Plan to Scotland in Easter holiday

[WelshGas]

None of us might be going anywhere if countries start following Italy's example.
Time will tell.

 

[StevenZhang]

Particularly with a 5 year old, less is more in relation to mileage. We’ve done the NC500, but would suggest leaving this until your youngest is a couple of years older.
In our opinion people love or dislike Skye, we are the former, however travelling from London with a 5 year old for 2 weeks we would suggest that 600+ miles to Skye is too far. There is a lot of beautiful areas to explore in Scotland without travelling that distance, we can make a few suggestions from our experience if you wish

Yes please

 

[BeagleMum]

Yes please

An option is to head to Loch Lomond with a stop at Balloch, have a wander around the waterways & the country park. Continue up the loch to Luss which is well worth a stop, you could overnight at www.lusscampsite.co.uk
From here head over the spectacular Rest & be Thankful to the area around Oban. Lots to do in the area & the option of taking the 45 minute ferry ride from Oban to the beautiful Isle of Mull. We’ve stayed on Mull many times, we love it.
Spend a week on Mull, explore the island, good chance of Otters, Red Deer, Sea Eagle, Golden Eagle & other wildlife.
You can get a 10 minute foot ferry from the southern tip at Fionnphort to the enchanting island of Iona. You could also get a 30 minute ferry from the north of the island Tobermory to Ardnamurchan & visit lovely Sanna bay.
If you do decide you want to visit Mull we would advise booking well in advance as it is very popular.

http://www.isle-of-mull.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Mull-Campervan-Leaflet-2019.pdf

 

[BeagleMum]

Hello, I have two children, a 13-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. We prefer natural scenery, and small towns are also good. The suggestion to stay in the Lakes is a good idea. In addition, I learned that Skye Island, highland and NC500 are all worth visiting. Other places have no idea now. In addition, we have higher requirements for the campsite, and we hope to recommend some better campsites. Thank you.

The Isle of Arran is a smashing little island, often referred to as ‘Scotland in miniature’
Its reached by an hours sail by ferry from Ardrossan north of Ayr. (We are going back to Arran ourselves this April) You could spend a good few days travelling up through Galloway (see previous post for info on Galloway) then sail cross to Arran.
Spend a few nights on the southern tip at Seal Shore campsite https://www.campingarran.com/ then a few nights on the northern tip at Lochranza campsite http://www.arran-campsite.com You also have the option of a 30 minute ferry from Lochranza across to the Mull of Kintrye. Leaving yourselves a few nights to travel leisurely back south by the more direct route & spend a night or two in the Lake District. www.castlerigghall.co.uk / www.watersidefarm-campsite.co.uk
There are numerous sites in the Lakes if you do a search.
The possibilities for Scotland are endless, we’ve been going for 35 years a couple of times a year we never tire of it

 

[Jontymo]

Scotland is fantastic, aim North you cannot go wrong.
We might be aiming for Mull end of next week instead of France as we don’t want to get stuck coming back just in case the worst happens.

 

[StevenZhang]

An option is to head to Loch Lomond with a stop at Balloch, have a wander around the waterways & the country park. Continue up the loch to Luss which is well worth a stop, you could overnight at www.lusscampsite.co.uk
From here head over the spectacular Rest & be Thankful to the area around Oban. Lots to do in the area & the option of taking the 45 minute ferry ride from Oban to the beautiful Isle of Mull. We’ve stayed on Mull many times, we love it.
Spend a week on Mull, explore the island, good chance of Otters, Red Deer, Sea Eagle, Golden Eagle & other wildlife.
You can get a 10 minute foot ferry from the southern tip at Fionnphort to the enchanting island of Iona. You could also get a 30 minute ferry from the north of the island Tobermory to Ardnamurchan & visit lovely Sanna bay.
If you do decide you want to visit Mull we would advise booking well in advance as it is very popular.

http://www.isle-of-mull.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Mull-Campervan-Leaflet-2019.pdf

Thank you so much! I think my kids will be very happy to see wild animals

 

[StevenZhang]

The Isle of Arran is a smashing little island, often referred to as ‘Scotland in miniature’
Its reached by an hours sail by ferry from Ardrossan north of Ayr. (We are going back to Arran ourselves this April) You could spend a good few days travelling up through Galloway (see previous post for info on Galloway) then sail cross to Arran.
Spend a few nights on the southern tip at Seal Shore campsite https://www.campingarran.com/ then a few nights on the northern tip at Lochranza campsite http://www.arran-campsite.com You also have the option of a 30 minute ferry from Lochranza across to the Mull of Kintrye. Leaving yourselves a few nights to travel leisurely back south by the more direct route & spend a night or two in the Lake District. www.castlerigghall.co.uk / www.watersidefarm-campsite.co.uk
There are numerous sites in the Lakes if you do a search.
The possibilities for Scotland are endless, we’ve been going for 35 years a couple of times a year we never tire of it

Very good recommendation!

 

[BeagleMum]

Very good recommendation!

There are many other great areas we favour, Fife, Perthshire, Outer Hebrides, Orkney to name a few. Hopefully you’re first trip will encourage you to return

 

[StevenZhang]

There are many other great areas we favour, Fife, Perthshire, Outer Hebrides, Orkney to name a few. Hopefully you’re first trip will encourage you to return

I hope to go to as many places as possible

 

[Amarillo]

I hope to go to as many places as possible

From our experience of spending a year travelling and living in our van with two boys (ages 2 & 3 at the start of our adventure), I'd recommend staying 3 to 4 nights minimum at each camp otherwise you will find yourself continually setting up and striking camp.

 

[StevenZhang]

We are booked for Spain as well in Easter and we are still going, you will have just as much chance of catching it in Spain as you would I'm Scotland.

I would much rather be sitting at the beach in the sun rather than a rainy Scotland

Absolute worse case scenario, the ferries are now offering free alterations to bookings for 12 months

The situation seems to be getting worse, how about your Spanish travel plan?

 

[ClanTimmins]

We are going to Scotland on Friday for a week. Going up to Achiltibuie area via Ardnamurchan then back through Glencoe. All beautiful. I did a post last year on our trip to Scotland. All the campsites that we plan to stay are open. Regarding coronavirus I think its inescapable wherever you go. We need to develop a herd immunity so for those not in a vulnerable group there's not point in avoiding it.

 

[Amarillo]

We are going to Scotland on Friday for a week. Going up to Achiltibuie area via Ardnamurchan then back through Glencoe. All beautiful. I did a post last year on our trip to Scotland. All the campsites that we plan to stay are open. Regarding coronavirus I think its inescapable wherever you go. We need to develop a herd immunity so for those not in a vulnerable group there's not point in avoiding it.

Herd immunity implies ~36,000,000* infections and recoveries. Depending on the mortality rate, that could mean deaths in the hundreds of thousands** in the UK alone.

*based on a natural infection rate of 2.2 (one infected person passes on the infection to 2.2 others).

**a mortality rate of 1% implies 360,000 deaths

 

[sausagelegs]

Hi everyone,
Originally, I planned to drive our cali to Spain or Switzerland with my family during the Easter holiday. Now it seems that I have to cancel this plan because the coronavirus epidemic there is getting worse. But I can’t spend the whole holiday at home with my children, right? So, we plan to go to Scotland. Although the weather there will not be very good at this time in April, is it better than staying at home?
I've been to Edinburgh twice, but I have never been to other parts of Scotland. I originally planned to go this summer. Now it seems that the plan can be advanced. My plan is to travel for two weeks, but I am not quite sure how to plan the route and where to go. If it is from London to Scotland, in two weeks, can you help me plan a self-driving trip? What cities and nature are worth visiting? Which campersites are good? Thank you all for your recommendation!

View attachment 56091

I am a Scotsman who until recently had a Cali Ocean and have been all over the UK as well as the Continent. April can be lovely and as earlier posts have stated midge free. It can also be windy and if you venture north every likely hood of snow on higher ground. West coast wet. East coast drier and sometimes overlooked as every one heads to the North West. Plan a stop off in the borders, there are some great sites around Dumfries or slightly further north around Galashiels, Jedburgh or Peebles area. All nice towns with plenty of history. Jump the Forth and get up to the East Neuk of Fife, Crail, St Andrews area where you will find interesting little fishing villages. Keep to the east coast and loads of nice places in Royal Deeside. Keep on up to the Moray coast and by that time start heading west maybe the Cairngorm region and possibly down to the Trossachs. You will never fit in all of Scotland in two weeks and bear in mind there are places like Skye that go from mentally busy in summer to dead in winter with lots have places only opening up again for the Easter holidays.

 

[BeagleMum]

I am a Scotsman who until recently had a Cali Ocean and have been all over the UK as well as the Continent. April can be lovely and as earlier posts have stated midge free. It can also be windy and if you venture north every likely hood of snow on higher ground. West coast wet. East coast drier and sometimes overlooked as every one heads to the North West. Plan a stop off in the borders, there are some great sites around Dumfries or slightly further north around Galashiels, Jedburgh or Peebles area. All nice towns with plenty of history. Jump the Forth and get up to the East Neuk of Fife, Crail, St Andrews area where you will find interesting little fishing villages. Keep to the east coast and loads of nice places in Royal Deeside. Keep on up to the Moray coast and by that time start heading west maybe the Cairngorm region and possibly down to the Trossachs. You will never fit in all of Scotland in two weeks and bear in mind there are places like Skye that go from mentally busy in summer to dead in winter with lots have places only opening up again for the Easter holidays.

Great post, good ideas, happy to say we’ve done all you suggest more than once

 

[alan middleton]

Hi everyone,
Originally, I planned to drive our cali to Spain or Switzerland with my family during the Easter holiday. Now it seems that I have to cancel this plan because the coronavirus epidemic there is getting worse. But I can’t spend the whole holiday at home with my children, right? So, we plan to go to Scotland. Although the weather there will not be very good at this time in April, is it better than staying at home?
I've been to Edinburgh twice, but I have never been to other parts of Scotland. I originally planned to go this summer. Now it seems that the plan can be advanced. My plan is to travel for two weeks, but I am not quite sure how to plan the route and where to go. If it is from London to Scotland, in two weeks, can you help me plan a self-driving trip? What cities and nature are worth visiting? Which campersites are good? Thank you all for your recommendation!

View attachment 56091

If you do want to spend a few days in Edinburgh as part of the journey, we recommend Morton Hall.
Its just ouside Edinburgh with a bus stop up the road that takes you into the city (frequent and 20min), so no need to move the cali. The bathrooms are clean and the site has play areas for the kids. There is a pub on site with good food.

Mortonhall, Edinburgh - Meadowhead Caravan & Camping Parks

Only 4 miles from the heart of Edinburgh, this premier park is located in acres of country estate, combining leafy green parkland with bustling city attractions. With superb transport links in every direction, getting here couldn’t be easier.

www.meadowhead.co.uk

If you aren't going vial the lakes and need somewhere to break the A1M journey, our local has a site. We live just off the A1M, so it wouldn't add to your journey. Durham is worth a visit if you're looking for places to see.

https://www.thehammers.co/caravan-and-campsite/

 

[StevenZhang]

Thank you so much!

 

[StevenZhang]

If you do want to spend a few days in Edinburgh as part of the journey, we recommend Morton Hall.
Its just ouside Edinburgh with a bus stop up the road that takes you into the city (frequent and 20min), so no need to move the cali. The bathrooms are clean and the site has play areas for the kids. There is a pub on site with good food.

Mortonhall, Edinburgh - Meadowhead Caravan & Camping Parks

Only 4 miles from the heart of Edinburgh, this premier park is located in acres of country estate, combining leafy green parkland with bustling city attractions. With superb transport links in every direction, getting here couldn’t be easier.

www.meadowhead.co.uk

If you aren't going vial the lakes and need somewhere to break the A1M journey, our local has a site. We live just off the A1M, so it wouldn't add to your journey. Durham is worth a visit if you're looking for places to see.

https://www.thehammers.co/caravan-and-campsite/

Thank you so much!

 

[Bjohnson]

One of my favourite area's of Scotland if not wanting to travel to the far North is Dumfries and Galloway. The area West of Newtown Steward.

We spent a week last year in Scotland in the Cali. I’ve had loads of trips there on the motorcycle, but can cover a lot more miles on 2 wheels.
there are loads of campsites to choose from, get a book - something like the lonely planet guide to Scotland has plenty of good info and places to stay.
we started in Dumfries & Galloway and worked a short way up the west coast There are loads of ferry crossings that make it a real adventure, we ended up staying 3 nights on Mull as it was so beautiful, up to Tobermory then back across to fort William to climb Ben Nevis, before coming home.
we went September, mixed weather, few midges, not too busy.

 

[Scott H]

Hi everyone,
Originally, I planned to drive our cali to Spain or Switzerland with my family during the Easter holiday. Now it seems that I have to cancel this plan because the coronavirus epidemic there is getting worse. But I can’t spend the whole holiday at home with my children, right? So, we plan to go to Scotland. Although the weather there will not be very good at this time in April, is it better than staying at home?
I've been to Edinburgh twice, but I have never been to other parts of Scotland. I originally planned to go this summer. Now it seems that the plan can be advanced. My plan is to travel for two weeks, but I am not quite sure how to plan the route and where to go. If it is from London to Scotland, in two weeks, can you help me plan a self-driving trip? What cities and nature are worth visiting? Which campersites are good? Thank you all for your recommendation!

View attachment 56091

I would highly recommend a visit to the Cairngorms, check out Glenmore Campsite stunning area...

 

[Karlos]

We are going to Scotland on Friday for a week. Going up to Achiltibuie area via Ardnamurchan then back through Glencoe. All beautiful. I did a post last year on our trip to Scotland. All the campsites that we plan to stay are open. Regarding coronavirus I think its inescapable wherever you go. We need to develop a herd immunity so for those not in a vulnerable group there's not point in avoiding it.

Looks like Scotland is going to busy, we are going on Friday but this was planned a few months ago. We are hoping to do the NC 500 but very flexible where we go, if Scotland restrict movement and we can move around England freely we will probably go to Cornwall instead. We'll give you a wave if we see you, happy safe travels.

 

[briwy]

Normally we would be in France in the first few month of the year but for various reasons we decided not to and to go and spend three weeks around Scotland. Now we are pretty much thinking it would be a somewhat irresponsible thing to do as although I doubt that personally we would be at any more risk if we should pick up the virus is it acceptable to travel round remote areas that may not yet be affected.

 

[Scoobz1]

Been trying to find some charts which go beyond the absolute numbers and show percentage of people infected per region but can't find any. However, looking at the numbers I did see I am not convinced at this stage anyway there is much a difference between under populated and over populated areas when you look at actual percentages ...

I guess if rural areas didn't want visitors they would be closed for business or put up signs saying "for locals only". Difficult one though ... I guess you could always self isolate before going ... From the BBC "
The incubation period, the time between infection and first symptoms appearing, varies widely, but is five days on average."" https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51214864

 

[Karlos]

Been trying to find some charts which go beyond the absolute numbers and show percentage of people infected per region but can't find any. However, looking at the numbers I did see I am not convinced at this stage anyway there is much a difference between under populated and over populated areas when you look at actual percentages ...

I guess if rural areas didn't want visitors they would be closed for business or put up signs saying "for locals only". Difficult one though ... I guess you could always self isolate before going ... From the BBC "
The incubation period, the time between infection and first symptoms appearing, varies widely, but is five days on average."" https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51214864

Is a fully stocked and fuelled Cali, a form of self isolation. obviously if we go into some sort of lock down or other preventative measures then we would not travel.

 

[HB19]

What’s the travel and health insurance looking like for trips into Europe? I definitely wouldn’t want to be going anywhere that wasn’t covered as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

Also, I think there’s a massive difference between (for example) two people in their dotage agreeing to take a risk together and travel across the channel with a ‘to hell with it .. how bad can it be?’ attitude; than it is for parents to take their children into a potentially tricky situation. Your responsibilities are very different when you are considering their needs and not just your own.

And to my way of thinking, it matters very little whether the health risks are the same, or more, or less than on your home turf when the real fact of the matter is that this is your home turf. You can access services, get repatriated home quickly (even if you have to be rescued by a friend or relative) and without the need for a tunnel, a flight or a ferry. You have rights as a national which you do not have in Europe.

And maybe, the hospitals are going to be overloaded (probably, definitely), maybe accessing services will be very difficult, and maybe that will be the same throughout Europe, but things are unlikely to be easier, and very likely to be much harder if you are taken ill when you are away far, far away from home.

And then, what if someone in your family needs your support and you can’t get back. Not everyone is totally footloose and fancy free. Some people have a range of responsibilities and are trying to juggle conflicting needs and wants.

We can’t all just throw everything into the air with a ‘sod it’ attitude. So, Steven enjoy, Scotland, or whichever UK trip you end up taking. I will be doing the same this year. I had been planning an extensive trip through France, Switzerland, Italy and Croatia but I’ll put that off for now. I will be taking the opportunity to rediscover the delights of the UK, with minimal contact with others .. and very flexible planning.