# Scottish adventure.



## Dan Gates

Hello everyone! We are the Gates family from Southampton. Me, the wife, 3 girls (8yrs, 4yrs + 5months) and a golden retriever called Barney. We have a motorhome called Dixie and this summer we are planning on touring scotland. We normally go to France, but this year it's a staycation. We are a little bit mad and dont really like planning. Just see where the road takes us.
Hoping you can all give us some great tips for our adventure. Places to see, stay and explore. The wilder the better!


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## Makzine

Hello and welcome from Kent


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## trevskoda

Hi and welcome from Co Antrim.


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## Tookey

Welcome fro W.Yorkshire


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## jeanette

Hi and welcome from County Durham


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## GMJ

Hello for west Wales.

We looked at Scotland for a trip in September but were put off by the thought of midges. Might be worth researching them and what you can do to reduce their effect on you.


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## TJBi

Hi and Welcome.

Scotland is a large country; don't try to do too much. I did a 3-week trip recently using the POIs and never went north of a line drawn between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Many superb coastal and inland locations.
Planning on another 3 or 4 weeks soon, slightly further north.


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## Forresbroons

Hi and welcome from the costa del moray.

 Enjoy your time in Scotland I can guarantee the roads will take you to some of the best views and scenic place’s anywhere.


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## yorkslass

Hi, welcome 

Don't forget to pack your midge repellent


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## phillybarbour

Hi and welcome along to the group


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## caledonia

Midges are all part of the Scottish adventure so if your not prepared to “suffer” them you may not enjoy your time in Scotland


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## Scotia

Dan Gates said:


> Hello everyone! We are the Gates family from Southampton. Me, the wife, 3 girls (8yrs, 4yrs + 5months) and a golden retriever called Barney. We have a motorhome called Dixie and this summer we are planning on touring scotland. We normally go to France, but this year it's a staycation. We are a little bit mad and dont really like planning. Just see where the road takes us.
> Hoping you can all give us some great tips for our adventure. Places to see, stay and explore. The wilder the better!


If you don't plan it it can't go wrong!
Loch Morlich is worth a visit not far from Aviemore.


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## caledonia

Scotia said:


> If you don't plan it it can't go wrong!
> Loch Morlich is worth a visit not far from Aviemore. View attachment 99971View attachment 99971


Agree the Cairngorm area is massive and has some hidden jems if your prepared to venture away from the honey pots.


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## Scotia

Loch/ Glen Trool in Dumfries 


Plockton on the West Coast.


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## Scotia

Portavadie 

Glencoe


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## Scotia

The Hermitage Perthshire

killin


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## sydnsue

Dan Gates said:


> Hello everyone! We are the Gates family from Southampton. Me, the wife, 3 girls (8yrs, 4yrs + 5months) and a golden retriever called Barney. We have a motorhome called Dixie and this summer we are planning on touring scotland. We normally go to France, but this year it's a staycation. We are a little bit mad and dont really like planning. Just see where the road takes us.
> Hoping you can all give us some great tips for our adventure. Places to see, stay and explore. The wilder the better!


We know Scotland like the back of our hands. The obvious route for a newbie is the NC500, but every man and his dog are doing that, now the route has a name. That has caused a negative local reaction. However there are not many roads in Scotland so alternatives or diversions can be difficult. The further north you go, the wilder it gets. Get past Inverness and you will leave behind most of the coaches. The best wilderness is Argyll to Sutherland. Fantastic coast and mountains. Wild camping is easy compared to southern England but not as easy as it used to be, due to the influx. We are in Chandler's Ford so we have the same haul north as you. We break the drive in half. Look for Shap on the M6, zoom into the area and look for a reservoir. Can't remember the name. It's a lovely overnighter or maybe two. If you can't find it, pm me.


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## Dan Gates

Thank you everyone for this great advice. We have done west scotland before but with a car and only 1 child at the time. We are looking forward to doing the east and north this time. We are both teachers so we are in no rush! Looking forward to finding some hidden gems. So any other tips would be brill x


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## Dan Gates

sydnsue said:


> We know Scotland like the back of our hands. The obvious route for a newbie is the NC500, but every man and his dog are doing that, now the route has a name. That has caused a negative local reaction. However there are not many roads in Scotland so alternatives or diversions can be difficult. The further north you go, the wilder it gets. Get past Inverness and you will leave behind most of the coaches. The best wilderness is Argyll to Sutherland. Fantastic coast and mountains. Wild camping is easy compared to southern England but not as easy as it used to be, due to the influx. We are in Chandler's Ford so we have the same haul north as you. We break the drive in half. Look for Shap on the M6, zoom into the area and look for a reservoir. Can't remember the name. It's a lovely overnighter or maybe two. If you can't find it, pm me.


Thanks for the advice. We are stopping in the cotswolds for a couple of nights first. Using the britstops to save some pennies for scotland when we need some recovery time at a proper campsite.


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## Dan Gates

Best midge repellent?? We used smidge before and that seemed to work, but expensive.


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## Scotia

Dan Gates said:


> Best midge repellent?? We used smidge before and that seemed to work, but expensive.


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## Deleted member 92340

sydnsue said:


> We know Scotland like the back of our hands. The obvious route for a newbie is the NC500, but every man and his dog are doing that, now the route has a name. That has caused a negative local reaction. However there are not many roads in Scotland so alternatives or diversions can be difficult. The further north you go, the wilder it gets. Get past Inverness and you will leave behind most of the coaches. The best wilderness is Argyll to Sutherland. Fantastic coast and mountains. Wild camping is easy compared to southern England but not as easy as it used to be, due to the influx. We are in Chandler's Ford so we have the same haul north as you. We break the drive in half. Look for Shap on the M6, zoom into the area and look for a reservoir. Can't remember the name. It's a lovely overnighter or maybe two. If you can't find it, pm me.







__ https://www.facebook.com/646467669058296/posts/1402044890167233


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## The laird

Hi welcome and enjoy


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## mistericeman

Gregor said:


> __ https://www.facebook.com/646467669058296/posts/1402044890167233



There is a certain irony that folks are warning about littering by painting what's little more than legalised Graffiti on the ground....
Around a gulley that is exactly where the chalk paint will end up going

Data sheet for one of the leading brands...




Obviously the data sheet is referring to someone knocking the tin over (AND there will have been precautions on hand such as bunds and spill kits etc) 

However....


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## Robmac

Welcome to the forum.


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## Cie

Dan Gates said:


> Thank you everyone for this great advice. We have done west scotland before but with a car and only 1 child at the time. We are looking forward to doing the east and north this time. We are both teachers so we are in no rush! Looking forward to finding some hidden gems. So any other tips would be brill x


Hi Dan
We love the North and East of Scotland so much we bought a cottage up here. So with heavy bias, the beach at Fraserburgh is gorgeous 
If you head this way need a place to stop look us up on www.facebook.com/glenbuchtystopover
Further north Golspie -  Dunrobin Castle is lovely.
Have fun
Cie


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## gilldrew

sydnsue said:


> We know Scotland like the back of our hands. The obvious route for a newbie is the NC500, but every man and his dog are doing that, now the route has a name. That has caused a negative local reaction. However there are not many roads in Scotland so alternatives or diversions can be difficult. The further north you go, the wilder it gets. Get past Inverness and you will leave behind most of the coaches. The best wilderness is Argyll to Sutherland. Fantastic coast and mountains. Wild camping is easy compared to southern England but not as easy as it used to be, due to the influx. We are in Chandler's Ford so we have the same haul north as you. We break the drive in half. Look for Shap on the M6, zoom into the area and look for a reservoir. Can't remember the name. It's a lovely overnighter or maybe two. If you can't find it, pm me.


Signs have now appeared at the reservoir parking area near Shap,prohibiting overnight stays in caravans or motorhomes.Shame cos it was a lovely spot for a quiet overnight


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## phillybarbour

Hi and welcome along


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## Dan Gates

Cie said:


> Hi Dan
> We love the North and East of Scotland so much we bought a cottage up here. So with heavy bias, the beach at Fraserburgh is gorgeous
> If you head this way need a place to stop look us up on www.facebook.com/glenbuchtystopover
> Further north Golspie -  Dunrobin Castle is lovely.
> Have fun
> Cie


Thank you for this info!  We are not sure where are travels will take us yet but we will keep you in mind if we head your way. thanks again x


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## CliveW

Very rare to get midges along the north east coast  it will be much quieter as well.   Macduff ( Aberdeenshire ) has a great aquarium which children love due to being able to "pet" some fish. If you are using sites the Banff Links has a great children's play park at the entrance ( open to all) and a safe lovely beach. If you don't want sites there are lots of places for overnight stays plus some new "aire" type stopovers.

Enjoy your visit.


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## barge1914

Welcome from the Peak District.


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## sinner

Please be careful, the midges are very active this year and can easily spoil your staycation


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## Kalleiviken

I have been to Scotland several times and have never been bothered by mosquitoes.  In northern Sweden you can sometimes talk about a lot of mosquitoes.  If you swing your sandwich back and forth and it turns gray from mosquitoes, you get a protein added and a measure of how tight they are.  My suggestion for a nice place to hike to is Sandwood Bay, my favorite!


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## caledonia

Sa


Kalleiviken said:


> I have been to Scotland several times and have never been bothered by mosquitoes.  In northern Sweden you can sometimes talk about a lot of mosquitoes.  If you swing your sandwich back and forth and it turns gray from mosquitoes, you get a protein added and a measure of how tight they are.  My suggestion for a nice place to hike to is Sandwood Bay, my favorite!


Sandwood Bay is definitely worth making the effort.


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## Brockley

mistericeman said:


> There is a certain irony that folks are warning about littering by painting what's little more than legalised Graffiti on the ground....
> Around a gulley that is exactly where the chalk paint will end up going
> 
> Data sheet for one of the leading brands...
> 
> View attachment 100005
> Obviously the data sheet is referring to someone knocking the tin over (AND there will have been precautions on hand such as bunds and spill kits etc)
> 
> However....


It has to be safer than the glass bead filled thermoplastic yellow paint that was sprayed directly into that drain by the local authority!


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## Brockley

mistericeman said:


> There is a certain irony that folks are warning about littering by painting what's little more than legalised Graffiti on the ground....
> Around a gulley that is exactly where the chalk paint will end up going
> 
> Data sheet for one of the leading brands...
> 
> View attachment 100005
> Obviously the data sheet is referring to someone knocking the tin over (AND there will have been precautions on hand such as bunds and spill kits etc)
> 
> However....


It has to be safer than the glass bead filled thermoplastic yellow paint that was sprayed directly into that drain by the local authority!


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## Brockley

From the same data safety sheet 
15.2. Chemical safety assessment
No chemical safety assessment has been carried out.

I wouldn’t mind a can of this stuff, it’s basically chalk! I’d paint my brassica patch  it’s the right stuff to raise alkalinity in soil and bring it back from the acidic levels that tend to build up from repeated addition of animal manures. The older gardeners call it ‘sweetening the soil’.

You certainly can’t grow brassicas without it


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## Arnot

I live in Scotland and is is bigger than you think!  You can spend too much time driving.

My recommendation is to stay in the south and look at Kirkcudbright, Arran and the Campbeltown peninsula.  Oban too if time permits, then home via Glasgow and the M74.

That is a good mix.  Ferries, beaches, scenery, walking and history.


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## Alli B

Hi and welcome, enjoy your adventures. Scotland wild and beautiful. The park ups can be breath taking.


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## Robmac

Arnot said:


> I live in Scotland and is is bigger than you think!  You can spend too much time driving.
> 
> My recommendation is to stay in the south and look at Kirkcudbright, Arran and the Campbeltown peninsula.  Oban too if time permits, then home via Glasgow and the M74.
> 
> That is a good mix.  Ferries, beaches, scenery, walking and history.



I tend to head straight up from Bedfordshire to Applecross in one hit. It's 577 miles and takes about 12 hours with a stop for breakfast.

After a few days in Applecross I usually have a slow drive back with single night stops to see the rest of Scotland and Northern England.


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## Nabsim

Robmac said:


> I tend to head straight up from Bedfordshire to Applecross in one hit. It's 577 miles and takes about 12 hours with a stop for breakfast.
> 
> After a few days in Applecross I usually have a slow drive back with single night stops to see the rest of Scotland and Northern England.


Damn Rob that would be at least a six week trip for me, I don’t see the point in driving for long each day but I suppose it’s easier when you are retired


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## Tinapow

Try Avon skin so soft


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## Arnot

I do like Applecross but it is a long way and there are cool alternatives.


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## Hugin and Munin

GMJ said:


> Hello for west Wales.
> 
> We looked at Scotland for a trip in September but were put off by the thought of midges. Might be worth researching them and what you can do to reduce their effect on you.


'Smidge' is good and many people swear by Avon 'Skin-so-Soft'. if you find somewhere with a stiff breeze you should be ok, otherwise an army surplus flame-thrower is effective ;-D


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## Harryw

Not trying to be detrimental here; but I will say that going up and over to Applecross in a 7.5m? Motorhome may not be the best move unless you have experience of such roads with the size of vehicle… just saying.


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## jacquigem

It is certainly something to think about, we had our eyes opened on some stretches of the Pyranees recently.


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## Dan Gates

Arnot said:


> I live in Scotland and is is bigger than you think!  You can spend too much time driving.
> 
> My recommendation is to stay in the south and look at Kirkcudbright, Arran and the Campbeltown peninsula.  Oban too if time permits, then home via Glasgow and the M74.
> 
> That is a good mix.  Ferries, beaches, scenery, walking and history.


Thanks, we have previously done oban and all around that side so we are heading east coast this time, hopefully a bit quieter at the mo x


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## Dan Gates

hadrians wall, short version


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## Dan Gates

We finally made it, 2 weeks and 1 day or roaming and wild camping. Amazing memories!!


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## Robmac

And that's what it's all about.

Glad you have enjoyed it.


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## Dan Gates




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## Dan Gates

3 weeks, over 2000 miles and plenty of adventures!! Good fun was had by all.
Thank you to everyone who gave us some advice along the way. Scotland, you were amazing!!!!
The only disaster was an electric toothbrush falling in the toilet cassette


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