Scotland with a motorhome

[ThroughGraceAlone]

Hi, my DH has always dreamt of visiting the highlands. We're relocating abroad, but I would love to surprise DH with a Scotland trip (Edinburgh and the Highlands) before we go.

I'm thinking of hiring a camper van/motor home and travel up to scotland.
But where do I start?
Any good recommendations on where to rent one?
We are based in Winchester, but can also pick up a van in Manchester if we sleep over at my parents (and leave our car there)

We have a 2 littlies. A 1 year old and a 3 year old? Would it be feasible with them?

Any any scotland and or motorhome reccomendations and do's and don't will be highly appreciated. Pitfalls to look out for? I don't want to mess this up as it will be our one and only uk holiday.
How long is a good time to go for?

Lastly, would you reccomend the Caledonian express from London to Edinburgh and maybe a motorhome from there or a waste of money.

Thank you so very much

Sorry not sure about hire places or the Caledonian express but I have visited Scotland in a motorhome with the kids and had a fantastic time. Did a mix of campsites and finding spots where it was possible to stay overnight.

I think you need to have a think about what you want to see, there is loads to do, many do the NC500 but we focussed mostly on the Fort William area and spent a week on Skye then drove across and spent a few days in Edinburgh.

The train is lovely but I'm not sure how it would be with tiny children.

The main thing I would say is definitely book campsites before you travel.
There is quite a lot of motorbike tourism in the North of Scotland and people parking in laybys is causing a lot of bother and animosity.

Camping and caravanning club sites tend to have the kind of facilities you would need with small children.

If it were me, I might prefer to book static caravans or self catering cottages to have a definite base to wash and dry clothes in case it rains.

There are some lovely ones on Skye, on Arran etc.
The ferries are quite easy to book even at relatively short notice, but the timings aren't exact.

Hope you're confident about driving on single track roads and can reverse into a passing place.

Are you reasonably confident with driving a large size vehicle? Scotland is absolutely stunning and I love it, but I would recommend avoiding Skye and the NC500 which are pretty busy and the driving of people (often in hire vans) isn't great.

Quirky campers is pretty good for browsing through and finding a van you'd like to hire but don't forget you'll need belted seats for the little ones too. I think what I'd suggest is doing a trip along these lines. Picking up a van in Manchester (there are 4 on Quirky that would work) driving up the West coast and possibly stopping overnight at Tebay Services to break the journey (totally allowed and an amazing services you just pay an overnight fee) then head to Loch Lomond and spend a night or two, Cashel Campsite is basic but was nice a few years ago.

Then I'd head up to Glencoe and stay on the car park at Glencoe Mountain Centre overnight (pay for one of the hook ups if you can, the pitches are level and you won't be desperately looking for a flat spot in the car park). You'll feel right in the middle of the mountains and may well see some deer.

Follow the road down towards Fort William and book onto Bunree Campsite for a couple of days, right next to the Loch and spotless. Its Caravan and Motorhome Club so you might need to join (but there are other sites you could also use with them round Scotland depending on the length of your trip)

I would then head to Aviemore and eventually down to Edinburgh via Pitlochry.

None of those roads are too tricky and shouldn't need reversing. Just don't be tempted down the "sky fall road" near Glencoe if you aren't feeling comfortable with the size of vehicle.

I'd probably look for a campsite outside of Edinburgh with decent transport links rather than trying to drive in personally.

I'd probably look for a campsite outside of Edinburgh with decent transport links rather than trying to drive in personally.

The Edinburgh CAMC is on a bus route and it costs about £12 in an uber. Much easier than trying to drive in centre.

https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-sites/scotland/edinburgh/edinburgh-club-campsite/

And it is the same club as Bunree, which I agree is a beautiful site so it may well be worth in investing in membership.

When we did Scotland with the dc, we stayed at campsites with a nearby beach, playground and an indoor pool so they could burn off their excess energy when they weren’t cooped up in the caravan. In the Highlands, we stayed at Nairn Lochloy and Grannie Heilan Hame. Both were mediocre sites but the indoor pool was indispensable when it rained!

I'll have to save that on my list...thanks :)

My honest opinion would be to wait to do Scotland. Your children will be bored senseless with all the travelling that’s involved. There’s not an awful lot for small children to do in much of Scotland, it’s all about the breathtaking scenery and midges. Do not underestimate the midge problem. They get everywhere! They can enter your MH through the fly screens and boy do the bite. You need to go early or late in the year to avoid them.

Thank you so much for everyone's answers thus far, I really appreciate it

It would probably be easier to fly to Edinburgh, spend a few days there in a hotel/Airbnb, pick up a hire campervan for touring around the highlands for a week/10 days then fly back from Inverness. Or the other way round if it suits!

There are loads of campervans/visitors about but the campsites don’t seem as busy as the last few years - saying that I would sort a route and book sites beforehand. You can in theory park and sleep anywhere, but (as a NC500 local), it is quite annoying.

Don't do the applecross peninsula in the motorhome. It's crazy and we saw a lot of people struggling in motor homes up the hair pin bends. But it's a great place.

I would consider flying to EDI as there’s a couple of MoHo hire places not far from the airport. I would minimise how much driving you plan to do with kids that age and find sites where you can walk / bus to sights and activities to avoid having to pack everything up to drive the van everywhere. Also factor in car seats as I think you’ll need ones that go in with seatbelts rather than isofix. When my nephews have been in one they always end up with one of the kids sitting in the front due to seatbelt sagas.

I think with DCs that small, it's not such a great idea - I love Scotland, but a lot of places are a long drive from each other. Beautiful scenery (when it's not raining), but pretty boring for littlies.

We did it a few years ago and got a motor home from here motorhomeescapes.co.uk/ - you can leave your car securely with them. It's much easier to drive up in your car. We went up the top - one of the best places we stayed was here sangosands.com/camping-and-caravanning-home/ - you do need to book asap though!

I found driving on some of the roads in the Highlands quite scary in a car (due to steep hols, narrow roads and tight bends). Unless you’re a really experienced Motorhome driver touring could be difficult and certainly not a relaxing drive.

I live in a lovely area of Scotland and this would be my worst nightmare with 1&3 year old. Stuck in small van for hours in the evening if its raining and long drives and constantly having to watch them- bearing in mind the main activities will be going for walks, playing on the beach or paddling in a burn!

I think @Sugarflowers makes a good point. If you got great weather and have the sort of kids who are easily amused digging holes in empty beaches then it could be a great break in good weather BUT there’s no guarantee of getting the weather and kids in a confined space could easily get cranky, particularly as they’re too young to really enjoy the freedom that a campsite can offer older kids. If your heart is set on Scotland I would look at hiring a house or chalet for a week in somewhere like Aviemore which is very “highland” but has plenty to do for families and save the campervan dream for when they’re either older or your retirement!

Please, if you have more than one person behind you pull in where you can and let them pass. My journey today took 50% longer thanks to being stuck behind camper vans.

When are you planning to do this trip?

After school hols, hopefully September /October. I'm assuming November is a no go?

September and early October are often lovely times of year for the weather in Scotland and less midges too. The roads will also by quieter. To echo earlier posters, use campsites rather than just parking up. The area around Ullapool is wonderful- Achmelvich and Achlitibue have stunning beaches and heading North of Ullapool to Assynt is like driving through the bare bones of the earth.

Avoid Scottish half term in October - its earlier than you might think.

It is normslly the week before England and some areas ( Aberdeen etc) have 2 weeks off.

We have a camper van, last year we did outer Hebrides, Skye and Scotland. We live in Kent and we're gone 2 1/2 weeks in all.
Luss campsite is lovely and a short walk to shops and cafes/pub and a great first stop when you travel up its next to a loch and just gorgeous.
Morvich caravan club site is lovely.
Ben Nevis campsite is great, nice pub on site but it's a big site.
Went to applecross a few years ago in a car, and camped it's a beautiful camp site and the whole place is lovely, but my nerves were shot to pieces from the road there, and back.