# Some advice would be great please.



## BigBird (Oct 8, 2012)

Hi there my husband has been desperate to try wild camping in a campervan so I decided to buy a 4 day trip for his birthday.  We are heading to the north of Scotland up through Inverness to John o'groats and back down through fort William and Oban.

We have never done anything like this before so any recommendations on what to take and wild camping sites to stay over would be great. 

Would be good to get some places to shower but know at the time of year there will be a lot of sites closed so other suggestions would help? 

Thanks for all your advice in advance.


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## mariesnowgoose (Oct 8, 2012)

Hello BigBird and welcome 

I've never been to Scotland wildcamping so can't help there.
However, the POI list you get when you become a full member gives you access to information on loads of places to stay, including Scotland.
You can download it to your satnav, iPad, mobile phone etc. etc. It's a pretty nifty piece of kit and well worth the membership fee of £20. Pays for itself in a split second, and very easy to use. 

We'll be using it if we get the chance to head north of the border.

Good luck with your trip and enjoy!


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## kimbowbill (Oct 8, 2012)

I will second that what Marie has said, it couldn't have managed with some places without the POI's

welcome to the forum and have fun travelling :wave:


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## Hobbsy (Oct 8, 2012)

It's well worth subscribing, you will save the costs in one nights wilding. I can't recommend the site or wcamping enough...and lock lohmond has a great wild spot, I stayed there twice me


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## lotty (Oct 8, 2012)

Hi and welcome to the site. Scotland is quite a good place for wilding, lots of quiet laybys. 
If you havnt got a shower on board then places like swimming baths, leisure centres could be worth a try? There is a thread about finding such places if you have a search. 
It may be worth joining the caravan and camping club as if you are a member you can go to any of their sites and use the facilities for a small fee.  
Good luck and enjoy your trip. 
:wave:


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## ellisboy (Oct 8, 2012)

:welcome: Bigbird!  :have fun:


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## Wind Dancer (Oct 8, 2012)

POI (points of interest) list is useful as you can see in advanced where to head for.  However Scotland has oodles of places that you can stop at overnight, so it'll be easy to find your own.

As for what to take, make sure you have spare rations and keep your fuel tank topped up, as supplies can be spars up there.  If there is a shower on board go ahead and use that, they are actually very good (just make sure you have enough water).

If you search through the site there are lots of threads on this forum with more of the info you're after.

Anyway good luck, and I'm sure you'll love it and be wanting your own camper for Christmas  :fun:

:camper:


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## lotusanne (Oct 8, 2012)

When exactly are you thinking of going?  I was talking to someone at the meet this weekend and just cant think who it was, but they were saying its not advisable to go too far North too late on in the year as roads can be impassable.  It sounds like quite a long way for 4 nights, are you open to options?


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## maingate (Oct 8, 2012)

I would not bother paying £20 just for 4 nights wilding.

Where are you starting from Bigbird? I am sure that we can give you some spots to use. You can pay for the POI's when you get your own campervan.

Scotland is a fairly big place and you do not want to spend all day driving and not really seeing the sights. The members on here will give you good advice. I suspect that your camper will have all mod cons (unless it is an old VW). 

Give the members some details to work with and their help will be enormous.


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## wattsy280 (Oct 8, 2012)

Hi there. 
We stay in Aberdeenshire and regularly travel 'up North' so give us a shout if I can help with anything specific, route-wise. 

 As far as weather and roads go, we are OK just now, although the Cairngorms has a dusting of snow! If you have a smartphone or tablet get the Traveline Scotland app its free and has great updates on road conditions/ closures/ accidents if you venture up here..

Enjoy your travels!


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## Smaug (Oct 8, 2012)

BigBird said:


> Hi there my husband has been desperate to try wild camping in a campervan so I decided to buy a 4 day trip for his birthday.  We are heading to the north of Scotland up through Inverness to John o'groats and back down through fort William and Oban.
> 
> We have never done anything like this before so any recommendations on what to take and wild camping sites to stay over would be great.
> 
> ...



Thats a big itinerary for 4 days, especially at this time of year when the days are short. Do you really need to do so much driving? There are thousands of quiet places to pull off the road in Scotland & often with superb views. The narrower the road the better the chance of a lovely spot to stay. 

You don't need the site lists off here, just travel slowly & enjoy the scenery & pick a place to stop in the early evening/ late afternoon before it goes dark & you can't see anything! Read a few touristy books so you have an idea of what to visit & what to skip over. You may find that the odd hotel may let you have a bath before a meal if you ask nicely. There could be a charge, of course, but you would feel a million dollars in the restaurant!


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## BigBird (Oct 8, 2012)

lotusanne said:


> When exactly are you thinking of going?  I was talking to someone at the meet this weekend and just cant think who it was, but they were saying its not advisable to go too far North too late on in the year as roads can be impassable.  It sounds like quite a long way for 4 nights, are you open to options?



Hi there mid November.  It's about 4/5 hours travelling per day I think! Definitely open to suggestions.

Thank you


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## BigBird (Oct 8, 2012)

maingate said:


> I would not bother paying £20 just for 4 nights wilding.
> 
> Where are you starting from Bigbird? I am sure that we can give you some spots to use. You can pay for the POI's when you get your own campervan.
> 
> ...



Hi there we are starting from Perth so fairly central Scotland. We would like to get up to John o'groats but other than that very open to anything else we do. Just looking to take in some nice scenery and relax with the dogs. Any suggestions would be a fantastic help.:dance:


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## Rubbertramp (Oct 8, 2012)

It's very easy to wildcamp in the north of Scotland, if you take the coastal routes up toward the far Northwest you just come across them.
This is a very handy place for a shower.........   Home........  in Lochinver.
Also if you go to the harbour master's office in Kinlochbervie you can shower and do your laundry there.  kinlochbervie - Google Maps


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## maingate (Oct 8, 2012)

If you do as Runnach suggests, stop for a break at the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge. Just a bit further on towards Fort William, is the Ben Nevis Range activity centre. It has a huge parking area to overnight in. We stayed there a couple of weeks ago, it is ideal for shelter in a full blown gale. There is a long term car park in Ft. William between Morrisons and Lidl with dedicated bays for motorhomes and caravans. I think it was £1.50 for all day parking (but no overnighting).

My personal view of John O'Groats is that it is a long haul with not a big result when you get there. Leave it for another time.


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## BigBird (Nov 11, 2012)

wattsy280 said:


> Hi there.
> We stay in Aberdeenshire and regularly travel 'up North' so give us a shout if I can help with anything specific, route-wise.
> 
> As far as weather and roads go, we are OK just now, although the Cairngorms has a dusting of snow! If you have a smartphone or tablet get the Traveline Scotland app its free and has great updates on road conditions/ closures/ accidents if you venture up here..
> ...



Hi there we are leaving this week how's the weather holding up, up north now?

I've downloaded the app thanks for that.

K


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