Castle in the Skye:

Discussion in 'Scotland' started by agaric, Jul 14, 2016.

  1. Hello,

    Van is moted for another year.
    It's running nicely and the interior is almost finished (I need to finish this electrical wiring....).
    It's time to plan holidays!

    The plan is to tour around Scotland for 10 days. After going through some of the threads here (special thank you to @fugly76 @KarlB and @paulcalf ), the first draft of itinerary is:
    [​IMG]

    Day 0/Night 0: Driving to Loch Lomond.
    We should get there quite late. So we plan on “wild” camping somewhere on the west bank.
    It looks like there are some sheltered lay-bys on the A82. Any recommendation?


    Day 1: Loch Lomond to Glencoe/Fort williams.
    Enjoy the day in Loch Lomond and then drive to Glencoe for the night.
    Sleep near Glencoe.

    Day 2: Glencoe/Fort williams to Loch Duich.
    Hike up Ben Nevis (weather dependent of course) and then drive to Loch Duich for the night.
    Sleep near Loch Duich.


    Day 3: Loch Duich to Skye.
    Drive to Skye in the morning. Enjoy the day there.
    Sleep on Skye island. (Glennbrittle Camping ?)

    Day 4: Skye to Applecross.
    Leaving Skye when we feel like it and driving down to Applecross.
    Is the pass doable in a camper?
    Sleep near Applecross.


    Day 5: Applecross to Ulapool (or nearby).
    Slow drive along the coast with a lot of stops toward Ulapool.
    Sleep near Ulapool.

    Day 6: Ulapool to Durness.
    Slow drive along the coast with a lot of stops toward Durness.
    Surfing if the surf is up
    Sleep in Durness.

    Day 7: Durness to Thurso.
    If the surf is up we will stay in Durness otherwise heading toward Thurso.
    Sleep in Durness/ or Thurso. Or even push to John'o'goats


    Day 8: Thurso to Inverness:
    Leave early morning and spend the day in Inverness.
    Sleep near Loch Ness/ Inverness

    Day 9: Inverness to Edinburgh
    Leave early to have a nice day in Edinburgh.
    Sleep somewhere along the coast east of Edinburgh.

    Day 10: Drive back home


    Nothing is really set in stone. And this is more of a guideline than a true program. We are just up for a road trip with stunning views and if we like a place we may as well stay longer (opposite is true as well)

    Any recommendation for campsite is more than welcome. We are more after human sized wild camps than huge caravan parkings.

    Any recommendation on what to do/see/eat/drink is also more than welcome. Especially if you know some distilleries along the way or some good hikes.

    Any recommendation on the itinerary itself are also welcome.

    Thanks,

    Jb
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2016
    Moons, The Bruce, jivedubbin and 3 others like this.

  2. Do a left just north of Ulapool into the Inverpolly Estate, good beach at the end too !

    https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=i...bNivPNAhVlBcAKHcN-AAoQsAQIOA&biw=1259&bih=665

    Have a great time up there and give my love to the midges !
     
    Coco, agaric and Merlin Cat like this.
  3. Merlin Cat

    Merlin Cat Moderator

    Sounds fab. Will you be at john o groats when the vw route 67 gets there? :)
     
  4. That looks stunning! That's added to the list of we would like to see!
    And i am sorry but I'm not sure i'll be able to give any love to the midges... :D

    When are you guys suppose to get there? I think we should be there around August 12th.
     
  5. Applecross road is easily doable - we did it in a 3.5 tonne camper with a 1.5 meter overhang at the rear. Was challenging.

    On skye, you can free camp on the north west where it is quiet and wake up to a lovely view of the outer hebridies - magical
     
    Coco and agaric like this.
  6. The van should easily clear that road then!
    I'll check this part of Skye for a nice spot.
     
  7. Hey cant wait to see the pictures as I'm planning Scotland next year ,have a great time :thumbsup:
     
  8. Have a great trip.

    I think they have cracked down on wild camping near Loch Lomond so do some checking first.

    Avon skin so soft is good for midges.

    I wished I had taken some mosquito net so I could have had open windows, but no midges in the van.

    It's on my list for next time.

    Enjoy!
     
  9. Looks like you are packing a lot in for 10 days, stay and explore a few places if you can.

    If you find yourself with a hangover, have a cold iron bru!
     
    Coco and CollyP like this.
  10. The sunny Spain or Portugal were attractive options as well. ;)

    From what I have seen wild camping is forbidden in a camper but roadside camping seems to be tolerated.
    http://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/images/stories/Visiting/PDF/ActivitiesLeaflets/wildcamping.pdf
    Any confirmation on that is welcome.
    We have mosquito nets on the louvre windows. So we should be fine in the van. Unless they make it in via the waste water hole. :eek:


    Yes we always plan over optimistic and often ended up doing half of it. As I said if we like a place we don't mind staying there more than "planned" and explored.
    And I may need a pack of cold irn bru. It's holidays after all! :p
     
    paulcalf likes this.
  11. CollyP

    CollyP Moderator

  12. 77 Westy

    77 Westy Supporter

    Midges will fly straight through mosquito nets without slowing down. And the little blighters bite in places you didn’t even know you had.
     
  13. Well I guess the only sensible solution is to give up on this trip then. ;)
     
    Coco and Baysearcher like this.
  14. Glad my rambling have been of some use!

    Oh...and on the westfalia midge nets; I fitted new nets to frames I renovated. Worked perfectly. Didn't have any problems with them inside the van. They certainly were trying though! I also have a Devon camper with the twin louvred Windows and no nets. Camped at Loch Lomond once and left the louvre open while we bbq'd. Came back to a midge party!

    Enjoy your trip.
     
    alanchester likes this.
  15. Skin so soft works for me.
     
  16. We have got ourselves lots of Skin so soft. :)

    Leaving this Friday evening! We are quite exited!
    The van took us safely to Bath last weekend and to Oxford this weekend. Let's hope our luck last.
     
    Coco likes this.
  17. We use 'Smidge'. Great stuff :)

    Enjoy your trip!!
     
    agaric likes this.
  18. If Glenbrittle still do home made bread to order make sure you get some...and the jam :)
     
    agaric likes this.
  19. Road trip is already over! :(

    We've got some amazing time!
    1800 -almost- trouble free miles! A lot of stunning views and plenty of good memories.

    Let's try a small write up:

    DAY 0: London to Scotland

    It's Friday afternoon, the van is loaded. Most of the leisure electric is now connected (I seem to be very bad at wiring plugs because couldn't get my 12V plug to work. Nor my second 230V plug dedicated to the leisure battery charger. But this one I will notice much later in the trip).
    Sunglasses are on, perfect music to start a road trip is playing. We are off... almost...
    I turn the key and "Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu". Honk won't stop!
    Pure little miss sunshine classic!
    Lesson 1 from the trip: Don't load the toolbox first.
    Luckily it was an easy fix. I had tweaked the indicator stalk earlier that week to stop it from wobbling and apparently the horse shoes bit holding the stalk can also cause a short circuit on the steering column. I bit of electrical tape and the continuous honking problem is solved.
    Now we're off.
    Very uneventful motorway journey. Cruising safely around 55-60mph. Spotted a yellow bay stopped on the side of the M6 around midnight, hope this wasn't too serious.
    It's around 2pm when we decide to stop for the night on a services just after reaching Scotland.

    DAY 1: Loch Lomond:
    Waking up "early", we make it to Luss around 10am. It's nice and sunny. It's time to grab breakfast on the shore of the loch.
    [​IMG]


    After enjoying Luss in the sun for a while we are eager to stretch our legs a bit. So we head to the less busy Loch Long to run up The Cobbler.
    Unfortunately half way up the top Scotland's weather stroke back... We have to get back down before reaching the top due to the heavy rain.

    [​IMG]

    Rain has eased off when we got back to the van. So it's time for the short drive to Red Squirrel Campsite in Glencoe.
    The views are stunning.

    [​IMG]

    We find a pitch at the Red squirrel just in front of a Synchro (imported from Sweden) nicely parked to display its off road abilities.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Time for a hot shower and a cold beer!
     
  20. Glad that you had a fantastic trip
     
    agaric likes this.

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