booked a nice campervan for 2 weeks in august.
cant wait, gonna do loads of stuff i have been wanting to do for ages.
thing is can you stay overnight anywhere i,e not having to use sites.

also any good places to stay????

just park up where you want.

I don’t see the point in a camper at all if you take it to sites

You’ll mostly have to use sites as lots of “suitable” spaces are marked as “No Overnight Parking”. OTOH, turn up late and leave early and who’ll know? Where are you thinking of – Scotlands a big place. I know a few decent places you could kip down.

list of places i want to visit are
linn of dee, to take the wife into the lairig.
golspie, to ride.
kinlochbervie, and the coastline north of it.
skye, to go for a walk.
moray monsters, to ride.
loch ericht, cos it is awesome.
and any good beaches to chill/take a dip/play with the dog and daughter.

MCofS guidance
“ROADSIDE CAMPING

* Although camping beside a road is not normally considered wild camping, it does take place and is lawful. Following a few simple guidelines can reduce any impacts.
* Whenever practicable use an official campsite with sanitation facilities. [Wild Camping, a guide to good practice]
* Ask nearby residents before pitching if you wish to camp near houses.
* Remember vehicles have a great impact on vegetation. Park on hard ground or on a safe metalled area. It is better to walk to your car than drive to your tent.
* Avoid sites that are at risk of being overused. Congregational roadside camping can cause significant problems.
* Take particular care with toilet hygiene.
* If you are just looking for a place for a few hours sleep, then pitch late, leave early and be unobtrusive.

From http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/leaflets/wildcamp.html

Lairig Ghru is easier from the North. Overnighting at the Linn of Dee car park should be OK as long as you don’t make it too obvious. Also try along at Linn of Quoich – it’s a bit quieter.

Kinlochbervie – drive along to the road end at Sheigra and you should be able to park up there for the night.

Skye – Pay for the site at Glen Brittle and you can park almost on the beach.

On the way to Skye – go via the old ferry and park on the beach at Glenelg (the only UK place name which is a palindrome?). Have a look at the brochs while you’re there.

BTW – the best beaches are all in the Western Isles. But it’s worth investigating Sanna, Arisaig and the coast along to Morar

My dad has being doing it for about 20 years now and mostly in Scotland and the police called on him once in that time…it was cold and they asked for a cheeky brew.

Ton – how much for the van? – where from?

6 berth, for me, mrs, daughter and dog.
£500 a week insured.
parkend garage in girvan.

Should keep you busy for a while:

http://rutgerbooy.nl/Wildcamping_page_2.htm#Scotland

http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Loving this thread!

I’m up in my campervan for a couple of weeks late may/early june – woo hoo!!

Ton, when you are in Moray, you can park up just along the road from our house and get awesome views across the Moray Firth. E-mail me for directions and depending when you’re here I/we can show you around. 🙂

jo, week comencing 15th august.
going up the east coast 1st so might get in touch… 8)
you not far from golspie and the monsters then??

Monster trails are 7 miles away. Golspie is further unless you have a boat to nip across the Firth. Buckie is where we are and there are some nice seaside spots to stop in your camper that are ‘wild’ and legal.

I’ll be down in Laggan riding and partying the weekend of the 15th as I’m celebrating a rather big birthday, the following weekend is the No Fuss enduro ’10 More in Moray’ if you fancy a race while you’re up, however, I can take you out for an evening ride during the week, or hook you up with someone who’s free during the week.

jo, thanks love,
i will be in touch nearer.

When are you planning the Linn O’Dee stop? I live in Braemar, but haven’t taken the bike up the Lairig yet. I’ve walked it, and camping in your van shouldn’t cause too many probs if you stay at the Linn O’Dee or Linn O’Quoich. Just follow the basic rules and take your rubbish out with you, the game keepers and rangers are pretty good as long as you stay tidy.
Meet you in The Moorfield for a pint of Tradewinds.

Just do a search for “fulltiming”. Thats what i’m doing this year, selling my flat and living fulltime in a motorhome… 😀

If, when you hire the van, you get temporary membership of a club. You will be able to get on a site for a few hours to empty your waste water and refill your tanks. You can also charge batteries. They normally charge you about £3 for this. If there are 2 of you your water and batteries will normally last 4 to 5 days.

Tony
Just back from 2 weeks in North West Scotland in Camper.
As someone said most of the laybys and car parks have signs saying no overnight parking, but you can find other places to park up – there are lots of sections of old road which has been left after a new alignment has been constructed. Keep a look out. We stayed on camp sites only 4 nights – to fill up with water + dump.
Rides done :
Quiraing on Skye
Torridon Loop
Lochan Fada loop from Kinlochewe
From Kinlochbervie to Sandmore bay and up to Strathan Bothy
Balblair and Contin Trails on way back down.
Applecross is worth a visit though I didnt ride over- you should be OK taking Van over Bealach Na Ba
Fantastic weather Blue skys for the last week.

Forgot to say – NO MIDGES – but there will be in August !

You could visit Cape Wrath – get small ferry from near Durness and then ride 11 miles on rough road to lighthouse with the wife or ride in the minibus and get shaken about for 30 minutes.