Wild Camping in Scotland

‘As part of Scotland’s access legislation, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, you are allowed to camp on most unenclosed land’.

The urge to escape to your own little piece of tranquility can be realized, away from the regular rules and restrictions that can come with commercial camp-grounds. Not that we do not enjoy the facilities and security of campgrounds, we found a good number of sites that we can recommend as Our Favourite UK Campsites

Responsible behavior, and following some simple rules, will make sure the right to wild camp endures for future generations, hopefully.

The Basic Rules of Wild Camping are:

• Avoid overcrowding move to another place if an area is busy.
• Carry a trowel to bury toilet waste, urinate well away from watercourses.
• Use a stove or leave no trace of a campfire. Never cut down or damage trees.
• Take away your rubbish. Pick up other litter if you see any.
• If in doubt, always ask the landowner.

Caravans and mobile homes are allowed to use lay-bys to stay overnight unless signposted otherwise. Do follow the same rules as for wild camping, though.

We ‘wild caravanned’ in many stunning locations in Scotland. Sometimes simply because the views were too much to pass by and other times because we found no campgrounds open at the time.

An overnight stay during really high winds and pelting rain in Glen Coe was definitely one of the highlights for us! A dozen or more waterfalls pouring down relentlessly on the mountainsides, mist, and isolation. Yep, a great night.