Touring Scotland
I'm sure that this has been asked many times before but we are keen on touring Scotland for the first time next spring with our caravan and could do with a suggested itinerary, roads to use, AND AVOID, and sites to use. We would want EHU and tend to use club sites mainly when in England and Wales. We have a dog, enjoy walking, like sites on the coast and although happy to use the car when we are pitched up, do like places where you can walk into town, down to a beach etc. We also like to stay on a site for at least 4 days at a time.
We will be starting from the Midlands and if the weather is favourable will start around late April or the beginning of May to avoid the midge season?
We will stop somewhere in Cumbria on the way up, travel up the West Coast and return down the East Coast with a stop, or two, in Northumberland on the way back.
We don't have time constraints and as it's a long way from home would like to feel we've seen a good amount of the country as we don't know when we might get back there again.
Any advise from seasoned Scottish travellers will be greatly appreciated
Comments
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It’s a huge ask, Stewart, as Scotland s a big place. We've been many times and seen most of it, including Orkney and Shetland.
As a general rule, the further north you go, the better it gets. You don’t say how far you want to travel so it’s difficult to advise. If you're a member of C&CC, it’s worth considering their sites as well.
The only road I would avoid is the A82 on the Loch Lomond stretch.
There are numerous threads on Scotland in this section of the forum if you can find them.
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We had a great 30 day tour at the end of April 2016. From home (South Wales) we went to Troutbeck Head club site, Cumbria - stayed 2 nights, North Ledaig club site, Oban - 7 nights pitched on the shore, Bunree club site - 7 nights, Morvich club site - 7 nights, Fort Augustus commercial site - 2 nights, Blairgowrie CL - 5 nights, and a commercial site in Cumbria on the way home. I would gladly give a bit more detail if needed. We had great weather, enjoyed stunning scenery, and had some cracking walks. A holiday we will never forget. Just read Tinwheelers post and agree with him about going further north than we did last year. (We’ve been before). Whatever you do, do it!
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A lot depends on the length of time you intend being away and how far you want to tow between sites.
Agree with obbemockle's route , but would definitely include visiting Kinlochewe after Morvich then up to Brora and onto the northcoast site Dunnet Bay. Return via a C&CC site near Inverness, Dingwall. Rosemarkie or Nairn, or there's a CL at Dornoch we use instead. You can then continue round Aberdeenshire to Banchory or Stonehaven then down to Perth or Edinburgh before returning home via Moffet or Melrose and back into England.
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I'd endorse nelliethehooker list. The C&CC site at Kinlochewe with great views. There's a site at John o Groats where you can catch the ferry, literally right outside, to Orkney with an informative coach trip if you don't want to go over with your 'van. The site has facilities but they were luxurious when we were there - they may have changed since. Dingwall is great, again C&CC site, walk to catch the train to Kyle of Lochalsh, beautiful scenery.
So much more too including Dumfries and Galloway
We took 6 weeks a few years ago and wish it could have been longer. We will get back there one day.
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Bakers, do you mean the Poolewe C&CC site? Kinlochewe is CAMC.
Stewart, I'd suggest you tell us your proposed sites and then we can give you the low down.
There really are too many variables as it stands.1 -
Do you know what? I mentioned this thread about visiting Scotland to Lady Obernockle and it has stirred up a desire in our loins. We have started to think we should go back to Bonny Scotland this spring and as Tinwheeler mentioned, go further north. I will report back! Goodnight.
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I do wonder when reading such threads how small people think Scotland is?! I have holidayed in Scotland most years since birth (60 years) and Still haven’t seen it all. Glad to read someone mentioning Dumfries and Galloway although my favourite area is the north west coast (Gairloch upto Ullapool). A single visit will only give a hint of the possibilities, and remember (this may come as a shock) but there are non club sites too....
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Similar for us ET. We were away 10 weeks last time on our trip but only visited some of sites mentioned.
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A few random thoughts:
- on the way up, you might like to take the ferry to Campbeltown on Kyle of Lochalsh and stay a few nights at the affiliate site at Carradale before heading North. Absolutely marvellous and brilliant for dogs.
- that apart don't bother with anywhere that requires a ferry , there's plenty on the mainland to explore
- North west coast, as others have said, is the prime place to be. Go to Applecross.
- on the way back, there's a very good affiliate site in Newcastleton, a nice area on the borders
- midges can be active from mid June and are active on the borders as well as the Highlands. Several threads on here re midges (if you can find them from the rubbish search facility). Some sites have loads other very few. This is a good site: https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/
- in the far North, be aware that Sundays are almost totally dead - nothing is open.
- don't be too ambitious as regards the miles you cover each day - it's slower than you'd think :-)
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Thanks for all the replies to my post. I was probably being a little naive in thinking we could see a significant proportion of Scotland in one go.
We are happy to spend a total of around 8 weeks if necessary away from home and thought somewhere around Kendal would be a good place to make our first stop. Looking at the distances involved I am now thinking that perhaps we stop at the Maragowan club site then on to Bunree followed by Morvich. The big decision then is, do we continue northwards or go east? That still has to be decided!
We have agreed that we will do the south west of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway, as another separate trip at a later date and the same with the east up to Edinburgh whilst spending some time in Northumberland.
Any comments on the above together with alternative non-C&MC sites will be gratefully received!
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Non-CAMC sites that I’ve used and would use again -
C&CC at Moffat, and Scone, and Dingwall.
Commercial sites at Sango Sands, Durness and also Scourie in the far NW. Ardmair near Ullapool. All can be found via Google or UK Campsites.
Only you can decide your route and where to stop, Stewart, but be wary of trying to cover too much ground in one go. As a rough guide, Moffat to North Ledaig, via A84, takes around 4 hours towing, allowing for one break.
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How long is a piece of string?
scotland is a large and varied country. Where to go depends on what you like/east to see.
My advice for a first visit would be come in May/June. Travel up the West to stay at Loch Lomond. CCC have sites on bothe sides of Loch Lomond. Move up from there across to the Trossachs and stay at Callander (private site). Then head up into Perthshire staying at Pitlochry (Private Site Milton of Fonab) or Blair Athol just up the road from Pitlochry.
after that I would head North up the A9 towards Aviemore then across to Braemar then Eastward towards Banchory (CMC site) and Stonehaven (CMC site). Then back South towards Edinburgh (CMC site) then south to Melrose (CMC site) returning home via the Borders.
Apple Ross and the NC500 is not really suitable for towing a caravan IMHO
wherever you go enjoy yourself in our wonderful country
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I'm always pleased to see tourists heading for the west coast as it leaves the east coast much quieter for us locals to enjoy
I jest - you will be very welcome on the East side. The area round Aviemore and Grantown on Spey are really nice, and the Spey valley is the real heart of the Scotch Whisky industry.
The East coast has it's share of good sites and good, quiet beaches. Loads of small former fishing ports and every town seems to have a golf course.
The Dee valley too deserves a visit - Braemar, Ballater and Banchory all have top notch sites. I wouldn't agree with Stonehaven as a location, but it does host several festivals over the year. I would head further south to Markinch. Edinburgh - I'd rather stay at Linwater on the outskirts, and I must be the only one who doesn't rate Melrose very highly, other than a night halt.
A final thought - look on BBC iPlayer for the two programmes "Roads less travelled" by Cameron McNeish - featuring a trip round the Cairngorms.
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We've decided on our tour stops and provisionally booked them. As we aren't familiar with the area we are sticking to C&MC sites as we have the flexibility of changing should we find that we want to either lengthen or shorten a stay at a particular site if circumstances change or we feel we would like to have more or less time in an area. Now all I need to do is to work out the route between each site and welcome any warnings or unsuitable roads for towing a caravan!
The plan is:
7th May - Arrive Southport on the way up, (have family in the area and have stayed here several times).
11th May - Leave Southport and arrive at Strathclyde Country Park, (nearly 200 miles but all motorway)
13th May - Leave Strathclyde and arrive at Maragowan
17th May - Leave Maragowan and arrive at Bunree.
21st May - Leave Bunree and arrive at Morvich
25th May - Leave Morvich and arrive at Kinlochewe
29th May - Leave Kinlochewe and arrive at Brora
31st May - Leave Brora and arrive at Dunnet Bay
4th June - Leave Dunnet Bay and arrive back at Brora
7th June - Leave Brora and arrive at Culloden Moor
11th June - leave Culloden Moor and arrive Stonehaven
14th June - Leave Stonehaven and arrive Forfar Lochside
17th June - Leave Forfar and arrive Edinburgh
21st June - Leave Edinburgh (and Scotland!), arrive River Breamish
26th June - Leave River Breamish and arrive Durham Grange
30th June - Leave Durham Grange and arrive at Clumber Park
2nd July - Back home!
As you can see we've generally allowed 4 nights in each location. We also decided to cut across to the East Coast after KInlochewe as there doesn't appear to be any major A roads in the highest part of the north west so we end up with a stop at Brora on the way up and again on the way back.
Does this make any sense to you seasoned Scottish travellers?
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That's more club sites in one trip than I've visited in all my years and a member.
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I was probably being a little naive in thinking we could see a significant proportion of Scotland in one go.
Quite a few people think Scotland is much smaller than it actually is.
The blame is due to organisations such as the BBC using a very distorted map of the United Kingdom in many of their programmes - especially the weather forecast. It is not so much a map projection as a perspective view from some point high over northern France, so of course the bits further away look smaller.
I'll try to find the poster of the view from Fair Isle looking south which uses the same perspective.
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I agree about the site, but there are plenty of interesting things to see in Glasgow itself.
A CL or a commercial site would be an alternative.
The other club also has some well placed sites. There are some big gaps in CAMC site coverage in Scotland IMO. Especially in the NW.
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I think Glasgow and Edinburgh are worthy of a longer stay, so much to see. But if you're on a tour it's an onward journey. I agree some think Scotland is small, imagine doing a quick tour of any of the UK countries but I think you get a taste for an area and can then go back?
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Stewart, the road from Culloden to Stonehaven, the A98, is one of the poorest/most boring on your list, IMO so leave plenty of time for the 110+ mls. Remember that there are fewer fuel stations in the north of Scotland, and some are quite expensive when out in the wilds. Before you set off I'd make a list of the nearest supermarkets with petrol stations to your sites. There's a very handy Asda with petrol by the A9 at Tain for your trip up/down that coast.
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I think that is too much in one go with only 4 days in between personally, i would get sick of moving as you'll need to be travelling in the car at all those sites to get to places to see for example a day out on isle of skye, or a day out in the caingorms or just anywhere basically. I would go up the west and another time the east.
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We realise that we are effectively just having a "whistle stop" tour but thought if we cover as much as possible for our first visit we will get a better idea which places we would like to come back to and for longer.
We are using C&MC sites because of the flexibility if we decide mid-trip that we would like to adjust our schedule and pre-booking CL and/or commercial sites takes away that flexibility. We might decide to stay longer at some sites, (subject to availability of course), and might even miss out some of the sites we have got in the current schedule if it all appears to be too much part way through!
I've been looking at the routes between the sites and would like some advise on towing a caravan between Morvich and Kinlochewe. After doing a google maps route that showed 51.5 miles between the two sites I looked at the advise in the handbook that says use only the directions in the handbook/website and the distance using that routing is 115 miles! The google maps route shows using the A87 and A890 before picking up the A832, is this definitely a no no?
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