Caravan club sites in Highland

Highland is the largest council area in the UK and the towing here demands more planning than anywhere else in Britain. Distances are long, the trunk roads are single carriageway for most of their length, and once you leave them you are on single-track with passing places.

Where the sites are

Four clusters. Inverness and the Moray Firth is the most accessible and makes a sound first base. Fort William and Glen Nevis serves Lochaber and the west. Aviemore and Speyside covers the Cairngorms and has the county's best all-weather options. The north-west coast around Ullapool, Gairloch, Torridon and Lochcarron is the most rewarding and the hardest work to reach. Skye has a small number of sites and they book out solid from June to September.

Getting there

The A9 from Perth to Inverness is the main route — largely single carriageway with dual sections and average speed cameras throughout. It presents no towing difficulty; the length of the run is what wears people down, and the Drumochter summit at 452m is exposed enough to close in winter snow. The A82 up Loch Lomond and through Glencoe is the western approach, and the stretch between Tarbet and Ardlui is narrow, twisting and hemmed by rock.

The A835 to Ullapool and the A87 to Kyle of Lochalsh are both good roads. The Skye Bridge has been toll-free since 2004.

Local notes

Bealach na Bà to Applecross is signed against caravans and large vehicles. It climbs to 626m on 1 in 5 hairpins with no barriers. Go round by Shieldaig on the A896 instead — longer, and still one of the best drives in Scotland.

Fuel is the other planning item. North and west of Ullapool, stations sit 30 to 50 miles apart, many close by 6pm and some do not open on Sundays. Fill at Inverness, Ullapool or Kyle and never run a tank below a quarter.

Most sites open late March to October. Midges from mid-June to early September are a real consideration on the west coast.