# Total Newbie - Beware might contain silly questions



## tdm900 (Nov 4, 2012)

After years of thinking and dreaming about it me and the missus have decided to give it a go.
Planning to hire a van for 2 weeks next June and visit Scotland first ideas are the Cairngorms and the West coast.  Thinking along the lines of a small 2/3 berth with a rear fixed bed.
Was hoping to do prehaps half/2 thirds wild camping the rest sites?

 So how easy is it to Wild camp in Scotland, amd do you hit mush hassle doing so - been reading through the guide on this site?
Plus any advice would be gratefully received.

Many Thanks
Graham


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## Lindy (Nov 4, 2012)

Hi I'm very new to this too! Not had any problems wildcamping in Scotlan. Have used car  parks at beaches in Ayrshire, on Skye and west side of Loch Lomond. One or two places had 'No overnight parking' signs but no one bothered me.  At Loch Lomond there were two other vans in the visitor centre car park , the police drove thru late on but did nothing. My understanding is that the prohibiting signs in Scotland have been successfully challenged and should be coming down. Enjoy your trip!


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## antiquesam (Nov 4, 2012)

Hi and welcome. No problem finding places to wild in Scotland, but if it is your first time in a m/h it may be a good idea to spend the first couple of days on a site, just to get familiar with the bits and bobs. The only real problem is finding water and emptying the toilet, but if you find a site every 3 or 4 days you shouldn't have a problem.:welcome::have fun:


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## jamesmarshall (Nov 4, 2012)

:welcome:


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## maingate (Nov 4, 2012)

If you are using a hire van as a taster for motorhoming (very sensible) then work out an itinerary and you will get a lot of help with wildcamping once you can be a bit more specific.

:welcome:


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## tdm900 (Nov 4, 2012)

Lindy said:


> Hi I'm very new to this too! Not had any problems wildcamping in Scotlan. Have used car  parks at beaches in Ayrshire, on Skye and west side of Loch Lomond. One or two places had 'No overnight parking' signs but no one bothered me.  At Loch Lomond there were two other vans in the visitor centre car park , the police drove thru late on but did nothing. My understanding is that the prohibiting signs in Scotland have been successfully challenged and should be coming down. Enjoy your trip!



|Thanks Lindy



antiquesam said:


> Hi and welcome. No problem finding places to wild in Scotland, but if it is your first time in a m/h it may be a good idea to spend the first couple of days on a site, just to get familiar with the bits and bobs. The only real problem is finding water and emptying the toilet, but if you find a site every 3 or 4 days you shouldn't have a problem.:welcome::have fun:



Thanks, that sounds a good idea



jamesmarshall said:


> :welcome:



Thank you



maingate said:


> If you are using a hire van as a taster for motorhoming (very sensible) then work out an itinerary and you will get a lot of help with wildcamping once you can be a bit more specific.
> 
> :welcome:



Thanks, I will.  We have really just taken the decision so very early in the planning stage.
So would you recomend a specfic itenerary because our original thought was to have a plan a good idea where we wanted to go but not be to detailed on it and just get as much info on places to stop (wild and sites)


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## maingate (Nov 4, 2012)

If you just give a general route or any specific must see spots, that should be sufficient.


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## tdm900 (Nov 4, 2012)

maingate said:


> If you just give a general route or any specific must see spots, that should be sufficient.




 :cheers:appreciate that, when we firm up a plan I will be doing that.:dance:

Getting excited all ready and havent hired a van yet


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## Somelier (Nov 4, 2012)

Make sure the driver and passenger seat swivel all the way round, so you have nice comfortable seats to sit on in the evenings.


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## ellisboy (Nov 4, 2012)

:welcome:


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## tdm900 (Nov 4, 2012)

Been having a look round Has anyone had dealings with Rennie Motorhomes Aberdeen?


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## tea007 (Nov 4, 2012)

*Midgies*



tdm900 said:


> After years of thinking and dreaming about it me and the missus have decided to give it a go.
> Planning to hire a van for 2 weeks next June and visit Scotland first ideas are the Cairngorms and the West coast.  Thinking along the lines of a small 2/3 berth with a rear fixed bed.
> Was hoping to do prehaps half/2 thirds wild camping the rest sites?
> 
> ...



I'm a jock that lives down south now
Stay to the coast and away from 
The woods 
Lots of great places on the north west coast 
Ullapool. Etc etc 
Any ? Answer 
Check out my pics uploaded called
Scotland pics July-Aug 2012 great places
Enjoy your road trip


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## wandering photographer (Nov 4, 2012)

Schools in Scotland break up in June so campsites get full earlier than in England so it's wise to book ahead.

We were in the Cairngorms last week and just paid for one night, wilding for the rest of it as there are loads of places to park up. The Rothiemurchus campsite lets you fill up and drop waste for £5 if you aren't staying there. The owner also said that the Highland Council has been challenged about there 'no overnight parking' rules in lay-bys being illegal so it is highly unlikely you would be moved on even if it states this.

Good luck and enjoy Scotland, we love it!


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## Robmac (Nov 5, 2012)

wandering photographer said:


> Schools in Scotland break up in June so campsites get full earlier than in England so it's wise to book ahead.
> 
> We were in the Cairngorms last week and just paid for one night, wilding for the rest of it as there are loads of places to park up. The Rothiemurchus campsite lets you fill up and drop waste for £5 if you aren't staying there. The owner also said that the Highland Council has been challenged about there 'no overnight parking' rules in lay-bys being illegal so it is highly unlikely you would be moved on even if it states this.
> 
> Good luck and enjoy Scotland, we love it!



Rothiemurchus (just outside Aviemore) have an area for 5 or 6 Motorhomes at the back of the site where you can stay for £8 if you do not require EHU. You still get full use of the rest of the facilities. Great place.


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## wandering photographer (Nov 6, 2012)

Robmac said:


> Rothiemurchus (just outside Aviemore) have an area for 5 or 6 Motorhomes at the back of the site where you can stay for £8 if you do not require EHU. You still get full use of the rest of the facilities. Great place.



Is this the car park at Loch-an-Eilein or do you mean at the campsite itself? We stayed there last week for 1 night and it cost £22.50 for 2 adults with electric in a not to big camper. I can't imagine they would let you stay for less than the price of a tent as everything about the Rothiemurchus estate is about making money, when was this price given? They do let you stay at the car park at Loch-an-Eilein for £10 per night and this gives you access to the disposal/top up at the campsite. But this is expensive when you can camp for free and only pay a fiver...


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## tdm900 (Nov 7, 2012)

First a massive thank you for all the help.

More questions now

The plan roughly is to the Cairngorms, head over to Skye then Applecross (not sure about going the pass of the cattle route mind you) and keep upo going the west coast.
So with all that in mind and never driven a motorhome before what size do you think I ought to consider 6m, 6.5m or 7m long?
   In real terms is there a lot of difference on the tight Scotish roads in driving a 6m or 7m van?

Thanks again


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## Deleted member 21686 (Nov 7, 2012)

Welcome to the site.


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## tdm900 (Nov 7, 2012)

Silly me double post


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## Firefox (Nov 7, 2012)

I'd go for the smaller van myself. A 6m van is quite adequate for 2 people. The biggest problem you have with the larger vans are turning round. When you go up a track in a larger van you are constantly thinking can I turn this round if needed. With a 5-6m van you are more car sized and can take advantage of more turning places.

The only thing is with hire firms is they are often based around the family holiday market and there tends to be much more of a selection of larger 4 berth coachbuilts than anything else.

Pass of the cattle is no big deal even in a larger van. Just take it slowly, there's a big drop on one side!


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## johnmac185 (Nov 7, 2012)

*Motorhome hire*



tdm900 said:


> Been having a look round Has anyone had dealings with Rennie Motorhomes Aberdeen?



Hi
don't know much about rennie's, but if you tell me where you are starting from i may be able to help you with a motorhome hire,  i take it you have other transport and intend picking up a motorhome enroute,,,John


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## tdm900 (Nov 7, 2012)

johnmac185 said:


> Hi
> don't know much about rennie's, but if you tell me where you are starting from i may be able to help you with a motorhome hire,  i take it you have other transport and intend picking up a motorhome enroute,,,John




We have a weekend booked in Edinburgh Friday ( we are driving up in the car from Oxfordshire) 14 th June to 17th June so we are planning the 2 weeks before or after this date.  Pick up point anywhere around Edinburgh , the Carigorms or between these place and the west coast.  Pretty flexiable really


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