Scotland on-road camping trip May 2015

[AndyCook]

Not an exciting laning or overlanding trip this time,
Headed off with the Hilux, wife and dog for a camping trip around Northern Scotland.
a 800 mile road-trip
From Aberdeenshire > Inverness > NW to Ullapool > Durness, along the top coast to Tongue, then south to Altnaharra, Lairg > Contin > Inverness > Aviemore > Pitlochry > Loch Tay > Pitlochry > Glenshee > Braemar

Only went off tar a couple times on this trip, becuase Scotland doesn't have the greenlanes like England

a good shakedown for some new kit and testing long range fuel tank range

First day was hosing it down with rain and blowing a gale...
... so our first stop was Kylesku hotel in Assynt for lunch - great seafood



After lunch we went in search of shelter from the wind and found this spot by a sealoch near a settlement called Nedd


Rib eye for dinner on BBQ



Jet tethered whilst steak being cooked



Liking the newer zip-together foxwing extension panels



create a larger area to shelter, and held in some of the heat from the BBQ



herself made me bring the electric blender this time, rated 600w max, but ran on my 500w inverter OK


sun dance the next morning



and i even did some cooking


heading north and looking at the famous Loch Glen Coul thrust (I am a geologist OK !)


and north to Durness and Faraid head for a walk




lovely beach


and heading back



Jet did some retreiving in rebellion for missing out on the ribeye


and dropped it for us


a lumpsucker fish



and the excitement was too much later on...


went to the amazing campt spot at Talmine my brothers found last year


and even a bit for track and mud to drive through to get to it


nice coastal views




parked up ready to camp


Ben Loyal


Loch Eriboll


Sunset on loch tongue



camp view at dusk


pancakes for breakfast




a walk up Ben Tongue and last nights camp spot beyond


coffee stop by loch hakel and scoping out this camp spot with great views of Ben Loyal



explored a short track for lunch spot, near Altnaharra



looks like a good sheltered camp spot



then rains arrived, we headed south towards Inverness and spent ages finding a camp spot, near Contin this time



BBQ out again for cooking and heat!


next day headed further south, after stopping for shower and coffee at Mum & Dad's place near Inverness
and then on to Killecrankie for a hike




Then a longish drive west to Loch Tay and over a hill road to Glen Lyon, found a few wildcamp spots but they were too exposed to wind. ended up by this dam on a deadend road


even found a bog to drive through to get to camp spot


lamb steaks tonight


Jet's quarters


and sunshine next day for a 3 hour hike and up Ben Vrackie nr Pitlochry



and then drive home to Aberdeenshire via Glenshee and Braemar

long range fuel tank good - drove 710 miles before refueling and still had 11 litres left in tank!

 

[Ian Chuter]

Fantastic, that's what I was hoping for. Cracking photo's. Myself and my wife would love to get up there and have a look round at some point in the near future. Good to see that you can rock up in an idyllic spot and camp for the night.
Thanks for taking the time to post.
Ian

 

[Chris]

Brilliant Andy. And G too of course. Oh and Jet.

Looks fab. I'd like to do the same thing really. I have some time this Summer before Morocco. Be great to get up there and mooch about with no pressure to do anything.

 

[Gary820]

Great pics. been sorting all my camping gear out, bought a load of new stuff too including a new tent. Now really can't wait to get out.

 

[AndyCook]

thanks chaps
yes Chris it was a mooching trip - no firm plans or destinations, we just hit the road and headed NW and went with the flow and where it was raining least!
a bit of faff finding "wild" camping spot near Contin, couldnt possibly use the campsite we drove past....
never dreamed we would end up in perthshire - but that is where the better weather was in the end

down jackets required as it was snowing on the hills

shame we never used the fly fishing gear i lugged around, but it was too windy or cold when we had the opportunity

 

[Charlie]

looks like you had a good trip, great photos....

 

[Chris]

I might have to try and drive in your wheeltracks. Just looked great.

 

[Ian Chuter]

I might have to try and drive in your wheeltracks. Just looked great.

Just what I was thinking.
Another (small) group trip on the cards??

 

[Chas]

Just what I was thinking.
Another (small) group trip on the cards??

There was a trip proposed a while back about going over to Ireland but I haven't seen it mentioned lately.

 

[Ben]

Great trip report and pics Andy, looks like you found some amazing spots!

 

[froggy Steve]

Great report, Jet looks like she had fun Love the coat btw

 

[AndyCook]

Best thing about the trip, although it was cold, it meant there were no midges out yet. They can ruin a camping trip up here, and generally around June to early September.


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[SpinDrift]

Great trip Andy.

 

[Gav Peter]

That's a nice looking trip Andy, lovely spots you found, thnx for sharing

 

[clivehorridge]

What a wonderful part of the world.

I spent some time up near Pitlochry many moons ago, but I doubt if it's changed much since then.

Britain has some the finest and most diverse coastlines in the world, IMO.

Thanks for the effort of posting all those lovely photos, rain is one thing, but it's a pity it was so cold

 

[pberrey]

Great trip and report Andy. I really like your foxwing setup.

Can i ask what you did regarding the dog's sleeping arrangements given the low temperatures? Ive got a ten month old Springer and I'd like to bring him along on camping trips.

Cheers.
Paul.

 

[AndyCook]

Hi Paul

The foxwing is good, but in 35-40 mph gusts it was struggling and the main vertical poles tend to slip down a bit even when twist locked tight. So one night we took it down before bed to prevent it being trashed by wind in night.
Going to buy a small rear porch tent like a caranex for windy conditions

Dog slept in basket in back of hilux, where 2nd row seats normally go, I have a platform there to store bikes or dog if no bikes in truck. She was warm there out of wind and rain.
http://www.landcruiserclub.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19139&d=1431191098




Andy


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