# First Scottish Tours / help required from seasoned visitors



## dinger (Jul 30, 2007)

This is very much a " how longs a piece of string question but would like to ask those of you whom visit Scotland on a REGULAR basis to list the best 10/15 best places to visit/ view ,following a route driven over a period of 20 days this comming Sept.

We are members of ccc & cc so should have plenty of choice of stop overs

Journey to commence DUMFRIES and heading up the west coast and the tour ending in EDINBURGH.

Thanks in advance for people taking trouble to reply .


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Don't forget to take in the Isle of Skye, free bridge crossing.
The roads are really good and in good condition almost everywhere north of the border and traffic very light in the more remote areas. Its a pleasure to drive, be warned though, that, if like me you may want to see over the next hill and the next and the next!!! The views along the north coast are great, and there is a snack van in the layby at Tongue.

Just bimble around loads of opportunities to wildcamp and a few THS's as well.

Don't be put off by 'single carriageways and passing points', they are all very drivable and the locals know how to use them and are very polite and helpful.


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## dinger (Jul 30, 2007)

*Scotland tour*

Can anyone suggest any good touring books for Scotland ?


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## ardgour (Mar 22, 2008)

Hi, first of all very sensible decision to come here in September - the midges and berry bugs (have the English heard about berry bugs?, the secret weapon of the east coast) are dying out by then. The problem with guide books is everyone uses them so you tend to end up where all the tourists go. There is so much stunning scenery, the sites on the east shore of Loch Lomond are good (C&CC I think) and the Glenmore forest holidays site is good then follow the road down through Tomintoul, Cock Bridge to Ballater past the Lecht ski area. Views are very special and several nice viewpoints to stop and have lunch.
If you are going through the middle of Scotland (A9) divert across to Loch Rannoch. There is an offical wild camping spot just over the bridge as you start along the southern shore of the Loch, you park up looking along the length of the loch to watch the sun set - and its walking distance of a pub!(I will put it in the database when I work out how to do it).
I am sure everyone will have their own favourite bits to see - we find new places every time we take the van out and we have lived here for 25 years

Chris


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## 97339 (Jan 18, 2006)

We holiday in the motorhome every year in north western Scotland. We've just returned from as far north as Bettyhill and down as far south as Gairloch. I have written about our experiences on Virtual Tourist, giving camping places, places to see etc in the tips section.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/m/

That takes you to my travel pages. Click on any you fancy, but please take note, many of the places are listed under United Kingdom and some under Scotland. It's all down to Virtual Tourist not recognising places as being in Scotland! Don't forget to click on the tips on each page.


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## jaks (Sep 20, 2006)

*visit scotland*

hi we just came back from 6 days up the way we stayed at the c/c site called Bunree which is 9miles from Fort William beautiful site lovely staff also a good base for visiting Skye we also stayed at North Ledaig caravan park again a c/c affiliated site beautiful pitches on the water side and again a good base very helpful stafff if you go into any tourist info place up there you can get very good brochures for the ferry on you can have a look on their website WWW.calmac.co.uk hope this helps along with the other good info on this topic JAKS :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## 106916 (Sep 8, 2007)

Hi Dinger if you search my posts (via my profile) and look out for the trip reports I post after every trip there are some nice places we have recently visited described. We live near Inverness and try to get out for a long week-end every couple of weeks. There is so many great places to see and stay. Nick and Chris above have a lot to report on MH-ing in Scotland.
Vidura


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## Blueflag (May 16, 2007)

There's a nice site at Inverewe (c&cc) also an the western side of loch Ewe if you bimble up the narrow lochside road there is a nice looking beach where we saw several motorhomes and caravans. There is an honesty box and for the princely sum of £2 a night or £10 for the week you can camp there. (proceeds to the local school) We didn't stay there but it looked nice enough.
We stayed at a pleasant CL in Douglas Water just a couple of miles off the motorway en route to the west coast, it's the only one there so you'll find the listing.
Good luck


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## 97339 (Jan 18, 2006)

We have used the CL at Douglas Water a few times. Collierhall farm I think. £7 a night whether you use electric or not.

Firemore Beach (the honesty box site) is brilliant. We have just come back from there.


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## Chris_s (Jun 5, 2008)

*Re: First Scottish Tours / help required from seasoned visit*



dinger said:


> This is very much a " how longs a piece of string question but would like to ask those of you whom visit Scotland on a REGULAR basis to list the best 10/15 best places to visit/ view ,following a route driven over a period of 20 days this comming Sept.
> 
> We are members of ccc & cc so should have plenty of choice of stop overs
> 
> ...


Haven't taken a camper to Scotland yet but have travelled much of the west coast and islands and also did a trip from just below Aberdeen to John O'Groats, along the north coast and back down the west and home to Wales. We stayed in B & Bs but had a fab time. Know Dumfries to Ayrshire well and the local coastline. IMHO Scotland is a great country to tour and while I much prefer the west coast, the trip from Aberdeen to home showed us some of the very varied but beautiful countryside. Just go and enjoy. Out of the main holiday season you should have little difficulty in finding places to stay.
Chris_s


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## Jagman (Feb 16, 2008)

Hi dinger, just back from another great tour of west coast and hebrides using clamac hopscotch ticket this time and can't wait to go back again. I've posted replies on this topic before so you might find them but for now my advice is:

1. go clockwise from Dumfries (Don't really know why it just seems logical and will end you up in the capital)
2. pick some 'must see/must do' places and things to broadly plan your route (see below) then pick the sites and fix the schedule
3. consider how long to spend at each site. I know regular scottish tourists who always stay two nights on every site in order to spend a day exploring each locality rather than rushing ever onwards.The 'local day' can also be a bit more relaxing with a slightly later start with maybe a bit of shopping and/or sight-seeing thrown in and a chance to fully 'service'
the van. You could mix and match with two nights at some key locations and one night at 'transit points'.
4. once you've got the outline have fun filling in the details but be prepared to be flexible; its not very far across Scotland when you get up north and the weather can be very different from one side to the other so popping over to the 'other side' can be useful to enjoy clear tops (certainly the best way to enjoy the North West)

My must see/must do bits would be:

a. Dumfries to Mull of Galloway lighthouse taking in A712 past Clatteringshaws Loch - this gives you a real 'taste of the Highlands' and takes you to the 'bottom left hand corner' of Scotland
b. Up the coast - A77/A78 to the Clyde and over the Erskine Bridge
c. A82 to take in Loch Lomond (a must see if you've never seen it before)
d. option to make for Oban via Inveraray by going 'left' at Tarbet on Loch Lomond(its more like straight on actually) then cutting back on A85 to Tyndrum so you don't miss next must see:
e. A82 through Glen Coe
f. Bunree! - best to book for this world class CC site
g. Over Corran Ferry (£6.20) to Morven then on to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse to pick up most westerly point (can you see a theme developing here!)
h. On return trip from Ardnamurchan point turn left at Salen (ie north) and head for Mallaig. You will pick up the 'road to the isles' at Lochailort and head for Mallaig via Arisaig.
i. Ferry from Mallaig to Armadale on Skye (its a bit costly but well worth getting one 'proper' ferry trip into your 20 days. Probably not necessary to book in September.
j. spend as long as you like on Skye - if the weather is good its worth driving right round but at least go as far as Sligachan where there is a site and you can see both the black and red hills at close quarters
k. off Skye via bridge and north via A890, A896 and A832 to Torridon, good CC site at Kinlochewe, and west coast at Gairloch and Poolewe and eventually to Dundonnell and Braemore junction on A835 to go north to Ullapool - great centre for NW Highlands and good site by lochside.
l. Up to North west corner via A894 and A838 - if weather clear this is the most spectacular bit of the whole trip - good site along the way at Scourie and at the end of the leg at Durness. Reaching most north westerly point, Cape Wrath is a short passenger ferry plus mininbus job and costs a little but well worth it to 'bag' the top left hand corner and another very famous lighthouse!!
m. go east along the top taking in the CC site at Dunnet Sands (another world class site) for a couple of days to enable you to visit Dunnet Head (most northerly point - lots of WW1 and WW2 stuff associated with Navy - and to pop down into the 'flow country' via 'yellow' and 'white' roads to south of A836 or A897/B871 'loop' south of Tongue / Melvich
n. go to John O'Groats (good site) and take in Duncansby Head and walk to the stacks just to the south of the lighthouse
o. south along the A99/A9 and visit some of the little herring ports along the NE coast - Lybster is probably the best
p. take in the Black Isle - visit town of Cromarty - great buildings - stay at CCC site at Rosemarkie and see dolphins - we saw a sperm whale there a couple of week ago!! (unfortunately it beached and died a couple of days later!!!)
q. South via Kessock Bridge and A9 past Invernes to the Cairngorms - lots of good sites especially around Aviemore - Glen More is best if weather OK. Huge areas to explore here either in van or on foot or bikes.
r. south via A9 or A93 if you want royal Deeside stuff.
s. Make Stirling you last stop before Edinburgh - castle outstanding, Wallace memorial worth a visit, town worth a wander around.

If you want a really good guide not particularly for mhers go for something like the Rough Guide series - £10.99 full price but cheaper off Amazon - I've only got the Highlands and Islands one but there will be something for the southern bit of the trip as well. If not the Footprint series is also good.

Hope all this rambling is useful, if you need further info about sites PM me and I'll send you a list of all the ones we've stayed at on various tours or had recommended to us.

I wish I could join you - enjoy your trip - 20 days is a lot of time but if the weather is good you'll probably need more!

Best wishes and safe journey.


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## gdleeds (Mar 15, 2008)

*any problem taking a 28` MH to Scotland*

Hi all, 
Scotland is also on my agenda, you all make it sound so wonderful. Just a side question...
Would I have any problems with my tag axil 28`Burstner mh, roads, campsites etc


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## dinger (Jul 30, 2007)

Just a quick thanks to all those you who put finger to keyboard.......

I will post our findings on our return and cant wait to see the various landscapes. Roll on 2nd Sept

Dunger & Lady Dinger


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## Kelcat (Apr 20, 2008)

Hi - Can't speak for the rest of Scotland just yet (hoping for October tour) - but just back from a long weekend on the Mull of Galloway. CC site at New England Bay was excellent - the sea is literally 50yds from your front wheels - depending how far Dumfries is from your starting point I'd definitely recommend starting with a night there.


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## Broom (Oct 8, 2007)

Hi Jagman

Good tour I did it with you, would ponder a while at CC Morvich.

Best Regards
Broom


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## dinger (Jul 30, 2007)

*scotland*

Kelcat...............will be heading up to Dumfies , stopping to pay respects to the BELL clan.....before heading due west as per Jagmans wanderings

If getting lost was an olympic sport...BACK ME NOW

Dinger


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## taz (Sep 28, 2005)

Hi gdleeds
We toured for the first earlier this year in an 8m Burstner and had no problems at all except the Applecross Pass - DONT GO THERE!! The coastal road to Applecross is fine - narrow but plenty of passing places.

Beach on the bank of Loch Ewe is a lovely spot but there is also a great wild camping spot at the end of the road by the WW2 memorial - very peaceful. Look at the coastline on the Loch Ewe side of the carpark - rock arch and a couple of very entertaining blow holes!!

We also liked the campsite at Resipol particularly is you have a boat.

Agree Dumfries and Galloway if really beautiful - good CL at Port Logan overlooking the harbour. 

Can't wait to get back up there - hopefully with better weather next time.
Sally


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## Jagman (Feb 16, 2008)

Cheers Broom! I'll try Morvich next time (October I hope).

I don't have 28' to worry about gd (only 23 with back box) but most passing place roads are fine for the usual delivery vans and small 'oil' tankers which ply their trade acrosss the Highlands so you should be fine - if in doubt ask at sites before you head off each day. I suspect the real challenges come not with the general width of the road but with sudden very steep gradients and very tight corners, worst of all when these two features are combined as they are on the Applecross pass road 'Belach na Ba' - taz is dead right about avoiding it, anything with a significant overhang would find the top part very difficult. 

On the passing place roads just look as far ahead as possible and stop in the first place available if you see something coming. If you suspect that they have also stopped out of sight to let you through it becomes a game of 'whose nerve gives in first' but as you are in mh you can always nip into the back and brew up!!

Its a bit easier if you can follow someone else at a bit of a distance so they can clear the way, and remember to use passing places to let other folks overtake you, especially locals going about their business (posties, builders, deliveries etc.) They always really appreciate it and its good for 'our' image.

September 2 not far off!


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## Broom (Oct 8, 2007)

*Arran*

Hi All

A bit of covert hi-jacking now.

Anyone got any info on walks, wildlife ect where to stay on the Island of Arran in April, Easter week next year.

Sorry
Broom


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## 97339 (Jan 18, 2006)

I would agree with the CL at Port Logan. Beautiful spot.


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## 106916 (Sep 8, 2007)

dinger said:


> Just a quick thanks to all those you who put finger to keyboard.......
> 
> I will post our findings on our return and cant wait to see the various landscapes. Roll on 2nd Sept
> 
> Dunger & Lady Dinger


Please do post. You will have a great time as long as you get some good weather - which you will 'cos September is often glorious, bright, clear, invigorating and surprisingly warm.
Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy :!:


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## Jagman (Feb 16, 2008)

Sorry Broom can't help - went pony trecking on Arran in about 1965 - suspect ponies have passed away by now - intend to go back sometime soon so will watch for replies with interest.


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## buffallobill (Sep 28, 2007)

hi dinger, just rturned from 10 day tour scotland, can recommend Glencoe c and cc site ,it is situated up the same road as glencoe visitor centre, half mile before glencoe village A82 travelling north, Dunnet bay cc site beautiful 8 mile east of john o groats,. Glenmore forest camp site near aviemore, bottom of cairn gorm mountain railway.site is on the side of loch morlich. there is a link to this site from motor facts sites. once again better to book a pitch first, we saw a few being turned away.
if you need post codes for sat nav give us a shout.


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