Motorhome Aires for the Highlands - Temp. Locked

Yes encouraging news indeed, the NT is also going to start allowing overnight stays for motorhomes on selected sites and it expected the Scotish Forestry Commission will continue with allowing use of its car parks next year as well.

peedee

good article but one paragraph sums it up for me

"We welcome tourists in the Highlands, but we need to make sure we have the right infrastructure in place for them"

great building aires type stop overs, which would encourage more MH's, but what about the roads infrastructure, having driven coaches in the highlands for a couple of years, some areas are a positive nightmare, and that was 12 years ago, and sorry to say, that some of the people that are currently getting behind the wheel of a 7m MH have probably never driven anything bigger than a Ford Focus 

Yes encouraging news indeed , agreed, and was pleased the article recognised the dangers of not providing some facilities, e.g. illegal wild camping, and the dumping of waste etc that goes hand in hand with this.

It is just a pity also that some of these people who are "living the dream" are not prepared to put their hands in their pockets and fork out £5 or £10 to pay for such facilities.

I believe the Scotish Government have already allocted some additional money for road improvements and repairs. The thing to do is to stay clear of peak season, May and late September used to be good times to go.

peedee

It is just a pity also that some of these people who are "living the dream" are not prepared to put their hands in their pockets and fork out £5 or £10 to pay for such facilities

On a recent survy of motorhome owners 96 percent said they would pay. I hope the new facilities will be charged for and any profit made used to make improvements.

peedee

The next thing will be road widening and a motorway!  (I'm only half jesting. )

Inevitable, the road to Malaig has been done since I last used it about 15 years ago.

peedee

Yes, I remember the lovely old road dipping in and out along the coast. I'm glad I've seen these places in their old settings. Even Shetland has one big modern road thanks to the oil industry and the EU, it's a sort of road to nowhere! 

I see many of these things as unrelenting "progress."

I've just lost a post. My hope would be that Scotland adds more National Park status to areas which are going to need better controls on visitor numbers. My own feeling is that Aires, whilst a good idea, will inevitably lead to increased demand and less protection for some areas of AONB.

At least the Highland Council appear to be taking a pragmatic view of the situation. A few simple steps like encouraging landowners to accommodate a few motorhomes, more parking areas and perhaps more important the provision of water/waste/rubbish facilities would overcome a lot of the negative comments surrounding the NC500. It might well encourage more  to visit but if that happens anyway without facilities it will only get worse. Perhaps an opportunity for a few Club sites to have transit facilities for motorhomes?

David