Stay the Night offering visitors more destinations than ever before

Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS) popular ‘Stay the Night’ scheme will see a record number of car parks made available to visitors for overnight stopovers.

There will be around 50 carparks across Scotland to choose from as FLS adds more sites to coincide with the Easter weekend.

Those people in self-contained campervans and motorhomes (with all facilities including toilet inside the vehicle and crucially used inside) looking for an overnight stopping place will have a wide variety of choice.

Alan Chalmers, FLS’ Visitor Planning Manager, said:

“It looks like we will have about 50 participating car parks this season, quite a few more than we have ever offered. 

“Stay the Night has proved to be very popular with campervan and motorhome users and we have had support from communities and partners across the country.

“Motorhomes and campervans are a major part of Scotland’s tourism traffic and increasing the number of sites that allow people to stay overnight, will help to meet the growing demand for stopping places.

“It also encourages people to stay a little longer at locations they would otherwise have passed through, which could help provide a boost to many small rural businesses.”

Some of the sites added to the Stay the Night scheme this season include the Otter Pool along the Raiders Road and Glentrool - both in Galloway, Donview in Aberdeenshire with hill walks offering fantastic views of Bennachie and the coastal forest at Culbin in Moray. 

FLS is again asking people using its sites to follow guidance that includes no fires or barbecues, taking away rubbish, keeping noise levels down and finding alternative options if the car park is already full.

The stop overs will be available on a first-come-first-served basis with a charge this year of £10 per stay, payable via RingGo by app or phone, in effect at most of the participating locations, and £13 at the ones with chemical waste disposal.

Stays are for one night only between the hours of 6 pm and 10 am, with no return visit for 48 hours. Changes may have to be made to the list of participating car parks during the year due to operational, environmental or other considerations.

Stay the Night is only open to visitors in self-contained motorhomes and campervans. FLS staff will carry out checks to see that the rules are observed and, if necessary, remind people that tents beside cars, pop-up, pup or toilet tents - or any motorhome or campervan without its own toilet facility - are not permitted. Neither are generators permitted.

Full details including a list and location map of all the participating car parks and restrictions please visit our Stay the Night webpage.

Notes to Editors

1. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Ministers in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry; conserves and enhances the environment; delivers benefits for people and nature; and supports Scottish Ministers in their stewardship of Scotland's national forests and land.
2. Home - Forestry and Land Scotland | twitter.com/ForestryLS 
3. Media enquiries to media@forestryandland.gov.scot