Our first Motorhome trip to the West Coast of Scotland!

in #travel6 years ago

Hi Steemians!


Today I am sharing our amazing, first trip in a motorhome to the West Coast of Scotland, I hope you enjoy the post!


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We have always loved the idea of converting a transit van into a camper and travelling around the UK and Europe. I realise being a "motorhome" or camper owner is probably not the coolest of things but for us it is the most exciting way to enjoy nature without loosing too many home comforts! We have been camping before and really enjoyed it, but having everything in the van with power so we can Steem, cook and just drive off without packing everything away is much more appealing!! Before we make the decision to buy a transit and convert the van into our dream motorhome we decided it would be a good idea to hire one... just to make sure that we actually liked sleeping in a van!! So last weekend we hired one and headed up to my favourite place in the World, the far West Coast of Scotland!!


As the drive up, even in a car, takes 7 and a half hours we decided to stay over at Loch Lomand and drive the rest of the way in the morning! We arrived in Loch Lomand just as the sun had gone down, but it was still so bright. Its amazing this time of year that even at 10pm you can still sit outside and not be in the pitch black! We went straight down to the shore to get a few shots but were completely attacked my swarms of midges!! Apparently they are really bad this time of year! A little family of ducks swam by too. Already being by water and in Scotland was so relaxing. Although camping is allowed pretty much anywhere in Scotland, which is awesome, Loch Lomand is one of the few places were there are camping restrictions so you either need to pay to camp in a designated camp spot or buy a permit, we bought a permit which is £3 a night... not bad!!


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The colour were really subtle but still so beautiful. Listening to the quiet waves lapping on the shore was so relaxing I couldn't wait for the drive further into the depths of Scotland in the morning.


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We retired back to our motorhome. It had been quite interesting driving it on all these windy Scottish roads, and I have to say Chris did such an amazing job at staying chill and getting us there. It was such a big motorhome, we had asked for a smaller one and then got a call that the one we had asked for actually was not available so we had to take this one, one that sleeps 6!!! It was only us and our dog so rather excessive! It was super wide and literally guzzled diesel the whole way! But totally worth it when we got to make ourselves dinner in the evening in the middle of a little forested area! The motorhome had more than we could ever want, a huge fridge and freezer, a gas stove and a sink to wash up in. The stove was really easy to use and quick too, it was so nice to have all of these things there and ready to go. Our dog seemed to be enjoying van life so far too.


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As we got the bed ready to sleep in we were so excited already about getting our own van, it was so cosy being inside with the sounds of nature outside, just what we had always wanted. The bed was surprisingly comfy and we had such a good nights sleep! I was a little relieved as my only concern about doing a van ourselves was that it wouldn't be nice to sleep in! I admit this one if larger but we chose to sleep in the smaller part of the van to see what it would be like knowing the one we would get would be bigger, so at least we now know what we would get would be perfectly good enough!


We had a great nights sleep so I got up early and started to make a fried breakfast! The perfect holiday food, it was like having a home away from home and you felt so secure in the huge motorhome van.


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After a great breakfast we headed out for a little walk before carrying on the long journey. I had chosen this camping place as I had seen online this amazing sculpture overlooking the loch which looked like it would be great for some photographs so we headed around the corner to go check it out. Normally weather in Scotland is a lot to be desired, but I love the atmospheric weather, however today it was warm hot and completely clear! It was amazing to be back here in this kind of weather after the last few times I have been up have been dark and grey! It was like a whole new place all together!


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Found it!! (obviously Chris was taking the shots of me!)


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It was definitely worth choosing this spot to come to camp, I loved this sculpture and the views over the loch were stunning!! Great symmetry too!


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After this lovely walk around this little area it was time to get in our camper and make it to our destination on the West Coast. It was going to take another 2 hours or so to get there so we had made sure to pack some more car snack for the ride!! I have always loved the road to the coast since I was young, I have gone nearly every single year since I was born with family and now with Chris, its my favourite place and even the journey there leaves you thinking you are on the way to somewhere special.


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We had to make a little detour into Oban to get Chris some more chocolate!! What else?! It was great to see so many amazing boats in the harbour.


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Then after a rather stressful trip to the final campsite down a large hill, navigating trees and rocks we made it!! And just in time for the most amazing evening we have ever had. This place is special, to people who come here and also to the people who live there. A group of islanders came down to the shore to do some jet skiing and joined in with our BBQ, it was so nice to see how much they enjoy this magical place and appreciate its beauty everyday. We had a great time listening to all their stories and watching the sun go down.


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The only sounds were from the boat going out and everyone talking softly. We saw a little Otter pop by catch some fish and eat it while we were on the shore. I couldn't get very good photographs of it as I only had my 17-40mm lens, so not much point! It would have been a little speck!! Its sometimes just nice to enjoy those moments, without a camera, knowing that you can't get a good shot anyway forces you to just enjoy the moment. I was so mesmarised by the sun going down I actually had to force myself to take photographs! Its that kind of place, where nothing really starts to matter apart from that moment. I don't even know how many time I usually check my phone or emails all day which involved charging my battery more and once a day, and the whole long weekend we were here I only charged it once, and it still had power left on the way home.


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As we watched a few people try and jet ski it seemed like they really were living the dream! I heard one of them say to another " don't let anyone know... we are living the dream! " as a joke and I actually think they really are. You could see how much fun they were all having, outdoors enjoying nature and the sea, that's what it should all be about, not stuck inside on the laptops. It seems ironic that that's what I am doing right now, but by making these posts I am hoping that I will be able to do more and more of these trips and share my adventures with you. So really its all for the love of the outdoors that I am even writing this now! It has made me realise how much I appreciate these trips too and its so nice to have something like a post to look back on when we have been back!


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I don't think we could have found a better place to park our motorhome, we were the only ones camping down there apart from a small family in some tents around the corner, so we really did feel like this view was all for us to enjoy, how amazing. We sat in bed with the window wide open watching a seal eat his dinner, the sounds of the sea birds flying over head until the sun had almost died until then there were no sounds at all. Just pure silence.


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The colours in the sunset were just so beautiful, the blues and oranges all fading into one another. It didn't really get any darker throughout the night. I was getting a little excited as earlier in the day I had had an aurora alert on my phone so we waited around until it was quite dark and got up to check for the clear skies but unfortunately it had clouded over over night. That really would have topped off that amazing weekend !! I am sure one of these days when we go up we will see it, but for now I am quite happy to settle for this amazing sunset and view... one I will never tire of seeing.


I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend and I am so glad that we enjoyed the whole camper experience. We realised how much of the van was wasted space and how little we actually needed so that when we come to buy ours we will know what to look for. It was the perfect weekend and I am itching to get back up there already. I hope you have all enjoyed this little trip with me and I can't wait to share our next adventure soon. We will be going on so many whenever we get our van... best get saving now!! For anyone who is thinking of giving it a go too it actually wasn't as hard driving and getting it into camp sites as we thought so don't let that put you off, its one of the best ways to tour the country and a great way to go on holiday!


Thank you for stopping by! - Verity x

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Camera Gear : Canon 6D + 17-40mm Lens



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Great start in your vanlife story =) We live fulltime in a converted van and absolutely love it and don't want to go back =)
I'm looking forward to read about your own conversion ;)

Greetings out of the van
Sarah

Thank you!! Oh wow thats awesome, I will have to follow you and see your van life! We can't wait to do the conversion!

I feel with you! =)
The conversion is the best preparation to start into the vanlife =)
I wish you much fun and effort =)

Let's hope so!! Can't wait!

Wow, just stunning pictures. I am a mad person, I've never set foot in Scotland. What am I doing? Maybe, one day.

Thank you so much!! Hahaha yes what are you playing at!! Get yourself there now!

I live in United Arab Emirates now but maybe next summer when I visit UK again.
:-)

Yes its a must for sure!

Beautiful photos and what a great thing to do btw I would most definitely love to go visit. I found your post following @curie, thank you for sharing!

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! Its such an amazing place to visit if you can!

I hope we do! One thing we will for sure do is to get a motorhome to travel at least all over America. One day though, once we lambo to the moon ;) lol

Oh yeah that would be amazing, would love to do that around America too, good luck doing it all :D

Thank you, you too! ☺️🙏🏼

Wow, beautiful pics 👌🏼 I have never tried a vacation in a van/motorhome. Now I'm curious 😊

Thank you! We hadn't either, but after this its safe to say we are hooked!

wow thats amazing. Thanks for sharing. That just makes me want to jump in a camper again and hit the road!! Resteemed

Thank you! Hahaha so glad it makes you want to do that! I can't wait to get back out in one!

Beautiful pictures. The West of Scotland is on my bucket list. For sure one of the beauties in the world. I travelled Tasmania and the Westcoast of Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Andalusia. Scotland I am coming!

Thank you! Yes you must go!! Its the most amazing place, we are lucky enough to have gone to some stunning places across the World but I keep coming back to Scotland!!

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Jeez, im so so jealous of you guys. A motorhome is something that we would love to get but can't justify it at the moment (having a pet horse limits our ability to just get up and go - and that's the whole point right?). Great to see you both enjoying yourselves up in bonnie scotland.

Awww Thank you! I can see how a horse would limit the time you can be away just a little! We really didn't expect to enjoy it as much as we did, but now we just can't wait to get out own van! Scotland is always amazing.

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Thank you so much!

What a lovely weekend you two have had! I would love to get a campervan, but for now, a tent is more than sufficient! Let's hope the weather stays as it is for a bit longer.

Yes it was so nice! Your right a tent is plenty good enough! Looks like the weather is staying around for now anyway :)

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