Tour of North Scotland and the Western Isles, campsite tips

[roj62]

Thought I'd pass on some campsite recommendations and ones to avoid from our trip over the last 5 weeks...

Auchnahillin caravan and camping park.
Reasonable sized site a few miles south of Inverness near Daviot.
Good facilities and decent grass pitches with lots of space - the 'dog walk' area was a tiny strip of land behind the bogs which used a reed bed so it stank a bit (as did the dog) - was there twice and the first time it rained constantly so drainage was ok. A few statics on the site and a very small shop.

Dalraddy Caravan Park
South of Aviemore.
I had a summer job in this site years ago - really clean site with pitches in the trees. pub is 5 mins cycle away. There is a decent shop on site and you can get WiFi but only at the shop or in the playpark. if you walk into the woods behind the site you will get wild chantrelle mushrooms around the bases of the birch trees. its a big site but doesn't feel like it - very good toilets and showers etc

Dornoch Campsite
within walking distance of Dornoch town on the beach
Massive beach just over the dunes from the site - it was massively windy when we were there and a few tents got flattened. Dornoch has a few decent pubs and restaurants so good for a wander round. decent facilities and a wee shop on site - good WiFi connection even though we were miles from the office.

Ardmair Point
3 miles north of Ullapool
Lovely site with the sea on 3 sides - one side of the site has a sea front line of pitches and there is a sheltered tent field round the back with hook up points if the weather is bad (which it was), Decent shop with fishing gear etc. great place for kayaking or fishing. pretty large toilet block but the site was a bit expensive.

Laxdale Holiday Park
North side of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
OK for a stop over after a late ferry (as we did) but not the nicest of sites - dreadful solar powered showers (solar power - western isles who are they kidding). Friendly enough but pitches were tiny and the site felt a bit municipal. Had WiFi

Minch View Touring Park
Drinishader on the east side of Harris
Run by a very stern old woman. The toilets and shower were 4 outside toilets that had been converted - the campsite was a small gravel patch on a slope with vans crammed in together - no view but nice places to walk to. Harris is a stunning island and this site bigs itself up loads. In the end we just packed up and left for another site even though we had paid for a another night.

Horgabost campsite
Horgabost on the west coast of Harris
Stunning site with fantastic beach - very informal with an honesty box by the gate, very large site with some great spots up on the hill with views over to Taransay. No phone signal unless you are with Vodaphone. Some shops 20 mins north in Tarbert or 1 shop in Leverborough 15 mins south. Tarbert seems to have the only pubs on the island, however with a beach like this who cares? The site got pretty stormy on our last night but we survived by sticking the van upwind of the awning.

Uig Bay campsite.
Uig, Isle of Skye
The vans get shoved in a big car park which is pretty horrid unless you are lucky like we were - there are 2 grass pitches down the side of the house and the front one has a fantastic view across the bay. In the evening we sat and watched shooting stars. There is a pretty good pub there and the Isle of Skye Brewery is next door so the local pint is delivered across the road! A few shops near by. The site also has the Highland WIFi setup which is expensive for a night but reasonable if there for a few days and quite fast. Very handy for the ferry.

Caolasnackan campsite
Near Kinlochleven
Very close to Glencoe - have been there three times and its one of our favourite sites. pay your money and find a space - best spots on the loch edge and there are enough hook up points to stretch a cable up to. Loch Leven is a quite calm sea loch and the site is at a narrow point. This gives the impression of a wide river that runs one way on the morning and then changes direction in the afternoon as the tidal race changes. The views are amazing; the Mamore mountains on one side and the Pap of Glencoe on the other. Nearly every one who camps here fishes or kayaks. I was too embarrassed to take the kids cheapo fishing kit out of the van but we had our kayak (inflatable) out - you can pull up mussels by the armful from the shore and also saw an otter most mornings. quite cheap and good facilities - no shop but there are shops in Kinlochleven and Glencoe village. This weekend was the busiest they get and there was still room

That was about it - could also mention the camping field on St Kilda where the wife was for 4 days while we stayed at Harris but since you cant get a T25 over there it would just be showing off!

[fullsunian]

Great, very usefull