and CL's.
Enjoy your holiday !!
K
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we live at the south end of Loch Lomond and I have to say, midges are rarely an issue for us until the sun goes down. In August, that's quite late! We always carry a can of Smidge with us though, just in case.
There is a site just across the road from us called Lomond Woods which seems to be quite good. We've never stayed, as it is literally across the road, but all the reports I've heard have been good. From there you have great access to Loch Lomond Shores,
where you can do everything from outdoor sports to shopping to walking to eating out to loch cruises... It's a great base and there's also good transport links to Glasgow by train or road.Good luck with your planning, there's loads to see and you'll be spoiled for choice!
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We use Lomond Woods on a regular basis it is a very nice site although it can be a bit expensive at times but it does have good facilities and is in a lovely location. Also you could try either The Ranch or Ayr Craigie Gardens CC in Ayrshire they are nice
sites and are good for exploring Burns country or for taking the ferry to the Island of Arran.0 -
Couple of points for you W/EGypsy :-- Please remember that Scotlands a Big Country and you can cover lots of miles very easily !
As for the wee midgies there are two good repellants out at the moment -- Avon's S S S as Furball mentioned & Smidge that Midge. I've used both { on different occasions of course } and had nary a nibble never mind a full Bite !
B
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can anyone help. We're thinking of touring Scotland for the last 2weeks of August . one week on the east coast and the other week on the west coast. Bit worried about midgies though. Also any site recommendations would be welcome. We have a year old cocker
spaniel. Like walking , beaches, pubs. Etc.Looking forward to hearing your views.
We like the East coast as its usually midge free and the weather is usually better (not so much rain) site recommendations would be, Yellowcraigs, Balbirnie, Stonehaven, Brora, Thurso. West coast, North Ledaig Oban, Bunree, Morvich. Don't forget Dumfrieshire
New England bay, Garlieston to be honest most of the sites in Scotland are pretty good, the only one we are not keen on is Strathclyde country park due to the noise from the motorway but if that won't bother you then the site is well placed. As said end of
August the Scottish schools will have gone back but the English ones will be off but once you get into September the numbers go down quite quickly.0 -
For a two week holiday I would stick with either East or West coasts as the distance and slow roads between the two will make it difficult to combine both.
If the midges bother you then in August take the East Coast. There is plenty of onformation on here as to where to go.
If you can live with the midges then the West Coast sites are best for walking and viewing the wild side of Scotland. Just be aware the distances are probably longer than you realise and the roads can be slow going so allow plenty of time.
If you are towing I would avoid the A82 up Loch Lomond side as it is twisty and narrow with a stone wall at the side for some distance at the top end. I would use the motorway to Stirling and then use the A84 to Crianlarich which is far easier and probably
quicker.0 -
If you search thro' the older posts on this subject, and there are many believe me, W/Egypsy , I think that you will find that Wildwood has just refined all the good advice available
!Just be aware that many of the A3 size maps of Britain cover Scotland at a different i.e. smaller scale !
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You won't go far wrong if you book any Club site. They are all well located. Bunree seems particularly popular not least because of the waterside pitches.
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Maragowan CC site in Killin is also a lovely site in an excellent location the scenery up that way is beautiful. The village of Kilin is nice and has a few nice shops and pubs the site itself is fairly easy to get to if you take the motorway to Stirling
then head along to Callander and Killin is about 20 miles up the road from Callander and the roads are decent so shoud be no trouble.0 -
Francis, when I get to Killin I do a lot of { shh Christmas shh } shopping in the shop up by the bridge over the Falls. Lots of Bits 'n Bobs to amuse the middle-aged children in the family
!Write your comments here...
Yes I know the shop you are talking about we go to that one too.
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As an East coast resident, I am of course biassed. I also get into trouble for recommending the East, because with less tourism, we can enjoy drier weather, lack of midgies and quiet beaches.
OK, the coast lacks much of the rugged splendour of the West, but we do have some great beaches, the Dee and Spey valleys, the Cairngorms and more distilleries than you can shake a big stick at.
But as has been suggested, choose one area to visit and don't try to cram everything into one trip.
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It obviously depends what you want in the way of pastimes and how far up you want to travel. If you don't mind a fairly long drive we can definitely recommend The Sands Caravan site at Gairloch. It is right on the beach with some lovely walks and a very good on site shop and restaurant. We also enjoyed visiting Inverewe Gardens and there is a C&CC site opposite the entrance which is very nice. We were also impressed with the Club site at Kinlochewe which is set just below Ben Eighe with a beautiful nature reserve and walks around.
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I certainly agree about Kinlochewe, however, the midgies can make your life hell. It's not unusual to see campers walking round with mozzie nets over their heads - looking like bee keepers!
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I would plan to include Dumfries and Galloway ..some very good sites in this region ...if fishing or boating is your thing then Loch Ken Holiday Park is highky recommended ..with trips to Castle Douglas , Kirkudbright etc ...you could twin with a visit to
Garlieston or New England Bay and have a mix of Seafront and Lochside !0 -
Oh --should have added ...
I did a full West Coast tour last year and visited all the Loch Lomond sites en-route ..Lomond Woods is still an excellent private site and base as others have posted ..The pick of the other Clubs sites is Luss in my view ..great views , easy access and
right on Loch although Boat launching from there is not allowed . I cancelled my stay at Cashel as the access was not to my liking ..make sure you review this carefully .0 -
Fort William is a must if your going to Scotland.... Take odourless garlic capsules three weeks before you go and take a good repellant with you along with the citronella candles to help keep the midgies at bay.
We prefer Oban but it is a personal choice, but Oban is a far nicer place to us. You do need a good defen ce against the midges in either though.
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