I'm fed up of aggressive abuse I get for exploring Scotland & NC500 in my motorhome – I feel unwelcome in my own country
ROUTE RAGE I'm fed up of aggressive abuse I get for exploring Scotland & NC500 in my motorhome – I feel unwelcome in my own country
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A MOTORHOME owner says the aggressive abuse she receives makes her feel unwelcome in her own country.
Fiona Campbell, 45, claims she faces "angry shouting and obscene hand gestures" while travelling all over Scotland.
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There are concerns that the single-track roads "cannot cope" with the volume of traffic
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Tourists on the NC500 have been accused of cramming car parks with motorhomes
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The Highlands get more than six million visitors a year
Credit: Alamy
Over the years, tourists on the popular North Coast 500 route have been accused of cramming car parks with motorhomes and overpopulating small areas, causing damage to the local environment.
There are also concerns that the single-track roads "cannot cope" with the increasing volume of traffic.
And rangers in the Highlands have been forced to call in cops to deal with outbursts of extreme aggressive behaviour from visitors.
Fiona says she always cleans up after others and carries disposable gloves with her at all times.
She told The Press and Journal: "I want to dispel the myths. People leave rubbish, whether they are in cars, vans, tents; it's not exclusive to motorhomes.
"In fact, I'd think they would be the least likely as they have all the facilities on board.
"I take a pair of disposable gloves with me everywhere I go so that I can clean up rubbish that's left by others, mainly I don't want my dog to eat it but it also looks hideous."
Fiona also says the single-track roads on the NC500 are "absolutely chaotic" and are in serious need of upgrading.
The Highlands get more than six million visitors a year - including day-trippers, overseas travellers and cruise passengers.
The increased traffic has left the tarmac riddled with potholes, creating a challenging terrain for the uninitiated campervan drivers.
This, coupled with the reckless driving of some tourists, has led to safety concerns among the locals.
Fiona added: "The NC500, Visit Scotland and the Scottish Tourism Board have just absolutely hammered the advertising for this NC500 road, which used to be nothing, but since they gave it a name, now everybody wants to do it.
"There are a lot of single-track roads, there's about 100 miles of single-track road between Thurso and Durness, and it's absolutely chaotic up there.
"With all the money from tourism that's going into the economy, then surely there must be some sort of budget for making a single track, you know, a double, it would certainly help a lot."
Fiona also says she "cannot afford" campsites due to prices being hiked from what they were before the Covid pandemic.
She said: 'You feel like you're in a resort, and that's just not where I want to be. I want to escape from people. I don't want to feel like I'm in a resort. I want to feel like I'm out in nature.
'People can call me tight or whatever because I don't want to pay for a campsite, and it's not that.
'It's just that I can't afford it and also it's just not the environment that I want to be in.
'If they changed the law and they said no overnight parking anywhere, you have to stay in a campsite, I would honestly just sell the van and take myself out of Scotland for my holidays.'
While the scenic road trip brings economic benefits to the Highland region, residents are frequently irked by the trail of rubbish and damage to the roads caused by the surge in camper vans and mobile homes.
Meanwhile, cases of people doing their business in laybys and elsewhere doubled in two years to hit almost 9,000.
Fiona added: "I'd never empty a toilet anywhere other than a specific facility not because that would be disgusting but because the chemicals need to be treated so not to harm wildlife."
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