Can I sleep in a campervan under the Access Code?

No. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code states plainly that access rights do not include motor vehicles. Sleeping in a vehicle is parking, and it is governed by road traffic law and by whoever owns the land or the car park, not by the Access Code.

Do I need a permit to camp at Loch Lomond?

Inside one of the four Camping Management Zones, between 1 March and 30 September, yes: you need either a campsite booking or a camping permit. A permit costs 4.30 pounds per tent or per motorhome or campervan per night, and the maximum stay in one permit area is three consecutive nights. Outside the zones, and from 1 October to the end of February anywhere in the park, no permit is required.

What happens if I ignore the Loch Lomond byelaws?

The park authority says rangers will offer advice first, but that failure to comply with the byelaws could result in a report to the Procurator Fiscal and a fine of up to 500 pounds.

Scotland wild camping: what the Outdoor Access Code actually allows

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Loch Lomond and the Trossachs: check the park authority's own zone maps and the posted signs before you rely on being outside one of the four Camping Management Zones. The authority describes a zone as running from the affected lochshore to the nearby road and roughly 200m beyond it, or to the nearest visible feature such as a field boundary or track, which is not a boundary you can judge by eye from the road.

Scotland is genuinely different, and it is the reason so much English-language writing about “wild camping in the UK” is wrong. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 created a statutory right of responsible access to most land and inland water, and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code is the official guidance on what exercising it responsibly looks like.

What it covers

The Code’s camping guidance is specific: lightweight camping, in a tent, in small numbers, and for no more than two or three nights in one place. The emphasis on lightweight and on moving on is not decoration. A right that is exercised as a semi-permanent pitch stops being the right the Act describes.

The Code also asks you to use small tents, to camp well away from buildings and roads, to have a backup plan if the area is busy, to avoid enclosed fields of crops or farm animals, and to take away all belongings and litter and leave no trace of your visit.

What it does not cover

It does not cover camping from a vehicle. The Code says it directly: access rights do not include motor vehicles, and if landowners restrict or regulate parking on their land you must respect that. A campervan parked overnight is not exercising access rights. It is parked, and that is a matter for the landowner or the roads authority.

Where it stops: the Loch Lomond byelaws

Access rights can be modified locally, and the clearest example is Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. The park authority introduced camping management byelaws on 1 March 2017. Verified against the authority’s own pages on 20 July 2026:

The zones. There are four Camping Management Zones: West Loch Lomond, East Loch Lomond, Trossachs West and Trossachs North. Together they cover less than 4% of the national park. The authority describes each zone as running from the affected lochshore to the nearby road, and for roughly 200m on the other side of the road, or to the nearest visible feature such as a field boundary or a track.
The season. The byelaws apply each year from 1 March to 30 September. For the rest of the year you can camp inside a Camping Management Zone without a permit, in accordance with the Access Code.
What they require. Inside a zone, in season, camping is only possible in a campsite or with a camping permit. A permit costs 4.30 pounds per tent or per motorhome or campervan per night. The maximum stay in one permit area is three consecutive nights, and you can arrive from 1pm and must leave by 11am on the day of departure.
Fires. The byelaws also cover irresponsible fire-lighting and collecting wood, including chopping trees for firewood. If you want a fire, the authority requires you to build it where it will cause no damage or to use a fire bowl, and to bring your own wood.
Vehicles. Yes, the byelaws apply to vehicles. The authority states that they affect anyone staying on and around the covered lochshores in season “whether they are in a tent, motorhome, campervan or caravan”. Motorhome and campervan permits exist at three locations only: Firkin Point and Inveruglas on the west side of Loch Lomond, and Three Lochs Forest Drive near Aberfoyle. A motorhome permit assigns you a specific location and a numbered parking bay. A 3 pound vehicle charge also applies at Three Lochs Forest Drive. The authority says the permit areas are not suitable for caravans.
Lay-bys. The authority states that you do not need a permit to stop in an official lay-by that forms part of the roads network, and that lay-bys are intended as rest stops rather than extended stays. Passing places are not lay-bys and must be kept clear.
Penalty. Failure to comply could result in a report to the Procurator Fiscal and a fine of up to 500 pounds.

Elsewhere in Scotland

Check the local authority or park authority page for wherever you are actually going. The Access Code’s camping page names only Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park under seasonal camping restrictions, and then says generally that byelaws restrict camping in some areas, so the byelaw that affects your night is not necessarily listed anywhere central. The body that made it will have it on its own site.

The sign wins

Where a posted sign or the current guidance of the local authority or park authority differs from this page, they are right and this page is out of date. Zone boundaries, permit prices and seasons change. Check before you rely on it.