Wildcamping How To Guide 2012

Advice on Campervan/Motorhome Wild Camping In Scotland

Hopefully this is useful... it's the advice we give to our customers when they hire campervans from us. (Big Tree Campervans)



A campervan or motorhome holiday is a great way to explore the vast, rich and varied natural beauty of Scotland. There are plenty of fantastic campsites spread all over Scotland which provide great bases from which to explore.

There are also lots of opportunities to ‘camp wild’ with your campervan. You’ll never find an approved list of these places, as that would direct too many people to the same site and ruin it very quickly. As there are an increasing number of people wanting to enjoy this way of experiencing Scotland, it is important to follow the simple, and common sense guidance below.

In doing so, you’ll hopefully enjoy ‘camping wild’ on your campervan trip, and help support a sustainable way of experiencing Scotland.... and we will all be able to enjoy the freedom of camping wild for many years to come.

Access Rights
Scotland is rightly very proud of its access rights; however when you are looking for places to ‘camp wild’ in a campervan or motorhome, it is important to bear in mind the following key points:
• Scottish access rights and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code don’t apply to motor vehicles.
• The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that you can drive a vehicle up to 15 yards off a public road for the purpose of parking, but this does not confer any right to park the vehicle. Most un-metalled roads, unfenced land and beaches are private property, and you don’t have a right to park unless it’s authorised by the landowner by verbal agreement or signage.
• In practice, informal off-road parking takes place in many parts of rural Scotland, often in well-established places, without causing undue concern.
• Some communities (eg Calgary Bay on Mull, and the whole island of Tiree) have established their own guidance for campervans and the use of designated overnight parking spaces... if you’re in such a place, follow the guidance!

Common Sense Guidance – Do:
• Use common sense and think whether the spot you have found is suitable for a vehicle.
• Think about the cumulative effect of camping in the ‘fantastic secret place which I’m sure no-one else has ever been’...it is very likely that others will use the same spot, not just you!
• Take great care to avoid fragile ground/sensitive habitats, (eg wild flower rich machair on the Western Isles) - never drive down to beaches or onto grass verges as it destroys the habitat.
• Avoid overcrowding. If another vehicle is parked in a secluded spot - try not to park right next to them and find your own spot elsewhere.
• Use only biodegradable detergents and drain kitchen waste water tanks in campsites at designated areas. If it has to be emptied in the wild, keep away from water courses and be aware that animals will be attracted to the scent.
• Carry a trowel to bury any human waste and urinate well away from open water, rivers and burns. Toilet paper should be bagged and taken away by you – not buried (animals dig it up).
• Do a full ‘litter-pick’ before you leave, taking all of your rubbish, and any you found there already, and disposing of it properly when you’re back in ‘civilisation’.
• Support a sustainable tourism industry – buy groceries in local shops.

Common Sense Guidance – Don’t:
• Park in areas where signs state 'no overnight parking'.
• Park overnight within sight of people's houses, even in car park bays.
• Block access tracks to estates and fields.
• Light BBQs or fires unless it is safe to do so, and you can supervise it properly. They should be fully extinguished when finished and no evidence left behind.
• Empty any chemical toilet waste anywhere other than at a designated chemical waste area. Most campsites have facilities for the emptying of a cassette toilet. Most public toilets are not suitable places to empty chemical toilets as it upsets the sewage treatment process.
 
Clothing: Keeping it all tidy.

After having our van for five years we find we are still trying to improve storage. Our latest idea is to keep all small items of clothing in separate bags.We put undies,socks,handkerchiefs,hats and gloves,cycle stuff etc in separate small bags with pull ties.These then go in the overhead lockers with any folded cloths that are not in the larger hanging cupboard. This keeps all these small items tidy and in one place, they are then easy to get at without rummaging through everything in the locker.Try it it works for us.
 
mariesnowgoose said:
I'll take my chances :lol-049:

That's definitely one for the individual to make their own mind up about ;)

I suppose if we're going to suggest ways that nervous wildcampers can protect themselves and their campervans while out and about they'll have to be within the law.

Technically, your campervan is your home on wheels. It seems to make sense to me that the same rules used for the protection of your bricks and mortar abode would apply.

Would I be correct? :)
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As a mechanic my advise to anyone is to keep a length of steel pipe that fits around your wheel brace handle to help remove tight wheel nuts. Not a lot of people realise that wheel nuts may tighten up above the torque setting used on fitting especially on ally wheels due to heat and corrosion. It comes in handy for other uses too?
 
Polar Bear said:
As a mechanic my advise to anyone is to keep a length of steel pipe that fits around your wheel brace handle to help remove tight wheel nuts. Not a lot of people realise that wheel nuts may tighten up above the torque setting used on fitting especially on ally wheels due to heat and corrosion. It comes in handy for other uses too?
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Or use a torch
 
Polar Bear said:
As a mechanic my advise to anyone is to keep a length of steel pipe that fits around your wheel brace handle to help remove tight wheel nuts. Not a lot of people realise that wheel nuts may tighten up above the torque setting used on fitting especially on ally wheels due to heat and corrosion. It comes in handy for other uses too?
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We need to be careful here baseball bats, wheel braces, steel pipes, yes all can be carried legitimately, but the obvious implication being made are these are items that can be on hand to protect you.

First of all, protection from whom? How many on here have had a vehicle broken into unattended? I'll start us off, I have. Now how many of us have been set upon in our vehicles? I'm not saying it hasn't happened but I would imagine the number is very low.

Bear this in mind, if someone wishes to rob you or do you harm whilst in your motorhome or van and they do it without knowing who they are targeting then they are desperate or crazy and a piece of pipe may not deter them. If they do know who they are targeting then they know what your response is likely to be. The majority of criminals will target the soft option, in our case, an unattended vehicle.

Something else to really consider, what are you going to do with that steel pipe? Do you really have what it takes to wrap it around someone's head? Easier to say and write about than to actually do, and what are the chances that the pipe could be taken from you and used against you? Lots of different factors to consider before getting that far I know, but if you have that steel pipe in your vehicle and one of its purposes in your head is to afford you protection then you seriously have to consider what you will do with it if the time should come. Internet bravado won't cut it then.

That last paragraph said, I really don't believe the threat is that big. Most people have good instincts and make their decisons accordingly.
 
SteveM said:
We need to be careful here baseball bats, wheel braces, steel pipes, yes all can be carried legitimately, but the obvious implication being made are these are items that can be on hand to protect you.

First of all, protection from whom? How many on here have had a vehicle broken into unattended? I'll start us off, I have. Now how many of us have been set upon in our vehicles? I'm not saying it hasn't happened but I would imagine the number is very low.

Bear this in mind, if someone wishes to rob you or do you harm whilst in your motorhome or van and they do it without knowing who they are targeting then they are desperate or crazy and a piece of pipe may not deter them. If they do know who they are targeting then they know what your response is likely to be. The majority of criminals will target the soft option, in our case, an unattended veh

That last paragraph said, I really don't believe the threat is that big. Most people have good instincts and make their decisons accordingly.
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not a lot of use when you've been GASSED .:danger::lol-061::lol-061:STAN
 
Does anyone know when all this info will be collated?
Karen
 
Pocket knife

So on a bit back someone mentioned that this disable guy was charged for carrying a Swiss pocket knife. Question??? What should I do to my Kitchen knifes??Can I carry them on the van our do I need to buy fast food all the time?? Oh maybe just reap a chunk of :rabbit: with my teeth in the good old manner of a caveman :lol-053:
 
Whilst in the van the other day I needed to charge the I Pad. I put it in the 'van' 12 volt socket and it came back 'not charging' this told me my battery was bellow 12.5 volts and needed charging up.


So the tip is.

You can use an I Pad to find out if your battery needs charging.
 
A day out.

Yesterday was so nice, I decided to have a day out. Went along the Solway and eventually found this small lay-bye on a very quiet road, 6ish miles south of Dumfries:-
a2 (2).jpg a2 (1).jpg The view overlooks the river Nith which feeds int the Solway.

Don't know if this is wild spot, but I would certainly overnight here, and there is another lay-bye about half a mile north. Tom Tom says its ere, N54* 59.538' W3* 34.087' (degrees and minutes)
 
Fire

Learn at least 5 way to start a fire, You never know it may just save your life.

Matches ( waterproof), lighter, magnifing glass, friction, ice, water + clear plastic sheet, sparkplugs/petrol ( spining the engine over , flint, steel,.
 
Wipe your dirty dishes and pans with kitchen roll before washing up, it will save your grey tank swilling smelly but of food around. ESpecially if you,ve cooked eggs, nothing worse.

Lesley
 
Buy a bigger van, your going to need it to carry all the equipment listed on this thread.:giggle:
 
Captain Biggles said:
When parking in an exposed position for instance, right next to the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point in Knoydart, West Scotland facing out onto an idyllic sunset over the North Atlantic beware, check the Met.Office web site on your laptop/iPad/Smartphone for any 'Gale Warnings' in the vicinity, before you go to bed. Having to reverse onto a narrow track at 04:15 am on a dark wind-swept night when the rain is coming down in stair-rods and not remembering what was behind when you parked, is no laughing matter believe me, be warned! :sad:
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Reading this made me smile, done that, read the book, seen the film on Mull.
 
vwalan said:
yet for years the place per population you had the greatest chance of being murdered was bodmin in cornwall . not london ,birmingham etc . in uk .so that cancels that.
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Sorry but I would take Bodmin every time.
 
bigbarry said:
Never though of this, but made me laugh
Don't park in a dogging car park unless you're a dogger.:lol-053:

Seriously, someone knocked on my window in Llandullas and told me just that. Anyway, I stayed the night with interest expecting to be woken up by hundreds of people. Nothing happened. In fact we had a very quiet and peaceful night. I guessed later, that he was probably the owner of the adjacent caravan site trying to scaremonger.
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Whilst in a french lay-by one lunchtime, a white van in front of us was parked up with a wooden step outside the passenger door.
After a few minutes a car pulled up behind us and the male driver got out and walked past us towards the white van, he was eyeing us up and down as he went passed. He approached the drivers side of the white van and spoke to the occupant but kept looking back towards us. After about a minute he walked back to his car eyeballing us again as he went. He got into his car and roared off very fast still looking our way as he went passed.
On our departure, having enjoyed our lunch, I happened to look into the front of the white van as we passed, and there was a very attractive young woman.
 
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table9tom said:
On behalf of everyone in the Llay area, apologies. If you happen to be in the area again, call in to the Royal British Legion. It backs onto the park you mention, has a huge car park that's nearly flat ish, has overnighht cctv, and is very accommodating to campers. Cos I run it. Just call in and let me or my staff know if you want to stop over, and if your thirsty I'd be grateful if you bought a drink.
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Or just head over to Gresford, it's much nicer. ;)
Happy to know that the Royal British Legion is accommodating, I'll be sure to drop in when passing.

Wild Camping tip: Did you know that a condom will carry something like 23 Litres of water and don't take up that much room? (tip from the army).
 
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