How Euro fans from Scotland survived epic 1,500-mile quest to watch their heroes play Germany: From beds in Belgium to a campervan packed with bottles of Buckfast

Four Scotland fan mates have toasted their arrival into Germany with cans of Tennent's and bottles of Buckfast - after an epic 1500 mile, two-day journey aboard a specially modified camper van.

James Reddy, Tam Stevenson, Callum Armstrong, and Campbell Browne, all aged 25, left their home in Paisley at 6am on Tuesday and finally rolled into Munich just before 10pm on Wednesday evening.

They spent 40 hours travelling through Scotland, England, France, Belgium and Luxembourg before crossing into Germany and heading to Bavaria for tonight's Euro 2024 curtain-raiser against the tournament hosts.

To keep themselves occupied on their mammoth journey, they rang Glasgow radio station Clyde1 to share their views on Scotland's chances, played a football knowledge quiz with different categories on World Cups, Euros and the Scottish league and enjoyed a kickabout on the forecourt of Wetherby Services off the A1.

The first part of their adventure started when the four St Mirren fans drove from Paisley down to Preston, Lancashire, to hire a Sunlight A70 motorhome before returning home north of the border to continue packing.

They then set off all the way down to Dover - pausing along the way to cook pizzas - before crossing the Channel to Calais and overnighting just after midnight in a car park in the city of Tournai, Belgium.

They continued their quest to reach Munich on Wednesday, driving more than nine hours across Belgium and Luxembourg into Southern Germany.

The friends finally made it to Riem on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night where they have hired a one-bedroom apartment - because it has a driveway for the campervan and so designated driver Tam has the luxury of his own bedroom.

Their week-long trip is only costing £300 per person and their motorhome - which is bedecked with the Scottish flag - sleeps three of them and meets all their cooking requirements. Plus, it has a fridge for the beer.

James, who is in the Royal Navy, said: 'It started out as a joke at first because Tam is the one who always does the driving when we go away and watch St Mirren and we were badgering him to drive us to the Euros.

'But the more we joked about it - the more sensible it seemed. We did the costings of what it would cost doing it this way compared to flying over and booking a hotel and it worked out slightly cheaper - but it's way more fun and much more of a laugh.

'It was cheaper to hire the van from Preston than anywhere more locally, but we had to head back to Scotland before starting the trip proper as we had too much stuff to bring with us so had to go back and get it.

'We've got everything we need in the motorhome, it sleeps up to six people and as there's just four of us and only three are sleeping here we've filled the available space with beer and Buckfast, rolls and square sausage - it's a little bit of Scotland in Germany!'

Tam, an air traffic controller, said: 'It's all about the experience.

'How else could we get to Germany and stop off on the A1 services at Wetherby to have a penalty shootout using two electric car charging stations as goalposts!

'We've taken goalie gloves, two footballs and cones to pass the time and we stop to cook pizzas.

'This is our first-time following Scotland abroad; we got the train down to London for the England vs Scotland game at the last Euros, but this is our first real taste of tournament football and we're going to have an absolute blast'

Tens of thousands of Scotland fans have flooded sun-kissed Munich with many more expected before the match tonight.

And the Tartan Army have proved so thirsty that some of the city's bars and beer halls have reportedly run out of beer already.

Scots fans in kilts and Scotland tops have mixed happily with locals, joining in with Oompah bands and singing songs with Germany supporters.

Callum, who works in marketing, said: 'We've been given a warm welcome so far, there's a real party vibe in Munich. The place is awash with the Tartan Army.

'We got a few funny looks when we pulled up to the apartment last night. It seems to be a quiet, fairly well-to-do area and then the four of us rock up in our camper van with a Scottish flag covering the back of it.

'Tam gets to sleep in the apartment as he's doing all the driving, but it makes it easier to get dressed and go out. The problem is the driveway we booked the apartment for is too small for the motorhome, so we've had to park down the street.

'But it's all been good. A few of us have tried the local delicacies already like Schnitzel. This is what we've come for - to experience the excitement of a big football tournament and create memories that'll last forever.'

Campbell, a police officer, added: 'There's nothing better than hanging out with your pals, soaking up the sun and watching Scotland.

'How well we do against the Germans - who knows? We've not had a great run recently, but we tend to fare better against the bigger sides.

'It's also a competitive game now and the opening match so anything can happen.'