A fantastic adventure among the gothic atmospheres of the Highlands: ruined castles and fortresses, ruins of cathedrals and Neolithic sites, green meadows and patches of heather. And last but not least, historic cities with a rich heritage of art and culture

Finally we head the bow of the camper towards the Scotland, a long-desired destination. With us the inevitable cat Zoe and my fifteen-year-old niece Anna, determined to extend the planned trip to Paris and London. To explore the Highlands this time we rely on the tour operator The Camper Tropic, so that we have a ready-made itinerary. After visiting the French capital and meeting the other crews at the Calais boarding point, we travel by ferry to Dover and set off in a camper through the English countryside towards Alnwick.

The author

Expert in the plein air world, Daniela travels in a camper with her husband Giuseppe for almost twenty-five years (sometimes also accompanied by her grandchildren), preferring comfortable stops in equipped areas and campsites and allowing herself at least a couple of long trips a year. Her curiosity pushes her to discover ever new and different destinations even abroad.

SCOTLAND ROAD MAP BY CAMPER

• 1st and 2nd DAY: Travel to the Alnwick Castle and settling into the parking lot. The next day, visit to the fortress, transfer to jedburgh and tour of the village.
• 3 DAY: Jedburgh Castle Tour. Campervan Tour with Stops at theDryburgh Abbey, All 'Melrose Abbey and the Rosslyn Chapel.
• 4 DAY: Moving to inveraray, visit of the castle and the village. Overnight stay in a campsite.
• 5 DAY: Journey to Oban and stop for lunch. Moving to Fort William, West Highland Line train tour to Mallaig and back. Camping accommodation.
• 6st and 7nd DAY: Transfer to theIsle of Skye, visit of the Dunvegan Castle and Neist Point Lighthouse, overnight stay at the campsite. The next day, transfer to Portrait and visit the village. Travel to Sligachan with a stop at Sligachan Old Bridge 
and camping accommodation.
• 8st and 9nd DAY: Camper trip with stops at Eilean Donan Castle andInverewe Garden. Overnight stay in the garden car park. The next day, journey along the Highlands with stops at Smoo Cave and Dunnet Head Lighthouse. Overnight camping at John o' Groats.
• 10 DAY: Ferry transfer on theMainland Island. Visit to the'Italian Chapel and Neolithic sites (Maeshowe, Skara Brae, Brodgar and Stennes). Return and overnight camping.
• 11 DAY: Journey along the shores of Loch Ness to Fort Augustus and visit the Caledonian Canal. Shopping and travel to Urquhart Castle.
• 12th and 13th DAY: Visit of theHighland Folk Museum in Newtonmore and overnight at a campsite. The next day, move to Saint Andrews and visit of the city. Accommodation in camping.
• 14 DAY: Day dedicated to visiting Glasgow, reached by train. Travel to Stirling and visit to the castle. In the afternoon, trip to theHelix Park 
of Falkirk.
• 15 DAY: Moving to Stirling and visit to the castle. In the afternoon, trip to theHelix Park of Falkirk.
• 16 DAY: Bus transfer to Edinburgh and guided tour of the city.

At Harry Potter's Castle

1th and 2th day

We drive along the highway through uninterrupted countryside, with grazing cows and sheep, a few villages and a few isolated houses. In the late afternoon we arrive at the parking lot of the Alnwick Castle, immersed in the greenery of a garden.

The next day we visit the fortress, once a fiefdom of the Percys and now owned by the Dukes of Northumberland, and admire the splendid interiors full of art collections. It was this very manor that gave life to the Hogwarts Castle of the saga of Harry Potter, directly inspired by the novels written by Joanne Kathleen Rowling. It is no coincidence that themed shows are held in the enormous parks surrounding it. After lunch we set off again and enter Scotland along narrow roads that run between pastures and green woods. We stop at jedburgh to visit the Augustinian Abbey. A truly majestic complex, which however is closed at certain times for consolidation work. We visit the stone house where Mary Stuart stayed for a period, home to a museum that narrates the life of the unfortunate queen.

Gothic atmospheres

3 ° day

The last stop in Jedburgh is the castle, long used as a prison and now a museum illustrating the history of the prison and life inside. The journey continues towards the ruins of theDryburgh Abbey, immersed among centuries-old trees. Some interesting frescoes are still well preserved.

We continue on to theMelrose Abbey, also partly in ruins. It was once an important religious landmark, as the exhibition inside tells. Finally we visit the Rosslyn Chapel. One of a kind, it is a true masterpiece made of stone: every centimeter (on the columns in particular) is decorated with flowers, faces and symbols that create an aura of mystery linked to the knights of the Templar order.

4 ° day

The next day we reach the Inveraray Castle, residence of the Dukes of Argyll at the head of the Campbell clan. A very scenic building, immersed in well-kept gardens. It has sumptuous interiors and singular kitchens, with installations that document the activities of food preparation. In the afternoon we walk in the village overlooking Loch Fyne, the longest of the “sea lochs” in Scotland. These are typical inlets extended inland (similar to fjords) called “lochs”, a term that also identifies enclosed bodies of water.

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The Wizard's Train

5 ° day

The next destination is Oban, considered the seafood capital of Scotland. It's only 10 in the morning, but we can't resist stopping at a kiosk on the harbour where they cook mussels and other shellfish: truly delicious.

We set off again accompanied by beautiful views until Fort William, where a journey on the steam train awaits us. West Highland Line. The train takes you to Mallaig passing over the Glenfinnan viaduct, which offers breathtaking views from its thirty metres of height. Fans of the wizard will have realised that this train has become theHogwarts Express. After the rail trip we settle into Ben Nevis Holiday Park, where we admire a magnificent sunset.

Across the Hebrides

6th and 7th day

Travelling through wide panoramas and mountains that seem covered in velvet, we move on to theIsle of Skye, the largest of the Inner Hebrides. We visit the Dunvegan Castle, residence of the Clan MacLeod, which strikes us for its furnished interiors and well-kept garden. We walk along the infamous single track road, single-lane but two-way streets, difficult to cross in a camper despite the presence of special lay-bys to facilitate the passage. We reach the Neist Point Lighthouse, on the promontory that rises at the far west of the island, and after having admired splendid panoramas we settle into the campsite.

The next day we visit Portrait, characterized by a pretty little port and a row of colorful houses overlooking the inlet. We spend the night in a campsite near Sligachan, not before a stop at the Sligachan Old Bridge, a stone bridge that is highly photographed for the Cuillin peaks in the background.

Panoramas and colors

8th and 9th day

It's time to visit the Eilean Donan Castle, among the most famous in Scotland. It stands on a small island that can be reached on foot by walking across a narrow bridge: a truly extraordinary sight. Visiting the interiors with their Scottish atmospheres, with furnishings and family memories, I felt like I had ended up on a film set. Nature reigns supreme in this area, and we continue our journey through thick woods that alternate with streams, fern meadows and red patches of heather.

We stop in the parking lot of theInverewe Garden, a lush garden that offers a variety of plants and flowers that are truly unique for this latitude. We spend most of the next day on the road, admiring the magnificent views of the Highlands. We stop near Durness to explore the Smoo Cave, a huge natural cave, and the Dunnet Head Lighthouse, where we try to spot the puffins that nest in the crevices of the overhanging rocks. For the night we stop at a campsite at John o' Groats.

The Ancient Stones of Orkney

10 ° day

Early in the morning we embark for theMainland Island, the largest in the Orkney archipelago. We visit the Italian Chapel, a small church built by Italian prisoners of war captured in North Africa, who transformed a camp barracks into a place of worship using makeshift means. The tour of the island continues with some Neolithic sites protected by UNESCO. Maeshowe it is a complex of chamber tombs dating back five thousand years; Brae grill It is among the most complete and best preserved prehistoric villages in Europe; Circle of Brodgar and Standing Stones of Stennes They are rings made up of monoliths planted in the ground, whose function remains unknown.

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History and Mysteries

11 ° day

We travel all morning along the famous Loch Ness lake and in the afternoon we stop at Fort Augustus to see the locks of the Caledonian Canal. We take the opportunity to buy a huge portion of fish and chips and some souvenirs themed Nessie, the lake monster who decides to remain hidden. Then we arrive at the enormous and spectacular ruins of the Urquhart Castle, which overlook the lake.

12th and 13th day

After a tasting of excellent Scotch whisky we stop at Newtonmore to visit theHighland Folk Museum, an open-air museum where a Highland village from times gone by has been reconstructed. We move between dark, smoke-filled thatched turf huts and some early twentieth-century buildings used for schools and shops. After a rainy night we travel to Saint Andrews, where we stop for lunch on the seafront next to a huge golf course (a sport for which the city is world famous). There are many tourists on the wide sandy beach, but no one dares to swim. We visit the ruins of the castle and the Gothic cathedral, once the largest in Scotland; then we take a walk around the city.

Ancient and modern art

14 ° day

Having reached the centre of the city by train Glasgow we walk along wide streets lined with beautiful shops and buildings from different eras. Greeted by the sound of a majestic organ we enter the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the free civic museum that exhibits works of all kinds, from stuffed animals to ancient Egyptian artefacts, as well as numerous paintings including the magnificent Christ of St. John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí. Our guide takes us to the imposing and austere Gothic cathedral of St. Mungo, the only one not to have had its roof removed after the Reformation, where we appreciate the stained glass windows and the crypt. With a walk we reach the Victorian-style Town Hall, which has ceilings and walls finely decorated with mosaics and friezes that recall Italian art.

15 ° day

The next stop is the Stirling Castle, where several Scottish monarchs were crowned, including Mary Stuart. It is a complex made up of various buildings and beautiful gardens. In the afternoon we discover a truly special place near Falkirk: it is theHelix Park, where the largest equestrian statues in the world dominate, depicting the heads of two horses. Thirty meters high and weighing three hundred tons each, The Kelpies (as they are called) are really impressive to see up close. Their name comes from the kelpies of Scottish legends: a demon that takes the form of a horse and drags into the water the unfortunate people who climb on its back. In the evening we say goodbye with a nice group dinner.

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A leap into the capital

16 ° day

We reach by bus Edinburgh for a guided tour along the Royal Mile, the main street in the historic center that connects the Palace of Holyrood to the castle. The alleys and covered passages on the sides of this street hide several curiosities. We visit alone the enormous castle that almost seems like a small village made up of houses and buildings. However, we have to leave quickly to pick up my daughter at the airport: the trip will continue with her towards London.

To describe the Scotland in a few words one comes to mind color palette. The green with all its shades on meadows, pastures and hills; the blue of the lakes, rivers and the sea that creeps inland; the white of the sandy beaches and the gold of the cultivated fields. And then the pink shades of the sunsets and the brighter ones of the thick heather moors, not to mention the flowers that grow along the roads. The Isle of Skye alone is worth the whole trip. The group experience was also positive, and the places and views we admired will remain in our minds and hearts.

Daniela Bernardi

Useful information for camper travel in Scotland

In Scotland, as in the whole of the United Kingdom, driving is on the left. For information we recommend consulting the factsheet by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation available at following link.

• Edinburgh Mortonhall Caravan & Camping Park, 38 Mortonhall Gate, Frogston Road East, tel. 0044/0131/664/1533, mortanhall@meadowhead.co.uk, www.meadowhead.co.uk/parks/mortonhall.
• inveraray Argyll Caravan Park, tel. 0044/01499/302285, enquiries@argyllcaravanpark.com, www.argyllcaravanpark.com.
• Fort William Ben Nevis Holiday Park, Camaghael Road, tel. 0044/0333/188/1930, bennevis@highlandholidays.com, highlandholidays.com/parks/bennevis.
• Sligachan (Isle of Skye) Sligachan Campsite, tel. 0044/07551/820022, hello@campsligachan.com, www.sligachancampsite.com.
• John O'Groats John o'Groats Caravan and Camping Site, tel. 0044/01955/611329, www.johnogroatscampsite.co.uk, info@johnogroatscampsite.co.uk. NewtonmoreInvernahavon Caravan Park, tel. 0044/01540/673534, enquiries@invernahavon.com, www.invernahavon.com

Info

The Camper Tropic, tel. 051 4111472 or 338 8724789, camper@iltropicodelcamper.it, www.iltropicodelcamper.it.

Free with the PLEINAIRCLUB registration fees, health insurance and travel cancellation for each crew member.