Six of the best adventurous campervan holidays in the UK

Fancy venturing a bit further afield? To relatively undiscovered parts of the UK? That’s the freedom a campervan offers.

It’s all about responsible tourism, which generally boils down to taking full accountability for all your waste and treating the scenery with respect.

Do note, the more remote you go, the more you will be reliant on your campervan’s facilities. Be prepared. And, to update a key piece of advice for wherever you go: take only photographs, leave only footprints.

Here’s our guide to six of the best adventurous campervan holidays in the UK.

1. Outer Hebrides

Go to Britain’s furthermost edges and you really are adventuring. But here in the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland, you’ll be greeted by some of Britain’s finest beaches—and there’s every chance you’ll have them pretty much all to yourselves (depending on when you visit, of course).

Campsites are sparse up here, but there are officially designated spots to park up for the night (alternatively, do seek permission) and pointers to where you can dispose of toilet and water waste responsibly. Plenty of single track roads, too, with passing places. Official advice is not to park up on the machair (coastal grassland).

Also known as the Western Isles, the largest to travel through (from south to north) are Barra, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist and Lewis and Harris—the latter the biggest of some 100 islands and skerries that make up the Outer Hebrides.

2. Arnside and Silverdale

Lake District too touristy for you? This area can give you a taste of what the Lakes are all about, but in relatively quieter yet equally scenic circumstances.

An AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) on the shores of Morecambe Bay, Arnside and Silverdale has international renown for its wild orchids.

3 CCR200

Similar to Arnside and Silverdale above, CCR200 (that’s Cumbrian Coastal Route 200) actually takes you beyond mainstream Lake District, with the chance to explore a stretch of coast going from Morecambe Bay up to Maryport, then inland as far as Carlisle. It’s here you’ll discover the home of sticky toffee pudding and Cumberland sausage (Cartmel and Waberthwaite respectively), the Laurel and Hardy museum (Ulverston, home of Stan Laurel), The Rum Story (interactive museum in Whitehaven), a single home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Ravenglass), Roman Museum (Maryport), birthplace of poet William Wordsworth (Cockermouth) and lots more.

Like all such tourist routes, treat the CCR200 as a guide rather than a template to be strictly adhered to—all in the spirit of adventure, the campervanning way.

4 Route YC

YC, that’s Yorkshire Coast.

Among the highlights are Spurn Point—one of the remotest spots in the whole of Britain and now home to a nature reserve jutting out into the River Humber estuary. Other spots you might not have heard of before yet are worth a visit include the seaside town of Withernsea, sandy beach of Fraisthorpe and Saltwick Bay, near Whitby. Plus Hornsea (its pottery was once world famous and Hornsea Freeport is officially the UK’s first factory outlet shopping village).

Here, also, are seaside resorts whose names will be more familiar—Scarborough, Bridlington (do have a browse in its Old Town area), Filey, Whitby.

Route YC is actually a collection of six routes designed for adventurous campervanners to discover more along the East Yorkshire coast.

There are also lots of cycle routes. Birdwatchers, too, should be able to spot puffins, razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes and more.

5 Celtic Routes

Making the most of the links between western Wales as well as Ireland’s east—both relatively unexplored areas—Celtic Routes covers the counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire in Wales and Wicklow, Wexford and Waterford in Ireland.

Between them you can discover the likes of the smugglers’ town of New Quay (one-time home of Dylan Thomas) and Pentre Ifan, a 5m-long, neolithic burial chamber made from the Preseli Bluestones (a la Stonehenge).

Over in Ireland, meanwhile, you can drive around the Ring of Hook, where you’ll also find the oldest operational lighthouse in the world, Tintern Abbey and Colclough Walled Garden.

Discover Dollar Bay, too, where treasure is still buried, allegedly. And Brittas Bay, with its 5km of Blue Flag sandy beach and 100 hectare of dunes, proved great for just walking.

For the more adventurous, activities to consider include paddling the River Teifi, surfing in Waterford, Pembrokeshire is the home of coasteering, and plenty more.

6 NC500

Famous? Infamous? There’s no doubt Scotland’s North Coast 500 is a brilliant adventurous campervan holiday. However, it’s become so popular it’s in danger of surpassing itself. And you do feel for the locals, who have had to put up with visitor behaviour that can go beyond the bounds of common decency. Responsible campervanners are always welcome, we hasten to add.

What you do get, though, is over 500 miles of the most spectacular scenery you’re ever likely to see anywhere.

New for 2024 toilet and waste disposal facilities at Gairloch beach and the National Trust for Scotland’s Corrieshalloch Gorge Visitor Centre, some one hour and 44 miles further along the route—should help alleviate some of the above issues.

Specialist campervan insurance through Ripe

Before you set off on an adventurous campervan holiday, you may want to consider protecting your campervan with specialist insurance to help give you some peace of mind.

Specialist campervan insurance through Ripe  provides you with cover for death or injury caused to a third party and up to £20m cover for damage caused to someone else’s property. As well as this you're also protected against instances such as theft, accidental damage, fire, and flood.

Learn more about here or click to get a quick online quote.