Stopping in Scotland

[Skuk]

Hi, we are considering buying a motorhome with a view to living in it and touring round the West of Scotland to look for a home to live in. I'm sure we could manage but would like some advice on overnight stopping. Do we need to budget for stopping in proper sites each night or can we stop pretty much in any lay-by without penalty?
Thanks in advance.
Steve

 

[Pablotti]

Wild camping is permitted, but isn’t always as easy as you might think. With few roads, many of the places you can stay are likely to be just along side.

That said, there are plenty of great places to stop. You start to get a feel for it.

We found that forestry commission sites were perfect. And they were actively encouraging wild camping by way of signs. We toured in the height of summer this year, and most FC sites were empty by night… or just one other person.

Here are a couple…

 

[PaulC70]

Theres very few places in Scotland that doesn't allow stopping. Plus this assumes a degree of common sense. ie there will be areas that you'd simply be daft to stop in, but living full time in a van in Scotlands likely to be easier than a lot of other places.

 

[Grianan]

There are places you can stop but a lot are blocked off after the excesses of the last 2 years.
It’s worth knowing that the law pertaining to wild camping applies to tents snd not to Campervans.
There are a few aires open now that are worth investigating too. Park4night is useful too.
Thé post about FC sites is good. And Britstops.

 

[Otter Spotter]

Subscribe to Search for sites that will give you loads of choice

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[tacr2man]

Time of year , and weather conditions will be a factor as well, particularly dependent on motorhome construction etc .

 

[zaskar]

On time off, we do nothing but wild camping to get away from it all. I have to say that over the past 5 or 6 years, there's been a noticeable difference in the volume of "no overnight parking" signs springing up in South West Scotland, especially Galloway. The past 18 months has REALLY brought the signs out.

 

[David and Sally]

 

[Stoosal]

Time of year may mean you need electricity supply depending on time of year and set up. You will need to account for your waste disposal and water supply. I would plan to stay on a site every few days to dump waste etc. Many areas have been saturated with ‘wildcampers’.

 

[Gellyneck]

On time off, we do nothing but wild camping to get away from it all. I have to say that over the past 5 or 6 years, there's been a noticeable difference in the volume of "no overnight parking" signs springing up in South West Scotland, especially Galloway. The past 18 months has REALLY brought the signs out.

Surprised at that as loads of signs went up during COVID lockdowns but now seem to be removed. As you know local Council has even installed black waste disposal at New England Bay.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Liverpoollass]

We have just returned from a 7 week trip around Scotland..we wild Camped every night..no problems.. in fact In Pitlochry and St Andrews it was free to stay overnight in public car parks between 6pm and 8am. We don't usually stay in car parks but sites were often full and it meant we could have a meal and a drink.
We were approached by a council Ranger whilst wildcamping in Wester Ross. She knocked on our jab door and gave us a leaflet mapping out where we could find fresh water, waste dumping, showers and laundry facilities..
How good was that.

 

[Pablotti]

We were approached by a council Ranger whilst wildcamping in Wester Ross. She knocked on our jab door and gave us a leaflet mapping out where we could find fresh water, waste dumping, showers and laundry facilities..
How good was that.

The same happened to us when wild camping near Loch Laggan.

 

[Geistguy]

If you have a specific area where you want to live consider a seasonal pitch. When we decided to move to Scotland ( North East not West ) 16 years ago we had a C&CC Club pitch from April to October, the cost then was very reasonable and worked perfectly for us.

 

[Evotime]

I have done it the last 5 years. I don't stay on sites due to huge cost, other than Durness, fantastic views. As others have said more and more no overnight signs popping up but still plenty of places to stop.

You get the occasional muppet sounding their horn through the night. 3 times in 5 years, not bad I would say.

 

[Garfields]

Doing it the winter you may struggle more as a lot of sites close and you will need some places to empty and refill.
On the plus side if you are looking for a home seeing what things are like between November and March is no bad thing.
There is a very good reason the west highland's are rugged.
Stunning in the summer but you need to be a certain type of person to love them in the winter.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Sue and Rick]

I wonder if they have a house yet?

 

[Brains]

I wonder if they have a house yet?

They have had enough time to find a field, get planning permission, build a house and have a couple of kids by now!

 

[Garfields]

Didn't notice the date
Bit of a zombie thread

 

[A S R]

other than Durness, fantastic views.

Dunno what you mean!