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Does anyone know what its like with campsite in top end of scotland, would I need to book ahead or are they ok for turning up on spec?
We're thinking of heading up there for a bit of a road trip, week after next but don't really want to plan much. Were just gonna take the small 2 or 4 man tents rather than the big family one, so nice basic camping. 2 adults and 2 kids.
Book. School holidays end soon but then comes the flood of retirees and other folk with no kids. Scotland is hooching this summer.
Does anyone know what its like with campsite in top end of scotland, would I need to book ahead or are they ok for turning up on spec?
I would imagine anything near the nc500 is rammed. There are not that many sites.
I would book, or at the very least call a few sites I'm thinking of going to.
Cool cheers. Was hoping it wasn't as busy as it's been with kids back at school, ours are still off for the week after BH but think most other schools are back.
Some of it will be NC500 area so will check out what's there and book a few nights.
As scotroutes says, there's a second round of folk.
Only tends to drop off mid October these days.
We've just booked on the Islay - Colonsay ferry for mid September - it was showing as fully booked on the day we preferred, so we've moved weekends. And the Colonsay route I can't imagine it's exactly popular...
Big sands or gairloch but and it's a big but even Septembers now busy
Sango Sands at Durness is gorgeous- just a few feet horizontally and a short fall from a really lovely beach with rocks, white sand, a wee stream, everything I want from a beach apart from warm water obviously. And well sheltered too as long as the wind's not off the sea (the campsite otoh is literally on top of the cliffs so, not sheltered)
You can't reserve for a non-electric pitch, which is good and bad.
Quite a few good places around Arisaig- it's not "right up north" but still manages to feel remote, haven't been to Portnadoran for a few years but it used to be perfect- again right on the coast, it doesn't have so much of its own beach but has really good rocks, and easy access to the main big white sands. Also its own tidal island connected by a sandbar (though again that might have changed, tides and such)
Cheers, I'll check out some of those suggestions.
Edit: Ooh, that Sango sands looks nice.
Friends (without kids - so lord know what they were thinking going when they went) got into Scourie campsite on spec end of July. Never stayed but one of my fav parts of the world. Also booked into (Big - they dropped the 'Big' after the boating fatality)
Sands a couple days ahead on the same trip no bother. It's a bit bigger than I'd usually want to stay in but always seem to enjoy it.
Northwinds suggestion is on my to do list - maybe in Oct.
We stayed at Scourie Campsite mid June and it was fantastic. Whilst the campervan pitches were booked up, the tent pitches could not be pre-booked so are on a first come first served basis. It was far from full on the night we stayed. Facilities and scenery top notch
Sango sands oasis is a favourite of mine. first stayed there 50 years ago!
If you do go to durness check out the hut circles at balnakeil. some of the best I have seen.
It is still extremely busy up here, campsites are still fully booked and don’t expect much to change in the next month. I would steer clear of the NC500 and honeypot areas like Arisaig and Skye. There are plenty of nice places a bit further off the beaten track like Kinlochbervie. Durness is the complete antithesis of what I’d call a nice campsite - too big, rubbish facilities - location is OK but there are better places if you look.
Sango sands is "special" - or at least it is to me 😉
I’m at Ardmair Point site now before we head to Lewis tomorrow. Van pitches are all full but still space in the tent field.
I was at Sango Sands in May, and I think @dovebiker is wrong! I don’t usually go in for big campsites but it manages to be big but feels pretty quiet and the facilities seemed great to me, with a new shower block with great family rooms. On-site laundry facilities a bonus if you get bad weather and can’t get things dry. We stayed in a tent with no electric, for which you can’t book. If you get there by 11am you’ll get a spot as it’s kicking out time and all the NC500 people move on (we were unusual in being there for multiple nights, but it’s so fabulous up there with a handful of different beaches to explore, that we didn’t want to go elsewhere). The chances of getting a spot diminish as the day goes on, by 4pm it’s slim pickings and you’ll be lucky to get on. My kids loved it and want to go back regularly, despite the 2 days of travel to get there (there’s only me to drive, I can’t manage it all in one. A 6am departure from Dunblane got us there comfortably for 11am and gave us a ‘whole day’ feel to being on the beach).
Sango sands is “special” – or at least it is to me 😉
And me, my earliest memory was holidaying in the nissan huts, arriving in Durness is like arriving at the end of the earth, the nice end, and the pub is a short walk.
Scourie is pretty good for waking up looking out over the bay, the coop used to do great bread, food in the hotel is a bit iffy, don't order rare venison unless you like it pretty much as the deer did.
Applecross is good, cracking pub with excellent food but it's like a T5 club event, usually rammed.
Melvich is another beside a pub, not big so you take your chances but it's placed a days drive round from Durness, and..pub with food right next to it.
Book ahead, they will all be rammed, which is when campsites are at their worst.
Good tips and ideas there. Few early starts to get to camp sites, (good tip that Hannah) although will probably book a few as well.
The small campsite near Altnaharra (on Loch Naver) is laid back and beautiful.
stwhannah - Try Sands at Gairloch for something closer and similar, kids love it.
@stwhannah +1 for Gairloch, plus if you fancy a ride, you don't need to bring a bike, we can lend you one. Just up the road near Laide.
We had a few days at Ardmair Point last year. It's an amazing location and a pretty decent site too
Sango was where we thought we'd lost our our tent. Lay awake all night listening to the wind battering the tent but by morning it hadnt budged which was more than could be said for some of the other tents which were getting blown one way then the other. Feeling smug as other people tried to pack up without any of their belongings being blown out over the North sea we decided it was a good day to go to Smoo cave. I have a picture of the kids clinging on to each other in jackets and woolly hats on the beach which was on the way. After a nice day out we returned to the campsite and couldn't see our tent. At this point the residents of the nearest static caravan came over to inform us that they'd been waiting on our return. The tent was still there, hidden by the long grass but completely flattened. They helped us get everything out and into the car, we then all headed to the village hall so we could pack properly. Back home for midnight, tent pole replaced in the morning and back up to I think Clachtoll later on that day. Memorable holiday but can't remember anything else about the campsite.
We were up there in June, not slummimg it in a tent though, oh no, we had a lovely cottage for a week. No way I'd even contemplate doing the NC500 now, far too much traffic. Anyway I did it in 1979 before it had a moniker.
If you end up in Durness/Sango, have a walk along Balnakeil Beach, you never know who you might bump into...