Scotland - the west coast

garry55

garry55

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From March 2023
I have to collect a motorbike from Ayr, so we have decided to make a trip out of it.
We will cross country from Whitby to Gretna and stop overnight somewhere around there.
Are there any places along the coast, heading from Gretna towards Stranraer, and Stranraer to Ayr that are must-sees?
Any recommended sites for stop-overs?
Never travelled this part of Scotland before.
 
There is a temporary Caravan Club site at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine.

Portpatrick near Stranraer is a nice town with a few pubs etc and a number of caravan type sites.

Kirkcudbright on the A75 is a nice stopover with free parking overnight or charged for hookup and water/waste.
 
There is a good CACC site in the grounds of Culzean Castle which offers excellent walking along the shoreline. There is also a wild camping spot in a car park at the beach a couple of miles South of Culzean - it’s possibly the road marked for Croy, but I am not 100% sure.

There are four or five official motorhome spaces in a beach front car park in Prestwick at the end of Links Road. There is a railway bridge on Links Road - I don’t think it is low, although you should check. Grangemuir Road which leads to the beach at the other end of Prestwick (closer to Ayr) has a low bridge and is not suitable for vans.

As previously mentioned, Portpatrick is a pretty fishing village. There is a campsite and some parking in its vicinity. I have also seen vans parked up around the harbour.
 
The metal bridge inn pub is a firm favourite with motorhomers for a stopover just before Gretna. Book a meal it’s reasonably priced and nice, especially if you go for the early bird.

Castle corner at Glencaple near Dumfries is an official aire if you need services but if you can get on at Glencaple pier it’s nice to watch the boer come in up the river.

There is also New England Bay near Stranraer, it’s a lovely free spot right outside the campsite. Dated toilets but fresh water and elsan point and a grassy area behind if you don’t want to park looking out to sea. It’s one of our favourite free spots.

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Good wee park up here at the southern end of Girvan.
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This was always a great spot and a lovely little seaside village at the Isle of Whithorn (not an island). It used to be a grass field behind the pub but from the reviews it sounds like some changes are going on. Its free as well. Its behind the pub but its nothing to do with them I believe.

www.searchforsites.co.uk

Steam Packet Inn Isle of Whithorn

Details for Steam Packet Inn Isle of Whithorn a Overnight parking - with services Isle of Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, United Kingdom, DG8 8LL
www.searchforsites.co.uk
 
barryd said:
This was always a great spot and a lovely little seaside village at the Isle of Whithorn (not an island). It used to be a grass field behind the pub but from the reviews it sounds like some changes are going on. Its free as well. Its behind the pub but its nothing to do with them I believe.

www.searchforsites.co.uk

Steam Packet Inn Isle of Whithorn

Details for Steam Packet Inn Isle of Whithorn a Overnight parking - with services Isle of Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, United Kingdom, DG8 8LL
www.searchforsites.co.uk
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Sailing club are putting up a building on part of the car park , work was ongoing early March . Still space to park and the food and beer was great in the pub .



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An article was published in the MURVI Club Newsletter a couple of years ago which covered SW Scotland. I hope the author doesn't mind me posting it here. :)

Exploring SW Scotland
Carolyn Ash

Difficulties this year (2021) in taking our Murvi abroad led us to plan a trip to Scotland, which sadly we hadn’t visited for decades. This was prompted too by some old friends relocating to Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, and by Rob’s distant family connection. We decided that this was the area we would visit. Initial investigations showed that there is a SW 300 route which hasn’t yet attained the popularity of the 500, and D&G promised scenery, hills, coastline, walking and birdwatching plus possibly fewer tourists. We were initially relaxed about booking sites for our trip but we soon changed our minds as we hunted for a pitch en route in the Lake District. Scotland proved no easier and so, 6-7 weeks before our departure, we had scrambled together enough places to cover a month.

Setting off on May 23rd seemed quite an adventure as we hadn’t been as far from home in over a year. We broke our journey north in the pleasant and convenient Caravan Club site at Solihull just south of Birmingham. This gave us an easy day (via the M6 toll road) up to Penrith, where we left the motorway to stay for 3 nights in the Lake District at a CC&C hide-away at Linkelsfield Farm, Isel, near Cockermouth with great views tucked away north of Keswick.

Our onward route took us back to the motorway, on to Carlisle and then into Scotland at Gretna Green, and no great distance to Dumfries. We had been lucky in booking at a CL in an interesting spot on the coast at Kirkbean where there is a tiny museum celebrating a famous son, John Paul Jones, who emigrated to the US in 1773, to become the founder of the American Navy. This small 5 van site sits alongside the cottage birthplace and under the Stars and Stripes.

We used this as a base for 5 nights to carry us over the English bank holiday which brought lots of visitors into the area. The coast has some beautiful bays, notably Rockcliffe, Sandyhills (left) with a big grassy car park (and camp site) by the beach, but parking was difficult in our vehicle in many busy places.

There is coast path walking and a bird reserve at Mersehead with views over the Solway Firth to the Lake District. We went inland as well and traced the house of Rob’s aunt near Beeswing. The astonished owners welcomed us in and showed us a pile of title deeds to prove our credentials.

Still in warm sunny weather we moved to the Silvercraigs Community Site right in Kirkcudbright (pronounced Kirkcoo-bree) to join up with our newly resident friends. This is a charming and attractive little town of colour-washed houses, galleries, museums, cafes, shops plus tiny harbour. The camp site overlooking the town is deservedly popular. We made an excursion with our friends to the beautiful Threave Garden (Scot Nat Trust). A few miles north is Loch Ken with walking, cycling trails and bird reserves. Instead we continued on to Newton Stewart to Brockloch Farm CL, a very good choice as from here we explored Wigtown and the Whithorn Peninsula. (Couldn’t get in to the very popular Caravan Club site at Garlieston). There was lots of walking potential plus Whithorn priory and historical and nature interest. To the north there is the lovely River Bladnoch with ancient woodlands, bird reserves and otters.

We had booked 4 nights on the Stranraer peninsula at New England Bay, Port Logan. We loved this area, from the Mull of Galloway to Stranraer and beyond up the Ayrshire Coast. The site is big but very spread out with privacy amongst gorse, small trees and dunes, and right on the sandy beach ;a good central spot though devoid of shops, pubs etc., This area is popular for sea canoeing, paddle boards and dinghies. From the spectacular Mull of Galloway with cliffs full of nesting sea birds one sees the Isle of Man, Ireland, and Kintyre. The road to the car parking at the end is easy and the bird reserve and lighthouse are usually open.

Our return route left Scotland via Moffat where we had a short look at the Annan Valley. Then we crossed the Pennines to Co. Durham, and afterwards down A1.

We seemed to have visited a tiny part of Scotland that doesn’t include the Highlands, but can be a jumping off point for Arran and the Islands. Midges were only a minor problem, we were early and mostly on the coast. A very useful guide was the Bradt Slow Travel Guide to D&G., also the OS app and a selection of OS maps. Possibilities for camping off-site do exist and in easier times we might have done this occasionally and felt less concerned about booking so far ahead. This year tourist incomes were very uncertain and local facilities very much needed our support.
 
I enjoyed a recent stop at Borrowmoss Farm near Wigtown. If the weather's nice, it's a pleasant walk along a pretty quiet road into Wigtown, which has several good cafes and several good bookshops... but the one imaginatively named 'The Bookshop' is the one you shouldn't miss if you have any interest in books!
 
Thank you all for your responses - much appreciated.
It appears that we are going to do the SW300 route, which ties in nicely with collecting the bike from Ayr.
Should be do-able in 5 days, weather permitting!
 
My favourite places are girvan, croy and The Maidens, there is a campsite at the maidens and you can walk to Culzean castle or the orange mans golf course from there. Lovely part of the world, but i am prejudiced

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scotzsue said:
My favourite places are girvan, croy and The Maidens, there is a campsite at the maidens and you can walk to Culzean castle or the orange mans golf course from there. Lovely part of the world, but i am prejudiced
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I wasn't aware that Ull was in Scotland? :giggle:
 
AGT said:
There is a good CACC site in the grounds of Culzean Castle which offers excellent walking along the shoreline. There is also a wild camping spot in a car park at the beach a couple of miles South of Culzean - it’s possibly the road marked for Croy, but I am not 100% sure.

There are four or five official motorhome spaces in a beach front car park in Prestwick at the end of Links Road. There is a railway bridge on Links Road - I don’t think it is low, although you should check. Grangemuir Road which leads to the beach at the other end of Prestwick (closer to Ayr) has a low bridge and is not suitable for vans.

As previously mentioned, Portpatrick is a pretty fishing village. There is a campsite and some parking in its vicinity. I have also seen vans parked up around the harbour.
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Culzean Castle site is lovely I agree, sunsets over Arran and Mull of Kintyre are fantastic and change every night, if I dare say on here worth the £32 per night we paid,and I don't usually like paying that sort of money, plus Wardens are really nice .
 
AGT said:
There is a good CACC site in the grounds of Culzean Castle which offers excellent walking along the shoreline. There is also a wild camping spot in a car park at the beach a couple of miles South of Culzean - it’s possibly the road marked for Croy, but I am not 100% sure.

There are four or five official motorhome spaces in a beach front car park in Prestwick at the end of Links Road. There is a railway bridge on Links Road - I don’t think it is low, although you should check. Grangemuir Road which leads to the beach at the other end of Prestwick (closer to Ayr) has a low bridge and is not suitable for vans.

As previously mentioned, Portpatrick is a pretty fishing village. There is a campsite and some parking in its vicinity. I have also seen vans parked up around the harbour.
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Watch out for the boy racers tho - we stayed on Ayr beach prom on the designated motorhome site (£10 on line ) and it was a magnet for the lads with their “look at me “ exhausts roaring back and forward…
 
LaurenceM said:
Watch out for the boy racers tho - we stayed on Ayr beach prom on the designated motorhome site (£10 on line ) and it was a magnet for the lads with their “look at me “ exhausts roaring back and forward…
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We avoided that area like the plague 3 weeks ago. The beach was rammed, litter everywhere, we managed 45 minutes in Ayr & couldn't wait to get away. The P4N reviews of that aire are bad.
 
garry55 said:
I have to collect a motorbike from Ayr, so we have decided to make a trip out of it.
We will cross country from Whitby to Gretna and stop overnight somewhere around there.
Are there any places along the coast, heading from Gretna towards Stranraer, and Stranraer to Ayr that are must-sees?
Any recommended sites for stop-overs?
Never travelled this part of Scotland before.
Click to expand...
There is free parking on an old quay at Glencaple South of Dumfries and across the road is the Nith hotel who do a stunning Highland chicken dish. There is an honesty box next to the parking area. PS don't tell everybody
 
Jo-jo said:
We avoided that area like the plague 3 weeks ago. The beach was rammed, litter everywhere, we managed 45 minutes in Ayr & couldn't wait to get away. The P4N reviews of that aire are bad.
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To be fair , the noise dropped off after midnight .. mind you it was a midweek pitch so they probably had school in the morning..

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