Camper van holiday in Scotland

2009-11-09T13:00:00.001Z

We’ve fancied the idea of a motorhome holiday for some time, but it’s one of those things that we never got around to, until now.

We mentioned to a friend that we were thinking about a motorhome for our trip to Scotland. By amazing coincidence he had received an email the same morning about Northern Leisure doing a special offer for the week in question.

I’m not far away from Bingley, so zipped across to view them in person. A very helpful Michala showed me around and I was impressed, so shortly after, our first excursion was booked.

We set off 10pm Friday night after a full days work. Not the best idea but as part of the journey was visiting my mother in the Orkney’s, we had to get some mileage done!

It turns out that travelling overnight in a motorhome is a doddle. The roads were virtually empty for the entire trip. At 3.30am, when my eyes felt heavy, I just pulled off into a lay-by near Aviemore and had a sleep in the comfortable King size bed that sits above the cab. At 6.30am I woke up surprisingly refreshed and we were away again……jubbly!

Even with a breakfast stop, we arrived at John ‘O’ Groats in time for the ferry at lunchtime the next day.

2 ferries later and we were with my mother. She has the room for us in the house, but why rent a motorhome and not use it? We stayed with her until Tuesday and had three comfortable nights in the ‘van’ despite the force 8 gales!

Tuesday lunchtime we headed home. The plan was to take our time and see some of the scenery down the West side of Scotland.

We had travelled overnight on the way up, so saw very little. Caithness is a bit bleak too, so we drove into Tuesday night to get to Inverness. We didn’t quite make it and stayed overnight in a lay-by just outside Tain.

This ‘wild camping’ lark is very easy, you just need to find somewhere where you’re not going to annoy the neighbours and you’re not going to get annoyed yourself by passing youths / drunks / noisy trucks. The noisy trucks issue was a problem at first, but there are loads of lay-bys in Scotland which take you off away from the road. The extra few feet make a big difference (especially to the rocking effect you get when a large vehicle passes) as do earplugs!

Wednesday morning, the scenic part of the trip started. We travelled to Inverness and then followed the A82 along Loch Ness. The Loch is impressive and seemed to go on for ages. We stopped and had a look around the amazing waterfalls at Invermoriston, before moving on to Fort Augustus for lunch. Fort Augustus is a lovely little village with a swing road bridge for boat access into Loch Ness. Well worth a visit.

After lunch, we continued along the A82 but had to stop after about 12 miles when the magnificent memorial to the Scottish Commando’s came into view. The plaque outside asks visitors to respect the sanctity of the place and also its ‘awesome setting’….Absolutely!

Next, we moved onto Fort William., (we didn’t stop, but it looked pleasant enough) before heading along the A828 toward Oban. It was then A85 / A819 to Inverary where we had our evening meal.

From Inverary, we took the A83 and then followed the A82 again, along the side of Loch Lomond, heading toward Glasgow. As it was dark, we stopped for the night in a lay-by nicely separated from the main road. We had already missed around 30 minutes of the scenery due to the fading light and didn’t want to miss any more.

The following morning we awoke to find we’d accidentally stopped in what must be one of the most picturesque lay-bys in the British Isles! We were right on the edge of Loch Lomond on a level with the water. The scenery, especially the autumn colours, was amazing and greeting us as we ate breakfast, was a family of swans. If anyone is enough of a geek to want to find the spot, I took the GPS co-ordinates -4.66536, 56.15017◦

Breakfast over, we packed up and moved off again toward home. We had a few more minutes of what since Inverness had been spectacular scenery (including Ben Nevis) before we got to the Erskine Bridge and the normal hum-drum stuff. Greenock in particular is somewhere I won’t be rushing to get back to. However, going through it was a necessary evil to get to the coast road.

Initially, the coast road wasn’t quite as picturesque as we’d hoped. We saw the Isles of Bute and Arran but the trip was interspersed with built-up areas, which isn’t what we were there for.

On the A77, just south of Ayr, we rounded a bend and the sea came back into view, as did a weird looking island that seemed to rise straight up out of the sea. We’ve since found out that the island is called ‘Ailsa Craig’ and although now uninhabited, is 2 miles wide and 1,110 feet high. Pretty impressive.

Lunch was on the seafront at Girvan, after which, we left the A77 and went inland along the A714. The scenery here isn’t quite in the same league as the A82, but it’s still very enjoyable. Having travelled along it on a previous (motorbike) trip I knew what to expect.

On the motorbike trip, I tried to find (but failed miserably) “The Queens Way”, which is known to the rest of the world as the A712. I was determined not to miss out again and found the correct road out of Newton Stewart.

The A712 is different to, but just as enjoyable as, the roads we’d covered earlier in the Highlands. I’d advise anyone to drive it at least once. The forest views are well worth any detour and you might see the wild goats or possibly deer (we were lucky).

Finally, after a few miles, the A712 meets up with the much bigger A75. It’s not the end of the scenery, but it’s not as enjoyable, as the traffic picks up pace and whisks you along impatiently (I have to confess that I’m normally the impatient one, but motorhomes seem to chill my driving out…weird!).

From the A75, it was M6 south toward home. I should probably mention the A65 through Kirkby Lonsdale and onwards. It’s a nice enough road, but I’ve travelled it a great deal over the years and doesn’t familiarity breed contempt? In any case, it was dark, so nothing to report.

Our final stop before home was for well earned slap-up meal in a well known (locally at least) pub called the ‘Game Cock’ in the little village of Austwick off the A65. It’s the second time we’ve eaten there. Always full of people eating….always a good sign! It didn’t disappoint.

1150 miles and the motorhome didn’t miss a beat. When I gave it back on Friday morning there was a small tinge of sadness that it wasn’t mine to keep. It won’t last long though, we’re converts, so we’ll soon be off again!

Northern Leisure’s service and attitude is second to none. I can’t recommend them enough and trust me when I say that I can make Victor Meldrew look like a cuddly teddy bear, so they’re doing something right!

The Watson Family

Motorhoming

2009-10-16T08:30:00.000+01:00

So having packed it all in for a life of adventure we didn’t know where to start.

Northern Leisure to the rescue!!!

We got a great deal to hire a brand new Eura Mobil Terrestra Motorhome for 3 months and you didn’t see us for dust.

Where to? Not sure really but we ended up touring France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and a sneaky look at a few places in the UK that we hadn’t seen for a while.

We cannot recommend just doing it for yourselves strongly enough. The life is laid back and full of freedom and flexibility – every day is different – if you want it to be.

The staff at NL were brilliant, nothing was too much trouble and they took a genuine interest in what we were doing and where we were going – now we are saving up for the next time, it can’t come soon enough!!!

The Clayton Family, UK

2009-10-12T07:36:00.005+01:00

Dear Michala
I am sincerely sorry for not having written this letter sooner, but to be quite honest it's your fault as all we do is talk about the FAB time we had in Scotland in one of your motor homes. From the minute the key went into the ignition we were at grin factor 50 and it didn't stop till we handed the keys back 7 days later. The service you provided and the van itself were faultless and will definitely return should we decide on another 4 wheeled adventure. As it was my first forray into the world of chemi loo's etc I didn't quite know what to expect, but I do know I want to do it again.
Yours belatedly, and hooked!

The Clarke Family, UK

The Tin Tent - Northern Leisure

2009-10-08T15:25:00.011+01:00

Just had our third fantastic motorhome holiday in Scotland. The 'Tin Tent', as we affectionately call the van, gives us the freedom we love. Freedom to eat whenever and wherever we wish. Freedom to extend a stay at a place we particularly like or to move on at a whim.

Imagine stopping for elevenses amid the grandeur of Glencoe or seeing Loch Duich by moonlight with the lights of romantic Eilean Donan Castle just across the water. Can't imagine anything better - except, perhaps, doing it all again! Must go plan our next Tin Tent Experience!

The Kopasz Family, UK

Northern Leisure customer holiday reviews

Camper van holiday in Scotland

Motorhoming

The Tin Tent - Northern Leisure