"FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD" Scotland by nickandchris

Scotland Travel Guide: 14,126 reviews and 25,725 photos

Suilven from Loch Roe. 2008

Where to Start...???

This is a tricky one, having seen quite a lot of western Scotland but not being able to find the locations on V.T. Some Scottish locations appear under UK and some under Scotland. That is the nature of VT!!

This page will be a brief resume of all places visited in Scotland. Our last two holidays were Easter 2010, to the little known Nithsdale valley in Dumfries and Galloway and in early June, to the Kirkcudbright area of D.&G. My new pages for these holidays are Kirkcudbright and Moniaive and Wanlockhead.

July 2009 found us travelling to little known areas around Glenuig on Loch Ailort and Ardtoe in the north east of Ardnamurchan. We also briefly touched on Mallaig and the Arisaig area.There will be a page for Ardtoe, but Glenuig is not identified as existing on Virtual Tourist, so tips for here will be under Roshven(nearest place) and my Highland page, as well as this page.

2008's holiday was to the far north of Scotland, Sutherland and then west and southwards. Many of the places we visited are on seperate pages, Sutherland not existing on Virtual Tourist.

Camping

Seil Island, Argyll

It all started in the early '90's, we always holidayed with our tent in either north Wales or Pembrokeshire when Nick decided we should visit Dumfries and Galloway .That was it, we were hooked. Since those days, there have always been Scottish holidays. Nowadays they are taken in the motorhome, complete with motorbike and small boat and we tend to stick to the west coast.Our Scottish holidays are taken in July or August (worst time for midges) and we tend to either free camp (relatively easy in most of Scotland) or stay on C.L.s which are Caravan Club and Camping Club members only sites that only take 5 units. We like it nice and quiet so this suits us down to the ground.
One requirement we ask for is to be somewhere we can easily inflate and launch the boat from. This is not always easy, especially on sites, so most of the time we find ourselves free camping on loch sides wherever possible.
We tend to stay in one place for two or three days and then move on, leaving nothing behind but our footprints. As much as the weather permits, we will be in the boat, fishing or wild life spotting. Bliss. It's all very relaxing.

A Little Information

Camp view.....

Scotland is in the north of Great Britain and takes up approx.a third of the island. It belongs to the UK. and as well as the mainland, there are around 790 islands dotted around the coastline of Scotland.

The country is divided into 33 counties, a map of which you can find here:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/sct_cmap.html Geologically, however, it is split into three distinct areas, Highlands, Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands.Much of the country was formed by glaciers, carving out some spectacular valleys and mountains along their journey. Most of the country's cities are to be found in the central belt, with Edinburgh being Scotland's capital.

Today, Scotland's population is around the 5,117, 00 mark, with the bulk of this spread around the larger towns and cities. The Highlands and islands are sparsely populated and you can literally travel for miles on empty roads.

Gaelic is still spoken, mainly in the western isles and tourism plays a large part in Scotland's economy.

Kilts are still worn by men and that strange musical instrument, the bagpipe, is still played today and a lone piper is often a feature at tourist destinations.

Scotland's climate can be variable, with summers similar to northern England with plenty of rain, whereas winters are a little harsher; the higher the altitude the more snow will fall, especially in the Highlands and northern islands where the winds can be fierce and roads impassable with snow for weeks on end. The west is generally milder than the east because of the Atlantic Ocean currents.

Scotland is just a beautiful country and definitely not to be missed.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Clean, quiet and spectacular
Cons:Long distances and of course midges
In a nutshell:Simply amazing scenery

Last visit to Scotland: Aug 2011
Intro Updated Aug 12, 2011
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Reviews (63)

Far From The Madding Crowd Hotels (16)

This is a fantastic certificated location in Dumfries and Galloway, in the Loch Ken area. We booked this site hoping it... more travel advice

Morton Castle and Loch Off The Beaten Path (14)

A spectacularly located ruin in the heart of Nithsdale, Dumfries and Galloway. Having spotted Morton Castle and loch on... more travel advice

Hidden Treasures Lead Mining Museum Things to Do (20)

Wanlockhead is another one of those places we had promised ourselves a visit to. Over Easter, 2010, we made it, albeit... more travel advice

Nice Little Local Restaurants (3)

Whilst on our holiday in Nithsdale we decided to sample the local pub for lunch, in Penpont. This was the obvious choice... more travel advice

Shopping (1)
Essentials
Nightlife (2)
See All Sunset over Jura
Sports & Outdoors (2)
See All Kyles of Bute

Travelogues (1)

Written Apr 28, 2010

8 photos

Favourite Places....

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Comments (14)

spidermiss Jul 20, 2010 at 9:32 AM Report Abuse

I was in the area at the end of May. Amazing scenery although we wished for better weather! Thanks for sharing! Dawn
Anjutka Oct 9, 2009 at 4:53 AM Report Abuse

Beautiful...i see you have mountains and sea...lucky,may be a bit rainy and colder there or?
Greggor58 Aug 3, 2009 at 6:52 PM Report Abuse

Ill need to take a closer look soon...Your Scottish pages here are amazing...Funny...I was just thinking about next Summer making the trip across the Big Pond take in a few days at Piping Festival in Glasgow..and then a little tour.
junecorlett Feb 11, 2009 at 1:17 AM Report Abuse

Good tips, you have done a lot of work.
volopolo Nov 10, 2008 at 8:31 AM Report Abuse

Complete website for Scotland ! Very nice job!
SLLiew Nov 5, 2008 at 8:47 AM Report Abuse

It is been awhile. Great tips added. Fun to read about other Scottish Loches... wonder if they have a monster like Nessie :)
KimberlyAnn Dec 22, 2007 at 3:41 PM Report Abuse

OOps! Thanks for visiting my pages and pointing out the moose/mousse, LOL. What a great page, with some beautiful photos. This sounds like a wonderful place to visit.
Knoto Oct 5, 2007 at 1:54 AM Report Abuse

Awesome Page, like your " fish" Story...
vtveen Oct 28, 2006 at 8:35 AM Report Abuse

More interesting tips and pics about Scotland. We just have to find other accommodation (don't like camping !!)
TravellingSpirit Jul 17, 2006 at 10:56 AM Report Abuse

Thanks for the comment on my Arran page. It is a great island if you fancy a visit some time