Scottish Winter road trip and beyond to Europe! (Title edit Feb 24)

[mcdonaldneal.]

I had really bitten off more than I could chew today. So many beautiful places that I was passing through but not really time to stop. I did stop at Gairloch pier to empty my portaloo, which you could do for a donation to the harbour. The wind was now so strong that opening and closing the driver’s door was a bit of a struggle!

Then came Torridon and upper Loch Torridon, which really are amazing and the pictures cannot do the scale of the mountains justice. Really beautiful. Even Medo took an interest!

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

In for a penny, in for a pound. I decided I would go around the Applecross peninsula, which would mean leaving by the notorious Bealach na Ba, the pass of the cattle. Both sides of the pass are pretty steep, but easily manageable if you take care. I stopped for lunch at the top of the pass where there was a great view out to the south part of Skye and the Cuillin range. I got pics of the road for you, although I got lashed by the sleet for my effort!

The drive around the edge of the peninsula is also great, with some nice beaches and cracking views of the whole of Skye. Shame the toilets in Applecross had a burst pipe and were shut!

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

True to form I was now miles behind schedule! It was getting dark and I was at least 90min from my planned stop, near Fort William. I pushed on, only stopping for an obligatory photo at Eilan Donan castle!

By the way, there were indeed feral goats, I nearly ran two of them over!!

I arrived in Fort William, refuelled the van and inspected the car park I have stayed at before. It’s good and quiet but it does say ‘No overnight parking’. It was 6pm and well dark and I’d had enough driving but I thought I could go an extra half hour to Glencoe and see what I could find…

NOTE: I’m picking up Shona in the morning and there’ll be plenty to do, and pretty poor internet, so it might be a while before I can finish off the thread. I promise I will come back to it though, so bookmark it if you need to find out how I got on!!

 

[BeeBee]

Loving the blog

 

[Aubisque]

Some fantastic photos - thank you !

 

[bvddobb]

Good you had such nice views at Bealach na Ba! We now can see what it looks like! When we went over it winter 2019/20 we had no visibility of anything at all, due to the fog…
Perhaps better luck this January!

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

Thanks to Park4night I did find the most amazing camp spot right in Glencoe itself. It’s run by the National Trust, authorised as an overnight stop, suggested £5 donation, space for about 10 campers (I was the only one!) and would have had the most spectacular views if I hadn’t had to leave before dawn! The only downside was a bit of road noise from lorries, not too bad.

I haven’t shown you how well I’ve eaten really and last night was the last of the pre-prepared food I bought from home, tandoori chicken and dhal. Absolutely delicious! The only food I think I’ve had to buy has been a tub of yoghurt for breakfasts and a pot of cream for coffees (and birthday fish and chips, of course!)

Breakfasts have been overnight oats with nuts and fruit, lunches: salads with cheese/egg/hummus/salmon etc and a hot meal every night: curry/chilli or similar. Snacks of fruit, peanut butter, cheese or Shona’s amazing protein balls. I’ve really eaten very well and never been hungry!

There’s not much point in taking pictures of Glencoe in the dark, or with low cloud and mist, so I will find some pictures of the last winter camping trip in the orange Kombi when I also passed through Glencoe and went to Skye (in better weather!)

More to come, I still have one more days camping but with Shona as well, after I pick her up, from near Rob Roy’s grave in Balquhidder.

 

[damienorourke]

What an amazing and inspiring blog. I ordered my Ocean today and collect it next Friday. So happens I am traveling from Germany to Ullapool for Christmas. Great to have an idea what's in store for us. Thanks for all your efforts to document the trip.


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[stephen watson]

I’m definitely not taking the most direct route. Next I cut across Perthshire from Pitlochry to Glenshee, up to the ski centre at the pass. Stopped for some glamour shots of Moana. Medo did, in fact do a little exploring in the snow!

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Do you always keep Medo on a lead outside the van? Doesn't she she just come back?

 

[ejmoore]

Thanks. I thought about a top cover for this trip (and Europe in February). I’m a bit concerned about storage space on a long trip and the insulated screen cover is already quite big. Pucer looks good but I might favour a smaller cover that can be stored in with the chairs. It’s all a compromise!

We take the chairs out in the winter, as we aren't going to be sitting outside - makes more storage space.

 

[bvddobb]

We take the chairs out in the winter, as we aren't going to be sitting outside

Why not?


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[CaliMac]

This is arguably a ground breaking blog for winter adventure camping! Tradionally, we describe weather as variations of good or bad; however, with with this blog it is always lovely, i.e. calm or spectacular! Yes the cat is out of the bag, come to Scotland in winter! Btw: I often hear complaints about the cold by people wearing jeans when alternative clothing can make it very comfortable indeed imho.

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

What an amazing and inspiring blog. I ordered my Ocean today and collect it next Friday. So happens I am traveling from Germany to Ullapool for Christmas. Great to have an idea what's in store for us. Thanks for all your efforts to document the trip.


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Thanks!
That is very exciting to be collecting the Cali next week! Good luck with the trip over Christmas. I can’t promise the same weather, but the West coast and up to Ullapool are stunning in any case!

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

Do you always keep Medo on a lead outside the van? Doesn't she she just come back?

She never really ventures far, in fact she prefers to just sit on the step and watch the world go by. However she has a habit of going underneath the van (I guess it feels safe) so the lead is good insurance to be able to drag her out and avoid a chase!!

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

We take the chairs out in the winter, as we aren't going to be sitting outside - makes more storage space.

Good thinking! Our problem is that if we go on and extended trip, it’s one season when we leave, and another when we get back! I think one of the top covers is small enough to fit inside one of the chairs when it’s in the tailgate. Maybe Comfortz, I don’t remember?

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

This is arguably a ground breaking blog for winter adventure camping! Tradionally, we describe weather as variations of good or bad; however, with with this blog it is always lovely, i.e. calm or spectacular! Yes the cat is out of the bag, come to Scotland in winter! Btw: I often hear complaints about the cold by people wearing jeans when alternative clothing can make it very comfortable indeed imho.

Thanks, that’s very kind. I definitely think Scotland is spectacular in any weather, but the conditions and the scenery did a lot of the heavy lifting in this thread!! Glad you’re enjoying it.

 

[mcdonaldneal.]

Well, all good things must come to an end, and this trip is nearly over. It was great to see Shona again and we dropped off her friend at the bus stop in Callander and then went for a 12km+ walk in the heavy rain up the river while it was still daylight! The weather has definitely taken on a more typical feel! Then we drove to the house of an old friend along a quiet Loch side road and then 4miles up an even quieter private road to the house where we were able to camp in the driveway. (Her dog and Medo would not have made a happy pairing!)

The view from the bed was very atmospheric and the misty lochside drive out was very cool. The tractor driven by a couple of teenage farmers boys pretty much sums up the area we were in and deserved a picture!

Now we have arrived back at home in East Lothian. Both tired, but happy and we can look forward to unpacking the van, doing the laundry, and giving Moana a well deserved clean (that can wait until tomorrow!)

Thanks to you all for coming along on this trip, all the comments and suggestions and maybe I’ll start a thread on our next adventure (or add to this one?)

Cheers, and safe travels everyone!

 

[Campingrookie]

Well, all good things must come to an end, and this trip is nearly over. It was great to see Shona again and we dropped off her friend at the bus stop in Callander and then went for a 12km+ walk in the heavy rain up the river while it was still daylight! The weather has definitely taken on a more typical feel! Then we drove to the house of an old friend along a quiet Loch side road and then 4miles up an even quieter private road to the house where we were able to camp in the driveway. (Her dog and Medo would not have made a happy pairing!)

The view from the bed was very atmospheric and the misty lochside drive out was very cool. The tractor driven by a couple of teenage farmers boys pretty much sums up the area we were in and deserved a picture!

Now we have arrived back at home in East Lothian. Both tired, but happy and we can look forward to unpacking the van, doing the laundry, and giving Moana a well deserved clean (that can wait until tomorrow!)

Thanks to you all for coming along on this trip, all the comments and suggestions and maybe I’ll start a thread on our next adventure (or add to this one?)

Cheers, and safe travels everyone!

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This has been really enjoyable to follow thank you for sharing! It’s made me want to get out there and go on a road trip but sadly other duties call, hopefully soon…

 

[D&S4]

Well, all good things must come to an end, and this trip is nearly over. It was great to see Shona again and we dropped off her friend at the bus stop in Callander and then went for a 12km+ walk in the heavy rain up the river while it was still daylight! The weather has definitely taken on a more typical feel! Then we drove to the house of an old friend along a quiet Loch side road and then 4miles up an even quieter private road to the house where we were able to camp in the driveway. (Her dog and Medo would not have made a happy pairing!)

The view from the bed was very atmospheric and the misty lochside drive out was very cool. The tractor driven by a couple of teenage farmers boys pretty much sums up the area we were in and deserved a picture!

Now we have arrived back at home in East Lothian. Both tired, but happy and we can look forward to unpacking the van, doing the laundry, and giving Moana a well deserved clean (that can wait until tomorrow!)

Thanks to you all for coming along on this trip, all the comments and suggestions and maybe I’ll start a thread on our next adventure (or add to this one?)

Cheers, and safe travels everyone!

I have followed your blog 2 or 3 times a day and it has been quite inspirational. Scotland in winter is like no place on earth...those wild beaches and stunning hills and mountains... I have really appreciated the time you have taken to record this a truly amazing trip and great to see the vans doing what they were designed to do. Very best of luck to you and safe journey always.

 

[OceanView2023]

Well, all good things must come to an end, and this trip is nearly over. It was great to see Shona again and we dropped off her friend at the bus stop in Callander and then went for a 12km+ walk in the heavy rain up the river while it was still daylight! The weather has definitely taken on a more typical feel! Then we drove to the house of an old friend along a quiet Loch side road and then 4miles up an even quieter private road to the house where we were able to camp in the driveway. (Her dog and Medo would not have made a happy pairing!)

The view from the bed was very atmospheric and the misty lochside drive out was very cool. The tractor driven by a couple of teenage farmers boys pretty much sums up the area we were in and deserved a picture!

Now we have arrived back at home in East Lothian. Both tired, but happy and we can look forward to unpacking the van, doing the laundry, and giving Moana a well deserved clean (that can wait until tomorrow!)

Thanks to you all for coming along on this trip, all the comments and suggestions and maybe I’ll start a thread on our next adventure (or add to this one?)

Cheers, and safe travels everyone!

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Many thanks for your blog, I've really enjoyed sitting down with a coffee and catching up on your travels, the photos & scenery were superb! Looking forward to following your next trip!

 

[stephen watson]

Thank you for a great blog. Hope you'll do another one.

 

[Vagophile]

I have enjoyed reading your blog, thanks. It has reminded me of trips to some of those areas many, many moons ago, (when photos were taken on a black and white film, used sparingly). We also had a cat, trained from a kitten like a dog and he accompanied us on all of our travels giving every impression of enjoying his trips as much as we did.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

As others have commented, your blog has been eloquent, inspirational and hugely entertaining!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[bvddobb]

We will do our Scottish winter trip in January. We usually make a trip log on Polarsteps. When we do, I will post a link here, so you guys can follow us without us 'hijacking' this thread.

 

[Jenny H]

Fabulous blog thank you for taking the time to write - it all looks amazing - hope kitty enjoyed her travels too!?!