We love our VW campervan and we try to use it all year round. Some of our absolute favourite adventures have been in the middle of winter, hunkered down on a cold frosty night ready to wake up to a glistening white playground to go hiking in.
Obviously, it is very different to summer vanlife and you have to be far more organised. The biggest issue to us is the lack of space compared to the summer where you are able to spread out and cook outside.
When we were working, the campervan gave us the freedom to regularly escape the mundane routines of winter at very little cost and gave us something to look forward to when the going was tough at school. The only weather that really put us off travelling for the weekend was forecasted and prolonged heavy rain.
So in no particular order, these are some of our favourite winter campervan destinations, whether it be for a quick night away or a couple of weeks of wild winter camping!
Yorkshire Dales
Our go to destination for many of our weekends was the Yorkshire Dales, mainly because Richard's family were based in Bingley and we could visit them on the way home every couple of weeks. Spending so much time in the Dales, we fell in love with its beauty and ruggedness and when we made our decision to retire 18 months ago, it was where we decided to relocate permanently.
The Dales have a bit of everything and if you have never been then you must go! There are a few stunning towns to visit with great cafes and pubs. Skipton in the south is known as the Gateway to the Dales and has a wide range of retail opportunities. Settle, Hawes, Pately Bridge and Ingleton are all towns full of beauty and character with their traditional stone buildings. It is like stepping back in time.
Grassington is a must go to destination if you are a fan of the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ TV series as it is the setting for the fictional Village of Darrowby. We have started watching the series and like to play a small game of recognising all the scenic places where scenes are filmed. The bridge that James keeps meeting people on is in one of our favourite locations, Barden Bridge, part of the Bolton Abbey Estate.
The Ribblehead Viaduct is a great location to base yourselves for a weekend of vanlife. You can either park up in the lay-bys overlooking the viaduct or at the Station Inn pub that allows overnight stays as long as you have a meal or a few drinks. They have a toilet available overnight for those with no onboard facilities which is super handy for us and the food is excellent. It is also an ideal base for tackling the Yorkshire Dales 3 Peaks – a 24 mile hiking challenge, not for the faint hearted.
Further north, is Swaledale and home of Britain’s highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn. Another great place to base yourself for a night or two. The Pub welcomes vans and motorhomes for £10 a night that is donated to charity and the price of a few beers. There are several picturesque waterfalls close by and it is a great area for hiking. For the more adventurous and robust cyclists, there are several famous climbs and home of the Yorkshire Dales ‘Tour de France departe’. Buttertubs and the climb out of Hawes to Outershaw and the Yockenthwaite valley are 2 for the bucket list.
There are a couple of campsites that we used regularly based just outside of the National Park in Austwick, that gave us a base and the facilities to make winter van life easier
Orcaber Farm Campsite is open all year round and has fab new facilities, the under floor heated shower room and toilet facilities being the main attraction for us! It is always easier having washing up facilities so that we don’t have to do it in the van.
Dalesbridge campsite is just down the road from Orcaber and whilst the facilities are not as luxurious, it does have hard standing pitches for winter camping and is in walking distance of the Game Cock Inn, an excellent pub in Austwick.
The Lake District
With our love of the outdoors and particularly hiking, the Lakes has always been our next favourite destination. In the winter, we tend to head to the National Trust Campsites in the Langdales and Wasdale Head as there are very limited sites open, and these sites have drying rooms to get rid of wet kit from the van. They are also situated near great pubs, which in winter we find invaluable as they are really long dark nights when in a small van.
There are so many great hikes from each campsite and we are slowly working our way through the 214 Wainwright peaks.
We have stayed a few times at the Keswick Camping and Caravan Club site which is situated on the edge of Derwent Water. Open all year round, it is really well situated for walking into Keswick town centre which has a great selection of cafes, pubs and restaurants. It does come with a warning though, as twice we have stayed there and have had to be evacuated as the site frequently floods with the heavy rain.
There are a few pubs that allow overnight stays, we have enjoyed a few nights at the Kirkstone Inn (currently closed for refurbishment) and there is a great campsite further down the road – Sykeside Camping Park that is open pretty much all year round.
Over the years we have found a couple of quiet park ups that we can use, arriving late and leaving really early, handy when we want to be on the fells at first light. It has become much harder to ‘wildcamp’ since the pandemic as the lakes were deluged with vans and quite a bit of inappropriate camping behaviours which is a real shame.
We always think that it is such a shame that the National Trust doesn’t “open up” it’s carparks for a small overnight camping fee. We did use the Aira Force park up during their trial scheme, however, I gather that even that has now been stopped.
The Peak District
Much to our shame, we lived less than hour away from the heart of the Peak District and very rarely visited. Mainly because we tended to head North where it was convenient to fit in a family visit as part of the trip.
The Peaks are quite stunning and place we need to get more acquainted with. We did have one very memorable weekend where we stayed at the Winking Man pub which is located between Leek and Buxton. It is within walking distance of the Roaches and Ludds Church and a great base for hiking. We stayed during a really cold snowy weekend which made it all the more fun and it was just beautiful for photography.
Snowdonia
Another favourite place of ours for winter hiking is in Snowdonia where we use Dolgam Campsite as a base, which is open all year round. It is located a couple of miles outside of Betsw-y-Coed and near the very outdoor orientated village of Capel Curig. The area has so much to explore. From the campsite you can hike up Moel Siabod which is one of my favourite mountains even though I have never really seen the view from the top! It has the ruins of a quarry and a lake half way up which are great to explore and the hike back down takes you through a picturesque forest. There are several hikes, long and short, you can do from the campsite and we have even walked into Betswy along the river and past the impressive Swallow Falls. With the campsite being based on a working sheep farm, dogs are not permitted.
It is also a great base to tackle from which to tackle Mount Snowdon, with just a short drive to Pen Y Pass where there is parking further down the valley with a bus to take you to the foothills. I believe there is also a bus that stops by the campsite that takes you to the starting point.
In the shoulder seasons, we also love staying at Llyn Gwynant Campsite which is situated on the shores of the lake and hires out paddle boards and kayaks. In the autumn particularly, it is great for wild swimming as the lake has had all season to warm up a little. It is a long day, but you can hike up Snowdon directly from the campsite taking the Watkins path which is much quieter and far from the madding crowds. The route takes you along the river for several miles and there are plenty of opportunities to swim in the many small, crystal clear, freezing cold pools.
An added advantage of the campsite is that they provide firepits and sell bags of wood at a reasonable price and there is a fab pizza place on site. Mobile phone signal is very sketchy at the campsite which we see as an advantage, we used to laugh at the queues of young people waiting to use the payphone! Last time we went, they had introduced wifi which can be used close to reception. It is a busy campsite with a lot of big groups of families and friends and it is probably best to book in advance if you are wanting to stay.
Scottish highlands and the Cairngorms
We have only really discovered the highlands in the last few years since we have had the campervan and we have fallen in love with its ruggedness and beauty.
We have spent several weeks exploring the area in winter and a great campsite base is at Glenmore. It is on the shores of the lake and the views are spectacular. There are plenty of forest trails to explore and if you want a really special treat, I thoroughly recommend the reindeer centre and the feeding experience. There is a large herd of reindeer that live on the high mountain plateau in the summer and are brought down for the winter a fed by the rangers.
Over the past couple of years, Scotland have allowed campervans and motorhomes to stay in some of the forestry carparks on a trial basis. The locations permitted do change, you can get an up-to-date list on their website and they have introduced an overnight charge of £7.50. We have used a couple of them as a base for hikes and only ever stay for one night so as not to outstay our welcome.
We love the area around Glencoe and Fort William and have used the Glen Nevis campsite as a base – There is a fantastic hike through Glen Nevis to the metal bridge over the river where there is an impressive waterfall. Of course, the ultimate challenge is climbing Ben Nevis which is one mountain still on our bucket list – but not in winter conditions.
Isle of Arran
We have explored many of the Scottish Islands over the past 6 years, mostly during the winter months and shoulder seasons in a bid to avoid the notorious midges. Each island has its own unique qualities and some are more set up for winter campers than others.
For us, Arran is probably the most accessible and we can be on the ferry within 4 hrs of leaving our house. The ferries are quite frequent, but at times temperamental if there is inclement weather. The campsites do close down over the winter but there is a great motorhome stopover at the Auchrannie Resort which has access to heated showers and toilets, wifi, dishwashing facilities and chemical disposal if needed. We have also found there are several fab places to stop over for a night or 2 on the Park4night app.
In the shoulder seasons we have used both Lochranza Campsite and Seal Shores which are great bases to explore the island from.
As an island there is plenty do. Many people refer to it as mini Scotland as there are several high mountains to hike up in the North. Goat Fell is the highest at 874m and the views from the peak are spectacular. There are a few castles to explore and if you are golfer there are some unique courses with the odd deer or lamb that skip across as you play.
The south is more like the lowlands of Scotland and the rocky beaches are interesting to explore. The campsite Seal Shore is aptly named as there is a colony situated there and the curious creatures can be seen bathing on the rocks or swimming along the shore lines searching for fish. There are 2 whiskey distilleries on the island, not being whiskey drinkers we haven’t done the tasting tours but they do have great cafes and restaurants and are well worth a visit.
The Outer Hebrides
My favourite Scottish string of Islands – too many to try and do in one tour as there is so much to see! We spent 3 weeks on Harris and Lewis in November when we were homeless and loved every minute.
They are wild and remote and the weather can be interesting to say the least. We love walking along the beaches as the waves crash and roar. The landscape photography in the winter is quite spectacular and dramatic with the dark and stormy skies and vivid sunsets.
Again, most campsites are closed as it is only the hardy that brave being so far north and remote. The West Harris Trust have 3 pitches available by their community centre at Talla Na Mara which are open all year round. There are toilets and showers available and in the daytime you can have access to their community room. We found the staff there really friendly and helpful. The West Harris Trust also have several wild camping spots along the coast line and you can prebook a space for a £5 charge. They are in some of the most stunning locations but have no facilities so you would need to be fully self-sufficient to use them.
One of our favourite spots on Harris is the community run facility at Huisinis. There are 5 EHU pitches and about 500m down the road a toilet and shower block with space for about 5 vans. Prices start from £10 and there is a contactless card payment machine. As fabulous as this facility is, they do get over run in the summer months with some quite inconsiderate campervanners. It is forbidden to park outside of the designated parking areas and on the Machair and the roads are not particularly suitable for larger motorhomes as it is 14 miles of single track with passing places and at times very narrow and winding. The beaches are sublime and there are various hikes to do from the community centre.
There are loads of parking spots highlighted on Park4night app, some not great for public relations with the locals as they are right in front of their houses. Whenever we look for a spot, we will move on if we think it would upset someone (I would not like a stream of large motorhomes constantly parked outside my house!).
What we tend to look for are spots that have honesty boxes such as at Cliff beach on the Isle of Lewis or Clachan Sands on North Uist as we know that it is accepted to stay there. We also make sure we travel with plenty of cash to make sure we pay into the boxes with a little note in an envelope to say thank you for providing that facility!
These are just a few of our favourite places to visit over the winter, the list could go on forever as we get away whenever we have no commitments. The only thing that will put us off is a forecast of heavy rain as that truly is no fun in a small van. We honestly believe that we have invested a lot of money in our van and that it is there to be used. Hopefully we have given you some inspiration of places to go and activities to do.
Happy travels
Jackie and Richard
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