I've just returned from a week up in bonny Scotland visiting Arisaig staying three nights at Camusdarach camp site.
Wow! Such a wonderful site. I can't recommend it enough. We were pitched in a nice level hard standing that was the width of our van so we had nice soft grass to step out onto in the morning. The toilet block was really clean and tidy with nice hot showers. The owner was so friendly and made great coffee from his little shop. The site was tidy and had a great relaxed atmosphere.
We had a nice T2 next to us and the view across the sea was fantastic. A 5 mins walk and we were on the beach. Well a choice of beaches really. About 7 beaches all within 10 mins walk with white sand and crystal clear waters.
We were still paddling in the water with the kids and toasting marshmallows on the fire late into the evening
With sunset at 10:30 pm we found ourselves coming back to the van after 11pm! The sunsets were beautiful with the mountains of Skye in the background.
A few miles up the road past more beautiful beaches was the port of Malaig where there were local shops and chippy plus the train station to Fort William or the ferry to Skye. The roads were lined with purple azaleas out in flower and the woods covered in bluebells.
Out of our three days at Arisaig we had two of sunshine and clear sky's and one of rain. On the rainy day my wife took our children (4&9) on the steam train to Fort William with me driving back to meet them. But because the train only traveled at 40mph it was easy to drive ahead and find a view point of the railway line so I could get photos of them as they passed.
It was a long trek up to Arisaig but certainly worth it. We stopped at Glencoe on the way up in a fantastic site on the loch with panoramic views of the mountains and loch.
On our return we stopped at Ullswater where we pitched up at a NT site on the hillside overlooking the lake. We woke to hundreds of swimmers crossing the lake which was an amazing sight. That evening we walked along a track down to a little bay on the lake as the sun set across Ullswater. The kids loved it.
We also did a short weekend stop on Anglesey island before driving up to Scotland so all in all we added 1109 miles onto the van. But as always the Cali performed perfectly. Eating up the miles with minimal effort.
For this trip I added a top box to the roof and stored all the bedding in there during travel. This left the boot free for clothes and other camping gear. It made it much easier to unpack and set up the van so for long trips this will become the norm. Of course I had to take a small ladder to reach the top box so it did look a bit like a builders van with the ladder strapped to the roof bars but he added advantage was the ability to get some nice high photos from up on the roof!
I think this area and the roads around from Fort William to Malaig were the best I've driven on. Stunning views and no traffic. The only tiny downside was the Midges. We had spray and plug ins for the van and to be fair my kids and wife didn't get a bite but me.... well I am obviously a 3 course meal to a midge as I did get a fair few bites. But it would not put me off going again. On the beach with a little sea breeze they left me alone. Now I am waiting to find another week to go back again to the best beaches and water I've seen in the UK.
Happy Days!!
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