Scotland and the Outer Hebrides

[JanBn]

Hi All

Thinking of taking my caravan from Wales up to Scotland at the beginning of July staying at various places and would like to stay on the Ilse of Harris for a few days, just wondered if anyone has done this trip and what are the road conditions for a relatively new caravanner and any other advice you can offer. It will just be me and my husband, but due to his disability the towing (and stress :lol: ) is down to me.

Since having our van, we have toured Cornwall and the small roads of West and Mid Wales, just wondered how more difficult would it likely to be? and also would we be eaten by the dreaded midges doing the west coast of Scotland during July

Many Thanks

 

[LizziePope]

Hi and thanks for posting. I've posed this question on our Facebook page (please see here) which might help. It would be a great trip!

 

[otherclive]

It’s difficult to predict what the midge season will bring. Last September we went to near Aviemore and even that late they were so bad that we couldn’t sit out, and walks were okay until you stopped to admire the view etc. Yet we have been to the west coast in June/July and they have only been a minor irritation. Deet is good for preventing bites but it doesn’t stop them surrounding you. Scotland is glorious so I would say go and enjoy it, but take clothes and deterrents that will make life difficult for the wee beasties.

 

[JanBn]

Thank you Lizzie will take a look now

Hi and thanks for posting. I've posed this question on our Facebook page (please see here) which might help. It would be a great trip!

 

[JanBn]

Thank you, I think deet will be on the top of my list, I have mosquito nets on my awning, but I’m guessing with the name midges that probably won’t stop them :lol:

It’s difficult to predict what the midge season will bring. Last September we went to near Aviemore and even that late they were so bad that we couldn’t sit out, and walks were okay until you stopped to admire the view etc. Yet we have been to the west coast in June/July and they have only been a minor irritation. Deet is good for preventing bites but it doesn’t stop them surrounding you. Scotland is glorious so I would say go and enjoy it, but take clothes and deterrents that will make life difficult for the wee beasties.

 

[otherclive]

No mosquitoe nets are to large gauge holes. You can buy midge nets that will fit onto a wide brimmed hat but we haven’t used them. There is an Avon (calling) lotion that the some in the army use in U.K. and overseas and is supposed to be an effective deterrent. Doesn’t melt your specs like Deet does.
Site your van away from trees helps. When we first went to Scotland many years ago we arrived at our site and couldn’t believe the choice of fabulous pitches around the perimeter near the forest. 30 minutes later we joined our fellow campers out in the central area.
You will need to keep windows and vents closed. But the door flyscreen seems effective in our van. In the evenings we light those coil mosquito deterrents and put them outside the awning. And in the caravan we use a plug in a Life Sytems 110-240 v anti mosquito fluid heater that is very effective in killing any that get in. There are various makes on the market.

There is a web based midge severity service which shows the degree of midge severity in colour and number coded maps. We’ve used it when touring as it seems quite accurate and conditions can vary across an area.
Just to give you an idea we were in Grantown on Spey one year and the Highland police station in the area had to move their control room as midges had blocked the ventilation and air con filters.

 

[JanBn]

Hi
Thank you for your very informative response

I will definitely try the Avon stuff, I think I have some from a previous trip to India :huh:

The other suggestions are excellent ideas and will invest in the coils and plug ins....can’t see my husband wearing a net though :lol: :lol:
Thanks again

No mosquitoe nets are to large gauge holes. You can buy midge nets that will fit onto a wide brimmed hat but we haven’t used them. There is an Avon (calling) lotion that the some in the army use in U.K. and overseas and is supposed to be an effective deterrent. Doesn’t melt your specs like Deet does.
Site your van away from trees helps. When we first went to Scotland many years ago we arrived at our site and couldn’t believe the choice of fabulous pitches around the perimeter near the forest. 30 minutes later we joined our fellow campers out in the central area.
You will need to keep windows and vents closed. But the door flyscreen seems effective in our van. In the evenings we light those coil mosquito deterrents and put them outside the awning. And in the caravan we use a plug in a Life Sytems 110-240 v anti mosquito fluid heater that is very effective in killing any that get in. There are various makes on the market.

There is a web based midge severity service which shows the degree of midge severity in colour and number coded maps. We’ve used it when touring as it seems quite accurate and conditions can vary across an area.
Just to give you an idea we were in Grantown on Spey one year and the Highland police station in the area had to move their control room as midges had blocked the ventilation and air con filters.

 

[Anseo]

Midge jackets and more importantly midge nets should be on the must have list.

I have not found a potion or lotion that works for me, long sleeves and a midge net are my best defences, if I can create some kind of smoke (mosquito coil thingys) or turn on an electric fan then that helps hugely.

I promise that your husband will not only wear a net but will offer you money to let him have one if the little darlings are out in force, unless you experience them you cannot know what a curse they can be

Enjoy Scotland, anywhere up the west is great, probably best to avoid the A82 - Loch Lomond (between Tarbet and Inverarnan), if you decide to go that route take plenty of time to judge what traffic is onward coming and take a lot of care with the sticky-oot rock projections, going north is more difficult than going south on this stretch, about 5 miles of bad road then it becomes good again.

 

[otherclive]

I prefer the route that avoids Loch Lomond and goes via the Stirling area rejoining A82 at the north end of Lomond at Crianlarich. Avoids as you say a pretty hairy five mile section of the A82.

 

[JanBn]

Thank you, I will warn my husband :lol:
I watched a vlog of a couple driving what must have been that Loch Lomand route you mention, as he said, he wished he’d listened to the advice he had been given, especially about the rock protrusions :dry: so I will definitely take that bit of advice, as I’ve driven I similar piece of road down in the Gower, South Wales but that was only for 2-3 miles and that was bad enough

Midge jackets and more importantly midge nets should be on the must have list.

I have not found a potion or lotion that works for me, long sleeves and a midge net are my best defences, if I can create some kind of smoke (mosquito coil thingys) or turn on an electric fan then that helps hugely.

I promise that your husband will not only wear a net but will offer you money to let him have one if the little darlings are out in force, unless you experience them you cannot know what a curse they can be

Enjoy Scotland, anywhere up the west is great, probably best to avoid the A82 - Loch Lomond (between Tarbet and Inverarnan), if you decide to go that route take plenty of time to judge what traffic is onward coming and take a lot of care with the sticky-oot rock projections, going north is more difficult than going south on this stretch, about 5 miles of bad road then it becomes good again.

 

[JanBn]

Thank you, I will definitely be making a note to avoid this route, now just need to find out what the roads are like on the islands, such as Harris and Lewis :huh:

I prefer the route that avoids Loch Lomand and goes via the Stirling area rejoining A82 at the north end of Lomand at Crianlarich. Avoids as you say a pretty hairy five mile section of the A82.

 

[Anseo]

Thank you, I will definitely be making a note to avoid this route, now just need to find out what the roads are like on the islands, such as Harris and Lewis :huh:

Allow for the roads on Lewis and Harris being narrow and twisty, it is an area to enjoy and taking your time and using the passing places soon becomes second nature.

Harris has beautiful strands, lots of white sand beaches to pitch on and precious few neighbours that speak anything other than baaa.

Take lots of provisions and enjoy a wonderful area.

Not sure if you intend to go via Stornoway to Harris but you can stock up in the supermarket there, if you travel to Harris via Tarbert the shopping choices are more limited, but you will survive

 

[Dustydog]

Did this trip a few years ago. Started at Arran and gradually worked our way up the west coast.
Once on Skye we sailed from Uig to Tarbert on Harris. Stayed at Eileen Fraoich site on Lewis. Clean and pleasant family run site but don’t expect Club standards. We went in May and had no trouble with the beasties. Not an overly pretty island but one you need to see. The fences at our site were made from old palettes whilst the only way they recycle used vehicles , buses included is to leave them in a field. A short drive will take you to the Loch Erisort Inn. Good food and hosts, but check their opening times.
We use Avon skin so soft. We bought an island hopper ticket from Cal MAC which was very good value.
Then back to Ullapool from Stornaway and on to the rest of the north west Sutherland coast.
Having gone that far I can recommend the Club site at Altnaharra by Loch Naver.

 

[JanBn]

Thank you, I was looking at going via Tarbert, but may very well revise that option after reading your reply :cheer: and thanks for the advice of the roads, because I am fairly new to caravanning and my ‘Co-pilot’ is an advisory pilot only :lol: I just wanted to be aware of what to expect as it is only me that can get us out of any ‘sticky’ situations....have handled two okay so far in my 8 months of caravanning

Thank you, I will definitely be making a note to avoid this route, now just need to find out what the roads are like on the islands, such as Harris and Lewis :huh:

Allow for the roads on Lewis and Harris being narrow and twisty, it is an area to enjoy and taking your time and using the passing places soon becomes second nature.

Harris has beautiful strands, lots of white sand beaches to pitch on and precious few neighbours that speak anything other than baaa.

Take lots of provisions and enjoy a wonderful area.

Not sure if you intend to go via Stornoway to Harris but you can stock up in the supermarket there, if you travel to Harris via Tarbert the shopping choices are more limited, but you will survive

 

[JanBn]

Thank you, I will be going straight onto google to look up the places you mentioned it’s good to ask people who have already done the trip.....though I think what I need is a tour guide in a Caravan that I can follow !! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Did this trip a few years ago. Started at Arran and gradually worked our way up the west coast.
Once on Skye we sailed from Uig to Tarbert on Harris. Stayed at Eileen Fraoich site on Lewis. Clean and pleasant family run site but don’t expect Club standards. We went in May and had no trouble with the beasties. Not an overly pretty island but one you need to see. The fences at our site were made from old palettes whilst the only way they recycle used vehicles , buses included is to leave them in a field. A short drive will take you to the Loch Erisort Inn. Good food and hosts, but check their opening times.
We use Avon skin so soft. We bought an island hopper ticket from Cal MAC which was very good value.
Then back to Ullapool from Stornaway and on to the rest of the north west Sutherland coast.
Having gone that far I can recommend the Club site at Altnaharra by Loch Naver.

 

[Raywood]

Not sure about Harris as a destination but in July you will be in the midge season so take the Avon Soft. I agree use thr route through Callander rather than up by Loch Lomond, it is a little longer but far quicker and safer.
Once of the motorway you will be on single carriageway roads so going can be slow and allow plenty of time for the journey.

 

[JanBn]

Thank you, I really appreciate you and everyone else taking the time to reply, all advice and suggestions are really helpful and are being noted down in my journey book
This will hopefully make our trip more enjoyable and less stressful for me :lol:

Not sure about Harris as a destination but in July you will be in the midge season so take the Avon Soft. I agree use thr route through Callander rather than up by Loch Lomond, it is a little longer but far quicker and safer.
Once of the motorway you will be on single carriageway roads so going can be slow and allow plenty of time for the journey.

 

[Anseo]

JanBn,

My preference would be Dustydog's route, SkyeUig to Tarbert then Stornoway to Ullapool and up the coast to enjoy Sutherland.

I don't think you can go wrong with the route along Glencoe -Fort William -Skye- Harris- Lewis- Ullapool and then north along the coast, what you do after that, well there are so many choices for your return trip.

Have great time, enjoy the planning, but you may decide not to stick to the plan (make that part of your plan B) ).

There are so many good sites to stop at that the choices are difficult to make, Glencoe Camping and Caravan Clubsite, Glen Nevis Caravan and Camping Park (situated just below Scotlands' highest mountain), Sligachan on Skye has a nice if a little basic caravan site and costs not a lot ( a 12 minute walk from the site is the Sligachan hotel if you can't be bothered cooking), to name a few.

Morrisons supermarket ( I would make this one of the main stocking up points) in Fort William is very convenient with the caravan and only yards from your main route, you could park there and take the short walk into the town centre if you wished, the Imperial Hotel is much better than the main area cafe's and bars and costs about the same.

The C0-OP in Broadford - Skye is another possible stocking up point, I don't know what the parking is like for carcaravan in Portree as I tend not to stop there when on my way to Uig.

I'm getting carried away here hmy: , think I might just plan for a similar trip to yours, it is a wonderful touring area and I am yearning for it yet again.

One final thing (I hope I hear you say) is to allow plenty of extra time to stop at the numerous and very accessible viewpoints along the way, time very well spent; many of the areas are good for a lunch stop in the caravan, I do not recall any that have toilets, when you spot a place to pull in then just do it, I always regret putting off stopping because of the 'get to the destination' mindset that seems to creep in on most journeys.

Blah,Blah, Blah

 

[Dustydog]

Jan,
How long are thinking going for.

 

[JanBn]

Hi
Thinking of doing three or four weeks, as I was going to do the trip up to Scotland in two or three stages

Jan,
How long are thinking going for.

 

[thosoneill]

Many roads in Scotland are not conducive for towing a caravan - sometimes its difficult to avoid the single track sections with passing places - gradients are often steep and the general quality of the road surface is poor - I’d suggest planning your route thoroughly using google maps with the streetview facility - oh did I mention the midges

 

[JanBn]

Thank you for that information, good idea about checking google maps first. I have been watching vlogs posted on YouTube by the many vloggers of their experiences of routes and trips to various places, especially Andrew Ditton, who seems to do a lot of the Hebridean islands, to get a better picture of places to stay and the road conditions. but google maps is a great idea :cheer:
Lol those pesky midges do seem to be coming up time and time again :dry: :lol: at this rate may be posting another question on here about what people think about a trip to the West of Ireland instead :lol:

Many roads in Scotland are not conducive for towing a caravan - sometimes its difficult to avoid the single track sections with passing places - gradients are often steep and the general quality of the road surface is poor - I’d suggest planning your route thoroughly using google maps with the streetview facility - oh did I mention the midges

 

[otherclive]

Thank you for that information, good idea about checking google maps first. I have been watching vlogs posted on YouTube by the many vloggers of their experiences of routes and trips to various places, especially Andrew Ditton, who seems to do a lot of the Hebridean islands, to get a better picture of places to stay and the road conditions. but google maps is a great idea :cheer:
Lol those pesky midges do seem to be coming up time and time again :dry: :lol: at this rate may be posting another question on here about what people think about a trip to the West of Ireland instead :lol:

Many roads in Scotland are not conducive for towing a caravan - sometimes its difficult to avoid the single track sections with passing places - gradients are often steep and the general quality of the road surface is poor - I’d suggest planning your route thoroughly using google maps with the streetview facility - oh did I mention the midges

West of Ireland doesn't suffer midges, and is very beautiful. We went over a couple of years ago, but decided to rent cottages for our stay. Glad we did as the roads aren't that great for touring. Okay if you decide on stopping at a couple of places but not for shorter term stop overs. And careful where you hang out the laundry line as you could find your clothes heading back to Rosslare!

 

[Raywood]

I accept that I have not been to Harris so cannot comment on that but the roads in the highlands are generally safe for caravan with one or two exceptions. The local are generally well aware of the need to use passing places sensibly and drive accordingly. Google Earth though is a useful answer if you need to check out any route.
As someone who does not appeal to the midges appetite I may be biased as to how bad they are, but with the right protection you should not need to miss out on the fantastic scenery and friendly natives.
A point to watch is that fuel stations are sometimes a long way apart so it pays to get a full tank when yo pass one.

 

[Anseo]

I agree with Raywood on his roads comments, yes we have a lot of roads that are less than ideal for towing a large trailer, but most of these can be avoided.

Trucks, including articulated lorries and tourist coaches are regular users of roads that caravans travel on, and yes some are very narrow with passing places; as for gradients then it is true we have some very steep climbs but if your car has been selected for the weight of the caravan and correct selection of gears is chosen then I can say there are no hills you cannot climb (on regular routes), I include here the Hailey Brae and there are many power sapping long inclines such as on the A9.

Midges have never ruined a holiday for me, been a right nuisance at times yes, but with a few simple precautions they are manageable.

As for midges in Ireland, yes Ireland has them, not as plentiful as their Scottish cousins but just as fierce, much of the west of Ireland is like Scotland, heather, wet and damp, I have spent a lot of time in the north west and west of Ireland and when the little darlings are out they are just as just as much a PITA annoyance as those over the water.