Deciding to actually use the tent for more than the odd weekend this year. We are looking to go to Rothiemurchus near Aviemore for about 10 days with a short break of 3 nights or so on the way back.
Family of four, car packed to the rafters with all our essential gear - you all know how it is! Should we be looking to break the journey on the way up - it's about 400 miles, or just go for it in one day? We are planning on stopping off at Sheriff Hutton C&CC site on the way back.
Anyone got any views whether a single long journey or a staged journey is best?
Myself i would do it in the day but my wife would prefere it with a stopover, you dont say the ages of the kids. You could break the trip at Moffit on the C&CC, you could just put the tent up and beds and the odd thing you'd need.
Your only 5mins if that from the shops, nice place
If you've young kids and can't do it during the night when they'd sleep I'd stop off. But if they're older I'd head on up. Sorry that's not much help but I did want to say that we've been to Rothiemurchus and stayed in and around Aviemore too and it is brilliant. No matter what age your kids are you'll have a great time.
The Landmark Park is fun - you can buy a weekly ticket for not much more than the price of a daily one. Our kids were 4 and 3 when we went and they loved it especially the waterslides. It has much more for older kids too.
The Newtonmore Folk Museum is free in 2010 too.
The Cairngorm Mountains, hanging about the beaches at the lough, seeing the Osprey, venison burgers from the butchers, and much more......oh I want to go back now.
We drove leaving at 3am one year but only went as far as Loch Lomand had a week there then went just north of Oban, travelled back from there in one day but could have done with an over night stop.
If you have youngish children and cannt travel through the night i'd do a stop just with the bare basics, we did an overnight stop before the ferry last year an it worked out OK, eat out etc so all we needed was tent and sleeping bags
------------- Taffy
2012 Planned
Easter - Cornwall
July scout camp
August North Wales
We have a small overnight tent and stop over on long journeys. It enables you to see something on the way (be a bit more leisurely) and gives driver and the rest of us a break. We have highlander low seats, a backpackers table, a suitcase stove, cooking bits tupperware box and the bedding and airbeds at the top of the trailer so easy to reach and put back without disturbing the rest. We have one of the coolboxes positioned so that we can access the top of it for keeping the milk cold overnight. Only the small tent, its footprint groundsheet and the fabric low seats are extra to the main camping gear - the low seats are useful for picnics anyway. If you can eat out even better, but a nice cup of tea and cereals in the morning is essential!
The same set up means that we can visit somewhere a little further from the main camping base and stop over night if we want to... [never had to use it for this and hope we never will, but the small tent would also provide a backup if the worst happened with the big tent].
When we have been to South West, which is a right haul from up here I can tell you, we travel overnight. We stop for a couple hours kip in the car and get to destination mid-morning. We thought about stopping over but it would be a real chore setting up for one night, and unless you can drop on a Travelodge deal hotels are expensive. Can't possibly fit a second small tent in. Our kids usually sleep right through as they are used to it.
------------- Pally
The pen is mightier than the sword - but only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp...
It depends on you and your kids... (mine are currently 1, 3 and 4)
When we go up to the north of Scotland (around Ullapool), we drive from home (Merseyside) to somewhere around Stirling and break the drive there. Aviemore isn't too far from Stirling - just a quick dart up the A9. So, If I were to make that journey, I would do it in one go without any second thoughts.
I don't personally do overnights unless I absolutely have to.
On the other hand, I know one family in which neither the parents nor the kids could cope well with that journey so I would recommend they have a stop over about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way - that way the journey on the second day is shorter and you arrive on site earlier and can relax sooner!
check out the travelodge web site as if booked in advance there are loads of £19-£29 a night rooms....there are also family rooms and these sleep 2 adults and 2 kids ...we got one(£29) for Xmas day & boxing day when we went down south to visit family but couldn't all fit in the house......great value and no messing ...worth travelling a couple of miles off route for...
Tiredness kills, its a message often seen on motorway signs, and its not worth the risk on such along journey, especially with children in the back who are boared and grumpy because they have had enough of being in the same place in the car all day, they can be quite a distraction to whoever is driving at the time.
There are plenty of travelodges around, but would advise avoiding the one at scotch corner which is rather run down and shabby, and situated on a busy road intersection which makes a lot of traffic noise 24/7.
There are some nice Innkepers lodges with the Kestral, just off the A1 near Harrogate, or theres one on the banks of Loch Lomand if you prefare somewhere more northern.
Whilst there you may like to visit the Highland wildlife park near Kingussie, it makes a good day out and you get a chance to meet the animals face to face at feeding time, as well as spotting the red squirels that roam around the trees in the carpark.
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
Thanks for the replies. Luckily Mrs V will be along to share the driving and thank god for PSPs! Stopping off for one night would be too much like hard work, especially with the amount of stuff we seem to accumulate!
We will probably set off really early (04:00 - 05:00 and get a good chunk of the driving done early.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Long trip?
