SW300 in winter

[pjb64]

Has anyone done the SW300 in winter. Thinking of traveling it in the last ten days of November. All comments, tips and advice welcome. Thank you

 

[Bobby-gg]

SW300, or SWC300?

We did the SWC in Jan 2019, and throughly enjoyed it, but we were parking up each night at around 4pm as it was pitch black, then had the heating on, and/or cooked and ran through 1 1/2 cylinders of gas in 5 nights - that convinced me to go refillable!

Had some amazing clear dark skies, and stayed one night on Ayr sea front before it was restricted so don't know what it's like now.

Only problem we encountered was that heading back to see the Bruce Stone the road become frozen, but we managed OK

 

[pjb64]

SW300, or SWC300?

We did the SWC in Jan 2019, and throughly enjoyed it, but we were parking up each night at around 4pm as it was pitch black, then had the heating on, and/or cooked and ran through 1 1/2 cylinders of gas in 5 nights - that convinced me to go refillable!

Had some amazing clear dark skies, and stayed one night on Ayr sea front before it was restricted so don't know what it's like now.

Only problem we encountered was that heading back to see the Bruce Stone the road become frozen, but we managed OK

Ah thanks for this. Yes I think it could be heavy on lpg but we have refillable. I bet those clear skies are great. I think we'll give it a go unless there is snow in the forecast .

 

[Bobby-gg]

Ah thanks for this. Yes I think it could be heavy on lpg but we have refillable. I bet those clear skies are great. I think we'll give it a go unless there is snow in the forecast .

Make sure that you are full before you go as I believe that lpg pumps are scarce on the west coast

 

[ambulancekidd]

I live in the area & November here is pretty much the same as November anywhere in the UK.
If you catch some nice weather, you'll have a great time & the scenery won't let you down even is the weather doesn't play ball.
There are plenty of shopping opportunities along the way.

Wild camping or parking on CLs etc are still easy enough. One such place is Mollance near Castle Douglas, they have a C&M CL & there own non member CL (just as beautiful) with heated shower block & it makes a great place to base yourself for a few days, phone 01556660471, you'll get Sheena or Derek & they will make you very welcome, they have full 16ah hook up too, so you can keep cosy on a cold night.
If you want to wild camp, you'd be spoilt for choice & we actually prefer to wild camp in the Galloway Forest in winter, there are no midges & the weather can make the hillsides more dramatic.

Please enjoy yourselves & if you need any more info, feel free to PM me.

Below is our old bus wild camping a few weeks ago in Glen Trool.

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[Barti Ddu]

We spent a week in Dumfries and Galloway in February this year.

Beautiful area. Wild camped mainly, plus a night on Ayr seafront, and another in Galloway Forest for the dark sky stargazing.

Agree that LPG is very scarce in that area, and you'll need plenty for heating that time of year for the long dark nights.

 

[pjb64]

Make sure that you are full before you go as I believe that lpg pumps are scarce on the west coast

Thanks for this great advice

 

[pjb64]

I live in the area & November here is pretty much the same as November anywhere in the UK.
If you catch some nice weather, you'll have a great time & the scenery won't let you down even is the weather doesn't play ball.
There are plenty of shopping opportunities along the way.

Wild camping or parking on CLs etc are still easy enough. One such place is Mollance near Castle Douglas, they have a C&M CL & there own non member CL (just as beautiful) with heated shower block & it makes a great place to base yourself for a few days, phone 01556660471, you'll get Sheena or Derek & they will make you very welcome, they have full 16ah hook up too, so you can keep cosy on a cold night.
If you want to wild camp, you'd be spoilt for choice & we actually prefer to wild camp in the Galloway Forest in winter, there are no midges & the weather can make the hillsides more dramatic.

Please enjoy yourselves & if you need any more info, feel free to PM me.

Below is our old bus wild camping a few weeks ago in Glen Trool.
View attachment 976680

Thank you for this very informative response you have been very encouraging. Love your bus too.

 

[IRHP]

Great site at Kirkcudbright, lovely town. Great pubs stop at The steam packet Inn at Isle of Whithorn. Lovely site at Garlieston, Portpatrick is a favourite of ours. I wouldn't bother with the 300. Stick to the A75. There's plenty places. Lpg available at Newton Stewart and Auchencairn. Prepare for any weather and make the most of short daylight hours.

 

[Barti Ddu]

Great site at Kirkcudbright, lovely town. Great pubs stop at The steam packet Inn at Isle of Whithorn. Lovely site at Garlieston, Portpatrick is a favourite of ours. I wouldn't bother with the 300. Stick to the A75. There's plenty places. Lpg available at Newton Stewart and Auchencairn. Prepare for any weather and make the most of short daylight hours.

Talking about Kirkcudbright, we overnighted at the aire at the leisure centre. 5 minutes walk into the town for a drink and some food.

Camper Services - Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool

Motorhome Aire Welcome to Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool Motorhome Aire. Park overnight, empty grey and toilet waste, and refill fresh water tank £15. Empty grey and toilet waste, and refill fresh water tank £10. We have space for five vans in the two areas provided. The maximum length we can...

kirkcudbrightswimmingpool.co.uk

The filling station at Newton Stewart was the only LPG available for miles around when we were there. Everywhere else west of Glasgow was out of order.

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[IRHP]

Talking about Kirkcudbright, we overnighted at the aire at the leisure centre. 5 minutes walk into the town for a drink and some food.

Camper Services - Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool

Motorhome Aire Welcome to Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool Motorhome Aire. Park overnight, empty grey and toilet waste, and refill fresh water tank £15. Empty grey and toilet waste, and refill fresh water tank £10. We have space for five vans in the two areas provided. The maximum length we can...

kirkcudbrightswimmingpool.co.uk

The filling station at Newton Stewart was the only LPG available for miles around when we were there. Everywhere else west of Glasgow was out of order.

Yep stayed there once before. Very handy for a walk into town. There's a great restaurant called Castle Street Bistro. Very small and quirky.

 

[lorger]

I live in the area & November here is pretty much the same as November anywhere in the UK.
If you catch some nice weather, you'll have a great time & the scenery won't let you down even is the weather doesn't play ball.
There are plenty of shopping opportunities along the way.

Wild camping or parking on CLs etc are still easy enough. One such place is Mollance near Castle Douglas, they have a C&M CL & there own non member CL (just as beautiful) with heated shower block & it makes a great place to base yourself for a few days, phone 01556660471, you'll get Sheena or Derek & they will make you very welcome, they have full 16ah hook up too, so you can keep cosy on a cold night.
If you want to wild camp, you'd be spoilt for choice & we actually prefer to wild camp in the Galloway Forest in winter, there are no midges & the weather can make the hillsides more dramatic.

Please enjoy yourselves & if you need any more info, feel free to PM me.

Below is our old bus wild camping a few weeks ago in Glen Trool.
View attachment 976680

I was told by my cycling buddy who’s a caravaner that Mollance was now closed, certainly couldn’t see the CL sign on the A75 a few weeks back.

 

[lorger]

D&G will be lovely at that time, it will be quiet and very little chance of having snow as I can’t remember the last time it snowed in November.
I think the garage at Auchencairn has LPG, if you download the mylpg app that might help. Also some of the local suppliers have tanks and may be willing to fill you up.

 

[hja]

We have done most of the SW300 at different times. Did the more northern part last year, going up the old lead mine, and the highest village in Scotland Wanlockhead. The museum is really interesting but you might want to check its opening times. The road up there is single track but there will be passing places. I guess if the weather is vile it might be a bit more of an issue.
On the way back this year we stayed at an aire at Caerhaverlock which I would imagine is open all year.

 

[lorger]

We have done most of the SW300 at different times. Did the more northern part last year, going up the old lead mine, and the highest village in Scotland Wanlockhead. The museum is really interesting but you might want to check its opening times. The road up there is single track but there will be passing places. I guess if the weather is vile it might be a bit more of an issue.
On the way back this year we stayed at an aire at Caerhaverlock which I would imagine is open all year.

Wanlockhead is one of my regular cycle routes, it not single track it’s just a narrow road

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[paddymcc]

We've been a couple of times in winter. Great I good weather but take a book to read! The Auchencairn lpg is a bit tight for larger units, we had to reverse in.
Glencaple Pier is a nice overnight stop. A bore went past whilst we were there..

 

[pjb64]

What wonderful advice from everyone. Thank you again, it means a lot