Many motorhome websites and blogs still claim that free camping and wild camping with a motorhome are allowed. Here’s why that’s not quite true.
Briefly up front: even though all of this may sound strict, it’s not meant to spoil anyone’s motorhome holiday. It’s simply about avoiding conflict with the authorities or with local people. There are also some sensible schemes that accommodate motorhome and caravan enthusiasts.
Here you’ll find out:
- Whether free camping with a motorhome is allowed
- Questions and answers about travelling with a motorhome
- basic rules of conduct
- special schemes for motorhomes and caravans
- the legal basis for free camping
Is free camping with a motorhome allowed in Scotland?
No! That may come as a surprise to some who keep reading that it’s allowed. Many websites simply aren’t up to date here. It isn’t allowed as a general rule, and it’s increasingly being monitored and restricted.
In most cases, this misunderstanding arises because the Scottish Outdoor Access Code permits wild camping. Many people stop reading at that point, because just a few lines further on, exceptions are listed.
And there, the legislation explicitly excludes all motorised vehicles from these access rights.
Camping with a motorhome: questions and answers
Can I stay overnight in a large car park?
Camping in car parks is not permitted. Even putting a chair out in front of your motorhome already counts as camping. Plain parking, on the other hand, is allowed as long as no sign prohibits it. But more and more car parks are now banning “overnight parking” specifically to prevent this kind of overnight stay. Car parks often have signs with a lot of text – it’s worth reading them carefully, since a ban or a notice may well be hidden within them.
Unfortunately, there have also been reports of camper vans and motorhomes parking in cemetery car parks (yes, including German campers). Sadly, this kind of thing always tends to trigger bans. The Outer Hebrides have already responded and want to ban camping at and near cemeteries altogether.
Why is it so often said that free camping is allowed?
In the past, both landowners and authorities were often happy to turn a blind eye, and word of that got around. Then came the pandemic, and everything changed.
During 2021, motorhomes – mainly from within Britain itself – flooded the Highlands, at a time when much of the local infrastructure, such as official campsites or public toilets, was still closed.
The result was a considerable strain on a local population already under pressure. And this shifted attitudes towards motorhomes, and how they’re dealt with, once again. For a time, motorhomes couldn’t even cross over to Islay, for instance, without providing proof of a campsite booking.
Ferry crossing to the islands: do I need to show proof of a pitch?
No – at least not that. This measure was trialled briefly during the pandemic. However, ferry operator CalMac has found itself unable to enforce this, then and now.
That said, some islands do want this. These include Colonsay, as well as Coll & Tiree.
Can I turn up for a ferry spontaneously, without a booking?
Difficult! Anyone with a motorhome or caravan who doesn’t have a booking for a crossing isn’t allowed to join the standby queues at the harbour. Finding a nearby car park then becomes hard – in some places, such as Oban, it’s practically impossible.
Especially in summer, this means: without booking your ferries in advance, things get difficult.
Aside from that, CalMac’s timetables also point to particular codes of conduct, for instance for the Outer Hebrides. There it says:
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) request that visitors in caravans, motorhomes and campervans stay in official campsites and or designated overnight spots. Plan your trip carefully by booking sites where you can and do not stay out with these campsites/overnight spots. This will help to manage numbers, alleviate pressure on our fragile environment and avoid excessive impact on our communities.
The sensitive machair near beaches in particular is often mistaken by many for a “great grassy car park”. It’s actually one of the most fragile natural habitats in the Hebrides.
Do the Scots hate motorhomes?
No. Anyone who behaves sensibly, ideally staying overnight at a campsite or getting the landowner’s permission, is welcome in Scotland.
Motorhomes in Scotland: what you should currently stick to
With the boom in camper vans and motorhomes in recent years, complete freedom is no longer always possible. Ferry operator CalMac, for instance, now no longer takes motorhomes and caravans without a booking.
The following preparations are therefore advisable:
- book all ferries to the islands in advance
- book campsites early (!)
Once there, you should bear the following in mind:
- if free camping, you must first ask the landowner for permission
- wastewater (including grey water) and chemical toilets must only ever be disposed of at designated waste disposal points
- park in such a way that no one is ever obstructed
- even if it looks permitted: never use a cemetery car park
- bear in mind that other people also want to enjoy the landscape
- by the way: the Highway Code, rule 169, requires you to let cars behind you pass: “Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a large or slow-moving vehicle. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.”
Schemes for staying at certain car parks
From 1 April to 31 October 2024, the Scottish forestry authority “Forestry and Land Scotland” is offering the “Stay the Night” scheme. This means motorhomes and caravans can park for one night, between 6pm and 10am, at some of their car parks. It is then not permitted to stay overnight at that same car park again within the following 48 hours.
Requirement: the vehicle must have its own toilet. Tents pitched next to vehicles are not allowed. Vehicles over seven metres in length also won’t fit into most of the car parks.
Cost: £7 per night, payable via the RingGo app. At a few special car parks with wastewater disposal facilities, parking costs £10.
Which car parks can be used is listed here.
Laws on free camping and overnight stays with motorhomes
There are three important laws and regulations relating to free camping and overnight stays with motorhomes in Scotland – and note: Scottish rules sometimes differ from those in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Scottish Outdoor Access Code
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code is a set of guidance based on the Land Reform Act of 2003. One passage in particular seems to cause the biggest misunderstandings around camping. That’s because the Scottish Outdoor Access Code generally treats camping on land as permitted: in small numbers, for no more than three nights, and with lightweight equipment.
But the crucial part for motorhome travellers is set out as follows:
7 Access rights do not extend to: […]
any form of motorised recreation or passage (except by people with a disability using a vehicle or vessel adapted for their use);
This also includes caravans. The Outdoor Access Code therefore does not define free camping and overnight stays in a motorhome as wild camping.
Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 forms the basis for the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Since land – including beaches, incidentally – is mostly privately owned, this legislation is needed to allow people to walk and hike there at all. However, as set out in the Access Code, motorised vehicles are excluded from the access rights granted to walkers and cyclists.
Road Traffic Act 1988
This finally clarifies something many people aren’t aware of: that you’re not actually allowed to leave the public road network at all.
Section 34:
Prohibition of driving mechanically propelled vehicles elsewhere than on roads.
(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, if without lawful authority a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle—
(a)on to or upon any common land, moorland or land of any other description, not being land forming part of a road, or
(b)on any road being a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway,
he is guilty of an offence.
A small exception follows later:
It is not an offence under this section to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on any land within fifteen yards of a road, being a road on which a motor vehicle may lawfully be driven, for the purpose only of parking the vehicle on that land.
In other words: you can move around 14 metres away from the road in order to park – though again, this doesn’t cover camping.
Under Section 22, it is an offence to leave a vehicle or trailer in a position that creates a danger to other road users.
An information leaflet for land managers sums it all up once more:
Sleeping in motorhomes, caravans, cars and other motor vehicles:
(a) Overnight stays and parking in motorhomes, caravans, cars and other motor vehicles
(b) Access rights do not extend to these activities, since motor vehicles are excluded from the rights under the Act (section 9.f), and these activities take place in a motor vehicle.
(c). The use and parking of motorhomes and cars on roads and car parks is generally subject to road traffic law and regulations. There have been recent changes regarding the validity of most “No Overnight Parking” signs on roads and parking bays under these traffic regulations in Scotland.
Parking a motor vehicle off the road, on a verge or on adjoining land may be regarded as trespass if there is no permission or lawful authority – see Road Traffic Act 1988 s.34(5).
The Act provides that byelaws made under the Act (section 12) may regulate or prohibit the use of vehicles in order to protect and promote the interests of people who exercise or might exercise access rights; and byelaws under national park legislation may regulate the use of vehicles off-road.