The whole point of a holiday is to get likes on Instagram, yeah?
Well, no...but it's definitely nice to remind people that Van-Life is better than another night in.
Here are a few spots where you can snap some stunning backdrops for your feed as you tootle around the country in a campervan.
Jurassic Lark
Durdle Door, down on south Dorset's Jurassic Coast, this limestone arch is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Either swim out to the arch with your waterproof phone to try and capture it from a different angle, or wait for sunset to line up the sun peeking through the gap! Stay at Luckford Wood campsite.
The End of the Road
Okay, so John O' Groats and Land's End couldn't be further apart, but surely if you're going to do one then you have to do the other? Would any campervanner's Instagram feed be complete without a shot of those famous signs? They might be 874 miles apart, but they're both worth a visit - and each has so much more around them to explore too. Try the campsite at Sango Sands or Little Trethvas for Land's End.
That's Magic!
Such is the beauty of this part of Scotland, thousands of cars whizz past along the A830 without even noticing Glenfinnan Viaduct, a stunning curved bridge, built over 100 years ago to transport people from Fort William to Mallaig.
Fortunately, for train buffs, photography geeks, and Harry Potter fans, there's a car park and visitor centre so you can get the best possible shot, or even cross it by steam train.
Why not stay at the awesome Red Squirrel Campsite in nearby Glencoe before jumping aboard.
Chasing (limestone) Pavements
Another one for Harry Potter fans - the awesome limestone pavement of Malham Cove was another film location for the famous wizard. You can't camp at the top like Harry and Hermione, but you can make it a part of lots of stunning walks. Start from your base at the infamous Gordale Scar Campsite, clamber up the waterfall for a dramatic looking selfie, head round to the cove for a panorama, and then back to the campsite via the pub.
Do go chasing waterfalls...
The Brecon Beacons has more than its fair share of waterfalls, but none match Sgwd yr Eira (Falls of Snow), for drama – you can actually walk right behind it! From the car park at Cwm Porth, follow the path alongside the Afon Mellte. At the first of the falls, Sgwd Clun-gwyn, break left to climb into the woods and then follow waymarked trails across the watershed and eventually down steeply to the Afon Hepste. You'll hear the cascade before you see it, but don't stop when you reach the riverbank. Simply follow it upstream and carefully make your way behind the wall of water on the rocky shelf. Careful with your phone and camera!
Grawen Campsite is about 30 minutes from the waterfalls, and a great place to base yourselves for everything else in the area, such as the Penderyn Distillery or Bike Park Wales.
Barra (bados) and Vatersay
This is one of those places that you don't want to tell anyone about in case it gets spoilt. Fortunately, the 12 hour journey should put most people off. The Western Isles are a 6 hour ferry journey from Oban (maybe time for another distillery tour!), and worth every minute.
The white sandy beaches wouldn't look out of place in the Caribbean, although the water might be a bit more....refreshing! I'm a little biased as this was the destination for our first every campervan trip in Tommy the T2 pictured below. Thanks Tommy!
Why not take a picture of yourself on the beach and see if anyone can guess which country you're in?!
Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede
Two for the price of one! If you stay for a night at the Craig House Campsite in Bushmills (yes, there's another distillery for you to check out too...) then you can take arty snaps of the Giant's Causeway, and then hot foot it to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge for a more adventurous photo! The bridge takes you from the mainland across the North Atlantic, with views of the rocks 30 metres below...not for the faint hearted!
Lighthouse Family
Who doesn't feel lifted (sorry) at the sight of a lighthouse? There's something comforting and inspiring about all these quirky old beacons, perched right on the edges of the country. Thanks to their unique locations, they make for great photographs - particularly as the sun's going up or down, or during a storm!
South Stack lighthouse on Anglesey is a great place for bird watching and a good stop off before your ferry to Ireland, with Tyn Rhos a perfect place to pitch up close by. Alternatively, Chanonry Point near Inverness is not only a stunning spot to watch the sun go down, but also a great place to watch dolphins feeding as the tide comes in!
Wild Horses (or ponies)
A sure-fire way to boost your number of likes is to throw in a few cute animals! There are a few places where you can meet friendly wild horses and ponies in the UK, such as Dartmoor and the New Forest. The ones we met in Dartmoor were even happy to pose for selfies! Stop for the night at Appledore Park, they claim it's the "Stairway to Devon". (It's worth staying just for that!)
Living on the edge
Sometimes you have to put in a bit of hard work to get an awesome photo. Walking up Helvellyn via Striding Edge is a great example of hard work paying off. Here's a collection of pictures from two separate walks - one with dramatic snow and fog, the other with an incredible temperature inversion at the summit. Fortunately on both occasions we had cold beers in the van back at The Quiet Site .
Thanks for reading. I hope you get to check out some of these spots. Feel free to shout if you think there are any other places I should have included.
Thanks for reading, Nick 🚌 😄