Forget glamping, here are Scotland's best sites for real campers
Beecraigs (Image: Robin McKelvie)
Beecraigs
This is a no frills site for Central Belters who want to avoid dragging the kids off on an interminable drive in search of somewhere beyond the reach of Google Maps in the dreich mists of Skye. The rolling Bathgate Hills are home to this campsite set in the thick woodland of the Beecraigs Country Park. One major plus is that there is a resident deer herd so you can snare seriously fresh venison to cook over the campfire. There is a fitness course in the park, as well as a lovely walk around the reservoir built by German prisoners of war in 1914. Hike up Cockleroy for views; Cairnpapple is even better with Arran to the west and Bass Rock to the east. Cairnpapple is also topped by a Neolithic burial chamber. www.westlothian.gov.uk
Camping at Luss (Image: Robin McKelvie)
Luss Caravan & Campsite
Given some of the more hysterical headlines, you might presume that camping is banned outright on the bonnie bonnie banks. That is fortunately not the case and this trim site is a relaxed hideaway a world away from abandoned supermarket barbeques and flimsy one-off tents that would have been been ashamed to show face at T in the Park. It's right on the loch so you can dip your toes in the cool waters and admire the sweeping views across to the hulk of Ben Lomond, appreciating why Runrig got so excited in the first place. The heritage village of Luss is on hand for shops, cafes and a stroll; Cameron House is close too if you need to escape torrential rain and check into a luxury resort. www.lusscampsite.co.uk
Comrie Croft (Image: Robin McKelvie)
Comrie Croft
When I worked on the Cool Camping guides I wasn't really meant to have favourites, but Comrie Croft probably always was the one. It ticks all the boxes and I'd happily send almost everyone I know there. It's beautifully set right on the Highland Boundary Fault betwixt Crieff and Comrie on a tree-shrouded hillside. There are four camping areas and the facilities include a farm shop and mountain bike business. There is a bike skills loop too, as well as rougher single track trails that sit alongside hiking options further up the rugged hillside. Comrie Croft glows with a lovely communal, back to nature vibe – it's how campsites should be. I'd have felt like I'd made a terrible choice arriving here with a six pack of Tennents as a teen, but then probably up ended up sharing a dram with a juggler from Jedburgh and learning yoga from a yogi from Yeovil. It's that sort of oasis. www.comriecroft.com
Robin's family at The Sands (Image: Robin McKelvie)
The Sands Caravan and Camping
This is my favourite family campsite, home to some of my warmest camping memories. And not just of the kids leaping for joy at coming over the dunes and seeing those epic sands, or making a plaything out of an old lifeboat in this seriously fun Wester Ross outpost. It's a playground for adults too. I love hunkering down around a fire here – fires are not always a given on campsites these days – and checking out their well-stocked shop. Once I was dispatched there on a mission to get sausages and a bottle of plonk. I came back with big smile, a hulk of beef from the farm at the site and a bottle of Sauternes, the latter to wash down the Chablis after dinner. The steak in the burgers comes from the farm too. The views are life-affirming, peering out over the marine mammal rich Atlantic waters to the Isle of Skye. www.sandscaravanandcamping.co.uk
Bealach na Ba (Image: free) Applecross
I wrote in our camping books that there are not many sites worth blowing your car's gasket over and of this being one. I stick by that. It's a mind-blowing drive over the Bealach na Ba to get here on one of the UK's highest roads. The scenery on the way is like a TV advert for Scotland as Highland massifs soar all around and the cobalt Atlantic blinks back. The effort (and gasket) is worth it as you drop down from the mountains to the wee oasis of Applecross: the sort of trim, whitewashed Highland village that makes you want to start writing postcards again. The epic seafood of the Applecross Inn awaits down the hill from a site with views towards Skye. Order the 'prawns', actually hulking langoustines in this glorious part of the world. www.visitapplecross.com
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