Wigwam® Holidays Review (Strathfillan)

* We were guests of Wigwam Holidays *
We recently stayed at Strathfillan Wigwam^® Village as part of our two week Scotland road trip, so we are sharing with you all the details about the site, the pros and cons and how it compared to other Wigwam^® Holiday sites, as we have stayed in a few now. If you love camping and want a bit more adventure in your life, then Wigwam^® Cabins are for you.

The Strathfillan Wigwam Village is actually on a working farm in Scotland's West Highlands. Sitting amongst the wooded glens of Trossachs National Park and near the famous Loch Lomond, it is a great spot for if you fancy glamping in the Highlands.

Wigwam holidays Strathfillan

This Wigwam^® Site is noticeably bigger and more crowded than other ones we have stayed in, but that can be a positive or a negative depending on what you are looking for. As you arrive on the site down a gravel track your are greeted by the reception/shop hut , 'The Trading Post' which is where you check in.

The shop is definitely the best stocked we have come across on any of these trips, which would be ideal if you didn't bring anything with you for your first night. The Trading Post stocks a wide variety of food and gifts and features quality assured lamb, mutton, and beef. You can also buy logs and peat for burning in your own fire bin, charcoal and barbecue kits all also for sale.

Avery soon spotted a little Paw Patrol sweet/toy by the counter and whilst that usually annoys me as I end up being nagged in to buying everything, it was welcomed after a long drive as it cheered her up. The shop has lots of snacks, crisps and biscuits, as well as all your basics like milk and bread. The cafe in the shop provides Kenco coffee and other hot drinks and delicious bacon rolls, which is handy for a lazy breakfast.

Check-in was easy and we were given the key with the number of the cabin we were staying in on, however when we drove up to find our cabin, not all of them were numbered so we had no idea which one was ours! By a process of elimination and trying the key in a few doors, we were in and ready to get settled.

Running Water Deluxe Wigwam

We were staying in a Running Water Deluxe Wigwam^® Cabin and what I love about these is that they are all the same, no matter which site you are staying at. You know exactly what you are getting and they never disappoint. They are basic, but they have pretty much everything you could want on a glamping trip.

The Wigwam Cabins are compact, but enough space for 4 people that know each other well, clean and nice and warm which is very welcomed if you are staying in the winter months. If you are staying in the summer like us, then you will want to have the doors and windows open to let some fresh air in.

The only trouble is, keeping the doors and windows open let the millions of midges in, who will feast on you! These little flying insects are well known in these parts of Scotland and Dave got covered in bites from everywhere we stayed on this trip. Of course this isn't a criticism of this site, as they are everywhere in Scotland in the summer months. But it is just something to be aware of when choosing the time of year to go, as unfortunately it meant we couldn't spend much time outside or have a fire which was a shame.

The Running Water Deluxe Wigwam

The Running Water Deluxe Wigwam Cabin (there are other cabins available with different facilities and sleeping arrangements) comes with a double bed, a sofa that turns in to a second double bed, a shower room with toilet, and a kitchen and dining area. Everything is open plan, with just the bathroom behind a separate door.

Cooking in a Wigwam

The kitchen has mostly everything you would need for a short stay. There were no actual bowls, just deep plates and no sharp chopping knife, but we managed anyway and managed to whip up some tasty meals. There are so many great eating options around (Green Welly Stop, Drovers Inn, Inverarnan, the Old Flax Mill, Glen Dochart or Bridge of Orchy Hotel), that you might not even need to use the kitchen. But we liked being able to make breakfast in it as we are always up early with the kids.

The dining area has seating for 4 and makes a handy extra storage area when you are not eating and there is a TV above it which has Freeview channels. I know TV shouldn't be an important factor when on a trip like this, but when you have kids it can be handy to put on for 20 minutes in the morning whilst you are packing everything up. It was especially handy as unfortunately the internet was not good.

To WiFi or not to Wifi?

We were given a WiFi code when we checked in, however we soon realised as we go in to our cabin (one of the furthest away from reception) that the signal didn't reach that far. This obviously won't be a problem for anyone who wants a welcomed break from the internet, however for us, who needed to work, it wasn't ideal. Our WiFi was complimentary as part of this review, however if we had paid for it we would have been disappointed that it didn't reach our cabin.

You could have sat outside the shop and used it though. There is also no 3G/4G on site either - which might be a pro for some. However, The Green Welly Stop (which is a couple of minutes down the road) has free WiFi and a great cafe and HUGE shop which has every camping/walking supplies you could think of.

Sleeping in Wigwam

The beds are actually really comfortable. The foam mattresses are pretty thick, the bedding (which you have to hire separately or bring your own) is clean and cosy and we all had a great nights sleep - even the kids. If you are thinking of coming here with a baby, my advice would be to do it! Ziggy was only 7 weeks old when we stayed here and he was happy and slept peacefully. We took our travel pop-up baby tent with us and that was on the double bed with me, whilst Dave and Avery were on the sofa bed.

Despite it being a big site with a lot of cabins on it, it was completely quiet at night which we loved. During the day there are lots of friendly people milling about and always a member of staff around doing maintenance/cleaning if you have any questions.

What we loved about thus site, that there wasn't at others, was just how much there was for kids to do. You can walk around and explore the farm, see the chickens, see the little waterfall on site and they even have a little gold panning centre set up (for an additional fee). They also have a little trail you can go on looking for animal pictures - almost like a scavenger hunt. 

Around the area

Whilst there is a lot to do on site if you don't want to go far or explore much, this site is in a stunning part of Scotland, with so much to see and do within an hour drive. We wanted to see as much as possible, so we were out most of the day.

We drove the road to Glencoe, which was some of the most stunning scenery of our whole trip, stopping off at rivers, lochs and waterfalls. It was just beautiful. We travelled north from the Wigwam site and completed a 93 mile loop (that we are calling the Glen Coe Loop. From the small town of Tyndrum (where the Green Welly Stop is) we headed to Bridge of Orchy and it's famous bridge, which crosses the River Orchy - one of the finest white-water rivers in the UK. From there we continued along the A82 through Glen Coe into the village of Glencoe, famed for the massacre of 30 Clan MacDonald members in 1692. After visiting the small village we continued down the coast to Portnacroish for lunch with views of the stunning Castle Stalker. Next we headed east across the top of the beautiful Loch Awe and then back to Tyndrum taking in views of the impressive mountain Ben Lui. More on this trip in a separate post.

As well as this amazing driving loop, other great places to visit near Strathfillan are the town of Crianlarich, the mountain Ben More, the mountain range of Black Mount, Loch Tulla, Loch Iubhair (pronounced yoo-ar) and the Falls of Falloch. All of which are well worth a visit.

We had such a great stay at Strathfillan Wigwam Village and we would definitely call ourselves Wigwamers now. The facilities were great, there was lots on site to do and the scenery was stunning. It's also great value too if you are looking for something a bit different from a hotel, but don't actually want to camp.

Avery loved exploring the outside area, collecting stones and sitting on the cabin step counting them. If your kids have a bit of adventure in their soul, then they would love it here. The location is great, but if you are looking for a different area then there are over 80 Wigwam^® Holidays locations in the UK. We can't wait to discover some more.