I am planning hols for 2014 and would like a little help.
I am planning to travel from Southern England towing a 2 berth van, to Castle Point at Rockcliffe for 10 days and then on to a site at Arisaig for another 10 days, before heading back south.
Please could I have some ideas re route and can I do it in one day or do I need a stop over, thoughts please. Any recommendation of sites please.
You could do it in a day but why rush? If you get back onto the A74M then onto the A82 past Loch Lomond you could break your journey at the C & CC site at Luss. A lovely site right at the side of the loch, and Luss is a beautiful little village, well worth a night or two's stop. Have a look at my blog pages from May/June this year for some pics of the site and village.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
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Probably I'm biased but if it was a choice between staying at Invercaimbe or Camusdarach it would be Invercaimbe every time for me. Invercaimbe is directly on the beach, Camusdarach isn't, though I believe it's only a short walk. Don't know Camusdarach's pricing structure but Invercaimbe doesn't charge for dogs. The owner, Joyce, is lovely, she lives on site and is always around if you have any problems. The loos/showers are a bit basic but always very clean, and after all this is part of a working croft. Also if you need a shop then Invercaimbe is closer to Arisaig village than Camusdarch.
If you do choose Invercaimbe then book early as it's a popular little site. Weather-wise I would recommend going early June, that seems to be the best time of the year for round there - I went in August once and it was very cloudy and rainy. Midges are less earlier on too, I wasn't bothered by any at all when I was there this year.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
You are going to 2 beautiful places. Rockcliffe is a nice site and there are loads of lovely places to visit in that area. The walk from Rockcliffe to nearby Kippford is a smashing day out - have lunch at the Anchor in Kippford (dog friendly).
Arisaig, as well documented on here, is gorgeous and there is lots to see within a short drive there as well.
Personally though, I would shave a day or so from each area and use it to have an additional stopover - so many lovely areas to see in Scotland.
Lobey, personally, I'd rather they had started on the bends, rather than the lights at Pulpit Rock! And Crianlarich by-pass has been started (at least that'll avoid those two bridges.
On the plus side, it seems that, apart from buses and local traffic, all the big commercials tend to be using alternative routes rather than A82 north of Tarbet.
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
Just looking back through this thread and I think I may have misread the op. I was thinking you were asking if you could go from Rockcliffe to Arisaig in a day which you can, but did you actually mean from home to Rockcliffe in a day? Depends where you are in the south but that would be a fairly long journey too, especially towing a van, so I think maybe a stop-off would be advisable for that one as well, even if it's just a few hours kip in a car park somewhere.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
We did the journey this summer and went via the A82 avoiding Loch Lomond, stopping over for a fuel break at the Real Food Cafe, Tyndrum. Travelling across Rannoch Moor into Glencoe and up to Fort William. We did it in 6hrs, a long journey but worth the drive at the end. We also stopped at the Witches Craig nr Stirling on the way back, good site and walks especially up on the Wallace Monument.
Invercaimbe everytime, we had a red fox lab and she loved the direct access to the beach and water. If you get a chance go to the Ardnamuchan Peninsular and Sanna beach, a bit of a drive but well worth it especially lunch at the RSPB visitors centre in Glenborrodale.
Thank you Wells21, for your reply. I had noticed on site reviews that you had stayed at Castle Point and Invercaimbe and I had wanted to contact you re route and your experience of the area around Arisaig, now thank you. I think it will be via the A82.
Thank you Tigermouse for your thoughts. I travel from the Isle of Wight and do that to Castle Point in one day (2 of us tow) love Scotland, need to get there !!!
Thank you all for your suggestions, a real great help.
Well if you can do Isle of Wight to Castle Point in a day then you can certainly do Castle Point to Arisaig in one go. I can fully understand that you just want to get there. At least you have the advantage of two of you driving, whereas I'm totally on my own.
I could have done home to Arisaig in somewhere between eight and nine hours, allowing for stops, but I would have been totally cream crackered so thought it best to break the journey and I'm glad I did. Luss is a lovely little place and the views over Loch Lomond are fab. The C & CC site is lovely too, and I was so impressed with the whole area that I'll certainly go back for a day or two longer.
I can recommend the Green Welly cafe at Tyndrum but be prepared to queue as it's a popular place. It's got a huge parking area so plenty of space to leave car and caravan. There's an outdoor shop there too if you need any outdoorsy-type stuff but it's not cheap. Also a petrol station so if you need any fuel get it there as it's the last one till you get the other side of Glen Coe.
The A830 from Fort William to Mallaig has been improved recently, especially near the Arisaig area itself, and some of the bends have been taken out so you'll have no trouble towing along there. There's just one railway bridge to go under which is only wide enough for one vehicle at a time, but this is now controlled by traffic lights so you'll have no problem there.
To get to Invercaimbe or any of the other sites along that stretch you pass the turn off for Arisaig itself then take the next left onto a B road signposted Back of Keppoch. The road goes downhill after a hundred yards or so and there's a sharp right hand bend near the bottom - watch your speed or it'll catch you out, it nearly got me once! Just before the entrance to Invercaimbe the road crosses over the river and it's only wide enough for one vehicle but you can see well ahead and there are passing places to pull into if something's coming the other way.
Hope all this is of some help to you and I hope you enjoy the Arisaig area - I'm sure you will, it's lovely.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental