Hi
Any information regarding towing in Scotland.
We are fairly new to caravanning.
We have a 2015 eriba familia 310 pushing a 2018 skoda octavia 1.5 turbo petrol automatic.

Looking for advice regarding towing in Scotland and the many hills we will encounter.

Will the car be able to cope with the hills?
Its automatic will it overheat?
Will the brakes be ok on the down side of the hill?
Other half wants to go to Fort William its about 5 hours from where we live in Stockport Could we do it in one go?

Please let me have your commernts.

Regards stuartjosh

From memory the roads to Fort William are pretty good and fairly flat. Provided your car is in good condition, had regular servicing/checks it shouldn’t have any problems. The 310 isn’t the biggest of vans, you will hardly know it’s there. Further north from Fort William you do come across single track roads with passing places but you shouldn’t encounter any of those. Even on normal roads though it is courteous if you get a large build up of traffic behind you to pull over when you can and let them by.
Our first ever towing experience having just bought our PuckL within a few miles was the Dartford tunnel, nightmare, lorries both sides of us funnelling into fewer lanes. We survived, you will too. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.
For a first trip, 5 hours may be too long, factor in a comfort/food break just to stretch your legs.

When we last went that way (CMC Buntree) we went via a two day dog show at the Edinburgh Showground and then an overnight stay at Killin (CMC Maragowan).

In 2019 we went went to the east coast but stayed just north of the border at Lidalia site in Newcastleton, then on to Elie, Fife and up to CMC Stonehaven.

We'd advise doing it in stages to see more and spend some time taking in the area, rather than just zipping through. If you stick to the main roads there's nothing to be worried about hillwise.

Hi, Don't know if you have been to Scotland before but you are unlikely to face any hills worse than the north of England unless you go off the beaten track. What I would say is that not in a million years will you get from Stockport to Fort William in 5 hours. You can do it without stopping but I would suggest you will take nearer 9 hours. Easy drive to Glasgow, approx 220 miles on motorway and then another 115 miles to Ft William on basic A road. Beautiful journey from Glasgow via Loch Lomond and then Glencoe. You cannot fail to stop to admire the scenery. Fort William itself is a dump but the surrounding countryside is stunning and well worth the effort. The CMHC site at Bunree is gorgeous but almost permanently fully booked. If you have the time the drive from Ft William to Inverness via Fort Augustus is beautiful. Not a hill in sight. Mountains all around you but we have learned the art of putting roads around them. Enjoy your trip.

Stewart

As its your first visit, you might like to avoid the A82 up past Loch Lomond, its narrow and has rock faces on the inside and coach,buses and HGV's coming the other way. It can be stressful.

Better to use the M9 to Stirling and A 84 / A 85 to Inverardran.

But each to their own.

Charlie

We stayed at the Bunree site just before Fort William a couple of years ago travelling from 20 miles further along the motorway from Stockport and we stopped at Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond which was a good 4hr run. If I were you I would have a stop as Fort William is quite a bit further and I hope the weather going through Glen Coe is good as it’s a beautiful eerie place.

Thanks everyone for your comments. We are off to Anglesey this weekend. Looking forward to the warmer weather.

Regards and thanks again.