Our 'Off Grid' PVC Tour Of Shetland - Info Heavy (1 Viewer)

[Blue Knight]

Hi Funsters,

I thought I would post-up my detailed notes regarding our recent 100% 'off-grid' experience of Shetland which, in all honesty is a truly fabulous place to visit should you wish to camp off grid in your PVC for any length of time. It is much more PVC and MoHo friendly than Scotland IMO but for some people the journey up and back will be just too much. That said, if Carlsberg did off-grid experiences then Shetland would be at the top.

I'll post-up the basic facts in this post and as the thread unfolds I'll write a few more notes and other helpful hints and tips.

Nicky, myself and Roman the Rottweiler were up in Shetland looking for business opportunities and houses to purchase but sadly for us we didn't make that much progress, albeit we may be off again next week to follow up on a few more enquiries.

Grab a coffee so here goes:

1. Wagon: Globecar Summit 640 Manual 150 BHP on a 4.5T heavy chassis, weighing 3,820kg fully loaded.

2. Equipment: 2 x 11kg Gaslow; VB Airtop; 'Gas-only' Truma 6000; 80-litre fresh water plus a 12-litre reserve; heavily upgraded insulation package.

3. Power & Leccy: Twin Varta L36-EFB Habitation batteries with a Varta LA95 AGM hab battery on a reserve circuit; CBE PRS300 BUS Regulator and 120W of solar. (No EHU used)

4. Main power draw: 12V Compressor fridge; 24" Avtex TV.

5. Trip Duration: 25-days (26 Aug - 18 Sep).
6. Total Miles: 2,150.
7. Islands Visited: Orkney-Shetland-Yell-Unst-Bressay.
8. Total Cost of Trip (fuel/food/ferries): £1,090.
9. # of Ferrries used: 14.
10. Total Diesel Fuel Cost: £343
11. Average MPG: 30.9
12. Cost of 4 main ferries: £426.90
13. Cost of 10 internal ferries: £59.10
14. Total LPG used: 23.6 litres costing £16.24
15. Daily water consumption for short showers and drinks: 15-liters.
16. Max # of days 'off grid' without any water resupply: 6
17. Daily TV usage: 90-120 minutes so between 4.5 to 6Ah used daily.
18. Lowest external evening temperature: 5C.
19. Average evening external temps: 9C - 11C.
20. Average daily internal gas heating: 9-hours set @ 18C.
21. # of nights requiring heating: 22.
22. Average daily solar input: 13.3v
23. Days without any driving being involved: 2


Days 1-2: Durham to Scrabster: 410-miles @ 34.6mpg.

Days 3-5: Orkney: 129-miles @ 32.4 mpg.

Days 6-20: Shetland: 889-miles @ 27mpg.

Days 21-25: Scrabster-Laggan-Inverness-Fort William-Dumfries-Durham: 722-miles @ 32.1mpg.

Crickey, I need a coffee myself now.

More subjects to come,

All the best,

Andrew

 

[Grianan]

Ah, this explains your absence. Glad you’re back and looking forward to the photos ...

 

[HandyAndy]

loving the technicalities. Keep it coming

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[CazPaul]

Yes I wondered where you had got to Andrew nice to see you are enjoying the van
Did everything work as it should in the van, shower etc
How are the Windows faring up?

 

[Mikey RV]

 

[Kingham]

Blue Knight Shetland from Durham as a kayaking trip is on my ‘to do’ list Andrew, so I’ll be watching with interest. Some excellent info so far ??

Edit - Driving then kayaking, not kayaking all the way from the Durham coast ?

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[Blue Knight]

Blue Knight Shetland from Durham as a kayaking trip is on my ‘to do’ list Andrew, so I’ll be watching with interest. Some excellent info so far ??

Edit - Driving then kayaking, not kayaking all the way from the Durham coast ?

Hi Ken, I've not had much experience of your hobby but I reckon you'll move to Shetland when you see what fantatsic kayak facilities are on the doorstep in Shetland.

Nicky and I already looking at buying a couple of canoos and an Arvor 230AS recreational fishing boat.

 

[Blue Knight]

A. Maps and our Off-grid locations.

This map was given to us free by the owner of Tagon Stores in Voe.

We used it to good effect and the circles refer to our various overnight stays. As you can see there are three locations where we stayed for 2 and 3 nights.

I'm not sure if it's clear but I've highlighted the roads we used in yellow marker.

 

[monzer]

Nicky and I already looking at buying a couple of canoos and an Arvor 230AS recreational fishing boat.

Did you try any fishing on your trip? Shetland is on my list just for the fishing. The size of the cod, haddock and coalies you can pull out from there are unreal.

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[Blue Knight]

B. Toilets and Infrastructure:

The Shetland Island Council (SIC) previously had toilet maps posted all over the island(s) but I only found two on our entire travels (pic below).

In some instances the SIC have had to withdraw funding on some of the loos so in cases like these the local villages have taken over the duty of maintaining them free of charge. The community loos often have a small donation tin so we bunged in a quid every time we used them for water and other stuff.

Note-1: We never once used our van potty for #2's (just #1's) as the loo infrastructure is so good in Shetland that there's no need to have a dumpa-lumpa in the van.

Note-2: We emptied our #1 toilet waste every two days in the council provided loos.

In all cases Nicky and I would take our dettol cleaning kit into the toilets and give them a clean as a way of saying a.) Thankyou to the locals and, b.) Proving that camper folk were good guys.

Water Resupply: Once again we used the loos for our water but be warned that you need a large measuring jug to place under the taps before transferring the water into a watering can. This can be a time consuming job but hey-ho it's free and you are wild camping at the end of the day so just get on with it.

Note: There are no outside taps available unless you stay on one of the dozen small campsites.

Water Quality: The quality of the water is good in the main council loos and in most of the ferry terminal toilets too but be warned that a couple of facilities derive their water source from local hill supplies so I recommend that you boil-up every time.

The Shetland Island Toilet Map:

 

[jezport]

Very tempting, have done the western isles.

 

[Blue Knight]

C. Fuel Stations and Shops:

This was one of our main 'pre-trip' concerns about Shetland but as it turned out there really was no need to worry.

There are so many small fuel stations & community shops dotted all over the Mainland, Bressay, Unst and Yell, and quite often they come in pairs (shops n' fuel) so it's normally a one stop place for your provisions.

We never allowed our fuel tank to drop below the 75%-mark so we were always visiting the small shops to say "Hi" and to help us gain some inside info on the Islands and the various village locations.

You'll find that every local community away from Lerwick uses its small shop facility for the general stuff so therefore the turnover of the fuel and the food is rapid and always fresh. You don't ever need to worry about receiving dodgy fuel but you do need to realise that some places have community shop opening hours and are open from 9-5 and not 24-7.

The lowest price for diesel was 135.9p but during our stay the average was 137.9p with a few of the small pumps rising to 140p-straight. Lerwick as the capital was not the cheapest by any stretch. The tourists go to Lerwick so there's a natural inflation of costs etc.

Some community shops have the appearance of a poorly maintained building from the outside and then you enter to find that the owner has jammed every conceivable item in there; from Dulux paint and gardening gear to full alcoholic beverage ranges and large freezer sections to art & crafts and car fixing gear. I've never been in such amazing shops in my life, especially the ones on Unst and Yell which are out of this world.

Alcohol: I'm not sure if it's to help the Shetlanders with the long dark winters (Don't ever call them Scottish!!) but the biggest selection of any one food stuff is alcohol - they like their drink and at this point I'll decline to write any further on the subject, lol.

Food Cost: There was no correlation of food prices to the UK Mainland. A pack of Tunnocks Teacakes was 99p for six on Unst (the most northerly Shetland island) whereas my local Asda in Durham sell them for £1 and my local Durham Tesco was £1.20 back in June.

In general some specific items can be hugely inflated and if you don't have access to the Co-op in Brae or the Tesco/Co-op in Lerwick then expect to pay £2.80 for a large loaf of bread and £1.90 for a medium size. Alcohol is on par with the UK prices, as are other items, but it's just a few of the main staples where you can pay between 50-100% more (mainly bread stuffs though).

Top-Tip: Don't bother packing your PVC to the hilt with supplies as you will have ample access to more or less anything in Shetland.

Nic and I are strong advocates of supporting the local community and I'll tell you now that the locals really do welcome you warmly when you help their economy; some of which are really struggling and need the financial input.

I'll do Ferry costs and other stuff in a different post.

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[Grianan]

Fascinating posts Andrew ....
- Re toilets/chemical disposal did you use chemicals in your toilet and can local sewage systems handle that down the public toilets?
- did you try the fishing boat you’re looking at? Different seas in Torridon but some boats are much more stable than others. We have an Arran 16 which is super stable but not a fast boat as a displacement hull.
- Finally, if you used more LPG than you started with I presume you found somewhere to fill up?
Thanks
Liz

 

[Blue Knight]

Fascinating posts Andrew ....
- Re toilets/chemical disposal did you use chemicals in your toilet and can local sewage systems handle that down the public toilets?
- did you try the fishing boat you’re looking at? Different seas in Torridon but some boats are much more stable than others. We have an Arran 16 which is super stable but not a fast boat as a displacement hull.
- Finally, if you used more LPG than you started with I presume you found somewhere to fill up?
Thanks
Liz

Hi Liz,

For me personally it's all about perception with the locals so the topic of toilet emptying is always going to be a challenge.

We didn't use our loo for any poopy-poo-poos so that just left us to empty a few litres of wee every couple of days which, when accompanied by the chemicals, is an easy volume for any toilet to digest. I would not wish to empty a full poo-stained potty in the local loos as it just wouldn't be British IMO.

The thing with Nicky and I is that we trained ourselves to be really disciplined when camping and to avoid any opportunity of looking bad in the eyes of the local folk, who, incidentally are very sensitive to anyone making a mess of their island space.

The problem here is that some motorhomers are quite ignorant and don't give a hoot about their actions and it's this type of attitude, albeit in the minority, which has the potential to cause huge problems in a place like the Shetlands.

LPG: No LPG from what I've seen but I'll be investigating that further when we return. That said, the Island does have an LPG processing station in Lerwick but I think you can only buy 1-million litres at a time lol.

Like monzer mentioned above I'll be needing his and your expert advice for boats but I'll do that in a separate thread Ma'am.

 

[Grianan]

Like monzer mentioned above I'll be needing his and your expert advice for boats but I'll do that in a separate thread Ma'am.

Sadly not expert, but you’ll be very welcome to our tuppenceworth of experience ?

It’s all very interesting ... look forward to your updates as we would like to do Orkney/Shetland sometime .... my feet are itching for France first though ?. I do envy you not being constrained to 2 weeks though!

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[DBK]

Hi Liz,

For me personally it's all about perception with the locals so the topic of toilet emptying is always going to be a challenge.

We didn't use our loo for any poopy-poo-poos so that just left us to empty a few litres of wee every couple of days which, when accompanied by the chemicals, is an easy volume for any toilet to digest. I would not wish to empty a full poo-stained potty in the local loos as it just wouldn't be British IMO.

The thing with Nicky and I is that we trained ourselves to be really disciplined when camping and to avoid any opportunity of looking bad in the eyes of the local folk, who, incidentally are very sensitive to anyone making a mess of their island space.

The problem here is that some motorhomers are quite ignorant and don't give a hoot about their actions and it's this type of attitude, albeit in the minority, which has the potential to cause huge problems in a place like the Shetlands.

LPG: No LPG from what I've seen but I'll be investigating that further when we return. That said, the Island does have an LPG processing station in Lerwick but I think you can only buy 1-million litres at a time lol.

Like monzer mentioned above I'll be needing his and your expert advice for boats but I'll do that in a separate thread Ma'am.

According to the mylpg.eu website there is one lpg station on the islands but it's only open by appointment if you ring ahead.

 

[Camdoon]

Shetland is on our bucket list as my paternal grandmother's family originated from there. There is a fantastic family history web site and I can trace my father and son's name back to there in the 1700's.

 

[Blue Knight]

D. All Things 'Northlink Ferry' Related:

Now this is a BIG subject whereby you only truly discover the pros and cons when you do it for real.

For me personally it is the 'ferry bit' of the jigsaw which really let's the whole Shetland experience down - so here goes:

Main Ferry Routes: Travel to Shetland is very easy but the primary ferry routes are:

a. Ferry-1 (90-minutes): Scotland-Scrabster to Orkney-Stromness, and then Ferry-2 (7.5 hours): Orkney-Kirkwall to Shetland-Lerwick, with a few hours wait inbetween.

Note: The distance between the two Orkney ports is about 13-miles and if you're connecting late at night then the roads are black and sometimes quite dangerous because of your induced fatigue levels from your previous crossings. Drink lots of coffee!!

b. Aberdeen to Orkney-Kirkwall to Shetland-Lerwick. This can take circa 13.5 hours and you stay on the ship while it docks for 45-minutes in Orkney-Kirkwall for the collection of any Shetland-bound passengers, and vice versa for the return trip too.

.......or any combination of the two routes above.

Ferry Costs:

We chose the Scotland-Orkney-Shetland route to avoid our dog from having to spend an elongated period of time stressed-out in the dog kennels (more to come on that subject).

Our northbound trip cost £243.50 while our southbound trip cost only £183.45 and yet we got exactly the same service for our money.

Top Tip: Why the £60 difference you ask? It's because on the return trip we took consecutive ferries and if you do this then the company will reduce your fare by 25%. They don't publish this fact in any of the brochures so this is a useful point to know.

On our way North we stayed on Orkney for 3-days so our ferry trips were not consecutive and therefore we forefitted the 25% reduction.

On our next trip we will take consecutive trips both North and Southbound so we'll save an extra £60 on our previous bill. We don't want to stay on Orkney again as it was as dull as watching paint dry and not for us! Orkney to me is like a big lump of plastercene with 40,000 cows residing on it; as I say "dull".

Top Tip: If you do know someone who is a Shetland resident then get them to place you on the Northlink Ferry 'Freinds and Family List' and that'll reduce your total ferry bill by circa 25-30%. I can't remember which it is, sorry, but I'll ask the terminal guys next week when we revisit Shetland.

Motorhome costs: The basic cost for any MoHo/PVC is based on the standard charge of a >6m long car and then a surcharge of circa £10 per-extra-meter is applied thereafter.

Example: The ferry charge for a vehicle up to 6m long was £65.00 each way but since our van is 6.36m in length then we were charged one extra meter @ £11. This makes the cost of a MoHo/PVC not much more than a car in theory.

Ferry Cabins and Costs: This is were your overall ferry costs can truly rocket as the cost of a cabin can add a huge amount to your total bill. In both cases Nicky and I just used the normal seating in the lounge for the main 7.5 hour trip(s) but, that said, if you're travelling on the 13.5 hour Aberdeen route then I would suggest you add a £20 (each person, each way) sleeping pod to your travel costs.

The Bad Bits:

1. Our outward journey from Orkney to Shetland was a gentle Force-4 and I slept on the floor like a log but, our return Shetland-Orkney trip turned out to be the first Force-9 storms of the year and, like many, I spent five of the seven hours with my head down the toilet. There's no other way to spice this one up but it was a bl○○dy horrendous experience.

Top Tip: Travel sickness tablets need to be at the top of your pre-trip shopping list.

2. Unlike the northern ferry journey which just required me to apply the handbrake and the first gear on the van to be safe; the southern journey required all four points of the van to be secured using 10-tonne ratchet straps to the chassis. This should have been an indicator of the bad things to come and after we docked and wobbled to the car deck I honestly thought that I was going to return to find the Globecar on its roof. It was that bad.

3. This is a rather sensitive matter but IMO the loading staff on the car deck don't care one bit about any damage which they may incur to your vehicle while its in transit. I witnessed some right stroppy behaviour by the staff whereby a few of the young ones were throwing heavy metal chains and chocks within centimetres of the cars and vans. including mine. I discovered a few small scratches (which I've managed to polish out) and slight damage to my front right alloy wheel where it's clear that the YTS bloke had attempted to initially secure my van by its wheel and not by the chassis.

Top Tip: On leaving the upper lounge of the ferry get yourself down to the car deck ASAP and conduct your vehicle inspection as soon as you can or else you'll not be able to prove any damage when you leave the ferry.

4. The Onbard Ferry Kennels: This is an incredibly stressful environment for any pet. The cost of a kennel is £10.05 for each ferry trip and I have to say that it's like imprisoning your pet in a category-A prison once it has all 'kicked off'. The kennels hold a permanent stink from the combined urine and disinfectant combo from the previous inmates, and, if that's not enough then the kennels themselves are positioned at the end of the main car deck where all the unpleasant noises and sounds make the experience even more miserable for your pet.

Top Tip-1: Leave your pet in the van if you trust it to be OK and not to poo, wee or vomit during the sea crossing.

Top Tip-2: If the weather is OK on the Scrabster-Stromness route then take your pet up on the top deck and stay with it for the duration.

Top Tip-3: If the weather is rainy and cold then tuck yourself behind the funnels on top deck, below the external staircases and enjoy both heat and shelter for you and your pet.

Top Tip-4: If you must secure your pooch in any of the onboard kennels then take some of your own disinfectant, cloths, absorbent tissues, a plastic sheet for the floor and his bed (as we did) and give the kennel a good clean out before you bed-him down for the crossing. If not then you'll have a right 'stinky kennel' smelling dog for the rest of your motorhome tour. Yuck!

Top Tip-5: In theory you may be able to visit your pet for a few minutes on the longer journeys so long as there are ferry staff to accompany you on the car deck. However, you won't be allowed down during bad sea conditions and they certainly won't allow it during periods of short staffing so please presume from the outset that you'll not see your pet until you land - and plan accordingly.

Enough said, I'm off for a coffee

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[Blue Knight]

According to the mylpg.eu website there is one lpg station on the islands but it's only open by appointment if you ring ahead.

View attachment 335522

A good point indeed. I pulled that up when we were there but the local guys said it was a processing site and not for domestic LPG.

I'll check it out next week when we return.

The positive point is that after 25-days on the road we still had a full 11kg tank left over.

I'm not sure that we'll be so fortunate next time when the cold kicks-in and the winter storms start tickling the rear end of the van.

Shetland has 300-days of wind so plenty good enough for getting my hair dry in fairly quick time.

 

[Blue Knight]

View attachment 335378

Just thinking the same at this point of the thread.

Some pics:

West Collafirth -

Northmavine:

Walls Mini Marina:

Walls Church - Spot the Globecar:

Nicky and Roman at Muckle Flugga. We stayed 20-feet to the right.

Kingham - That looks like a tip-top kayak entry point to me Ken

 

[Blue Knight]

.......and a few more:

RAF Saxo Vord, Unst as the sun was setting (through our tinted windows):

West Barrafirth Mini Marina:

West Berrafirth @ 8PM - out to sea:

Lerwick at night from the Island of Bressay:

Uyeasound on Unst, just as the rain and wind was coming in - c.80mph that night:

Here's one of the roof pods while at Uyeasound; I honestly thought that we would lose the roof lights, solar and awning so I taped-up the roof pods - and perhaps blow over too. "Yippee, come to Shetland"

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[Kingham]

Kingham - That looks like a tip-top kayak entry point to me Ken
View attachment 335551

Agreed ??.... you just need to buy somewhere within carrying distance of the slipway and with enough space to park another 6m+ van. See you soon ???

 

[Blue Knight]

Here's Nicky feeding Sid, Sylvia, Sharon, Spud and Scoobie (Our new seal buddies). We named them

 

[Camping Gaza]

Excellent !

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[monzer]

I'm not sure what kind of fishing you are in to but here's a few photos of the kind of fishing you can expect if you go out on the boat from Shetland. It's a completely different world. Not my personal photos, I just nabbed them of a fishing forum.

If anyone fancies organising a trip up there and booking the boat out I'd be more than happy to join in.

 

[Blue Knight]

monzer We will buy a house up there soon enough and then I'll get something organised sir.

In the meantime I'm just looking at a wee Arvor 215, 230 or 250, such as the one I saw in Shetland a few weeks ago. It's not quite a beast but it will be big enough to tow Ken back to shore when he gets dragged out to sea in his 'noo'

Kingham

 

[monzer]

monzer We will buy a house up there soon enough and then I'll get something organised sir.

In the meantime I'm just looking at a wee Arvor 215, 230 or 250, such as the one I saw in Shetland a few weeks ago. It's not quite a beast but it will be big enough to tow Ken back to shore when he gets dragged out to sea in his 'noo' View attachment 335569

Kingham

Very nice indeed.

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[Blue Knight]

E. Internal Ferry Service:

There's no denying that the internal ferry system is excellent. We never booked once and, instead of being clinical and organised with our travel plans we would simply turn up and jump on.

Ferry Pricing: The standard price for our 6.36m long PVC was £19.70 with 2-people for a return ferry trip to a single island location; a trip to Bressay from Lerwick, lasting 10-minutes, each way, would cost sub 20-quid.

That said, there are a couple of variations to this rule, namely for the islands of Unst and Fetlar which sees you being able to get four ferries for the price of two and all for the same price of £19.70 (van and two people).

If you wish to travel to Unst or Fetlar from the Mainland then it requires a trip to Yell first, so two ferries each way in total. The Shetland Island Council in its excellent wisdom has deemed that 2 x £19.70 is far too expensive so you only pay one lot of £19.70 and that allows you to hop over to Unst or Fetlar for free. Well done the SIC

When you arrive at any of the internal ferry terminals then you'll get a choice of lanes which in basic terms is one for booked and one for unbooked. In some cases there will be up to six lanes as the terminal may have multiple destination points - so choose wisely.

If you are happy to travel around the internal Shetland islands as an 'unbooked' party then you'll be 100% OK but just bare in mind the following:

1. Most ferry crews will have an hour off for lunch. For those travel periods, including the daily rush hour then things can get slightly busier and you can see your ferry run out of space by those who have pre-booked. Still, that said, we only got stuck twice out of 10-ferry hops so we just put the kettle on and had a chill. The turnaround time for most ferries is about 30 to 40 minutes so you won't have to wait long for the next one.

2. The weekend service has a reduced timetable but not by much so don't worry about travelling on a Sunday. You won't have an issue.

3. Check to see if the Island you are travelling to has an event organised. Example: We went to Yell and as it transpired they had their annual show in full motion at Mid Yell. There were only 300 vehicle but they soon fill these small internal ferries so be careful. Footnote: Yell won't have its next show until Sep-2020 so that's one show you don't have to worry about for now

Pics of the ferries. The top one is of the Mainland-to-Yell route which is bigger than the second which only serves the outer island group. It gives an idea of space etc.

.....and a pic of the Ferry Terminal with the various 'booked' and 'unbooked' lane options on the standard blue sign:

....and here's a pic of us on the front park spot of the ferry on a choppy crossing to Unst. I've got to admit but it was great fun.

More to come

 

[Paddywack]

Nicky and Roman at Muckle Flugga. We stayed 20-feet to the right.

Kingham - That looks like a tip-top kayak entry point to me Ken
View attachment 335551

It is!

It's one of the few places in the UK were as you paddle out of the bay towards Muckle Flugga and Out Stack you feel truly exposed, recognising you're a long way from the big yellow rescue bird if it all goes wrong.

 

[Blue Knight]

F. Emergency and Tech Stuff:

This is the serious bit of my research which covers the likes of emergencies, medical incidents, mobile phones and signals, alarms, alcohol levels, maps and GPS:

The 'emergency-thing' is not a subject which I see come up on the various MoHo forums so therefore what happens when you visit an isolated place, with no communications coverage, and something goes wrong?

Well, it's a subject worth thinking about and in Shetland there is certainly a few out-of-the-way places that suffer from such effects.

Example: To set the scene - we were located in the West Burrafirth ferry terminal on a small fishing marina for 3-days, 2-nights, and although we could access a low speed broadband signal from the ferry terminal itself; there was still a total absence of phone signal, 4G or landline and we saw only three other people for the duration of the stay. To make matters worse I had to climb the adjoining mountain road for 10-minutes before I could get a signal on my phone. Also, my Samsung phone could receive a signal when Nicky's IPhone could not (same network) so it indicates that all phones and equipment types are not equal.

1. Alarms: For those vans which rely on a posh alarm to utilise a phone signal as part of its operational system then you can just about forget using it completely.

2. GPS Tracker: Like above so in our instance the mobile monitoring app became entirely useless.

3. Medical: If something happens to a person then often the first 'course of action' would be to drive the casualty to a place where you can obtain an actual phone signal; not easy when 'bleeding out' or when the heart stops. Shetland has a dedicated nurse on each of the islands with small basic surgeries scattered amongst the Island group. Still, the ambulance service is restricted and therefore air ambulance is the only alternative.

4. Emergencies: Solo travellers do incur a heightened risk in such scenarios since the likes of emergencies, punctures, accidents, etc highlight the importance or having good communications or contingency planning when you are 'off-grid' and off-line.

5. Maps: The importance of good, accurate mapping should be high on anyone's agenda for remote-style camping trips. I always use the best maps available and in Shetland you should really be using a proper map set of mapping if you intend to venture towards the islands and remote coastline areas, of which there are many.

6. Alcohol: Off grid motorhoming and alcohol don't mix IMO so I became teetotal for the whole duration of the trip; I certainly didn't miss it and in all honesty I felt better for not having it.

All important points which people often ignore.

Footnote: I'll write about a few more subjects tomorrow evening.

All the best,

Andrew

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