Cynthia8

We are taking our first trip to Scotland (9 days) in early May. We have reserved four nights in Edinburgh (we can't go for less time because my daughter is meeting us with only two days left in Edinburgh and we want to visit St. Andrews) and then wish to leave early the next day to possibly tour Stirling Castle and then drive to a relatively interesting town (possibly as far as Mallaig?) for the night. We were thinking of going to Skye by ferry but would the drive to the bridge provide nice scenery? Unless the ferry is especially nice we wouldn't have to do it. We will stay on Skye for two nights to hopefully maximize the chance for good weather. Is 2 nights enough on this length trip? To get to Skye from Edinburgh, we are interested in a scenic drive (through the Glencoe Valley? and then the Road to the Isles?) My question is, is this too much in a day? If so, the first thing we would probably remove is Stirling Castle and do that as a day trip from Edinburgh.) We are already doing a day trip to the Falkirk Wheel and Kelpies so could we combine the castle with that? However, we could change the trip in any way. We had planned a day trip from Edinburgh to St. Andrews but I noticed someone in another topic said that St. Andrews was a long day trip. I had thought it was around an hour to get there by car? Thank you so much for any suggestions you might make!

janisj

Two nights will only give you a little over one day on Skye really -- Edinburgh > Stirling and about 3 hours there means driving on to Mallaig or Kyle impractical. Because you'd also want to stop other places -- Glencoe at minimum . . . and the drive alone is more than 5 hours.

So since you would need to break your journey someplace, you would not get to say Portree until well after lunch the next day.

Re how to get to Skye -- you take one mode over and the other back. Ferry to / bridge back or vice versa since the drive time is almost identical.

It would definitely help if you did Stirling as a day trip from Edinburgh.

But even then w/ stops at Glencoe and Glenfinnan, Edinburgh to Mallaig will take an entire day and Mallaig is no place to stay.

>>but I noticed someone in another topic said that St. Andrews was a long day trip. I had thought it was around an hour to get there by car? <<

It is a long day trip not because of the time it takes to get to St Andrews (1.5 to 2 hours from central Edinburgh) , but because there is so much to see in the East Neuk. St Andrews itself is worth at least 4 hours (more on a Sunday when the whole Old Course is a big park and one can walk anywhere on the course), then there are the fishing villages like Crail and Anstruther.

Gardyloo

So you have 9 nights total of which 4 are in Edinburgh? Are you arriving in Scotland at Edinburgh and also departing from there? Or is this part of a longer trip?

The good news is that daylight is getting long in May (you're pretty far north, after all) so doing day trips to the likes of Stirling or Fife is doable within the context of your own energy. For me (and people are different) stopping in Stirling en route to the Highlands tends to be somewhat exhausting.

(And at the risk of heresy I'll just say I'm not <i>that</i> knocked out by Stirling Castle. Unless you're a castle connoisseur or fascinated by Scottish military history, the differential impact of a visit to Stirling Castle v. the same time and cost visiting Edinburgh Castle is not that great, especially if the alternative is spending the same hours in the likes of Glen Etive or along the Road to the Isles. Fire away.)

I tend to be pretty aggressive on what works as a day's drive in Scotland, but if your aim is scenery then one day on Skye is probably enough, if you count the "entry and exit" scenery of offer on the Road to the Isles in one direction and the Kyle - Eilean Donan Castle route in the other. Skye to Edinburgh via the Kyle bridge is a long but doable day's drive (5 or 6 hours) which is long by British standards but not especially arduous by North American or Australian ones.

In May your chances of inclement weather in the Highlands is 50-50, but that's the way it goes; in my mind the key is to have enough variety and flexibility with your destinations that a day of poor weather is just an opportunity to see something different. On Skye, for example, a wet and windy day is (IMO) ideal for heading out for a loop of the Trotternish Peninsula (e.g. Uig) arguably the most traditional (Gaelic-speaking) part of the island, where the wind blows and the sheep huddle. It's very scenic (cliffs, the Storr, bays and maybe a peek at the Western Isles) but, in a pinch, viewable from car windows.

Here's an imaginary touring route covering your nine days. https://goo.gl/maps/xNY57NpzYxG2

And here's a timetable -

1 Edinburgh
2 Edinburgh
3 Edinburgh - Fife day trip
4 Edinburgh
5 Edinburgh - Plockton
6 Day on Skye
7 Day on Skye
8 Skye - Mallaig - Glenfinnan - Glen Coe
9 Glen Coe - Glen Etive - Edinburgh

The longest day is Day 5, with a drive to Plockton, a picturesque village a short drive from the Kyle bridge. It would save some driving time compared to continuing on to Portree, but from Plockton you're on the doorstep of Skye and can plan your attack of the island with great flexibility.

I'd have you returning to Edinburgh via the Mallaig ferry and the Road to the Isles, with an overnight in Glen Coe. On the last day you'd visit Glen Etive for a last look at wild Highland scenery before crossing the Rannoch Moor on your way back to the central belt.

Of course this is completely reversible.

But just one idea out of many possibilities.

janisj

Gardyloo give good advice . . . but >>which is long by British standards but not especially arduous by North American or Australian ones. <<

5 or 6 hours on I-5 is not at all similar to 5-6 hours on the two lane/scenic/rural roads you will be on. Especially w/ all the photo op stops, free range livestock and wildlife, and caravans (travel trailers).

Plan on averaging about 35MPH

Gardyloo

<i>5 or 6 hours on I-5 is not at all similar to 5-6 hours on the two lane/scenic/rural roads you will be on.</i>

Of course, and I know we can go round and round on this, but my philosophy on 5 or 6 hour drives (wheels turning) in Scotland is that one should look at the whole day.

If one is starting from, say, Edinburgh at 9 AM, then six hours at 35mph will get you 210 miles, or roughly to Plockton. But six clock hours from 9 AM is only 3 PM, with probably six more daylight hours remaining.

It's not like you're going to be queuing for a table at one of Plockton's Michelin starred restaurants or something; you'll most likely get to your lodging and walk to a pub for a pint and a pie (or, being Plockton, something artisanal ) and that's that for the day. Meaning the six hours wheels turning IS the attraction for the day, and one still has plenty of time for lunch or nature breaks, side roads, photo ops, you name it. And while 35mph might be a good overall average with all roads, it's going to get you run over on the A9 or M90.

But different strokes, YMMV and all that.

janisj

>> . . . is only 3 PM, with probably six more daylight hours remaining.<<

But that is with no stops -- no Glencoe, or Killin, or Balquhiddar,or Spean Bridge, or Eilean Donan. A 5 or 6 hour 'wheels turning' drive will normally eat up 9 or 10 hours all in - sometimes significantly more.

Gardyloo

Yes but my point is that even if adding those stops means it take 9 hours from 9 AM, that's only 6 PM on the clock, plenty of time to get settled in for the night. You won't have to hurry to make a theater curtain in Plockton or Sligachan.

janisj

Just so folks realize that a 125 - 150 mile journey (that we might take on the West coast USA for a nice lunch) will be an ALL day journey in these regions.