Red Squirrel Campsite in Glencoe, Scotland by Motorhome

Our motorhome’s windows are filled with rich greens and the rumble of river fills our ears. We’re at Red Squirrel Campsite at the western end of the magnificent Glen Coe. Warm and dry with a mug of hot coffee, I’m sat writing this listening to the rain hammering on the roof. It’s a magical spot.

No sign of squirrels, but the site does seem to have a resident roe deer. It’s mentioned on a few site reviews, but we were still surprised when it trotted into view this morning and munched its way along. It didn’t seem phased by dogs or people, but did eventually bolt and disappear into the trees.

A vengeful god must have seen my post about the perfect pitch yesterday, and sent 50mph winds to remind me who’s boss. Blown around all night and morning, we were ready to escape Onich for a bit of shelter and sleep. The campsite badges itself as being the ‘next best thing’ to wild camping but feels better than wild camping to me.

The site is set right alongside the River Coe and has no marked-out pitches. Check-in is officially 2pm, but we arrived very early in retreat from the wind. Reception was closed, but Sandy was just about to open up when she saw us. Once Ju told her we had booked in and paid online, she was very happy to let us choose a spot. “Anywhere red on the map” she told Ju.

All the green bits on the map are short cropped grass and were peppered with tents last night. A couple of coachbuilts (us included), several panel van conversions and a few roof tents took up half the red areas. It’s June, so we’re getting well into the season now, but the weather is, well, pish wet, so it’s not that busy yet.

Sandy pointed out the spot occupied by the black 4×4 in the photo above, saying it’s popular with pop-tops. We eyeballed it and laughed, as it was full of a huge puddle and appeared in imminent risk of being taken by the Coe. The water’s well up at the moment. Reviews for the site talk of swimming in the river, but no-one’s venturing in. We might have squeezed in for a great photo and view. But the rough surface reminded me of a long drive through a river bed we once did in Morocco, and I didn’t fancy even a tiny taste of that saga!

There’s no hook-up here. Or grey or black waste disposal, come empty. There are showers and loos in cabins. They look fine to us but we’ve generally used our own facilities here as we can fire up the blown-air heating and get it toasty. Yeah, we’ve been loving that heating, despite being June it’s cool here in the Highlands. It’s getting down to 7°C overnight. This morning we noticed snow on the mountains high above the valley.

As well as burning gas, we happily warmed ourselves by the log burners of the Boots Bar yesterday. This atmospheric spot’s at the Clachaig Inn, a shortish walk up the road. A 300-year-old coaching inn, the Boots Bar round the back seems to be the most-loved bit, and we piled in to dry off after being doused on a walk up the valley.

The bar has a ton of character, the haunt of climbers and more low-level walkers like Ju and me. We ordered food but shied away from the enormous selection of whiskies (over 300 apparently) and beers (I counted 25 pumps). You could enjoy a very long and cosy evening in here! Come on a Saturday night for live music.

The inn’s car park played host to Hollywood for months during the filming of the Harry Potter film, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Sets were built on the hillside opposite the pub, including Hagrid’s Hut. Only the outer shell was constructed here, the scenes inside were shot in a studio, the magic of Hollywood! The hut’s no longer there but a well-trodden rough path through the heather takes you up to the area it was placed. A couple of other paths have been closed due to erosion, even 20 years later it’s a popular spot.

The road running to the campsite and up past the pub is the Old Military Road by the way. Single track with passing places, each of which has an additional little sign telling people not to park there. It’s easy in a motorhome. All but a tiny fraction of the traffic piles along the fast A85 which runs to the west of us.

The same can’t be said for the A85, which is a world-renowned section of road and attracts plenty of coaches, cars, motorbikes, motorhomes and campervans, mixed in with logging lorries, HGVs and tradesman’s vans. We can’t hear it here over the white noise of the river.

There are a few car parks along its length owned and managed by the Scottish National Trust. They kindly allow overnight stays, suggesting a £5 donation online on park4night (not the Three Sisters Viewpoint though, that’s day only).

These parking areas must be amazing spots to wake up in, set in the vast scenery of the glen, the remains of an ancient supervolcano. Not for us this time. They’re in earshot of the road, some are exposed to the wind and they’re mostly busy in the day with cars coming and going. We needed the calm of a campsite, it was well worth the £30 a night to us.

Glen Coe has an infamous history as the location of a massacre in 1692. Following a change of monarch (and religion) in England, the new king demanded the Scottish clans sign allegiance. For many reasons, mostly not of their own making, the MacDonalds of Glen Coe were a few days late in signing.

Oddly and horrifically, the King seemed to think he’d gain greater allegiance from the other clans by having all the MacDonalds here (men, women and children under the age of 70) murdered. It was done in the most underhand way, with a surprise attack from mostly Scottish soldiers. They were staying as guests in the MacDonald’s homes spread along the glen, under an old Gaelic and Highland tradition of hospitality. At least 38 MacDonalds died, many in their beds, with many more thought to have died of exposure after fleeing in freezing winter conditions.

We’ve been lucky enough to drive through the glen a couple of times before, the last time in 2019 on our way home from a whirlwind tour of Scotland. Snow capped the valley sides then too, and we’d wished we had more time to enjoy the area.

This time we’ve made a couple of days here, but could easily spend much more. Ju’s run down to the village of Glencoe and I’ve run east on wet trails up to the other end of the glen. We’ve not ventured up into the hills though. There’s a wide network of fell trails to explore, including the Hidden Valley and Pap of Glencoe.

There’s also Glen Etive further along the valley, the famous filming location of James Bond’s Skyfall. The scenic single track road by the Etive River is very popular with wild campers. Avoiding the passing places, there are a few small areas to park up for the night in a simply incredible landscape. One for the future for us, perhaps in winter when there are fewer vans (and midges) around. I’ll leave you with some more photos of the beautiful Glen Coe and Glencoe village.

Cheers, Jay