Winter Roadtrip to Scotland in a VW Campervan!

​As seasoned campers and regulars to the North West of Scotland, we're aware that the weather can always be a bit unpredictable so far North. Having weathered storms in our canvas tent in previous years (and not particularly enjoyed it!) we decided to go for an upgrade this year and looked around for something less likely to blow away, and stumbled across TFT Campers! We were delighted that we could also take our greyhound Jack along - he spent most of the trip asleep on the floor but seemed to have fun nonetheless.

From the outset, Michelle was extremely helpful - keeping in touch by email and phone and responding to our (many!) queries. The booking was all straight-forward, and collection was no hassle at all.

We started our trip with a stop-off just outside of Aviemore, in a campsite tucked within the forest. Setting up camp was easy compared to having a tent - pull the handbrake on, pop the roof up, and relax! After a comfortable night in the van we pressed on to North of Ullapool after a quick refuel in Inverness, having done nearly 550 miles without having to fill up!

We parked up with a fantastic view of the sea directly in front of us, but unfortunately the weather was not good - very strong winds and rain that was travelling horizontally. As the waves crashed against the shore, we decided to turn on the heater and make a couple of hot drinks in the comfort of the van.

Due to the bad weather we weren't able to catch the ferry across to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis the following day so instead we drove down the coast and crossed the bridge to the Isle of Skye. A power cut on the southern end of Skye meant the campsite had no hookups available to use, but we were quite self-sufficient having charged the batteries with all our driving about and were still able to have the lights on without plugging in.

After a sheltered night we then drove on to the north end of Skye and catch a ferry from Uig to Lochmaddy on North Uist. The crossing took just over an hour and a half, and we were rewarded with some amazing scenery and a stunning sunset as we drove down to South Uist for the night.

Unfortunately, a fierce storm was forecast to hit the islands and so we had to cut our stay short and catch a ferry back to the mainland and found a sheltered campsite near Loch Ness for a couple of nights.

We then headed over to one of our favourite places - Applecross, where we ate and drank in the pub before retiring back to the van for the night, having parked up by the road earlier on. We even managed to get breakfast in the pub the following morning before we set off down to Glencoe amidst stunning scenery and snow-capped mountains.

Our trip finished in the Lake District with views over Ullswater before a three and a half hour drive back down to unload the van and (sadly!) hand back the keys.

It was great to be able to visit so many places and not have the hassle of unpacking or setting up each time. Although we went to a lot of different places and did a lot of driving it still felt like a holiday, and we were comfortable no matter where we stopped - on a proper campsite with hook-up and facilities, or on the roadside by our favourite pub! Even the torrential rain and gale-force winds didn't dampen our spirits and I'd recommend a van from TFT to anyone - we got a lot of waves from other VW campers, and a lot of admiration of the van from other people as we travelled around.

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