Plan your Campervan Road Trip

UK Road Trip - The Highlights:

We have listed below some useful links to websites we use when planning a road trip by campervan or motorhome in the UK. Start your road trip with at least an outline of a plan. There will be the top sights that you want to see.

Make a list of those and then start to plan your route. Allow plenty of time between stops and don't go overboard in packing in things to do and see every day.

Allow lots of time for stops on the way and plan to stay in one place for a few days to enjoy one area of the UK.

The UK has so much to see and do in easy reach of each other. Try and mix it up when planning your holiday. Perhaps visit a castle one day and then hike across open moorland on another. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are packed with ancient historical sites.

Join the National Trust or English Heritage to get the best discounts on entrance fees.

Researching ahead of your road trip can be a lot of fun. But be flexible as that's why you have rented a campervan to give you freedom of choice of where you go and when.

Start with a general look at the UK using Wiki Travel UK.

The Visit Britain website is the Official Tourist Website and provides you with a huge amount of information about different regions of the UK and what they offer.

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Regional Tourism Sites:

• England Guide
• Scotland Guide
• Wales Guide
• Northern Ireland
• Southern Ireland Guide

Once you have decided which county to tour and how long you have to drive these links will help you make your choices of what to see and do.

• London Guide
• Map of Great Britain with distance and driving times.
• Check out our video channel for UK Trip suggestions
• GB Video Channel

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Campsites in the UK for Campervans and Motorhomes:

• Campsites in UK
• Caravan Club Campsites
• UK Campsites
• Camping and Caravan Club campsites

National Parks in the UK:

• National Parks in the UK
• Driving regulations in UK
• Top tourist sites to see in UK
• Toll roads in UK
• Free overnight parking for Campervans
• Free overnight parking: Nightstops

Best time to visit the UK: All year around.

Now You Have Booked Your Campervan, it's Time to Plan your Trip.

If collecting from London and you only have a week then keep your distances short. Once you are out of London you will find driving easy.

Head for a campsite not too far away and set up for the night. If you are heading out of town then it may take you some time to leave London. After that we would suggest travelling before the rush hour (7am to 9am) around towns and cities. Or, after 7pm in the evening during summer months. You avoid a lot of traffic at these times and it makes motoring so much more relaxing.

Once in the countryside you won't be too troubled by traffic if you keep outside the busy times where there are people travelling to and from work.

Just Go have put together two 21 day suggested itineraries - one for families and another for adults. You can find it here: Just Go Itineraries

Rockin Vans also suggest a trip that takes in Stone Henge, the Cotswolds, Stratford upon Avon, the Lake District, Gretna Green and Edinburgh.

Bunk Campers are also one of our top rental suppliers and they too have a great selection of driving routes designed for campervan and motorhomes. UK Driving Routes for Campervan and Motorhome Holidays.

Planning a road trip in a campervan or motorhome means that you can choose exactly where to go and when. Please yourself. If it's ancient heritage sites or modern grafitti walking tours, the UK has it all.

We suggest taking a look at the Tourist Board sites as listed above and go from there. Stay in your comfort zone and do what you love and then step out and try something different.

There is an abundance of campsites in the UK and we are often asked about Free-Camping or Wild Camping.

The general understanding is that it is ok to spend one night in one place and then move on the next day. This minimised impact and you don't take advantage of a really great opportunity to park up in an amazing place.

We have heard of many people having no problems free-camping in Scotland and the wilder places of England and Wales. If in doubt, ask a local...if you see any!

Guide Books are in abundance and the suggestions for road-trippers follow the same suggestions as for those who tour the uk by other means. The highlights are highlights because they are generally something very definte to go and see.

Give everyone a chance to make a suggestion on what you do on a family road trip even if it does mean spending a day in a water park in sub-zero temperatures. Memories are made of these days.

There is a scheme run by Practical Motorhome that lists very cheap places to stay, called Night Stops

Rough Guides have put together 6 suggested driving trips on their website 6 of the Best road trips in the UK

Scotland - a must for touring in a campervan.

Scotland is wild and open and a great place to tour in a campervan all year around. Check out the Scotland's Outdoor Access Code In Scotland you are allowed on most land private or public but you must follow the rules of this code.It covers the rules of camping on land.When staying overnight and free camping in Scotland you have to check with the landowner that this is permitted.You are allowed to park a vehicle 15m from a highway as long as you are not causing any damage or destruction. Also, leave no trace.

We are fortunate to be able to offer campervan rental from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Kilmarnock with the top campervan rental suppliers in the UK so planning a round trip or a one-way trip is easy in Scotland.

Scotland's Regions

• Aberdeen City and Shire
• Argyll andThe Isles
• Ayrshire andArran
• Dumfries andGalloway
• Dundee andAngus
• Edinburgh andThe Lothians
• Greater Glasgow andThe Clyde Valley
• The Highlands
• The Kingdom of Fife
• Loch Lomond, The Trossachs andThe Forth Valley
• Orkney
• Outer Hebrides
• Perthshire
• The Scottish Borders
• Shetland

Scotland's National Touring Routes:

There are also many National Touring Routes and many more road trip itineraries to follow to tour campervan rental in Scotland. The latest is the North Coast 500

• Angus Coastal Route
• Argyll Coastal Route
• Borders Historic Route
• Clyde Valley Tourist Route
• Deeside Tourist Route
• Fife Coastal Route
• Forth Valley Tourist Route
• Galloway Tourist Route
• Highland Tourist Route
• Moray Firth Route
• North andWest Highlands Route
• Perthshire Tourist Route

Scotland Walking trips:

People who rent campervans for a road trip like to explore on foot too.Where else is better than hiking through Scotland and finishing up making steaming hot chocolate in your camper at the end of a good day out.

You won't be tied down to one place in a camper and you can change your plan depending on the weather - just up sticks and park up where the weather is good.

Scotland has a very relaxed attitude to free camping as long as you leave no trace. They expect to find campers in the middle of nowhere staying the night and enjoying Scotland’s natural beauty.

Only stay one night in each place to minimise your impact. Take advantage of the many campsites too. These are situated in areas of natural beauty and offer extra facilities.

We recommend taking an Ordnance Survey (OS) Map of the area that you intend to walk. Take a compass and learn how to use the two together. Having a smart phone with a walking app is a great aid until you lose power or signal.

12 Amazing Walks recommended by Visit Scotland

What Should I Pack?

Take everything in a soft bag so that you can store it easily after you have unpacked. Some depots let you leave your luggage in a secure area if you are returning to the same place as you collect the camper from.

Casual clothes. If you are planning any formal night's out then there is a room in most larger motorhomes to hang clothes in a small wardrobe.

Take your walking boots. There are plenty of spectacular walks where you can park up, brew a flask of tea and head off across moors, dales, mountains or around lakes.

There's plenty of room in the storage areas for muddy boots.

Rent bikes. Many of the campervans and motorhomes have bike racks. There is a growing number of cycle-tracks right across the UK. National Cycle Track Network

Take a good camera, binoculars and all the tech gadgets such as ipads, smart phones, e-readers and make sure you have the chargers. There are portable chargers available online.

I also take a portable hard-drive to store photos and videos on when there is no internet connection. You can also purchase portable internet routers too if you don't want to miss uploading photos to your blog/social media/cloud storage.

Take maps, a diary/journal to keep a record of your journey.

Stock up with food and drinks early on so you don't have to worry about where you stay for the night. The on-board fridge will keep food and drinks cool for a couple of days at least if you are parked up.

There are plenty of newspaper articles, blogs and guides to help you out.

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