Is this a reasonable 8 day itinerary in a camper van? (See map in post)

11 comments

1. I’m not an expert on the UK, but I am familiar with some of the places you’ve listed. I would say that your itinerary looks reasonable, although I would make some adjustments.

   I would spend more time in the Lake District National Park. It’s a beautiful area and there’s a lot to see and do.

   I would also spend more time in Snowdonia National Park. You could easily spend a week there and not see everything.

   I would add a day or two in Edinburgh. It’s a great city with a lot to see and do.

   I would cut out a day or two in London. There’s a lot to see and do, but you could easily spend a week there and not see everything.

   I would also recommend getting a map of the UK and planning your route before you go. That way you can make sure you’re not spending too much time driving and not enough time exploring.

2. Read Snowdonia as Swindon… I had questions

3. Are you flying to and from London? If you like hiking and rural areas then for your trip it might be worth flying to/from somewhere like Birmingham or Manchester if possible. That way you’re closer to the national parks in England and Wales to start with.

4. Yes, this looks fine times and distance wise. Personally I’d probably cut out dartmoor if you are going to the Lake district and spend more time there. Also you can just go over the severn bridge, you don’t need to go up to Gloucester. Also no idea what’s in Highclare?

   Also where is 1386miles from? (oh i see you’ve written 1120 above now)

5. The timings are problematic- Dartmoor to bath – 126 miles 2 hours ? More like 4.

   In fact you need to double most of the driving times. Our roads are narrower, slower and much busier than those in the USA.

6. I think that looks doable though could be reasonably tight on time, but sounds like a lovely trip, I hope you enjoy it.
   As someone that has driven around the UK with a 3 year old and a 5 month old the pace of travel becomes slower than you expect due to stops for the kids, so that may eat up more time than expected.

   First up not sure if you are coming from North America but our National Parks are quite different from those in North America. They are more just general areas with interesting nature, you enter and leave them without really noticing, and there are no associated entrance fees etc.

   Dartmoor is lovely though is quite a detour (it isn’t a forest, it is mostly open moor land) and if you don’t have a specific reason for heading there maybe it is worth exploring the Cotswolds which you will be close to if heading to Bath or a stop in at Brecon Beacons National Park in the way across South Wales which has similar landscapes to Dartmoor.

   It may just be the map you have, but to get from Bath to Pembrokeshire you can just drive across the Severn bridge (toll free now) rather than heading all the way up to Gloucestershire.

   The West Welsh coast is lovely but the road network isn’t especially fast, with a camper van it may be a little slower than you anticipate.

   Snowdonia and Mt Snowden itself are very nice, you can get a train up it as well. Though don’t expect a wilderness it is very much a top tourist site and crowds in summer can be very large.

   Lake District is also lovely, though again busy and some of the roads may be hard work in a Camper Van, very doable and enjoyable.

   Anyway I hope you enjoy the trip and best of luck!

7. As others are saying, your non-motorway travel times are quite optimistic. On any single carriageway road you could get stuck behind a tractor.

   Yes, I’d do EITHER Lake District or Dartmoor. There’s more to see in the Lakes, so that would be my choice. Snowdon is great, but very crowded. Consider Tryfan and/or the Glyders instead (good view of Snowdon) though you’d have to take it in turns or something, as not suitable for a small child and a baby!

8. Motorhomes are restricted to 50 mph on single carriageways.

9. You are missing some great coastline by not picking up at least a bit of North Devon on the way to Dartmoor

10. Add a bit on for Dartmoor and you will be sound.

11. It’s very “whistle stop tour”, spending a few hours driving every day. And you’re going to need to park up, cook meals, possibly deal with hookups and toilet tanks and whatnot. How much time are you actually going to have for excursions.

    If you don’t have your campsites picked yet, getting to them could easily affect the driving times by half an hour or so.

    I advise against driving after a day’s hiking. If you drive first then depending on your dates you might have to be real morning larks to avoid being benighted on the mountain and even then traffic could spoil your plans or provoke you into reckless driving. If you climb first then somebody should sit out the climb.

    The Pembrokeshire to Snowdonia leg jumps out at me. North-south connections in Wales are not good, it’ll be two-lane country roads pretty much the whole way. Very much stuck-behind-the-slow-vehicle territory, if you’re not the slow vehicle yourself.

    Snowdon, well, it’s the highest mountain in Wales. Expect to arrive at a summit that’s BUSY, just maybe the busiest summit you’ve been to. I mean there’s a freaking cafe at the top and a train going up. But if you choose one of the less popular paths on the south and east of the mountain the climb and descent can be quite peaceful, though probably not deserted. Or if you have decent scrambling skills and want a challenge then there’s the Snowdon Horseshoe route, taking in a narrow exposed ridge where falls will be fatal. But if you want really quiet, choose one of the other mountains.

    (I’m assuming summer. If you’re going up Snowdon in winter it’s ice axe and crampons territory whatever route you take.)