If you’re planning on taking a camping trip this summer, Scotland has a wealth of options to choose from. Here, Fiona Russell has hand-picked a top 10 to suit different campers and a range of desires. Now all you need is the weather...
1. BEST FOR FAMILIES: Comrie Croft, Perthshire
There is a wide choice of camping options to suit family groups, including eco-camping spots for your own tent, with a firepit as standard; handmade kata tents, already set up and decked out with overnight comforts such as beds and a wood burning stove; and a bunkhouse and hostel.
The wider site has plenty for adults and kids to enjoy, too, such as four waymarked squirrel trails for walking, bike hire, a mountain bike skills park and pump track, 10 miles of single track bike trails, plus a Tea Garden cafe. And that’s before you start to explore Perthshire’s wider outdoors playground.
www.comriecroft.com
2. BEST FOR NATURE: Fortrose Bay Campsite, Ross and Cromarty
The campsite, which offers pitches with electric hook-up for caravans, campervans, motorhomes and tents, is a short walk from the centre of the seaside village of Fortrose, on the Black Isle, just north of Inverness.
Close by is Chanonry Point, which forms a large natural sand bar sticking out into the Moray Firth, and is famous for being a place to spot bottlenose dolphins from the land. Other possible wildlife sightings include whales, seals and porpoises.
The Black Isle is also a haven for birds of prey, especially red kites and buzzards, deer, otters and pine martens.
3. BEST FOR GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL: Canna Campsite, Isle of Canna, Small Isles
Canna is a far flung Scottish island, the western-most of the Small Isles archipelago, in the Inner Hebrides. The island is only 4.3 miles long by a mile wide and is linked to the neighbouring island of Sanday by a road and sandbanks at low tide.
It is reached by CalMac ferry from Mallaig, on the mainland and stops at one of the other Small Isles, Rum.
The island is owned by the National Trust and the campsite offers visitors a choice of camping, glamping, caravans and bunkhouse. Facilities include a “cookshack”, toilets and showers, water, campfire and picnic tables.
Canna is a hotspot for wildlife, epically a huge seabird population, and boasts amazing basalt cliffs.
4. BEST FOR WILD FEEL: Loch Chon Campsite, Stirlingshire
Loch Chon, near Aberfoyle, is described as an informal campsite and offers the opportunity for a wild-style camp in your own tent in a small site with basic facilities, including toilet and fresh water but no showers.
The 26 well spaced pitches, each with a designated parking space, are privately located in woodland on the shores of beautiful Loch Chon and with views of the surrounding by forest, hills and mountains of Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park.
www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/things-to-do/camping/find-a-campsite/loch-chon-campsite
5. BEST FOR ENTERTAINMENT: Auchenlarie Holiday Park, Dumfries & Galloway
The award-winning holiday park is located near Gatehouse of Fleet on a glorious coastline in south-west Scotland and overlooking
Wigtown Bay.
There are caravans and lodges for hire, or you can bring a tent, caravan, motorhome or campervan and make use of hard standing and grass pitches, each with electric hook-up.
There is no need to go anywhere if you like your entertainment laid on with the facilities including an indoor heated pool, sauna, arcade, daily entertainment, children’s indoor and outdoor play areas, restaurant, takeaway, three bars and a convenience store.
www.swalwellholidaygroup.co.uk/auchenlarie-tents-touring
6. BEST FOR DOGS: Ruberslaw Wild Woods Camping, Scottish Borders
Dogs are very welcome at the campsite at Denholm, near Hawick, where you can choose to glamp in a woodland safari tent, or pitch your won tent in a choice of locations, such as the walled garden or wild woodland.
The site is set amid 500 acres of unspoilt upland in the heart of the Teviot Valley’s Special Landscape Area.
The are lots of options for dog walks, including a climb from the campsite to the top of Ruberslaw at almost 424m, where the reward is a panoramic view over hills and forestry.
Dogs must be kept on a lead on the campsite and cleaned up afterwards. There is also a small fee per dog.
7. BEST FOR BEACH VIEWS: Clachtoll Beach Campsite, Sutherland
There are many campsites to recommend for beach views aound the Scottish coastline but one of the gems is Clachtoll near Lochinver, in Assynt, on Scotland’s spectacular north-west coast.
The small, award-winning family and dog friendly campsite sits just 300ft from the stunning white sands of Clachtoll beach and with views of the impressive geological feature, Split Rock.
There is a mixture of serviced (water and electric) and unserviced pitches, and the owners accept touring caravans, campervans, motorhomes and tents.
Needless to say this is a very popular site so you are recommended to book early.
www.clachtollbeachcampsite.com
8. BEST FOR MOUNTAIN VIEWS: Glen Nevis Caravan and Camping Park, Highlands
It is difficult to choose a campsite with the best mountain views because there are so many, especially in the Highlands.
But for a camping trip that has a vista of the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, Glen Nevis Caravan and Camping Park, near Fort William, is hard to beat.
The large site has four fields set aside for caravans and motor caravans and five dedicated fields for tents. There are also camping pods and static caravans. Facilities include showers, toilets and wi-fi, as well as electric hook-up availability.
Of course, if have the right experience, you will also want to bring walking kit, map and compass for a hike to the summit of the Ben at 4413ft.
9. BEST FOR WHISKY FANS: Speyside Gardens Caravan Park, Moray
Speyside has the greatest concentration of malt whisky producers than any other region of Scotland and perfectly located for whisky loving campers is Speyside Gardens, near Aberlour.
The six-acre site, set within a beautiful victorian walled garden, offers caravan, camping and luxury glamping nestled amid lovely rolling countryside.
As well as distillery visits, you can enjoy activities such as walking, running and cycling on a wide network of paths, trails and quiets roads, plus salmon fishing and kayaking on the River Spey.
10. BEST FOR LAZY CAMPERS: Boutique Farm Bothies, Aberdeenshire
Plenty of campsites now offer glamping options if you don’t want to go to the bother of bringing and pitching your own tent.
You will usually pay more for a more luxurious option but it’s a great way to enjoy the great outdoors with less hassle and more comfort and luxuries.
Boutique Farm, located at Newton of Begshill, near Drumblade, has what they call “boutique boltholes” – Barley Bothy, The Sheep Shed and The Dairy at Dunend – and each accommodation is sited in its own spot on the farm.
The boltholes have lots of vintage treasures and thoughtful touches for a very memorable and comfortable stay.
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