Tengu Versus Highland Castles (or anything else, for that matter)

[Tengu]

Time to head back to the Iron Age; I do work sometimes.

But I cannot find accommodation. Work are trying to help but to no avail (Im not the only one)

Its all holiday lets and Airbnbs.

Ive asked the council and Autism support. No luck

Its needed in the East Loch Tay/Aberfeldy way. Killin and Pitlochry OK but not ideal....Perth No. (And some of our staff do live in Perth; 3 hour commute on a minimum wage.)

Any suggestions?

 

[Toddy]

Campervan.....and see if they'll let you stay onsite.

It was always a problem for the Crannog Centre, and is why they used to mostly employ locals, but students and volunteers they had 'some' accomodation available, from caravans at Dalherb to a 'bothy' which was an old house at Acharn....then there were the wooden chalet style rooms across the road from the old site. I don't know if any of those are available now.

 

[Tengu]

I am considering this, but do not own one, nor have I the money for one

 

[Toddy]

Fiona bought a van (she was a basket maker) and used willow to make herself a bed frame, and basketwork fittings to turn it into a place where she could be comfortable.
Very do-able....a folding padded sunlounger would provide a bed, for instance. Camp kitchen would do for much of the rest. One of the plug into car to charge cold boxes would store food safely. LED lights, etc., Right season for this too, even places like Lidl's are selling outdoor 'carpets' for patios that would line the floor.

More expensive to run though than a car, but perhaps an option to consider ?

 

[GreyCat]

Accommodation prices have gone daft all over the place. If I wasn't WFH so much these days, I would get another van and convert it and use for client work overnights as I did in the past, these days i can usually do long day trips or lodge the Sunday or Monday night when prices are a lot lower.

The van made sense when i was away more as most of the clients allowed me to park on site and many had a hook up. Mind you, "contractor caravans" are not a new thing, and vans are also used, e.g. most of the vans that are used as escorts for wide/slow loads have bunks in for the crew (the HGV tractor unit of course has a bunk in the cab).

The availability of vans has improved of late, and the solar/powerstation combos you can get are game changers, suddenly a decent fridge and induction hob is viable...... which makes for a much easier conversion.

GC

 

[Tengu]

Ill have a word with Dad...but Im sure he might not like the idea of me on the loose in a big vehicle. (This is before I start talking about money)

 

[Toddy]

It doesn't need to be a big van, it's just your safe comfortable place to sleep, to store 'stuff', to get you from A to B and back home again reliably.
This one's 1.6m long in the cargo area and 1.2 wide....that's enough to build up a sleeping platform...use storage boxes and build on top.....but it's small enough that it's just like driving a car.

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It's all do-able, money's maybe an issue as is time, but if you're not building out something to perfection, and not using it to sleep in in the Winter time, then, well folks sleep in cars, a van at least gives you a bit more room.

It's an option, and when accomodation isn't available, then it's perhaps a viable option ?
I think if you could manage one with more headroom though, perhaps decent ventilation, that would be a lot more comfortable.

 

[slaine_23]

Might it depend how long you need to stay?
Camper would be grand but if for shorter times would car camping work? I know someone who has to do the occasional overnight or two and they got an estate car so he can sleep in it comfortably instead of trying to schlep back and forth each day. Its duration dependent of course.

 

[Nice65]

I

It doesn't need to be a big van, it's just your safe comfortable place to sleep, to store 'stuff', to get you from A to B and back home again reliably.
This one's 1.6m long in the cargo area and 1.2 wide....that's enough to build up a sleeping platform...use storage boxes and build on top.....but it's small enough that it's just like driving a car.

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It's all do-able, money's maybe an issue as is time, but if you're not building out something to perfection, and not using it to sleep in in the Winter time, then, well folks sleep in cars, a van at least gives you a bit more room.

It's an option, and when accomodation isn't available, then it's perhaps a viable option ?
I think if you could manage one with more headroom though, perhaps decent ventilation, that would be a lot more comfortable.

I think that's too small, it's like a one man tent will keep you dry and let you sleep, but less than practical for getting dressed and undressed, making a cup of tea etc. I know the budget is crucial, but compared to renting for a set period of time, it would still be cheaper to get a slightly bigger van (hi-top not pop up top), like Mazda Bongo/Friendee sized. They can be found fairly cheaply, and having it already kitted out with fridge, hob, sink, bed is worth paying for rather than make inefficient use of the space and doing the equivalent of camping in a van rather than a tent.

 

[Toddy]

It was more an illustration of something affordable that could be 'small' enough that it wasn't really any different to driving a car.
On site there are facitilies, there's a lot of space, etc., it's just somewhere, as you say, like a small tent.

I do agree, and indeed I did say, that I think one with more headroom, etc., would be more comfortable, but that takes her back into driving a bigger vehicle.

A lot of people manage, as Slaine said, in an estate car. We had friends who camped in one all the time. They pitched a caravan type awning over the open hatch and that gave them space to sit and eat at a table, chill out in comfort.

Ready made camper vans are expensive.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I'm a bit disappointed that there's not the possibility of going full-on living history, living in a roundhouse for the season.

If you decide on a small campervan, it's worth considering that insurance can be less expensive than a car or panel van.

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[Toddy]

JustKampers will usually do a van as a 'camper under conversion' though, and that drops the rates without the large expense of a camper van.

Living history does not pay well usually, and the work is very seasonal.

 

[Falstaff]

There's a 45yr old woman on you tube been travelling for a long time in a vw van like that. If you can get a high top then great, but otherwise it's ok if you take the pax seat out as your cooking area. Also gives you more lie-down leg room if you are tall.
Larger vans get a lot more expensive on insurance, (and fuel) albeit in the UK, small and panel vans have to pay the same VED rate - less pollution but same ved £, go figure.
Cheap van, provided you can leave it off road, - buy 30 day insurance to take it up there. and pay minimum VED period then SORN it and recover the other months. Re-insure and re-tax when you need to go back on the road.
Provided you keep the tyres pumped up and run the engine periodically to charge things up and rotate the tyres a little bit it'll be fine. Book the new MOT well within the next going-home 30 day minimum insurance period to allow for any repairs.

 

[Tengu]

Is it a big deal to ask for a place to live close to work?

 

[Toddy]

Is it a big deal to ask for a place to live close to work?

In many areas, yes. In Perthshire, which is hotching with second homes....look at Fortingal...there are more names on the cenotaph than there are children in the school, but every house is owned, and mostly empty in Winter.....it has become holiday home central; indeed the crannog centre couldn't exist without tourist income.
If local families can't afford a house, and end up living in caravans, then seasonal staff are unlikely to do much better.

You might try an advert for a room as a lodger in Aberfeldy ? there are folks who would much prefer one known person in their home than deal with constantly changing B&B or airB&B type arrangements. You might get lucky, but they'll want paid, and locally such accomodation is at a premium.

Maybe write to the local paper (The Courier) and see if they'd run an article about looking for digs for students and staff of the centre ?
It can be surprising what turns up

Best of luck sorting it out. I thought you'd be up there by now though ?

 

[Nice65]

Ready made camper vans are expensive.

Not really, mid range Bongo is around £4000-£6000. You could spend that renting a place for 6 months and you'd still need a car to get to work and back.

Also, having a van ready kitted gives such a lot of freedom to travel around Scotland knowing you don't have to google and pre book accommodation, make sure there's food and drink available etc. You can do it in a car, but faffing about with wet clothes or wet awnings and sitting outdoors when you may already be cold and damp is a chore rather than a pleasure.

None of these are hi-tops, but here's an idea.

 

[Broch]

As a young student engineer with the MOD I was often posted on 'detached duty'. Now we got a pretty good detached duty expenses allowance but one of my colleagues camped out on the Chobham moors for the whole of summer (pocketing the expenses no doubt).

My point being, in summer, there are worse ways of living than under a decent sized piece of canvas!

 

[Falstaff]

Local accommodation - I once had a middle-aged entitled cyclist tell me that it was my fault that I needed a car/motorbike, and that I should have got a place to live closer to where I worked.
This was after a Reading Council transport meeting where the cycling lobby were haranguing the council to ban all cars and leave it for walkers and them. The fact that there is a housing shortage in the area and that tradesmen are mobile and need to carry tools mattered not.