Routes and Suggestions
The view forward out of the bay window and looking down the open road with the promise of adventure ahead is the absolute essence of a classic VW campervan holiday. You’ll be amazed at just how fast one of these amazing little buses transports you from the stress of the here and now to a nicer place (and it doesn’t have to be a long distance away and it doesn’t have to get you there quickly either!) A retro VW bus resolutely refuses to be hurried anyway and pretty soon you’ll adopt the relaxing and agreeable pace of an age when these classic vehicles were first designed and built.
All our lovely campers are beautiful runners and bound along at an enthusiastic pace, but bear in mind that you’re going to be limited to a top speed in the mid 50s and they really aren’t at their best tussling with trucks on motorways. These lovely retro buses are at their finest on A and B roads (and even better on C and minor roads) and in truth that’s really where you should be anyway since that’s generally where all the nice places are.
To give you an idea of range we would suggest that for a 3 day hire you could target Northumberland and spend a day in historic Berwick upon Tweed itself then perhaps The Kielder National Park and back up home through the Scottish Borders. If you had 4 days The Lake District is well within range perhaps aiming for Keswick (about 150 miles from our base) then a bit of pottering about in Beatrix Potter country on your 2nd and 3rd day and back home – probably around 350-400 miles in total.
You could try directly south if you preferred – the Yorkshire Dales (classic Heriot country) and Peak District of Derbyshire are just about in range over 4 or 5 days.
If you have the time to get away for 6, 7 or more days an adventure up into the Highlands, the West Coast and Hebrides are all very achievable (and highly recommended) the minimum for a trip up to Skye would be 6 days – but why stop at that! What an adventure that would be, you, the bus and Europe’s last great wilderness, quiet roads, few people and THAT scenery. For a trip like that we’d be very pleased to help out with specific advice and additional equipment (one small item of equipment we know about has protected the sanity of many an adventurer to the Highlands!!) Of course, Visit Scotland has done a lot of work to promote the North Coast 500 and this would be a memorable 8 day trip – but if you have a look at our Trip Planner perhaps we could persuade you that you can construct your own itinerary?
A good idea when away touring is to organise a mixture of ‘wild’ nights and campsite stays. In this way you can gain the most benefit from your time away. In Scotland you are generally permitted to camp wild on public land (unless specifically forbidden under bye law) provided you act and behave in a responsible and law abiding way. A strategy of mixing wild camping with site stays means you can gain the full experience of wild Scotland and still benefit from campsite facilities – most people can go about 3 days max before a campsite and a hot shower prove irresistible:)
Whether you’re just away for a short break of 3 days or a longer trip of a week or more it’s important to try and get the most from your precious time, less can be more and it’s important not to try to bite off huge distances and in fact we limit the mileage to 120 miles per day – quite frankly that’s plenty at an average speed of 40 or less!
