Club 80-90 Forums

We deceided to go to the sands campsite by Gairloch for the long weekend. Here are some photos

Wow! Great photos.

I really have a strong urge to go back to that area, Inverewe Gardens just up from Gairloch, and Loch Maree just below are some of my favorite places in the world. Thanks for the photo's.

Hi Donnie,

I've noticed a few of your post regarding Scotland, I wonder if you can give me some advice? We are planning our first Scottish trip later in may and would love to go as far north as the Highlands & Isles, but the cost of fuel may put a stopper on that. In which case I was looking at Dumfries/Galloway/Ayrshire areas.......any recommendations in those areas, or is it worth just spending the extra time & fuel going further north?

Thanks in advance.

Matt

Hi Matt, while Dumfries/Galloway/Ayrshire still probably looks better than most of south UK/England the Highlands and west coast are another planet altogether...yes, it'll cost you a little more in fuel but once you hit Glasgow you have one of the finest drives in the world at your feet - the A82, from the centre of Glasgow all the way up Loch Lomond, through Glencoe and on to Fort William. You never get bored of driving that road and once at Fort William any direction just gets better - north to Inverness and Loch Ness, or west for the ultimate drive

...and then remember you are still on one of the two main north heading roads in Scotland and if it looks that good, so just imagine what it is like when you turn off it...

Hi Wee Bugger,

I suppose I should have guessed that would be the answer given all the posts on the forum regarding the beauty of the Highlands. I suspect you are right & we would be missing out on a lot purely to save fuel. Maybe it's throwing caution (and budget) to the wind time & trust in my (and everyone elses) instincts.

Thanks for the reply.

Hi Matt
If you do deceided to come up north you won't be dissapointed and the weather in May in normally quite good.If you deceide to go over to the isles you should go to Harris the beaches over there are to die for and you could have the whole beach to yourself in some cases.I would say that it will be well worth the extra cost on feul and the midges should not be out at that time of year.If you are going to come up north if you let me know where about are going i will be able to give you a bit more info.

Hi Donnie,

Thanks for the reply, it looks like the north has won! Not sure where to go but if you have any suggestions (places & campsites) that would be great. I suspect we would like to go to the west coast, then maybe swing round in a circle t come back south. i haven't rally looked at a map yet(!) but will have a better idea when I do.

mwheatley wrote:Hi Donnie,

Thanks for the reply, it looks like the north has won! Not sure where to go but if you have any suggestions (places & campsites) that would be great. I suspect we would like to go to the west coast, then maybe swing round in a circle t come back south. i haven't rally looked at a map yet(!) but will have a better idea when I do.

You will not be disappointed, it is stunning! I hope the sun shines for your trip.

I was going to Glen Etive tomorrow morning until my head light fell out and smashed today!! Gutted

Hi Matt

If you are comming up by Loch Lomond and onto Fort William you could then head for Mallaig before you get to Mallaig you should cut off the main road and go to Arisaig there are a few basic campsites there that are right on the beach then onto mallaig where you can get the ferry over to Skye.From Skye you could head for Lochcarron and go over to Applecross which has a nice campsite or you can wild camp at the end of the bay. The local seafood at the Applecross Inn is fantastic but it does get very busy once you leave there you could go the coast road round to Sheildaig and through Torridon and head for Gairloch.If you stay at gairloch go to the sands campsite 2miles out of the village (pictures above) take a day out and go on the rib cruise that leaves the harbour in Gairloch to see the dolphins,whales,and other sea creatures.From gairloch you head for Pollewe where there is inverewe gardens worth a visit eventully you will come to a junction where you can either head up to Ullapool or head down to Inverness. Hope this is of some help to you.

Donnie

That is the route I did to Arisaig stayed on some campsites right on the beach. Did Skye then went up via Ullapool and Applecross. The road to Applecross I found a bit daunting if you never driven on those type of roads before!

Thanks guys,

I'm making notes as the posts come in and hopefully will work a route out soon. I will probably do exactly as you say Donnie as we've never been before, and it's better to rely on forum experience. We'd better get the the trip in quick before we have to bring passports & go through customs

donnieg wrote:Hi Matt
Harris the beaches over there are to die for and you could have the whole beach to yourself in some cases.

indeed.....click...but use GoogleChrome, Safari or Firefox as I couldnt be bothered shoving extra code for internet explorer..