Please stop blaming campervans for every problem

The Herald Scotland

19-07-2025

Fast forward to 2025 and this boom shows little sign of abating. Interestingly, there has also been a demographic shift when it comes to 'typical' campervan and motorhome owners.
While traditionally associated with older generations – we're talking well-heeled retirees and middle-aged men – recent times have seen a marked rise of interest among those in their twenties and thirties, particularly women, young professionals and families.
Freedom, flexibility, no-frills getaways and a desire to connect with nature, while disconnecting from technology, have all been cited as part of the charm.
Yet not everyone is a fan. Campervans and motorhomes have drawn a slew of negative headlines, chiefly in areas such as Skye and the North Coast 500, with fears about the effects of overtourism including infrastructure strain, environmental damage and waste management.
Here, we speak to three people from across Scotland who have fallen in love with the magic of campervans, sharing how these home-from-homes on wheels have won their hearts, as well as tackling some of the common misconceptions.
The interior of Anna Fleck's campervan (Image: free) ANNA FLECK
Every few weeks Anna Fleck and her husband David pack up their campervan and head off on a fresh adventure. But, in their case, it is about more than simply exploring Scotland for fun. It's a vehicle – quite literally – for achieving a much-coveted work-life balance.
The Glasgow-based couple are currently travelling around the Highlands and Islands as they pursue their respective vocations. Anna, 36, is a GP, with David, 35, an illustrator and artist.
Anna is employed by NHS Shetland under its Rediscover The Joy Of General Practice scheme, covering rural and remote parts of Scotland – an initiative that not only helps to alleviate staffing shortages but allows doctors to share expertise and build experience.
David, meanwhile, draws inspiration from the landscapes they encounter along the way for his work, which adorns fine art prints, cards and postcards sold in galleries and shops.
When we speak, Anna is halfway through a two-and-a-half week stretch on Shetland. Next month, she will be working on Coll. Where else has been on her GP itinerary?
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'This year I have done quite a lot of the North Coast 500: Durness, Armadale, Thurso and Alness,' she recalls. 'Last year, I did down the Kintyre peninsula.'
A core part of the appeal, says Anna, is spending quality time as a family with their three-year-old daughter. 'It's about what I'm teaching my wee girl and her getting to explore these places,' she explains.
'When we were up in Harris, she was just learning how to walk and paddling about in the shallow, crystal-clear water. Seeing her get excited about things like climbing a hill or spotting sheep is really beautiful.
'Because I'm working in these communities now, I feel I'm learning much more about what rural life in Scotland is like and some of the challenges people face.'
Anna recounts how she and David first fell in love with campervans in 2018 while travelling on the west coast of Australia. 'We loved the freedom that it gave us,' she says. 'When we got back to Scotland, we hired a few campervans to do little trips.
'My husband started thinking he could build us a campervan. We ended up buying an empty van in 2020 and David worked on it as his lockdown project. He did everything: the insulation, the wiring and building all the furniture.'
When coronavirus travel restrictions lifted, they made their debut outing. 'The first place we went was Orkney,' she says. The couple have since racked up a long list of incredible locations and have an Instagram account to chart their campervan odyssey.
'Scotland is so cool,' says Anna. 'I love sharing all the different parts. It is also nice to connect with other people who are doing similar things.'
She and David have a self-defined mantra when choosing where to visit. 'We do tend to avoid some of the very touristy places, mostly Skye to be honest,' she says. 'Not that we have anything against Skye – it's just because that is where everybody goes.
GP Anna Fleck (Image: free) 'We were on the North Coast 500 for work, although thankfully it was before the tourist season. It is beautiful and popular for a reason, but there are so many villages and other places just off the NC500 that people never see because they only follow that one route.
'We always want to be sensitive to the communities that we're visiting,' adds Anna. 'There is no point overcrowding the communities on Skye. We prefer to find different places and Scotland has endless amounts of beautiful places to visit.'
She is keen to touch on some of the negative sentiments regarding campervans and motorhomes. 'I can understand if communities are getting frustrated,' says Anna, as we discuss flashpoints around overtourism.
'Being in a campervan, because you are self-sufficient, you are perhaps contributing less to a local community because you're not booking accommodation, but we are aware of that and try to make up for it with how we act in those communities.
'That includes supporting local restaurants, buying from local shops, supporting craft fairs and honesty boxes – going out of our way to contribute to the places we visit.
'Even beyond the financial contribution, I'm part of a Facebook group called Campers Against Litter. We often litter pick, so that we are leaving a positive view about campervans. That is really important.
'We have established guidance for ourselves that we stick by,' she continues. 'We don't camp in view of other people's houses. We don't stay in places for more than one night. If there are signs up saying, 'No campervans,' then we go and find somewhere else.
'We don't go to places that we know are going to be really crowded. It is a small number of people acting in ways that they shouldn't that spoils the perception of campervans.'
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Callum McGowan and his partner Natalie Pirrie before they outfitted the van (Image: free) CALLUM MCGOWAN
It is 18 months since Callum McGowan sold his car and bought a van with the bold plan of converting it into a weekend home on four wheels.
'I'm someone who enjoys being outdoors, adventuring and travelling,' he says. 'I have always been a bit of a petrolhead, so I went from having a high-end sports car to driving a van. I bought it thinking, 'Let's convert it ourselves and turn it into a project that we can have fun with.''
Callum, 27, a personal trainer and coach based between Cambuslang and Saltcoats – along with his partner Natalie Pirrie, 30, who works for a mobile phone company, and the couple's dogs Bella and Max – now travels all across Scotland in his trusty campervan conversion.
Bringing that dream to fruition took meticulous planning. 'I chose a Vauxhall Vivaro with a high roof because I wanted something that I could stand up in,' says Callum. 'When I did my research, I found that a lot of people tend to go for Transit Custom vans with extendable roofs.
'I was chatting with one of the guys from the gym, who owns a campervan and has converted a few vans over the years. He told me, 'Don't go with the Transit with the extendable roof because the mesh material lets the heat out, which isn't great for winter.'
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'When converting my own van, the biggest thing was trial and error because I don't have a background in joinery, plumbing or construction. But I decided I'd make the jump and figure it out on the way down – that became the theme.
'There are some good websites about campervan conversions and those were great for ideas. I also used things like TikTok and YouTube. Originally, we had planned to put a shower in, but that changed when I realised it would be too hard to fit it into the space we had.
'What we do have is a fully extendable double bed. We have enough solar panel power to live off-grid. We have a diesel generator heater and a sink for fresh water. It is nice having a wee home that is yours, but you could be anywhere in the world.'
Callum McGowan and his converted campervan (Image: GT)
He is aware of the anti-campervan and motorhome sentiment in some quarters. 'I can see it from both sides of the coin,' says Callum. 'With anything, there are always people who, whether they mean it or not, ruin it for others.
'If we are away travelling in the van, yes, we are getting to experience new places, but I'm also aware that place is somebody's home, so I get the frustration.
'There are so many great campsites now that there shouldn't be a reason to not use these facilities. Do your research before you go. I think a lot of frustration comes from the lack of care people show for the local communities they visit.'
Matters aren't helped, he believes, by copious road trippers making a beeline for the same, well-trodden loop, particularly during high season. 'One of my friends works for a car hire firm at Edinburgh Airport,' says Callum.
'He told me that every time people come in, wanting to tour Scotland, they all have the same route planned. They travel around Edinburgh for a bit, then go up to Glen Coe, around Skye, do part of the North Coast 500, before heading back to Edinburgh.
'Part of the problem is that a lot of these places were built hundreds of years ago, so the infrastructure is simply not able to cope with that volume of traffic and visitors.
'We should be highlighting different places to visit around Scotland, whether it's on the east coast, the central belt or down towards the Borders. There are so many hidden gems.'
When it comes to his own aspirations, Callum relishes being able to explore and seek out new locations.
Callum McGowan in his converted campervan (Image: GT)
'There isn't just one standout because everywhere you go offers something that trumps where you were before,' he laughs. 'I think that is the coolest thing about having a campervan; you don't know what is coming next.
'The big destinations, such as Glen Coe or the NC500, tend not to be the places that blow the socks off you. It will be a small village in the middle of nowhere that has the best chippy you have ever tried.
'In Oban last month, we sat in the van at the harbour, with the side door open, just people-watching and eating a chippy. That was bliss.'
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Hannah Kibble loves her campervan views (Image: free) HANNAH KIBBLE
Whether talking about her love of cold-water dips beside secluded waterfalls, walking the dogs along deserted beaches or sipping coffee as the sun comes up, Hannah Kibble has the kind of infectious enthusiasm that tourist boards can only dream of bottling.
Hannah, 37, spent most of her childhood and teenage years in Gairloch, Wester Ross. After a stint in Lancashire, where her wider family still lives, she and her partner Steve Glover, 53, packed up their life, sold their home and moved to Muir of Ord on the Black Isle last summer.
In recent years, they have spent almost every holiday and spare weekend enjoying Scotland in their campervan. The couple and their four dogs – Skye, Floss, Dolly and Betty – are now putting down permanent roots north of the border.
Hannah splits her time between an admin job and working in a pottery, while Steve is a handyman. They regularly share spectacular photography and footage from their campervan endeavours on Instagram.
One of the first things the pair did after their move to Scotland: buy a campervan. This means they now own two – the Volkswagen T5 they have had since 2021 and a larger Volkswagen Crafter purchased last year.
There's a funny story behind this, as Hannah reveals. 'We had been talking about getting a bigger van for a long time,' she says. 'Then we were on a trip to Skye and our rescue dog, also called Skye, rolled in sheep poo at 11pm – our T5 doesn't have any running water.
Hannah Kibble's partner Steve Glover and the dogs soak up some campervan views (Image: free) 'We had the smell of sheep poo all night and Skye trying to climb up onto the bed with us. I thought, 'I've had enough of this. I want a sink with running water …''
By a stroke of luck, on the same morning they arrived back at Muir of Ord, Hannah spotted a van for sale in nearby Inverness. It felt like serendipity.
'We bought this 13-plate Crafter,' she says. 'It was a bit rough around the edges, but I said, 'We are going to turn this into our little home on wheels.' It took a good six months to get to a point where we could actually use it.'
A draw of campervan life is its simplicity. 'One of the things I love is the minimalism of how little you can live with in a small space,' says Hannah. 'You get bogged down by so much in real life.
'My absolute favourite thing is stepping out of the van in my dry robe, with a coffee in my hand, literally rolling out of bed, and being on the beach, listening to the waves. Most of our park-ups involve some form of water because that is where I'm happiest.'
What lit the campervan spark for her? 'My family were caravanners,' she says. 'My first caravan trip was when I was two weeks old. I then bought my own caravan in my twenties.'
While touring caravans have brought many happy memories, she realised owning a campervan would provide greater freedom and spontaneity on her adventures.
'When Steve and I got together we actually both had caravans. We sold two caravans and a car to buy the T5 – or as Steve put it, 'We sold two caravans and a car to camp in a tin can …''
The T5 is now their daily runaround, with the Crafter used for overnight getaways. Kitting the latter out from scratch has allowed them to put their stamp on a blank canvas. Top of the list: hot running water and a fixed cooker.
'The other thing was creating more space for the girls,' says Hannah, referring to their quartet of dogs. 'They have a big space under our bed, which is an area that most people use for storage, as well as things like gas bottles and electrics.
'We put everything in the front of the van as much as possible to give the girls space in the back. That then created further challenges of how to fit everything in. There was a lot of head scratching and changing the plan as we went.'
Do they have an all-time favourite location? 'Skye,' she confirms. 'I know it's such an obvious choice. But because we have done all the tourist spots, we're now finding the off-the-beaten-track places, such as cafes where the locals go.
'We love chatting to people and hearing more about the place from them, rather than the guidebooks. They will laugh about the tour guide stories and accounts of history because, while not completely made-up, the truth might have been extended slightly.'
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Hannah doesn't shy away from addressing key issues, from gridlocked single-track roads and improper use of passing places to littering, that an influx of campervans and motorhomes are being blamed for in this part of Scotland.
'There is a lot of bad press around driving on Skye,' she attests. 'I have witnessed enough from my point of view to understand why locals do get frustrated.'
In her anecdotal experience, 'people underestimate the size [of vehicles] and the size of the roads'. The main culprits, she believes, tend to be 'hire cars and foreign motorhomes', noting that 'hired campervans' can be an issue too when it comes to these behaviours.
To that end, she finds it unfair when everyone gets tarred with the same brush. 'What does annoy me is how it is always 'the campervans' that are the problem,' says Hannah.
'We pull over on the single-track roads [to let vehicles pass]. We are respectful. If we park up somewhere and see rubbish lying around, we will get out of the van and clean it up. We always leave a park-up cleaner than when we arrived.'
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