Harry Potter Train!

Posted by isla on Feb 20, 2012 in Our Blog | 0 comments

Harry Potter comes to the HighlandsA magical steam train transports Harry Potter in Harry Potter, the Chamber of Secrets,to the wizard school of Hogwarts through spectacular countryside. This is The West Highland Railway Line which runs 42 miles from Fort William to Mallaig. Along the way, the train passes through some of the scenery shown in the film, including Ben Nevis and the lochs and rugged countryside of Glen Nevis. Steall Falls, the waterfall at the base of the mountain, is where Harry’s battle with a dragon for the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. At Glenfinnan Viaduct, the Hogwarts Express steams across 416 yards of raised track over 21 supporting arches. Harry and Ron miss the train and fly to Hogwarts in a car that zooms around and through some of the viaduct’s 100foot high arches. (The Weasley’s car also flew over other parts of Lochaber!) The train stalls on the viaduct, as Dementors stalk the train and torture Harry. A further scene was filmed nearby showing Harry looking out over Loch Shiel and although unused in the cinema release, this scene can be seen on the DVD. Other Highland filming include a craggy, desolate hillside in the mountains of Glencoe close which, in reality, is close to the Clachaig Inn as the location for Hagrid’s stone hut Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; Loch Eilt where Hagrid skipping stones across the water and Black Rock Gorge near Evanton in Easter Ross which was filmed for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Wild Camping

Posted by isla on Feb 1, 2012 in Our Blog | 0 comments

If you would rather not stay in a campsite or prefer not to have your back-to-nature experience ruined by the groans and grunts of surrounding tents, you could try wild camping – as in, not in a campsite. Be warned, in England and Wales there is no legal right to wild camp, and landowners are in their rights to demand you leave, but there are plenty of spots beyond your own back garden where you can get away with it. Permission should always be sought if possible, but in remote areas, particularly high mountain and hill land, wild camping is generally accepted, as long as you avoid farmers’ fields, keep out of sight of houses and farms and don’t stay long. Endeavour to protect wildlife and vegetation and keep the group small and you should be OK. See www.go4awalk.com for advice. Wild camping in an isolated spot by a Scottish loch is an amazing experience, and in 2005 Scotland’s land reform act established the right to wild camp without permission (quote this if you are challenged), so long as you are at least 100 metres from the nearest road. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code (www.outdooraccess-scotland.com) recommends steering clear of enclosed fields or livestock to avoid problems (pitchfork-wielding farmers). The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (01738 493 942;www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk) provides guidelines: for example you should find a new spot rather than pitching in overused sites, remove every scrap of food and rubbish and stay no longer than three days.

New For 2012!!

Posted by isla on Dec 21, 2011 in Our Blog | 0 comments

 For 2012 Caledonian Campers are introducing the 2 Berth Economy option to the fleet.

This shall consist of either a peugeot or transit.

This option will come fully equipped and will contain the same specifications as the 4 Berth option.

The economy 2 Berth campervan has been designed for those of you that wish to experience the freedom of travelling the UK and Scotland in a campervan but wish to do so without breaking the bank!

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Travel ideas!

Posted by isla on Dec 8, 2011 in Our Blog | 0 comments

1. ‘CalMac’ as they are known across Scotland (or to use their proper name ‘Caledonian MacBrayne’) are the biggest ferry operator in Scotland.
2. Their website http://www.calmac.co.uk/is great for planning your island hops, especially the really useful Route Map which we’ve shown above. If you’d prefer to talk to a real person, we’ve found the folk who run the ‘Enquiries and Reservations line (0800 066 5000) are really helpful and enthusiastic.
3. Think creatively about using CalMac routes to plan a really big adventures, eg a ferry from Mallaig to Armadale, then potter through Skye, and even then head off out to Harris on the Uig – Tarbert crossing, before coming back to the mainland at Ullapool.
4. There are lots of useful shorter crossing as well, for example if you want a probabaly much quieter way of getting to/from Mull, then the Lochaline – Fishnish route is great fun, and often much less frequented than the normal Oban to Craignure crosing.
5. Think carefully about the type of tickets you want to buy – if you’re going to making lots of crossings, it may be worth buying one of the ‘Island Rover’ tickets, or even a ’6 Journey’ ticket – there’s loads more information about ticket types on the CalMac website.
6. It’s worth making a reservation if you have to travel on a specific crossing in the summer months, especially at weekends ….
7. …. but you should also think a bit creatively about the time of crossing you want/need to take. For example, the we once tried to book on the 9.45am Kennacraig to Port Askaig crossing when planning a whisky tasting adventure on Islay, but that crossing was full…. so we simply got up earlier and had an almost deserted (and very beautiful) early morning crossing at 7.00am!
8. Some crossings are more expensive at peak times (eg the Oban to Mull) becasue you have to have a Full Fare ticket, so again, check out the ferry times with CalMac and think about and earlier or later crossing.
9. Our Campervans are 4.85m long, so they fit into the pricing category of ‘Motorhome Under 5m’, which is great news as it means they are the same price as a normal car!
10. If you have a camper with bike rack then your campervan will be over the 5m length… but here’s a simple idea which we’ve done several times: book an ‘Under 5m’ ticket, and when you get to the ferry port, take the bikes off the back, and put them and the bike rack into the campervan for the crossing. Ok, you may have to take the wheels off your bikes, and it will take a few minutes to assemble/re-assemble, but it’s worth the ££ savings!

Dining out in your camper

Posted by isla on Apr 16, 2011 in Our Blog | 0 comments

This is my guiding principle for cooking outdoors: if it takes you longer to wash up than it does to eat you’ve gone wrong somewhere. So here’s my advice for the ultimate meal out:

• Avoid dishes that take hours and hours. I don’t do this because I’m impatient, but because I might not have enough gas or firewood! There is nothing worse than running out half-way through a scrummy smelling hotpot. This generally means that you need to keep it simple.

• Fresh, I would argue, is best. Roadside stalls are absolutely brilliant places to find ingredients because the chances are it’ll be home grown. It might be a little muddy and misshapen but then, so what? This is the country! All you have to do is stop, take what you want and put a few quid in the honesty box.

• Try a little light foraging. I’m no expert but it gives me great pleasure to go out and find free nosh. You have to be brave and you have to be sensible, so take a guide book and don’t pick it if you aren’t 100% sure. If that means all you take back is blackberries, who cares? They will taste fab with a dollop of crème fraîche. And you’ll feel like a hunter-gatherer too.

• Have something up your sleeve. Couscous has always been my fallback position.  It will go with just about anything and can be used with fresh herbs, spices and dried fruit. And all you need is boiling water and a knob of butter to cook it. If you’ve picked up some fresh summer veg at a roadside stall you can make a great meal if you slice it, griddle it and mix it up with the couscous and some fresh mint and basil.

So how are you going to cook all those amazing fresh ingredients? Whilst you’ve got no oven in the outdoors you’ve actually got plenty of options for creating great food. Gas stoves, open fires, barbecues, even Dutch ovens or smokers aren’t that hard to master. And almost anything is possible.

For starters, you could try a portable hot smoker. They work over any heat source. A freshly caught (or bought) fish smoked for half an hour or so will taste like fish you’ve never tasted before. Try it. Otherwise take a shelf out of the oven at home and use it to cook over a fire. Chuck a big fat juicy steak from the local butcher on it, add a few griddled veg and some couscous and you’ve got an easy meal. Simple. Perfect. Delicious.