Edinburgh to Skye in 1 day: possible or completely nuts?
May 30th, 2011, 12:48 PM
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Edinburgh to Skye in 1 day: possible or completely nuts?
I am starting to plan our first trip back to Europe after more than 3 years. It will be a brief (~8-night) trip to Scotland with 3 target destinations: (1) Edinburgh, (2) Skye, and (3) exploring my husband's ancestry south of Glasgow. I will post an itinerary later with more detailed questions, but right now what I want to know is whether I am totally nuts to consider driving all the way from Edinburgh to Skye (Portree) in one day. The distance Google gives me is ~240 miles and just over 5 hours driving time. We would NOT be doing this jet-lagged, and we are familiar with Scottish driving conditions. I know there are plenty of interesting places to stop along the way, but I am trying to maximize our time on Skye for this trip (hopefully 3 nights).
Those who remember me may recall our adventurous 18-day grand tour of the UK in 2006. We are experienced road-trippers who don't mind long hours in the car, but this time we will be traveling with my mother-in-law and a 3-year-old, so we will need to cater to their needs. The 3-year-old has traveled more than 4 hours by car in the past. Your input & experience is greatly appreciated.
Those who remember me may recall our adventurous 18-day grand tour of the UK in 2006. We are experienced road-trippers who don't mind long hours in the car, but this time we will be traveling with my mother-in-law and a 3-year-old, so we will need to cater to their needs. The 3-year-old has traveled more than 4 hours by car in the past. Your input & experience is greatly appreciated.
May 30th, 2011, 01:17 PM
#2
Yep - I remember your grand tour 
That is totally doable most of the time. What time of year? And on a weekday or weekend?
I'd give it a good 6 hours, but during the summer it will be light VERY late so you could stop several places and still get into Portree in daylight.
But on a summer weekend the traffic can be slow due to the caravans and coaches on the two lane roads.
There are two different routes that take about the same time (over the bridge or via ferry).
That is totally doable most of the time. What time of year? And on a weekday or weekend?
I'd give it a good 6 hours, but during the summer it will be light VERY late so you could stop several places and still get into Portree in daylight.
But on a summer weekend the traffic can be slow due to the caravans and coaches on the two lane roads.
There are two different routes that take about the same time (over the bridge or via ferry).
May 30th, 2011, 01:25 PM
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Hi janisj! I was hoping you'd respond; you are always so rational! We will be going in mid-September, so we know the days won't be quite as long as when we made our June trip. Our itinerary is in no way set in stone yet but right now I do have the drive slated for a Sunday. I imagine there should not be as much tourist traffic at that time of year, so hopefully that will not be a huge problem. We will probably drive over the bridge so as not to have to worry about making a ferry time.
Any suggestions for a good stop or two en route that would please an active little girl?
Any suggestions for a good stop or two en route that would please an active little girl?
May 30th, 2011, 01:46 PM
#4
If you go via the bridge you might take the northern route up the A9 and across the A86 to Spean Bridge. On that route stops could include Dunkeld, Blair Atholl/Blair Castle and Eilean Donan.
Me personally -- I'd probably take the southern route though it would be a wee bit longer. A84/A82 (and then your choice of Mallaig/ferry or up to Kyle/bridge) This route would take you through the Trossachs and Glencoe. Stops could include Doune Castle (Stirling castle just takes too much time and I wouldn't stop there if I was doing a long distance drive), the Falls of Dochart and Glencoe.
If you DID go via Mallaig you could also stop at Glenfinnan.
In mid-Sept there is still nearly 14 hours of daylight. And even if there was weekend traffic --on a Sunday you'd be traveling against the flow since folks would be heading home then.
Me personally -- I'd probably take the southern route though it would be a wee bit longer. A84/A82 (and then your choice of Mallaig/ferry or up to Kyle/bridge) This route would take you through the Trossachs and Glencoe. Stops could include Doune Castle (Stirling castle just takes too much time and I wouldn't stop there if I was doing a long distance drive), the Falls of Dochart and Glencoe.
If you DID go via Mallaig you could also stop at Glenfinnan.
In mid-Sept there is still nearly 14 hours of daylight. And even if there was weekend traffic --on a Sunday you'd be traveling against the flow since folks would be heading home then.
May 30th, 2011, 02:10 PM
#6
Just to give you something to chew over . . .
The drive is doable - long of course, but you knew that.
But if you <i>did</i> break the journey somewhere, it really wouldn't take very much time away from Skye and you might be more rested.
For instance if you stopped at a B&B in Glencoe or Ballachulish, or Spean Bridge/Invergarry - you could leave early the next morning and be on Skye by 10:00 and in Portree by 11:00. This might be a less hectic option.
The drive is doable - long of course, but you knew that.
But if you <i>did</i> break the journey somewhere, it really wouldn't take very much time away from Skye and you might be more rested.
For instance if you stopped at a B&B in Glencoe or Ballachulish, or Spean Bridge/Invergarry - you could leave early the next morning and be on Skye by 10:00 and in Portree by 11:00. This might be a less hectic option.
May 31st, 2011, 01:19 PM
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Good info to chew on, thank you. (You are certainly rational MOST of the time!)
Hubby and I have done the Trossachs/Glen Coe route and we saw Doune Castle and Stirling on our last trip, so that's why I was considering the northern route this time (I agree that Stirling is too much for this day). However, my mother-in-law has not seen Glen Coe, so I will give her that option (and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing it again). Is the A9/A86 route not as scenic as A84/A82?
You do bring up a good point about splitting the drive by stopping somewhere in the West Highlands. Perhaps we could even stop at Eilean Donan the next morning en route to Skye. This would certainly make more sense than going back to visit Eilean Donan once we are on Skye. (Originally I was going to give it a pass due to its high touristy factor, but now that I have read up on the castle, it sounds like it is well worth the visit.)
I am now considering this option more seriously because it looks like we might make a long day's drive from Skye down to Strathaven, where we will be doing our ancestry research. I was planning to split that drive with a night near Oban, but my MIL really wants to maximize our time in Strathaven. I'd rather not make two crazy day-long drives in this one short trip. So if you had to choose, which would you split up, the drive from Edinburgh to Skye, or the drive from Skye to Glasgow/Strathaven?
Hubby and I have done the Trossachs/Glen Coe route and we saw Doune Castle and Stirling on our last trip, so that's why I was considering the northern route this time (I agree that Stirling is too much for this day). However, my mother-in-law has not seen Glen Coe, so I will give her that option (and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing it again). Is the A9/A86 route not as scenic as A84/A82?
You do bring up a good point about splitting the drive by stopping somewhere in the West Highlands. Perhaps we could even stop at Eilean Donan the next morning en route to Skye. This would certainly make more sense than going back to visit Eilean Donan once we are on Skye. (Originally I was going to give it a pass due to its high touristy factor, but now that I have read up on the castle, it sounds like it is well worth the visit.)
I am now considering this option more seriously because it looks like we might make a long day's drive from Skye down to Strathaven, where we will be doing our ancestry research. I was planning to split that drive with a night near Oban, but my MIL really wants to maximize our time in Strathaven. I'd rather not make two crazy day-long drives in this one short trip. So if you had to choose, which would you split up, the drive from Edinburgh to Skye, or the drive from Skye to Glasgow/Strathaven?
May 31st, 2011, 04:01 PM
#10
OMG -- TWO hellacious drives w/ Skye squished in the middle
Portree to Strathaven is another 6 hour drive.
One way to cut nearly an hour from BOTH drives -- don't stay in Portree. Somewhere like Kyleakin/Broadford/Isleornsay instead would cut 50-60 minutes both to and from the island. It would make some of the drives touring around Skye a little longer -- but not all of them
(both routes to Skye are scenic and it helps that you've been through the Trossachs/Doune/etc. But I agree that it would be a shame to miss Glencoe)
Portree to Strathaven is another 6 hour drive.
One way to cut nearly an hour from BOTH drives -- don't stay in Portree. Somewhere like Kyleakin/Broadford/Isleornsay instead would cut 50-60 minutes both to and from the island. It would make some of the drives touring around Skye a little longer -- but not all of them
(both routes to Skye are scenic and it helps that you've been through the Trossachs/Doune/etc. But I agree that it would be a shame to miss Glencoe)
May 31st, 2011, 06:30 PM
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Well it wouldn't be a good hausfrau-style road trip without a couple of hellacious drives now, would it? (This coming from someone who drove from York to Dover in one day.)
You can blame it all on me because I'm the one who's obsessed with visiting Skye. Perhaps I really am nuts. I am certainly happy to consider other options for bases on Skye. I liked the looks of Portree and found a nice B&B right in town that I think would be great for our family, but I will research the other locations you suggested as well.
I just confirmed with my mother-in-law tonight that she has not seen Glen Coe, so I think we will probably take that route and stop overnight. So we'll break up the drive from Edinburgh to Skye and then make the hellacious Skye to Strathaven drive in one day. ;-)
alihutch, according to my mother-in-law Strathaven is pronounced as "Straven" with a long "a". Please correct me if she's wrong!
Nonconformist, my mother-in-law has done much of the leg work already. She visited Strathaven and environs a few years ago and located several ancestral homes. This trip is intended mostly for her to show us the homes, tour the region, and perhaps visit with some of the present owners. Since we will be traveling with a 3-year-old we don't plan to get bogged down in much further research.
You can blame it all on me because I'm the one who's obsessed with visiting Skye. Perhaps I really am nuts. I am certainly happy to consider other options for bases on Skye. I liked the looks of Portree and found a nice B&B right in town that I think would be great for our family, but I will research the other locations you suggested as well.
I just confirmed with my mother-in-law tonight that she has not seen Glen Coe, so I think we will probably take that route and stop overnight. So we'll break up the drive from Edinburgh to Skye and then make the hellacious Skye to Strathaven drive in one day. ;-)
alihutch, according to my mother-in-law Strathaven is pronounced as "Straven" with a long "a". Please correct me if she's wrong!
Nonconformist, my mother-in-law has done much of the leg work already. She visited Strathaven and environs a few years ago and located several ancestral homes. This trip is intended mostly for her to show us the homes, tour the region, and perhaps visit with some of the present owners. Since we will be traveling with a 3-year-old we don't plan to get bogged down in much further research.
