What a week! Got back yesterday from an incredible adventure over the border in Scotland, a truly memorable experience. I'd planned this in detail, spending time looking at sites, routes, motorhomes and of course insurance... The company I had settled on was Scottish Motorhome Hire in Perth, they had great reviews and the phone calls gave me the confidence to book with them. Originally I'd wanted to go a little more basic, but after some discussion with Mrs W I realised that I was wrong, so a more luxurious van was needed! The one we hired was the Ford Swift Voyager 494, here is one for sale that is the pretty much the same van: https://www.brownhills.co.uk/12595-ford-swift-voyager-494-130bhp.html Ours had an auto box and 160bhp (I think). So, so glad I went for the auto, really took the strain out of the driving experience, I had enough to worry about with the 7.4m long, 3.4m high van I was in charge of..! I went for the ready made bed in the rear, this was a no brainer given there were just two of us, the upper double was not used at all, I'd suspect it might be a wee bit cramped having four people living in the space for a week. The van had a shower, heating and a decent sized fridge, so pretty much well specified. The rear "garage" is a real bonus, stored all out cases, bags and even the table and chairs for the week. Space was good, a decent seating and table area for the daily living: Saturday 23rd May: Set off at 9am, the route to Perth took us up the M6 (as hideous as you would expect), then over the M74, M8, M73, M80, M9 and then the A9 to the depot. Stopped for coffee, food etc, overall it took us 7 hours to get there. The pick up time was 3pm, got there at 3:04pm, happy with the timing given the journey and distance. Prior to hand over the company had sent videos on how to use the facilities on the van, the heating, water, waste etc, this gave me a good idea as to what was required. The physical hand over was excellent, any questions were answered and I was set of my first drive. Parked the BMW up and unloaded: Once loaded up, and waving by to the car, we set off! First stop was the local Tescos to stock up on essentials, I was a little nervous to start with, but quickly got the hand of it, managed to park in the car park, well, I say park, basically took over four parking bays at the far end of the car park! I'd made sure the first site wasn't too far away, Laggan Glamping and Caravan site, so a one hour 15 min trip up the A9, off at Dalwhinnie onto the A889. The views were utterly mesmerising, the large screen and high position on the van gave us such a perfect viewpoint, amazing. The site was a very small one, only six pitches, but this was perfect for us. Parking up was easy enough, quickly got used to the wide angle reverse camera and side mirrors, was actually quite chuffed with my ability to move the beast around, however, anything larger may have been more of a challenge. Super quiet location, no showers but there was an electric hook up, so plugged us in and chilled out with a beer and food for the evening. Views driving up to the first site: Parked up ready for a beer: What I did notice quite quickly was the location of the grey waste pipe on underside of the van, this wasn't a great design really, it was so low that it became quite a worry when driving or entering/exiting site, it did scrape a few times across the week, not great. I'd suspect other vans/companies would have done something a little more sensible for this location: Sunday 24th May After a decent sleep, and the comical use of the built in shower, we were ready for the next journey. I'd planned a stop just outside Ullapool, so we set off for another route filled with stunning scenery. Up the A86 to the A9, through Inverness and then onto the A835, skirted Ullapool and to the site. We were on a small peninsula overlooking the hills and the bay, incredible views, even in the rain and wind.... So far the roads were all perfectly manageable in the van, other than a few "breath in" moments when the logging HGVs thundered past, all was good. Once parked up and showered, great campsite facilities and the Ardiar site, we booked a taxi and went for a meal in Ullapool. Lovely local lady drove us there, shared her stories of how the town has grown over the years, dropped us off at the The Ferry Boat Inn, we booked for her to collect us later that evening. Lovely food, hilarious local staff, a great night. Monday 25th May The van was rocking in the wind that night, sleep was as little limited, but the weather had cleared a wee bit for the morning, breakfast with a view: For the next night I was brave and had booked us into a much more basic site, this one was called Achnashellach Campsite, just by Loch Dughaill. This was basically some hard standing and a field for the tents, quite different from the other sites! No hook up, a very basic toilet block but some cracking views over the hills and the river. The weather was starting to break up a bit on Monday, some showers, but the sun was starting to push forward more and more. We went for a walk down to the river and chilled out. Perfect. The only negative here was the late arrival of the van next to us, 11pm arrival, then 90 mins of opening doors, moving stuff around and generally being annoying. To be fair to the site owner, he was apologetic of this. A nice bloke, only his second season as a site, so developing and growing the facilities. When I asked what the charge was, he said "pay what you think it is worth". Unusual approach in this day and age. Tuesday 26th May Awoke to the sun! Hurrah! Breakfast done, we set off to Loch Carron in search of a coffee and pastry. What a lovely little village, perfect location and really friendly people. Emptied the grey waste in the lay-by drain, topped the diesel up as I wasn't sure where the next garage would be. The next stop was over in Skye, I'd booked us a site in Dunvegan, the journey there was a long but beautiful one. The only drag was the road around Loch Carron, very tight and full of potholes, local van drivers over taking in the most bizarre and dangerous of locations, I wasn't even driving slowly! Then caught the A87 through the Kyle of Lochalsh, over the bridge and onto Skye. We did a detour and went up to Portree for a mooch/shop (apparently can't go a week without shops!), then up and over the hills to Dunvegan. The roads were stunning, the views even more so, just so many "wow" moments. Given we were in the van we stopped in a lay-by (did this a few times over the week) to make a cuppa and have a biscuit. Can't beat this for a view with a cuppa: Lots and lots of coaches on this route, seems a very popular destination, definitely the busiest of the week so far. I'd been to Skye back in 1995, didn't remember it having quite so many tourists. I must have said "I wish I was in the Boxster" a hundred times on the roads, incredible driving roads with fantastics lines of sight etc, not quite so much fun in a 3.5 tonne van. Took the road over the hills to the north west coast to find the Ardair camp site just outside Dunvegan. What a setting. Simply stunning. We had a pitch right on the front overlooking the bay, the hills and the 360 degree view. Hooked up the van, went for a walk to take in the views, shower/change than walked over to The Old School House for an excellent meal. A fabulous night. Back to the van for a beer and to watch the sun go down. A real moment to savour. Wednesday 27th May I'd made a bit of a school boy error for Wednesday's travel. Originally we were going to drive down the the ferry at Armadale over to Mallaig, however, I'd not booked it as we weren't sure when we were wanting to cross and the sites all said that the crossings were many and booking wasn't really needed unless it was mid-season, as in June/July. Wrong. Couldn't get a crossing even though I'd looked 24 hours in advance, whoops. That meant a longer drive back down to the bridge and around to Fort William where we stocked up at Tescos, then down the A830 to Arisaig on the west coast, around 25 mins south of Mallaig. Although the journey was a long one, we did manage to make the most of the views, the roads and the scenery, a few lay-bys were visited, teas were drunk and the soul was recharged. We pulled into the Sunnyside Croft site and were wowed. The original plan was to stay one night, but we quickly changed our mind and managed to get a second night booked in, a good rest from driving as well as an opportunity to unwind and enjoy the sun (we had to put suncream on!) and the awesome beach. What a location. Several beers, a BBQ or two, lots of reading, sitting on the beach, relaxing and eating ice-cream later, we were full relaxed. The plan had been to drive to a site in Oban on Thursday, then to a site outside Dunoon on Friday, then back to Perth on Saturday morning. However, we decided to change these plans given the weather had changed dramatically, rain and strong wing greeted us on Friday morning, so, a new plan was set out. After finding a hotel in the borders, Lauder, and then calling the van rental company to check it was ok to drop off on Friday PM, we did the 4 hour drive over to Perth. It wasn't fun, as expected there was a lot of Friday traffic, hold ups around Fort William and then again on the A9 due to the roadworks. Dropped the van off, checked everything off, then headed out of Perth into more traffic. Over the Forth Bridge and around the outskirts of Edinburgh at a sedate pace. It was rather odd jumping into the BMW after so many miles (700 all told) in the van, to have strong brakes and acceleration again was weird! Finally arrived at the hotel in Lauder at 6:30pm, ready for an excellent meal and a few Machallan 12 year olds...! Saturday 30th May My birthday! A much appreciated Scottish breakfast to start the day, then packed up and drove down the coast road to Banborough. What an amazing bit of road it was, dropped into Sport Individual and enjoyed the blast! The sun was out again, enjoyed the sites of the castle, had a great lunch, a cheeky ice-cream. Four hours later we were home. Many, many miles later, but my goodness it was thoroughly enjoyable. Will post some thoughts up on the van experience later today, many good points and a few negatives.
So glad you enjoyed Amazing how fortunate I am to picture your route and setting, having it on near enough on door or a mere couple of hours away The sites mentioned, I’ve frequented, my favourite is Ullapool what a village of open friendly culture, has me returning many times yet seldom seeing the same people. Loch Carron & Torridon has some of the most fantastic walking & mountain biking routes Hit the weather & it makes for a fantastic break
Fabulous trip. Those Highland roads are superb. Take the Porsche next time and book some hotels and you'll come back grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
Well, well, well! What a trip?! Like @snrbrtsn, I can picture the majority of your route after 3x tours around the NC500 and surrounding areas in motorhomes over the years. It very much reads like you got into a groove pretty quickly and enjoyed the flexibility that the motorhome offers. I have thought multiple times about taking my Porsche up but the one thing that holds me back is the knowledge that in the van, no matter what great road I may have driven, I could be staying in the middle of nowhere in the most spectacular location. Unlike the Porsche where you’d have to spend £££ to stay in an equivalent hotel, if even such a thing can compare with a wild camp setup. What does the future hold? More motorhoming?
Thanks all, indeed it was a fantastic trip. Has certainly got me looking and thinking if a van is a viable option, ultimately it isn't for us as a purchase, too much to sink into one item that we wouldn't utilise fully. Won't stop me looking and thinking though! In terms of the experience, a few items come to mind: - overall the van drank diesel! The gauge fell quicker than it used to do in the M2. Averaged 27.4mpg over the 700 miles, given the size of the thing, the tiny 2.0d engine and the auto box, that probably isn't too bad. - boy does it roll in the corners, I had to totally change my driving style within 4/5 miles, but once I had adapted all was fine in the relatively sedate world of mobile home driving - it was a comfortable place to sit when driving, I dropped the arm rests and chilled for the journeys - apart from the awful grey water drain location the rest of the van was very well thought out/designed, plenty of storage in the garage and the cupboards, more than enough for the two of us - not sure if this is a generic camper/motorhome issue, or more to do with the company that made it (Swift) but my goodness does it rattle and squeak! I managed to find the worst one and jam some cardboard under the lock, this stopped the flock of budgies chirping away in my right ear, but there were so many. To cope I ended up just turning up the radio...! - we had an issue with the fresh water tank on Wednesday, I was told that I'd know it was full (when filling) as it would "come out of the top". To me this sounded like it would fill up to the top of the filler neck and then come out, not so. The panel read 40% on the fresh water, so upon arrival at the Sunnyside Croft site I pulled into the watering bay and filled it up, after 5 or so minutes I noticed the water way pouring out from under the van. After some investigation I saw it was coming out of three thin blue plastic hoses, each had a metal gauze "filter" on the end. Odd I thought. Went back to the pitch, plugged back in and went to read the panel, it said 0% fresh water, this sent me into a bit of a panic thinking that the water coming out was due to a blockage or a valve etc. Mrs W then informed me that there was no water coming out of the tap, ahhhh! Went back to the service bay, went to fill up again and the same happened, only this time it was within a minute or so. The panel still read at 0%. After a frantic Google and then a call to the out of hours number for the rental company I went back to the pitch, and decided to see what happens. In my haste to get the water issue sorted I forgot to turn the pump back on, hence no water coming out of the tap! Doh. However, the 0% still perturbed me. Woke the next morning, after no issues with the water supply, to find the panel reading 95%. Reported this to the depot when returning the van, apparently this has been an issue with a number of vans running the same system. Fine in the end, but did worry me, what with being a novice to all this - The dreaded west coast midges did make a show, but only in a few lay-bys, it seemed the wind and sun kept them away for the majority of the time, phew We would certainly do another rental, maybe even back up to Scotland, so much more to explore!
In terms of the experience, a few items come to mind: - overall the van drank diesel! The gauge fell quicker than it used to do in the M2. Averaged 27.4mpg over the 700 miles, given the size of the thing, the tiny 2.0d engine and the auto box, that probably isn't too bad. Based upon my experience, I'd say that's actually pretty good. Coachbuilt motorhomes have more drag than panel van conversions or A-classes. My last XL Family averaged 19mpg (admittedly heavier), my Knaus BoxDrive did 25mpg (albeit permanent AWD) and my current rig has averaged 21mpg over 2k miles). - boy does it roll in the corners, I had to totally change my driving style within 4/5 miles, but once I had adapted all was fine in the relatively sedate world of mobile home driving Oh yes, big dynamic changes in driving a motorhome to even the most basic hatchback. You nailed it - body roll is a thing! ;) - it was a comfortable place to sit when driving, I dropped the arm rests and chilled for the journeys Yes, once you get used to not hussling or going anywhere super quickly, they're actually a very chilled way of travelling - not sure if this is a generic camper/motorhome issue, or more to do with the company that made it (Swift) but my goodness does it rattle and squeak! I managed to find the worst one and jam some cardboard under the lock, this stopped the flock of budgies chirping away in my right ear, but there were so many. To cope I ended up just turning up the radio...! They can be but it's much more prevalent in coachbuilts as there's more body flex and also in the cheaper end of the market which Swift falls into. My current A-class is very quiet indeed with just one of the internal radiators which is knocking slightly, which I'll get seen to at the next snagging visit. It does drive you to distraction if you have a noisy habitation area though. - we had an issue with the fresh water tank on Wednesday, I was told that I'd know it was full (when filling) as it would "come out of the top". To me this sounded like it would fill up to the top of the filler neck and then come out, not so. The panel read 40% on the fresh water, so upon arrival at the Sunnyside Croft site I pulled into the watering bay and filled it up, after 5 or so minutes I noticed the water way pouring out from under the van. After some investigation I saw it was coming out of three thin blue plastic hoses, each had a metal gauze "filter" on the end. Odd I thought. Went back to the pitch, plugged back in and went to read the panel, it said 0% fresh water, this sent me into a bit of a panic thinking that the water coming out was due to a blockage or a valve etc. Mrs W then informed me that there was no water coming out of the tap, ahhhh! Went back to the service bay, went to fill up again and the same happened, only this time it was within a minute or so. The panel still read at 0%. After a frantic Google and then a call to the out of hours number for the rental company I went back to the pitch, and decided to see what happens. In my haste to get the water issue sorted I forgot to turn the pump back on, hence no water coming out of the tap! Doh. However, the 0% still perturbed me. Woke the next morning, after no issues with the water supply, to find the panel reading 95%. Reported this to the depot when returning the van, apparently this has been an issue with a number of vans running the same system. Fine in the end, but did worry me, what with being a novice to all this - The dreaded west coast midges did make a show, but only in a few lay-bys, it seemed the wind and sun kept them away for the majority of the time, phew I tend to do Scotland exclusively between late September and late April to avoid the midge season. So glad you enjoyed it. If you're thinking of giving it another go, I'd suggest heading to the continent. Generally speaking, everything's set up far better for motorhoming and you really get the benefit of taking the path less travelled; getting deep into places you wouldn't normally think to spend time in but doing so with the infrastructure to support overnight parking in towns & villages, waste & fresh water fill & drops ups for very little (or sometimes free). France is super at it, Germany almost on par.
Looks an absolutely fab trip. Definitely on my to do list, always thought of doing it in the Mini with hotels but maybe hiring a camper is the way.... you may not want to answer this but what sort of all in budget are you looking at for a similar camper, site fees, diesel, etc for the trip? You dont need to be too precise just a ballpark... £2k? more? My other half has some friends with a VW camper - maybe we could do the trip with them...
I was reasonably pleased with the overall cost to be fair. Hire (including the extras for the chairs/table/adblue/insurance/auto was £1250 (maybe a £10 car park on top). Diesel cost me £201 in total. Sites ranged from £20 (super basic with no amenities) to £40 for the best one at Sunnyside Croft, all the amenities you could want. So a total of approx £1654. I think you'd pay more for a decent cottage up there, plus petrol etc.
Very precise! Thanks. Happy with that, i reckoned £200 plus a night for hotels and then meals (where you could do drinks, breakfasts etc in the "van") Definitely bookmarking this thread to help plans...
You were also away during half term where the rental rates are usually higher than the surrounding weeks. We spent the previous week to yours in a the fabulous village of Solva in Pembrokeshire. A centrally located 2 bed holiday cottage was £700 for the week including the hound! Another great area of the UK which is relatively quiet whilst being stunning. My wife would love a camper van, I want a sailing boat. Clearly at an impasse however we are not at the stage yet of making that decision if at all. Hiring does seem extremely convenient without the hassles that come with ownership of either.
Thanks for your lovely story Mat, I enjoyed reading it very much. It is great seeing the experiences of a newbie, like Spuffy said addressing some issues, it's just what you get used to and forget how different they are. Every van is different obviously, but the rattles and odd noises do greatly differ. The three Autosleeper van-conversions we've had all need tea towels wedged in the grill and oven to stop the shelves rattling. You only forget & light the appliance once without removing them as the resultant smoke and ensuing panic is fun, not ! The wastewater thing on Swifts is well known for years, many owners have snapped them off and all the dealers do is replace them as was. This is the problem with a semi-production line and fixed kit of parts for a range of models that they use. Some people have damaged the tanks too on some models as they are just too low. A long term owner would change that themselves to something far more sensible for next to nothing diy. Most owners tend to ignore the water tank gauges and just get a feel for how you are doing, this sounds odd to car owners with precision instruments, but they never really work. Our current van has (an unnecessary) pressurised Whale filling system that stops automatically when it is full, but you knew when the other two were full as you got wet feet like you, simple just works ! Having the "convenience" of a toilet and cooking etc in your vehicle far outweighed the downsides for me over 20 years ago (in my early 30s) and just lost interest in sporty or dynamic driving far too young and began to enjoy the slower pace of life that is just not possible with hotels. That's why my current BMW seems like an M2 in comparison to the van anyway hehe.
Sounds like a great trip but can’t say I’m impressed at you emptying your grey water in the lay-by drain, in remote areas like this they will run into a soak away or more likely the nearest burn. The most important rule of rural visiting is take home every thing you bring.
I followed the guide produced by Scotland Trust board, this sets out the grey waste lay-bys and places to top up water, small ok in terms of disposal.
