What can we say?

The emotions were incredible, we discovered so many fascinating facts about England, Scotland, and Wales and had the “honor” (as I like to say) of exploring countless places and realities: from London to Stonehenge, through the Cotswolds, Cardiff, Welsh parks, the Scottish Highlands, historic cities… I don’t even know where to begin telling you!

But let’s take it step by step!

In this article we’ve tried to create an “All-in-One” guide with ALL the information you might need to travel through Great Britain with your camper or motorhome starting from the continent 🙂

Happy reading! 🙂

Are you thinking of visiting Great Britain by camper?

Get ready for your trip!

Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles (ahead of Ireland!) and is an extremely unique island: rich in nature, history, and culture.

Even if you’ve never been there, you’ve probably already heard of many of its iconic cities (such as London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool, York, Cambridge, Oxford, etc.) and its most famous landmarks (Stonehenge, London Bridge, the Scottish Highlands, etc.).

England first (one of the 3 nations that make up Great Britain along with Wales and Scotland), and then the United Kingdom, have been a world superpower for centuries, and during colonialism, exported its “Commonwealth” culture to all parts of the globe.

The influence of British culture is still visible everywhere in the world today: English is taught in almost every school worldwide, and in India as in Botswana or the Fiji Islands, people drive on the left precisely because of British tradition! 🙂

With this camper trip, we decided to delve into the Anglo-Saxon world and explore its history and culture while letting the journey surprise us!

Having done it, we can say we found Great Britain an incredible place, extremely camper-friendly (much more than you might think), where wild camping is widely tolerated (we never stayed at a campsite!) and where you can feel extremely safe leaving your camper parked for entire days.

In this article, we share the wonderful experiences we had, the must-see places, but also the difficulties we encountered and all the little things you need to know (how to get there, what visa you need, where to get water, where to dispose of trash, etc. etc.).

Let’s take it step by step and start with the table of contents! 😉

Happy reading! 🙂

1. Entering Great Britain by Camper:

Visa and Documents, Ferry or Train

Let’s start with the first practical question: how do you get to Great Britain with a camper?

After Brexit some things have changed, but for European citizens the journey remains quite straightforward.

To enter the United Kingdom you need a valid passport, while ID cards are no longer accepted (except in very specific cases).

The good news is that for tourist stays up to 6 months, no visa is required.

This means you can easily organize even very long trips… like our 50-day one! 🙂

One small important detail to keep in mind though: the United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen area and therefore upon entry you’ll need to go through

• passport control

• customs control

Nothing complicated though: the organization is very efficient and normally everything is resolved in a few minutes. Neither on the way there nor on the return were we asked to open the camper, unlike what happened to us in other non-EU European countries such as Turkey, Montenegro, and pretty much all the Balkans 🙂

How to Get There with Your Camper

To cross the Channel with your camper, there are essentially two main options: ferry or tunnel!

Ferry

The most famous route is between Calais and Dover.

Calais is a port city in northern France, in the Hauts-de-France region, practically the closest point in France to England.

About 40 km from Calais is Dunkerque (Dunkirk), another port heavily used by trucks and campers.

From here ferries also depart for Dover, on the south coast of England.

The main companies operating on these routes are:

• P&O Ferries

• DFDS

• Irish Ferries

• Brittany Ferries

The crossing takes about 90 minutes.

From what we could see online, the price varies greatly depending on season, day, and time of day, but the companies are more or less equivalent (we went with P&O and returned with DFDS) 😊

Indicatively:

• camper + 2 people: €80 – €180

• high season: even €200

We, for example, booking a bit in advance, paid about €139 for the camper and two people (per crossing).

In general the ferry is almost always the most economical option, and taking only an hour longer than the tunnel, it seemed like a logical choice 🙂

Eurotunnel (Le Shuttle)

The alternative is the train under the Channel, called Eurotunnel Le Shuttle.

You read that right, train! xD

The Channel Tunnel is not a road “tunnel” where you can drive your own vehicle.

Here you board a train almost 800 meters long that crosses the underwater tunnel.

The Channel Tunnel is about 50 km long, and is one of the longest underwater tunnels in the world.

The journey takes about 35 minutes.

The price, however, is generally higher:

• camper + 2 people: €180 – €300

The main advantage is the speed and the fact that there are no waves or rough seas.

But if you want to save money, the ferry remains almost always the best choice (and if the day is nice, it’s also pleasant to get some northern air and exciting to see the white cliffs of southern England approaching!

Alternative: Rent a Camper Directly in the UK

Do you have limited time? Or you don’t have your own camper? Or are you already in the UK and looking for a different getaway? 

An awesome choice for visiting all corners of Great Britain with more tranquillity and away from the crowds (while also saving in the process!) could be to rent a camper locally 🙂

On the island there are many excellent services for getting any type of camper, near most major international, domestic airports and train stations!

Whether you’re thinking of renting a van in London, getting a semi-integrated in Cardiff a hire a motorhome in Leeds, or a minivan in Glasgow, you’ll always find what suits you! 🙂

2. Safety in Great Britain: Crime Rate and Road Safety

One of the things that struck us most during this trip was the feeling of safety.

In 50 days we parked the camper practically everywhere:

• city centers

• remote villages

• seaside parking lots

• natural parks and cliffs…

And we never had the slightest problem!

In fact, we felt safe pretty much all the time 🙂

The United Kingdom has one of the lowest violent crime rates in Western Europe, with about 1 homicide per 100,000 inhabitants.

Obviously in big cities (London, Manchester, Birmingham) you need to use common sense, but outside urban centers the atmosphere is extremely peaceful: lovely lovely country! 🙂

Driving on the Left

The most “scary” thing for those arriving from continental Europe is probably driving on the left.

At first it seems impossible…

Then after the initial shock, something strange happens: after two days it becomes natural! (and after 50 I felt like driving on the left even once we returned to Belgium xD)

A useful little detail: Google Maps also automatically switches from km/h to mph (miles per hour) when you enter the United Kingdom, so when you see “Limit 50” on maps, it’s actually miles, and on the speedometer you can go up to 80 km/h.

I’m telling you this because when we first arrived we didn’t notice immediately, and following the limits on maps we were creating nice traffic jams hehe (sorry!!! :)).

To give you an idea of the speed limits, I’ve prepared this little table 🙂

3. Money in Great Britain:

Currency and Credit Cards

In Great Britain they use the British pound sterling (GBP).

The symbol is £.

It’s one of the oldest currencies in the world still in use.

Just think, we discovered that the pound has existed for over 1200 years: the name derives from the Latin “libra pondo“, meaning a pound of pure silver.

In the Middle Ages indeed 1 pound equaled the value of a pound of silver.

Even today many English coins maintain curious historical names:

• Pound → the pound sterling

• Penny –> the pence

• Quid → slang for pound

The exchange rate in recent years has remained on average between £1 ≈ €1.15 – €1.20.

Payments

The United Kingdom is probably one of the most cashless countries in the world.

You can pay practically everywhere with:

• card

• phone

• smartwatch

Even:

• parking (often also via the EasyPark app!)

• buses

• small kiosks

• pubs

• museums
• even street performers! (we spent 5 days at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, and every comedian, juggler, or cabaret artist had a card reader xD)

We used cash maybe once in 50 days.

4. Camping in Great Britain:

Campsites and Fuel Prices

Great Britain is very camper-friendly, though with a different philosophy compared to France or Germany.

Campsites exist, but many are simply equipped farm fields in the middle of nowhere, often run by families.

Average prices:

• £20 – £35 per night

• premium campsites: £40 – £50

• London area – £50-90

That said, moving around a lot and charging both with the alternator via an Orion XS 50A, and with our 600W of solar panels we never stayed at a campsite in 50 days 😉

Note: here you can find the complete guide to your camper’s electrical system, and here a selection of what we consider the best products (Always updated!).

Fuel Prices

Fuel is more or less in line with continental Europe.

During our trip diesel cost on average:

£1.35 – £1.60 / liter (Summer 2025)

Many gas stations are open 24 hours, even in the smallest villages

5. Wild Camping in Great Britain: Rules, Prohibitions, and Fines

Wild Camping

This is probably the question you’ve asked us most often!

Wild camping in the United Kingdom is not officially legal everywhere, but in practice it’s widely tolerated and on Park4Night you can find nice parking spots practically everywhere 😉

During our 50 days of travel we always slept wild and never had any problems.

The rule is obviously the usual one: discretion and respect!

• no tables outside

• no noise

• no litter

• leave places better than you found them!

If you’re interested in seeing all the places where we slept, you can search for LostOnTheRoute on Park4Night 😉

We left all our reviews and GPS coordinates 🙂

6. Camper Services: Where to Fill Water and Dispose of Waste

Unfortunately here comes the less simple part.

Finding water in the United Kingdom is not always very easy (and especially in England!).

In many regions of the United Kingdom you won’t find fountains or convenient points to refill drinking water outside campsites.

In the end you mainly get water from:

• service stations (almost always non-potable)

• campsites

• rare fountains (in Scotland and parts of Wales, northern England)
• rivers (like in the photo above where we were at the foot of Snowdon in Wales, without having found a fountain for hundreds of kilometers haha)

Our advice for this is very simple: fill up water whenever you can, even if you still have half a tank left! Better safe than sorry 😉

7. Interacting with Locals

in Great Britain

We speak English like our mother tongue, so for us it was really fun to notice how much accents change in the United Kingdom.

A bit like what happens in Italy.

Between:

• England

• Wales

• Scotland

accents change tremendously.

In some parts of Scotland for example we understood almost nothing at first, at least until we got used to it.

It seemed like English… but with a completely different accent xD

The English also have some very curious habits. For example the word “sorry”.

The English apologize constantly. Literally for anything. “Sorry”, “Sorry”, “Sorry” etc.

Once a gentleman apologized to us… because we were the ones passing in front of him 😂

On our journey we met many curious people, who had no problem asking us where we came from or other things about us, and at the same time who would stop spontaneously to give us advice on what to see, where to visit, and even what strawberries to buy (if you need to get strawberries, they must be from “Kent”, a region south of London also called the Garden of England! ;)).

8. Camper Trip in Great Britain: When Is the Best Time to Travel?

WHEN TO TRAVEL TO GREAT BRITAIN

BY CAMPER:

We were there in July and August.

And we can say one thing: some days, even in these months, it didn’t feel like summer.

In Scotland, on the Isle of Skye and Glencoe, and then in Inverness and around Loch Ness, we found a climate that at most we could define as spring or autumn.

We often found moments of beautiful sunshine, but just as often in the same day we experienced sudden downpours 🙂

In southern England instead, during some days we sweated quite a bit with temperatures up to 28-30°C (but as locals told us, it was unusually hot ;)).

In general indeed, Great Britain’s climate is much cooler compared to continental Europe, and perfect for those seeking refuge from the scorching summers of southern Europe.

Personally I really liked it, because I love the cold and hate muggy heat.

If instead you love the heat… here you’ll find at most a nice spring during summer (for Isa, my girlfriend who loves sun and sea, it was too cold to be summer 😄).

The ideal season to travel in the United Kingdom remains MAY – SEPTEMBER, personally I would advise against coming in winter because many places would be closed and some natural parks even dangerous.

9. Places to Visit in Great Britain

– Travel Itinerary

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU NEED FOR A COMPLETE CAMPER TRIP IN GREAT BRITAIN?

To travel by camper and discover all the beauties that Great Britain has to offer, 50 days seemed like a good compromise: with less, we would have had to rush too much and cut many places we cared too much about.

On the other hand, having had about thirty more days, we could have explored some more remote areas of Cornwall and some cities we had to skip a bit better.

In our opinion, you can see the essentials in 30 days. With 50 days, you can dig deeper and discover more “secondary” places, which often turn out to be even better than the larger, more famous cities.

If you wanted to do a truly complete tour without rushing, 90-100 days would be ideal (which is why we plan to go back sooner or later :)).

WHAT TO VISIT IN GREAT BRITAIN BY CAMPERVAN?

Below, I want to share a short list of the most beautiful locations we visited to help you create your Great Britain road trip. Just above this paragraph, I’ve included a map of our journey, which I hope will be useful for locating them and planning your itinerary 🙂

As you can see, the points of interest are scattered all over Great Britain, which is why I believe driving through the country in a van/campervan is the best way to truly get to know its different locations and unique features 🙂

1. THE SEVEN SISTERS

Spectacular white cliffs on the south coast of England. Incredible landscapes and panoramic trails perfect for walking.

2. STONEHENGE

One of the most mysterious archaeological sites in the world. The stone circle is over 4,500 years old.

3. LONDON CITY

One of the most incredible capitals in the world.

Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and free museums—there’s everything!!!

4. THE COTSWOLDS

Medieval villages with honey-colored stone houses. It feels like being in a movie where time has stood still. Truly relaxing to visit 🙂

5. CARDIFF

The capital of Wales, with a very unique medieval castle in the city center.

6. SNOWDONIA

The most spectacular national park in Wales. Here you’ll find Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in the country. I recommend bringing your bike if you plan to visit this park; it’s magical!

7. LIVERPOOL

The city of the Beatles. Music, maritime history, and one of the most important ports in British history. Liverpool is a city with character, a 70s vibe that blows you away and turns you upside down; here you can breathe in culture and non-conformity!

8. GLASGOW

A vibrant and artistic Scottish city, famous for its music and architecture. Don’t miss the cathedral and the huge, scenic central cemetery!

9. GLENCOE

One of Scotland’s most spectacular valleys. Glencoe is pure nature. The most beautiful postcard of Scotland. On the way in, I started crying because of how wonderful and indescribable it was!

10. ISLE OF SKYE

Along with Glencoe, Scotland’s other treasure. Unreal landscapes: cliffs, mountains, castles, and nature… nature as far as the eye can see! A paradise for campervans, where you can breathe in absolute freedom, silence, and solemnity!

11. LOCH NESS

The most famous lake in Scotland… and perhaps the world! We even found the monster on the shore!! 🙂

12. EDINBURGH

One of the most beautiful cities in Europe, dominated by its medieval castle and the incredible Royal Mile! Don’t miss the climb to Arthur’s Seat (the hill above Edinburgh), the Horror Tour, and if you visit in August, the Fringe Festival (the largest independent arts festival in the world, with over 3,800 artists!)

13. YORK

One of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. Walking along The Shambles, the famous street with leaning 14th-century houses, is like stepping into a historical film. Don’t miss York Minster, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe, and the ancient Roman walls surrounding the city and the racecourse!

14. OXFORD

Famous for its university founded in 1096, one of the oldest in the world. Its historic colleges, like Christ Church and Magdalen College, look like they’re straight out of a fantasy saga (it’s no coincidence that some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed here!). Between libraries, courtyards, and gardens, Oxford is one of the most fascinating university cities on the planet—green and human-scale.

15. CAMBRIDGE

An elegant university city crossed by the River Cam, famous for its magnificent historic colleges like King’s College and its spectacular Gothic chapel. One of the most typical activities is “punting”—navigating slowly down the river on traditional flat-bottomed boats, passing under historic bridges and past college gardens.

10. Eating in Great Britain:

Typical dishes, supermarkets, and prices

British cuisine has a reputation… let’s say not exactly stellar.

You often hear people say that “the food in England is bad.”

In reality, as with many countries, the truth lies somewhere in the middle and I think a lot of it is a stereotype: personally, I found the food in the UK truly delicious! 🙂

Traditional British cuisine originated as simple, hearty cooking closely linked to the cold climate, so it’s full of hot dishes, potatoes, meat, and gravies—substantial food to fuel the body against harsh weather.

The iconic dish is definitely “Fish and Chips”: battered fried cod fillets served with chips, often accompanied by malt vinegar (yes, the British put vinegar on their chips!… and it’s good!!!).

In a classic “chippy,” you’ll pay an average of £10–£15.

Another institution is the “Full English Breakfast”, a massive breakfast consisting of:

• eggs

• bacon

• sausages

• baked beans

• mushrooms

• tomatoes

• toast

Basically lunch at 8 in the morning (at least from our Italian perspective xD).

In pubs or cafes, it generally costs £8–£12.

The Sunday Roast is also very common, the typical Sunday lunch: roast meat (beef, chicken, or lamb) with roast potatoes, vegetables, and the famous gravy, a hot meat sauce. In pubs, it costs about £12–£18.

That said, one of the true paradises for those traveling in a camper like us, in my opinion, are British supermarkets.

Chains like:

• Tesco

• Sainsbury’s

• Aldi

• Lidl

• Waitrose

offer an incredible variety of both meats and good quality ready meals, perfect for when you don’t feel like cooking!

Prices in supermarkets are very reasonable 🙂

To give you an idea, these are roughly the prices to expect

• ready meal: £4–£7

• sandwich: £2–£4

• beer at the pub: £5–£7

• cappuccino: £3–£4

A curious thing is the prevalence of Meal Deals, very popular in supermarkets and convenience stores: for about £3–£5 you can get a sandwich + snack + drink, a perfect quick lunch when you’re on the road or visiting cities 🙂

Finally, we can’t fail to mention a true British institution: tea!

The British drink about 100 million cups of tea a day, often with a splash of milk. Even in small village cafes, you’ll always find a kettle ready, and the variety is truly immense, although black tea remains the classic! 🙂

11. Other tips and curiosities from the trip to Great Britain by camper – Our van life experience

Below we want to share with you some curiosities and small practical tips we discovered during our 50-day camper trip with our orange van 😄

These aren’t exactly “rules,” but rather scattered travel notes—those things you only notice by living in the country day after day 🙂

So… where should we start?

Mmmmh…

LET’S START WITH BEER!
The UK is a true home of beer, especially traditional Ales served in pubs. In classic English pubs, a pint costs an average of £5–£7, but the quality is often excellent.

If you want to try something typical, look for local Ale or Bitter beers.

A curious thing: many of these beers are served less cold than Italian ones, because tradition dictates they should be drunk at cellar temperature.

THE COUNTRY OF PUBS
The pub isn’t just a bar: it’s a social institution.

In many villages, the pub is practically the center of community life.

Some British pubs are over 500 years old, and many still have roaring fireplaces, wooden beams, and a truly incredible atmosphere.

WILD CAMPING IS MUCH MORE TOLERATED THAN YOU THINK
Before leaving, we had read very conflicting opinions about wild camping in Great Britain.

After 50 days, we can say that it’s much easier than you think.

With a bit of discretion and respect, we never had any problems. If you want to see all the places where we slept, you can search for LostOnTheRoute on Park4Night: we left all our reviews with coordinates and photos.

THE COUNTRY ROADS ARE… VERY NARROW!
In rural English and Scottish areas, many roads are extremely narrow, often with high hedges on the sides and space for only one car. Don’t be scared: every now and then you’ll find small side spaces called “passing places”, where one of the two cars stops to let the other pass 😉

WATCH OUT FOR ROUNDABOUTS
In Great Britain, roundabouts are practically everywhere. And yes… they must be taken clockwise because you drive on the left. After a few days it becomes natural, but at first, the “European” brain struggles a bit!

THE VILLAGE WITH THE LONGEST NAME IN THE WORLD
In Wales, there is a village with one of the longest names on the planet:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

It has 58 letters.

The name roughly means:

“St. Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave”.

The locals shorten it simply to Llanfair PG… definitely more practical 😄 I recommend visiting just to take a photo at the station, where the full name of the town is displayed haha

GREAT BRITAIN IS FULL OF CASTLES
In the UK, there are over 15,000 castles. Some are medieval ruins, others are still perfectly preserved and open to visitors.

THE BRITISH QUEUE… FOR EVERYTHING
Queuing is almost a national religion. Cutting the line is considered almost a social crime.

BIG BEN IS NOT THE TOWER
Many people think Big Ben is London’s clock tower. In reality, Big Ben is the name of the bell, while the tower is called the Elizabeth Tower.

THE WORLD’S FIRST TRAFFIC LIGHT WAS BORN IN LONDON
The first traffic light in history was installed in London in 1868 near Parliament!

LONDON MUSEUMS ARE FREE
Many of the capital’s most important museums are completely free, including:

• British Museum

• Natural History Museum

• Science Museum

THE HARRY POTTER TRAIN REALLY EXISTS
The famous Hogwarts Express train is inspired by the Jacobite Steam Train, which crosses the Scottish Highlands passing over the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

12. Camper equipment you might need during your trip to Great Britain

Here is a list that will help you prepare for your camper trip through Great Britain:

ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY IN THE CAMPER

• Insurance documents
• Spare wheels and tools to change them (you never know ;))
• Reflective jacket
• Warning triangle
• First aid kit

GOOD TO HAVE

• Sunscreen and water bottle!
• GPS navigator
• Two different credit cards (in case one doesn’t work)
• Mosquito repellent (get ready to discover what midges are! eheh)
• Mosquito machine for campers
• Ultra-foldable picnic blanket
• Lonely Planet Travel Guide – World

INTERNET IN GREAT BRITAIN

• Free Wi-Fi hotspots are easy to find in all major tourist areas.
• We used Starlink on the roof of our van throughout our trip and connected to the Internet without problems everywhere.
• If you have an EU mobile phone contract, you will have free roaming GB available, which you can calculate by dividing the cost of your national offer (euros) by 2 (for example, if you pay 20 euros per month, you will have about 10 GB available).
• Alternatively, you can buy any local SIM or eSIM with a data package. 🙂
• If you’re unsure which provider to choose, check community feedback like the Saily review for real‑world experiences and activation tips.

13. Traveling in Great Britain with a camper:

Conclusion

I really hope you’ve gotten all the essential information to plan and organize your camper trip to Great Britain and make the most of your next adventure! 😀

After talking about how to enter the country, how to stay safe, how to get around, when to travel, water, waste, money tips, customs, food, hotspots, and itineraries, all that remains is to give you my last very personal piece of advice.

If you ask me to tell you something about Great Britain, I’ll tell you this:

“Great Britain is an incredible island where you can breathe history. The yellow and green of the fields get lost on the horizon and outside the intricate chaos of London, the whole island is a leap into the past, into tradition and millenary English culture. The British are wonderful people—open, cheerful, polite, and very welcoming toward tourists and camper van travelers alike. If you don’t know what to do next summer, trust me that a trip to Great Britain is something unique that stays with you for a lifetime!” 🙂

As always, please let me know if the article was useful to you in the comments below (it motivates me a lot to write more! 😉 ).

Similarly, let me know if you have other tips you’d like to see added to the article, or if you found any errors (it can always happen!) 🙂

I wish you a life full of happiness and happy travels!

See you in the next article! 😀

PS. One last thing because I know you’ll ask me…

How much did we spend for 50 days in the UK?

Counting ferries, fuel, parking, supermarkets, museums, entrance fees, and everything, everything, everything, we spent €1,425 per person, which is about €28.50 per day each 🙂

Traveling as a pair and slowly, walking a lot and being a bit careful, we covered thousands of kilometers spending relatively little: with good planning, a long trip to the UK in a camper is definitely not prohibitive 🙂