VAN ADVENTURES IN SCOTLAND
Scotland has been on my travel bucket list for a while now, especially after seeing the photos and hearing the wonderful things my Dad told me after his 6 week road trip a few years ago. But I was not expecting the sheer beauty that Scotland has to offer! It has waterfalls like Bali, white sand beaches similar to the Caribbean, beautiful forests like in Canada and stunning mountains and lakes [called lochs of course] that reminded me of New Zealand. It is without one of the best places to road trip in a van!
Garadbhan Forest
I didn’t have long to see this magnificent country, so this itinerary is a quick two week road trip route. Expect lots of driving, but when the views are as incredible as they were, who cares! All the camp spots were found on Park4Night.
Day 1: Kent to Garadbhan
I drove from Kent to Glasglow, stopping at the Yorkshire Dales for lunch and the amazing Tebay Services for a coffee. The Yorkshire Dales is signposted on the M6, so I just turned off and found a spot to park up to make some lunch. This is where the scenery starts to get beautiful! Tebay services are just so great - it’s like a day out! They have a cafe, outdoor picnic area, butery and a farm shop.
The first night we stayed in a forest on the West Highland Way, called Garadbhan. This forest allows camping as the Forestry and Land Scotland are trailing the Stay the Night scheme [where you can stay one night only].
Day 2: Loch Lomond to Glen Etive
We got up and drove to Loch Lomond to do a hike up to the viewpoint. It took about an hour and a half, and the views were unreal. We then drove down to the Loch for a little Loch dip! We then drove on towards Fallach Falls, where you can park in the carpark walk 5 mins to see the waterfall - this made a nice little pit stop! We then drove on towards Glenco, and took a turning just after the Bridge of Orchy. This leads you to Glen Etive road, where we camped right at the start near the rive.
The ned of the Glen Etive road is this beautiful loch
Day 3: Glen Etive to Fort William
Glen Etive is arguably one of the most beautiful roads in Scotland! It is 12 miles of single track road, and leads you to the Loch at the bottom. The scenery is breathtaking! There are lots of spots to park up at the side of the road, and lots of wild campers! I spent the morning driving down the road, stopping at points to admire the scenery and swim in the river. I then drove towards Glenvo and Fort William. There are lots of hikes to do around here, including the infamous Ben Nevis [which apparently takes about 7 hours] and ones in Glenco.
Day 4: Fort William to Morar
The drive from Fort William to Morar is beautiful, and you will pass the Harry Potter bridge. You can park in the car park to get out and get a closer look, and the train goes past twice a day so check the times. A 30 minute drive on from this you will get to the white sand beaches of Morar. Morar beach is quite small and as we arrived in the afternoon, it was pretty packed so we continued along the road until we came to Triagh beach - right by the golf club. We parked up alongside the beach [see photo at the top], and spent the afternoon swimming, chilling and cooking an alfresco paella!
Day 5: Morar to Staffin, Isle of Skye
We got up early to drive the 15 minutes from the beaches to the Mallaig ferry port, and caught the 45 minute ferry over to the Isle of Skye [for £13!]. I recommend booking your ferry slot as it’s small, although they are vey regular. Upon arriving on the island we drove all the way north, making a pit stop in Portree to stock up on food and grab a coffee. We continued the drive to Staffin Caravan and Camping Site [which cost £18.50 for one night]. You can walk to the beach from the campsite in about 30 minutes.
Old Man of Storr hike
Day 6: Staffin to Glenbrittle
Today we did the Old Man of Storr hike, and WOW - highly recommend! We were graced with a beautiful sunny day which made the views absolutely unreal. The whole hike took about 3 hours in total [bearing in mind I took a scary route off the path and got stuck for a bit - I don’t recommend that!]. After the hike we drove towards Glenbrittle, and stayed in a cute car park near to the Fairy Pools.
Day 7: Glenbrittle to Loch Carron
We did the 45 minute hike from the car park to the Fairy Pools [you can drive to the car park but it is £5 for the whole day so not much point!]. After a fresh dip in the pools we drove on to Carbost where we had a great coffee at Caora Dhubh Coffee company and a yummy seafood lunch at the Oyster Shed. Highly recommend if you are a seafood lover! We drove over the Isle of Skye bridge towards Loch Carron, and stayed right by the water.
Day 8: NC500 - Loch Carron to Loch Torridon
Today we started the NC500! The first stop is usually Applecross, and you can take two drives - one is the highest roads in Britain and we attempted it, but the mist was so full on that the visibility at the top was awful, coupled with the fact that it was a single road with vehicles trying to come down and up. We ended up turning around! I would take the other road - from Shielding to Loch Torridon - it is just as beautiful!
Day 9: Loch Torridon to Ullapool
The drive took us into Ullapool, and we headed straight for the Seafood Shack for another delicious seafood lunch - this time cod and cous cous! We stayed on the water front at Broomfield Holiday Park, which was a great spot to fill up, shower but also with a mega view.
Day 10: Ullapool to Achmelvich Bay
We drove about 45 minutes to the Falls of Kirkaig carpark and then did a 2 hour hike to the waterfall. You can’t actually get into the water as there is no way in, but it is an impressive waterfall to see! We then drove on to Achmelvich Bay - a stunningly beautiful white sand beach!
Day 11: Achmelvich Bay to Dunnet Bay
The weather wasn’t great at this point so we didn’t do many stops, but the drives are still so mega! It takes you round all the beautiful beaches, and through the rolling hills. The north of Scotland is great for surfing, so we stopped at a few beaches to check out the surf, including Melvich, Thurso and Dunnet’s Bay. I had a little surf at Dunnets, and we stayed here for the night too up by the viewpoint.
Day 12: Dunnet Bay to John O’Groats
John O’Groats is just a tick off the list type place, but still nice to see. And there is a great little coffee shop there with lots of yummy treats! On the way you almost past the Smoo cave in Durness, which in my eyes was a bit underwhelming but a nice stop off and something to do on a rainy day.
Day 13: John O’Groats to Loch Ness
We drove on for hours to Loch Ness, along the coast line. The drive is not as spectacular as the west side, but still beautiful. My last night was spent near the Loch coooking alfresco bbq!