Wilding in Scotland

[Boppintone]

Just got home from 3 weeks touring the west coast of Scotland and sorry to say found it very disapointing in respect of Wilding, so much so that we ended up spending 13 nights on C&C Club sites thanks to the age concession rates. The main problem seems to be the dreaded no overnight parking /camping signs, there must be quite a few members on here who just throw caution to the wind and ignore these signs, something I am not prepared to do. however on my last few nights whilst touring around Speyside on my scooter I noticed a few new signs saying (No Unatended Parking) so I assume overnighting in these spots is ok as long as you dont go walkabout, so I wonder if the Scottish Councils are having a re-think on the matter. To anyone who wonders where I was when unable to find many wild sites I was mainly in the Highland region up to and including Wester Ross, I found some really great places to Wild but unfortunately didnt dare for fear of getting some kind of penalty, I did however manage to wild it for 6 nights in some great spots with no problems at all.

Tone

 

[hillwalker]

where were u in scotland, as i have camped wild in alot of places, and i must add no carparks involved , and had no hassle about camping whatsoever.. scotland is a great wild camping area.....

 

[Yogihughes]

Must agree with Hilly.
My first ever trip in the motorhome (Oct '07) was up in that area and I didn't use a campsite on the west coast but had 3 nights in different locations and only went to an official campsite because I went to Inverness to meet someone there.

 

[lenny]

Thanks to Hilly and New Rover, I thought it was going to be another case of "more bad news"...

Phew!!

 

[t&s]

we are off up there next week i hope we are not dissapointed we have been given lists of wild places to stop and will be using any that are on our route of which we are not sure we are just going as far north as fort william on a round trip west to east as long as it dosent rain ime sure we will enjoy
can any one recomend any cycle paths along cannals or lakes that have not got hills as we dont do hills,

 

[shortcircuit]

Only one lake in Scotland, the rest are Lochs. I stand to be corrected, but only 4 canals. Plenty mountains with super views.

 

[Yogihughes]

t&s, if you are going to Fort William via the A82 from Loch Lomond then take it easy on some of those bends. The road between Tarbet and Crianlarich especially Glen Falloch is quite hairy. (Well I thought so.)
I've only done this road once, that was Fort William to Glasgow, and I was glad when I got onto the main road again at Tarbet.
You may find it Exhilirating!!!!

 

[sundown]

Just got home from 3 weeks touring the west coast of Scotland and sorry to say found it very disapointing in respect of Wilding,
Tone

I'm really puzzled with this statement as I believe Scotland abounds
with some great wild camping spots
maybe, getting off the beaten track is the answer
as I like to get away from towns etc.
I don't like the idea of car-parks or lay-by's

PS. before I joined this site, I had never heard
of the term "wilding",
whether with tent or camper,
I just considered it camping.

glad to see you found some good spots eventually

 

[Boppintone]

where were u in scotland, as i have camped wild in alot of places, and i must add no carparks involved , and had no hassle about camping whatsoever.. scotland is a great wild camping area.....

Hi Hilly
Without going into great detail obout my route I started out around Loch Lomond then sort of tried to follow roughly the coast, I went by Loch Long, Loch Fyne as far as Lochgilphead then up towards Oban- Fortwilliam, Malaig, ferry to Skye, (found one on Skye) then back onto the mainland and toured extensively all over Wester-Ross travelling many miles to remote spots I had read about only to find the dreaded no overnight signs, for instance (Mellon Charles, Mellon Udrigle) beautifull spots but it seamed everywhere I went I was thwarted, and I will add here that I was always an expert at finding places to park up for the night, I was a long distance trucker for 44 years even back before the days of sleeper cabs I slept in trucks (furniture vans in the back of ) and Scotland have always had these signs especially in the highlands, but not as prolific as they are now. However this has not put me off I will deffo be back but will be better prepared next time, and maybe this site will have a better database of wild sites by then.
Thanks to all who replied to this thread.
Tone

 

[Yogihughes]

WOW Tone!
You do have a lot of experience on Scotland's roads.
Are you setting your sights too high to find ideal sites.
I know we all strive to find the PERFCT site, but I am more than satisfied with a site if it has a nice view, quiet, and maybe even have a water supply.
(any stream will do).

 

[rathbone]

rathbone

just bought my first camper going scotland fort willian in july for 4 weeks is it pricy on sites

 

[Pioneer]

Hi Boppintone,
can't get my head around your comments on the lack of wildcamping spots on the West Coast of Scotland, is that you being a litle too fussy? Last year I did 6 weeks, with only approx 7 days of stopping on sites, well THS's to replenish water etc.
From Durness down to Oban, it's a wildcampers dream, and Wester Ross is one of my favourite places, spent over a week wilding here.
Do hope it's not changed since then, because off again in Jul/Aug and planning on wilding.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed your trip, don't be put off with a few signs, you can find loads of stopping places without the signs.

Happy Camping

 

[zeezee16]

just bought my first camper going scotland fort willian in july for 4 weeks is it pricy on sites

Hi Rathbone, we are also going up that way, 4th july, starting in Inverness, then over to the coast, wilding anywhere between Ullapool & Oban.
Could meet up for a pint or two, we are going for 2 weeks.
Cheers, Pete

 

[tony]

we wilded in scotland mainly the west coast & the isle of sky last year for
2 weeks & had no problems.
we are going back again for another 2 weeks this year.
tony

 

[Annie_H]

When in Scotland I've found that the really touristy places like Loch Lomond do tend to have a lot of 'No Camping' signs in laybys and such. However, I tend to look for quieter spots, eg in woodland (so not necessarily un-scenic), and I've never been stuck for somewhere to stop.

 

[ajs]

I tend to look for quieter spots, eg in woodland (so not necessarily un-scenic), and I've never been stuck for somewhere to stop.

snowonder yer never get any hassle in woodlands... yer van is camouflaged ... crafty

regards
aj

 

[derekfaeberwick]

Sorry Boppintone, got to go with the flow on this one. I just don't find it a problem finding great wilding spots but if I told where they are I'd have to shoot you!!

 

[Pioneer]

Hi derekfaeberwick,

are you from Berwick on Tweed or North Berwick? it's just that in late July, I intend travelling around those parts, maybe a few wee drams?

Happy Camping
Bill and Angie.

 

[Annie_H]

snowonder yer never get any hassle in woodlands... yer van is camouflaged ... crafty

regards
aj

The Bus was red to begin with and the main reason we painted it green was to be less conspicuous. We travelled a lot in Europe in it and we didn't want to attract too much unnecessary attention when in remote parts. We've only been moved on once so it must work!

 

[Barbt]

wild camping on West coast Scotland

We have wild camped in Scotland for the last 12 years and always on the West Coast. There are some laybys that state "no parking" but otherwise there are masses of places to camp. Just outside Dunoon, on Loch Striven there are several places to camp. Along Loch Long, Lock Eck and Loch Fyne again there are loads of places. Not a great deal of luck around Inverary but following the road down to Oban there are again plenty of places. We have found that as long as you are not blocking a farm gateway or the road you can generally park where you like. We are going again this year and will go over to Jura, somewhere we haven't been yet - has anyone else been there?