Advice on where to go :)

Spooki

Guest
We are first time campervanists (?) and live in Sunderland. We have got nearly 3 weeks off work from next weekend and would love some advice on where to go please.

The van is fully equipped for wilding, so we thought a couple of days wilding and then maybe staying overnight at a park just to get clean and stock up on water, then off wilding again. :D

I would love to have your thoughts on where to go as we can go North, South. East or West.

Any suggestions on where to go or your favourite places to go wilding? I have a week to loosely plan our route and would really appreciate your advice, comments and suggestions :)
 
Hi Spooki - welcome to the site, if you want all the wild camping places available on this site you need to be become a site a supporter. All you have to do is click the link in the top right corner and follow the instructions. Enjoy your wild camping - England - Scotland or Wales.
 
I always thought the uk was in europe !

answer , looking at where you live , as has already been said ..at this time of year ...scotland

less time driving , more time hanging loose
 
I live just down the road for you near Richmond and this is what I would do.

Over to the Lakes for a few nights, say top of the Newlands pass or around Buttermere or if you want a boozy night one of the pubs in pooley Bridge (Ullswater)

Up the west coast of Scotland, Isle of Arran getting the Ardrosson to Brodick ferry (loads of wilding there) Spend a few days or maybe a week there then get the ferry from Lochranza to Claonaig and Tarbert area around the Mull of Kintyre then head up the coast and maybe do another Island, perhaps Mull or Islay / Jura

Or

Get further up the west coast of Scotland and to the hebridian islands such as Barra, Uists, Benbecula, Harris and Lewis

or

Just stay on the mainland and go up to Applecross. Westeross area

Or if you really want an adventure, go up to Aberdeen, get the ferry to Shetland (12 hrs) spend a week or so touring around there and across to the other islands (cheap inter island ferries), come back via the Orkney islands (6hrs) and spend another week there and then get the ferry from St Margarets Hope on Orkney to Gills Bay (1hr) at the top of Scotland near John O Groats and spend the remaining time working your way back through Scotland and home.

Best chance of good weather, Isle of Arran but you could be lucky or unlucky at any of those places, Sheltand and ORkney however will always be cooler.

Cheers
BD
 
Hi spooki,

If I were you, I would head up the East coast of Scotland to avoid the millions of midges and thousands of motorhomes. When you get to the top, turn left and go along the top.

That is a trip we are planning in September (as soon as the kids are back at school. It should be quieter then.)
 
maingate said:
Hi spooki,

If I were you, I would head up the East coast of Scotland to avoid the millions of midges and thousands of motorhomes. When you get to the top, turn left and go along the top.

That is a trip we are planning in September (as soon as the kids are back at school. It should be quieter then.)
Click to expand...

I think we are going to go to the lakes and then up the West coast of Scotland, only because I used to live in Aberdeen so I know the East coast quite well. I will have to stock up on garlic to eat as this seems to stop the midges devouring me!!

Thanks for the really good info Barry, We are going to go with the West coast idea and hopefully find some spots where we can chill out, if not then all we need to do is drive :D ( I love the idea of freedom!)
 
Welcome Spooki :)

This isn't a sales pitch - honest - but if you sign up as a Site Supporter you can download files from the Wildcamping Map & POI forum that will make your trip easier and more enjoyable.

There's around 1500 wild camping spots and pub stopovers listed for England, Wales and Scotland - and the majority are in Scotland.

The files contain Google Earth mapping data, and satnav POI files.

These wild camping spots are contributed by Wild Camping members, and you can help after your trip by telling us about new spots that you find, and with updates on the existing spots.

Have a great holiday, and I know you'll enjoy 'wilding'.

Regards

Chris
 
maingate said:
Hi spooki,

If I were you, I would head up the East coast of Scotland to avoid the millions of midges and thousands of motorhomes. When you get to the top, turn left and go along the top.

That is a trip we are planning in September (as soon as the kids are back at school. It should be quieter then.)
Click to expand...

Sorry maingate and Spookie but I wouldn't do the east coast of scotland. We did it from yorkshire up to Arbroath and beyond: the smokies were lovelly :) - at £9:00 a pair:mad: but the scenery and places to wild camp were restricted. A lot of it looked like an industrial estate and when we could get to the coast it was restricted by 7'' bridges! We tried to be optimistic but were beaten by the need to have some kind of interaction.
We have been told since, that the west coast is by far the best. Golden beaches, hidden retreats and no hassle - however, if you enjoy the odd seaside arcade or a shop to buy something then maybe you need to prepare yourself and buy your supplies beforehand and take your DS with you.
If you plan to go further than we did, then good luck, and I'm sure it may get better. Take the main A road but see if anyone has anything good to say and recommend before doing it.
We actually drove back to Malvern within one day and enjoyed the Motorhome show. Have to add: Burnham on sea is not good either!!
 
Hi Wilthebeast,

We have already done the West Coast this year. We went up before Easter when the roads were empty. The snow on the hills made it look even better than in the Summer.

We have a winterised van and had no problems. In fact for a couple of days, I was wandering about in a T-shirt while the snow was falling thick and fast further South. We will do the same again next year.

Another advantage was that we could park where it said no overnighting (not official Council signs) and nobody gave a damn. In fact the locals encouraged us to do it. They said nobody would bother. It will not be like that at this time of year.

We had bother with the exhaust on the van and as it is not a standard one, we cut our trip short. Otherwise we could have been up there for weeks.:D

Thanks for the info though. I will have to use Google Earth to check in advance.
 
3 days to go!!!
I am ridiculously excited aout the trip :D

We have decided to go to the lakes and then up the West coast of Scotland, I have also bought the spray from Avon, as recommended by others to get rid of Midges, so I will see if that works too.

I am going to try and get Thursday off work because there is just so much to organise.

Do you guys still get really excited when you are going away for a few weeks even if you have done it before ?? :)
 
hi spookie . yes we get exited when we are going away. you want to try and get to a meet at some time weve met some great friends since we changed to a motot home.hope you have a safe journey
 
Yes we get excited but I tend to relax more once I have got to say Scotland or France or whereever I am heading for. Our trips usually involve a long drive in the UK on the first day which is a bit of a chore. The big downside for me is coming home. The longer you are away the harder it is to come back. For me anyway. Last summer it was three months in Europe and this spring two and both times I sat in the queue at Calais and almost cried!

Hope you have a super time!
 
Hi spookie
i think that you will get excited even if you go away for just a night,
as soon as you get in your van and pull out of your street your blood pressure goes down and you feel at ease.
enjoy your hols
Regards keith&wendy
 
Well tonight we actually finished all the little jobs that were left to do on the bus. So tomorrow I will pack it ready for us to go. I am going to be excited all day!!

Instead of a TV we have bought a mini projector and a blackout blind, I have to say it is fab! Much cheaper than a TV too. Its an LED one so it takes very little power to run and its like having our own little cinema on wheels, so if the weather is a bit rainy or if we fancy an early night we can now watch it on a 50 inch screen!!!! Bonus!! It all just adds to my excitment :D :D
 
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