Scotland - First Timer (Looking for advice)

high5rf

Guest
Hi everyone,

Firstly - this looks like a great and informative site. I've been doing lots of reading, but thought it was about time to register and ask a couple of questions.

About me; I have had a campervan in the past, but never been to Scotland. This time, we have a MoHo to use, and would like to go for 10 days (from mid September).

We have identified Loch Lomond/Oban/Mull as areas we are keen/interested to visit throughout the 10 days.

I have been doing quite a lot of research and I have read posts saying that we MUST book each site, well in advance.
Others say, head North, pitch up where sensible and use common sense. Maybe book a site a day or three in advance if planning on visiting any of the Isles.

So - I am just interest in your comments and thoughts about visiting Scotland at the moment? I am looking at booking an NPA site for the first two nights at Loch Lomond - to take the stress out of finding somewhere right at the start.

But from there, we were going to plan to just take each day as it comes. Park up, enjoy long walks. Find somewhere sensible to bed down for the night and eat/drink locally wherever possible to support the community.

Open to any and all advice.

Many thanks!
 
First there are plenty of rural locations were you plan to visit you should have no problems finding a place to stay. But I would avoid being to near to towns and villages for now, due to what’s going on. Fidden farm in phionphort in mull is worth a visit. You get the ferry for Iona there, and a sailing to Staffas fingals cave is highly recommend.
My last piece of advice, become a full member and get access to the poi’s, and other benefits.
 
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Thank you - I'd like to stay away from the larger campsites if possible, but understand that might not be possible.

I'm very keen to stay in 'rural' locations - with a view of the loch, great walks, etc. As a first time, I am not entirely sure what to expect.

Thanks for the tips - I will definitely look into the benefit of the POIs - I assume this has things like fresh water/motorhome friendly overnight stops etc?

Final thing - supplies. Am I best to pack meat/food or are there local butchers etc around Loch Lomond that I can stock up on early in my trip?
 
high5rf said:
Thank you - I'd like to stay away from the larger campsites if possible, but understand that might not be possible.

I'm very keen to stay in 'rural' locations - with a view of the loch, great walks, etc. As a first time, I am not entirely sure what to expect.

Thanks for the tips - I will definitely look into the benefit of the POIs - I assume this has things like fresh water/motorhome friendly overnight stops etc?

Final thing - supplies. Am I best to pack meat/food or are there local butchers etc around Loch Lomond that I can stock up on early in my trip?
Click to expand...
POI's (location app) is very good. Cant help with local info unfortunately. Sounds like you've got your head screwed on and will have a great trip.

Best wishes
 
high5rf said:
Thank you - I'd like to stay away from the larger campsites if possible, but understand that might not be possible.

I'm very keen to stay in 'rural' locations - with a view of the loch, great walks, etc. As a first time, I am not entirely sure what to expect.

Thanks for the tips - I will definitely look into the benefit of the POIs - I assume this has things like fresh water/motorhome friendly overnight stops etc?

Final thing - supplies. Am I best to pack meat/food or are there local butchers etc around Loch Lomond that I can stock up on early in my trip?
Click to expand...

There are shops in Balloch to the south of the Loch, but only small stores elsewhere. I would carry what you can before travelling.
Heres a lost of what’s on offer in the pois.

2EA54805-A99B-4CD2-A296-0A4C92CCA8A9.png
 
In normal times there is no need to book in advance in September,. If you want to make sure you have somewhere to stay then ring up in the morning, don't book too far in advance.
Make sure you have plenty of tinned /packet food with you including part baked bread then you will never be stuck without something to eat if you don't find a butchers ot supermarket.
 
Thanks everyone for the very useful information.

The POI app looks very useful indeed. I think I will subscribe to get access to it.

Buying local, from farm shops etc is very much on our list of things to do. We like eating local and support local communities. Just unsure how remote the areas we are looking to visit will be - they seem fairly "safe" travel areas so shouldn't be hard to come by shops to stock up for a couple of days at a time.

We are going to book our first night at Loch Lomond as we won't be arriving until relatively late at night (9pm-ish). From there, we are going to stay in the same area or head somewhere new - hence the reason we won't be booking in advance.

I hope not booking works out for us, particularly for staying on Isle of Mull.

Thanks again for the tips.
 
runnach said:
Hello, my 2 pence worth. At Tyndrum I would stick to the A82 through Glencoe and using the Corran ferry, which is south of Fort William, cross over onto Morven Peninsula. https://www.highland.gov.uk/corranferry Once over take the lovely drive down to Lochaline.

From Lochaline you cross over to Mull landing at Fishnish. the beauty of this crossing is, you do not have to book a space on ferry, and ferry runs frequently https://www.calmac.co.uk/lochaline-fishnish-mull-ferry-temporary-timetable once on Mull, you can chose which way you wish drive around the island. Tobermory campsite is good, and a short walk into Tob itself. https://www.tobermory-campsite.co.uk/

As mentioned by Fisherman, there is Fidden Farm campsite at Fionnphort, with the passenger ferry crossing over to Iona, lovely island to walk around. Also, the Creel Row pub is great for food and a pint, or three!

From there, there are many roads on your right, which take you to pretty awesome beaches, but DO NOT take the Carsaig road if driving anything larger than a VW T5!

You could take ferry from Craigure back to Oban, at Craignure there is this campsite https://shielingholidays.co.uk/camping site is a stones throw from ferry port. Or carry on back to Finnish, plenty choice.

Cheers............
Click to expand...

We have a 7m motorhome, so will be in something a little larger than a T5. Looking at Mull, as long as I stick to the outer roads along the coasts, I should be fine.

Your itinerary sounds really great - just the sort of places we are looking to visit. Is there a reason you would do it that way round? I was thinking of heading to Oban from Loch Lomond and going counter clockwise (so to speak).

So Loch Lomond - Oban - Mull and round to Glen Coe and back down. You suggest doing it the other way. Are there any pros or cons? I guess it will all depend on availability when we ring up to book the day before...
 
just quickly, i was on mull in late july, and fidden farm was closed. i stayed here -

goo.gl

56°26'53.1"N 6°04'23.0"W · B8035, Isle of Mull

B8035, Isle of Mull
goo.gl goo.gl

it was free and there were eagles circling overhead. it was midge free also being on the coast.

there is also an official wild camping spot at calgary bay, however the entrance to the parking is super tight.

from there cross from tobermory and up to glenfinnan to see the steam train.

stock up in oban, tobermory and fort william.

thats what i did, well worth it and would do again,
 
Thanks robertcatc - useful information. How long did you go for? Did you just book as you went, or did you have to pre-book?

We are happy to just get to Loch Lomond for a night or two and decide what to do from there, without thinking too far ahead.
 
I would definately avoid the Rest and Be Thankful route, even IF the old military road is open, it's a PITA.
if taking the A82 be careful past Tarbert....... road gets narrow & twisty..... I've lost 2 side mirrors there.( 7m van)
after that it's plain sailing up through Glen Coe.
hope the weather treats you kindly.
 
robertcatc said:
just quickly, i was on mull in late july, and fidden farm was closed. i stayed here -

goo.gl

56°26'53.1"N 6°04'23.0"W · B8035, Isle of Mull

B8035, Isle of Mull
goo.gl goo.gl

it was free and there were eagles circling overhead. it was midge free also being on the coast.

there is also an official wild camping spot at calgary bay, however the entrance to the parking is super tight.

from there cross from tobermory and up to glenfinnan to see the steam train.

stock up in oban, tobermory and fort william.

thats what i did, well worth it and would do again,
Click to expand...

That looks like the starting point for Ben More the islands only Munro.
It can get busy with hill walkers, and be careful when parking on the grass.
we witnessed a Motorhome stuck there three years ago.
Also if you are driving a large Motorhome I would be careful if continuing towards phionphort along that road. I would head back towards Killiecrankie and the road to Tobermory. But as Robert stated it’s a great spot, and if you fancy doing the champagne summit of Ben more you are ready to go. You may be asking why it’s called the champagne summit. Well many Munro baggers make it their last Munro and have a wee drop at the summit. Look out for the champagne corks if you head up there.
 
high5rf said:
Thanks robertcatc - useful information. How long did you go for? Did you just book as you went, or did you have to pre-book?

We are happy to just get to Loch Lomond for a night or two and decide what to do from there, without thinking too far ahead.
Click to expand...

i only spent 2 days on mull, could have been a week easily. i booked the ferry from oban, that was it. all the campsites were closed, so i had to wild camp. to be honest, i stayed a night in a layby in the trossachs, out of nesessity, from there on, the scenery was magnificent. afrter oban we just drifted about really. most relaxing.
 
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