Yelpir

Here is my final Scotland itinerary in all its horrendous detail:

Thu Sep 11 – Lake District to Callander

The route:
- Leave the B&B at 9:30am
- Drive to Falkirk (arrive approx 1:00pm)
- Lunch in Falkirk
- Visit the Falkirk Wheel
- Leave Falkirk by 2:30pm
- Drive to Stirling (arrive approx 3:00pm)
- View Stirling Castle
- Leave Stirling by 4:30pm)
- Drive to Callander (arrive approx 5:00pm)

Accommodation: Arden House (GBP70)


Fri Sep 12 – Out and about in the Trossachs

Tour 1 (Half day):
- Callander
- Loch Katrine (Trossacks Pier Complex, SS Sir Walter Scott)
- Aberfoyle (Scottish Wool Centre, Trossacks Discovery Centre, Forest Park Visitors
Centre)
- Port of Menteith (Inchmahome Priory)
- Doune (Doune Castle)
- Callander

The rest of the day at leisure in Callander

Accommodation: As above (GBP70)

Sat Sep 13 - Out and about in the Trossachs

Tour 2 (Full day):
- Callander
- Pass of Leny (Falls of Leny)
- Balquhidder (Rob Roy’s grave, Loch Voil)
- Killin (Falls of Dochart, Falls of Lochay and fishlift)
- Loch Tay (Ben Lawers)
- Kenmore (Taymouth Castle)
- Aberfeldy
- Cablea
- Sma’ Glen
- Crieff
- Comrie
- Loch Earn
- Lochearnhead (Edinample Falls)
- Callander

Accommodation: As above (GBP70)

Sun Sep 14 – Callander to Fionnphort

The route:
- Depart Callander: 9:30am
- Drive to Luss (1:12)
- Arrive Luss 11:00am
- Luss photo-op 20 mins
- Depart Luss 11:20am
- Drive to Glencoe (1:21)
- Arrive Glencoe 1:15pm
- Lunch in Glencoe (0:30)
- Depart Glencoe 1:45pm
- Drive to Oban (1:03)
- Arrive Oban 3:15pm
- Depart Oban (ferry) 4:00pm
- Ferry to Craignure (0:50)
- Arrive Craignure 4:50pm
- Depart Craignure 5:00pm
- Drive to Fionnphort (1:00)
- Arrive Fionnphort: 6:00pm

Accommodation: Seaview B&B (GBP62)

Mon Sep 15 – Out and about on Mull

Check out of B&B at 9:00am

Boat trip to Staffa and Iona:
- Depart Fionnphort (ferry) 9:15am (GBP16)
- Arrive Iona 9:25am
- Depart Iona for Staffa 9:45am
- Travel to Staffa and back (3:00)
- Arrive Iona 1:00pm
- Depart Iona (Ferry) 1:15pm
- Arrive Fionnphort 1:25pm

The Mull tour route:
- Depart Fionnphort 1:30pm
- Drive to fork (0:36)
- Arrive fork 2:10pm
- Depart the fork 2:10pm
- Drive to Gruline via Balnahard (0:34)
- Arrive Gruline 2:55pm
- Depart Gruline 2:55pm
- Drive to Dervaig via Calgary (0:46)
- Arrive Dervaig 4:00pm
- Depart Dervaig 4:10pm
- Drive to Tobermory (0:14)
- Arrive Tobermory 4:30pm
- Depart Tobermory 4:45pm
- Drive to Salen (0:20)
- Arrive Salen 5:15pm
- Depart Salen 5:30pm
- Drive to Craignure (0:22)
- Arrive Craignure 6:00pm

Accommodation: Linnhe View B&B (GBP62)

Tue Sep 16 – Mull to Skye (Broadford)

The route:
- Depart Craignure 9:00am
- Drive to Fishnish (0:22)
- Arrive Fishnish 9:30am
- Depart Fishnish (ferry) 10:00am (not booked)
- Ferry to Lochaline (0:15) (prepaid)
- Arrive Lochaline 10:15am
- Depart Lochaline 10:20am
- Drive to Ardgour (1:00)
- Arrive Ardgour: 11:20am
- Depart Ardgour (ferry) 11:30am (not booked)
- Ferry to Nether Lochaber (0:05) (GBP5-20)
- Arrive Nether Lochaber 11:35am
- Depart Nether Lochaber 11:40am
- Drive to Fort William (0:20)
- Arrive Fort William: 12:00pm
- Visit Glen Nevis (1:00)
- Arrive Fort William 1:00pm
- Lunch in Fort William (0:45)
- Depart Fort William: 1:45pm
- Drive to Mallaig (1:00)
- Arrive Mallaig: 3:45pm
- Depart Mallaig 4:25pm
- Arrive Armadale 4:55pm
- Depart Armadale 5:00pm
- Drive to Broadford (0:31)
- Arrive Broadford: 5:45pm

Accommodation: Strathgorm B&B (GBP56)

Wed Sep 17 – Out and about on Skye

The route:
- Depart Broadford 9:00am
- Drive to Sligachan Hotel (0:32)
- Arrive Sligachan Hotel 9:45am
- Depart Sligachan Hotel 10:00am
- Drive to Dunvegan (0:44)
- Arrive Dunvegan 11:15am
- Depart Dunvegan 11:30am
- Drive to Uig (1:00)
- Arrive Uig 1:30pm
- Depart Uig 2:00pm
- Drive to Portree via Trotternish (1:10)
- Arrive Portree 4:30pm
- Depart Portree 5:00pm
- Drive to Broadford (0:50)
- Arrive Broadford 6:00pm

Accommodation: As above (GBP56)


Thu Sep 18 – Broadford to Gairloch

The route:
- Depart Broadford 9:00am
- Drive to Eilean Donan Castle (0:30)
- Arrive Eilean Donan 9:30am
- Depart Eilean Donan 9:45am
- Drive to Plockton (0:20)
- Arrive Plockton 10:15am
- Depart Plockton 10:45am
- Drive to Applecross (1:30)
- Arrive Applecross 12:45pm
- Depart Applecross 1:15pm
- Drive to Toscaig and back (0:20)
- Depart Applecross 1:45pm
- Drive to Shieldaig (0:45)
- Arrive Shieldaig 3:00pm
- Depart Shieldaig 3:15pm
- Drive to Gairloch (1:15)
- Arrive Gairloch 5:00pm

Accommodation: Kerrysdale House (GBP62)

Fri Sep 19 - Gairloch to Durness

The long route:
- Leave Gairloch 9:00am
- Drive to Ullapool (1:43)
- Arrive Ullapool 11:30am
- Depart Ullapool 12:00
- Drive to Drumrunie (0:20)
- Arrive Drumrunie 12:30
- Depart Drumrunie 12:30
- Drive to Reiff (1:07)
- Arrive Reiff 2:00pm
- Depart Reiff 2:15pm
- Drive to Lochinver (1:22)
- Arrive Lochinver 4:15pm
- Depart Lochinver 4:15pm
- Drive to Drumbeg (0:38)
- Arrive Drumbeg 5:00pm
- Depart Drumbeg 5:00pm
- Drive to Scourie (0:46)
- Arrive Scourie 6:00pm
- Depart Scourie 6:00pm
- Drive to Durness (0:50)
- Arrive Durness 7:00pm

The short route:
- Leave Gairloch 9:00am
- Drive to Ullapool (1:43)
- Arrive Ullapool 11:30am
- Depart Ullapool 12:00
- Drive to Durness (2:13)
- Arrive Durness 3:00pm

Accommodation: Wild Orchid Guest House (GBP54)

Sat Sep 20 – Durness to Inverness

The route:
- Depart Durness 9:00am
- Drive to Strathnaver turnoff (1:20)
- Arrive Strathnaver turnoff 11:00am
- Depart Strathnaver turnoff 11:00am
- Drive to Altnaharra (1:00)
- Arrive Altnaharra 12:30pm
- Depart Altnaharra 12:30pm
- Drive to Lairg (0:42)
- Arrive Lairg 1:30pm
- Depart Lairg 1:45pm
- Drive to Inverness (1:34)
- Arrive Inverness 3:45pm

Accommodation: Dionard Guest House (GBP60)

Sun Sep 21 – Inverness to Edinburgh

The route:
- Depart Inverness 9:00am
- Drive to Aviemore (0:45)
- Arrive Aviemore 10:00am
- Depart Aviemore 10:15am
- Drive to Pitlochry (1:19)
- Arrive Arrive Pitlochry 12:15pm
- Depart Pitlochry 12:45pm
- Drive to Birnam (0:22)
- Arrive Birnam 1:15pm
- Depart Birnam 3:15pm
- Drive to Edinburgh (1:15)
- Arrive Edinburgh 5:00pm
- Book into B&B
- Drop car at Edinburgh Airport by 6:00pm

Accommodation: The Beverley (GBP70)

Mon Sep 22 – Out and about in Edinburgh

Tour on foot:
- Princes Street
- Edinburgh Castle

Accommodation: As Above (GBP70)

Tue Sep 23 – Edinburgh to Heathrow and home

Schedule:
- Book out of B&B 9:00am (leave bags at B&B)
- Sightsee and shopping (2:00)
- Return to B&B 11:00am (pick up bags)
- Depart for airport: 11:15am (GBP8)
- Arrive Edinburgh Airport 12:00pm
- Depart Edinburgh Airport 01:10pm (GBP82)
- Arrive Heathrow Terminal 1 2:30pm
- Patricia departs Heathrow Terminal 3: 6:30pm
- Peter departs Heathrow Terminal 1: 9:00pm

caroline_edinburgh

The Falkirk Wheel has a modest cafe where you can get an acceptable soup/sandwich lunch. IMO it is not worth going into Falkirk itself. Consider briefly stopping to look at the section of the Antonine Wall near the FW.

After that day I start feeling rather faint...

"Tour 1 (Half day):
- Callander
- Loch Katrine (Trossacks Pier Complex, SS Sir Walter Scott)
- Aberfoyle (Scottish Wool Centre, Trossacks Discovery Centre, Forest Park Visitors
Centre)
- Port of Menteith (Inchmahome Priory)
- Doune (Doune Castle)
- Callander

The rest of the day at leisure in Callander"

Rest of the day ??? I think that lot would take me about 3 days !

"Lunch in Glencoe (0:30)" Do you have somewhere specific in mind and/or is 30 minutes your normal estimate for lunch ? It is very short & I'd doubt you can do it in that time anywhere other than a motorway service station or by buying a sandwich in a shop. The Clachaig Inn in Glencoe does good pub food but it will take longer than half an hour.

Presumably you are not intending to see any of Iona, are you ? 20 minutes gives you time to jog to the abbey, look at the outside and jog back again. And that day doesn't seem to include lunch at all !

I wouldn't be rude enough to say your itinerary is horrendous but it's more like my idea of a forced march than a holiday.

And have you checked whether your B&Bs serve breakfast early enough for you to be ready to leave at 9am ?

Yelpir

Hi Caroline. Thanks for your comments

I know a lot of it looks horrendous, but I really only plan to that level to see whether or not each day is achievable. I can then measure our progress against the plan and take shortcuts as necessary.

Food: For us poor colonials, the most expensive thing about travelling in the UK is food. As a result we operate on a spartan diet. We fill up to bursting at breakfast and then snack through the day. Lunch each day will be something light from a take-way, corner shop or bakery. Supper, at best, will be a take-away or, at worst, something light from a supermarket like a couple of pieces of fruit. We have only budgetted 10 pounds per person per day for food, so that does not allow for restaurants.

Iona: Patricia does not like small boats so she will explore Iona while I go off to Staffa (which interests me more than Iona does).

Breakfast: Most of the B&Bs that I have selected start serving breakfast at 8:00am. Where they only start at 8:30am I have adjusted the leaving time to 9:30am. So, we have one hour to cram in enough food to keep us going for most of the day

You are absolutely right that some of the days are horrendous. We look on this as more of a road trip than a holiday. We can have a holiday at home, lying on the beach and soaking up the sun. When we travel we want to see everything the destination country has to offer. The trip will be hectic but we can relax when we get home (we are both retired). Hopefully we will have hundreds of photographs to remind us of all the places we went and the things we saw

I had the idea when I posted this that some people would be horrified. It's not really as bad as it looks. The devil is in the detail. When your day ends with a ferry crossing it is advisable to have a schedule to stick to so as to ensure catching the ferry. Otherwise there is flexibility in most days. If we start running out of time we take short cuts so as to keep to our arrival times.

Nevertheless, all of your comments and advice are greatly appreciated

caroline_edinburgh

Right, I see the way you are working, Yelpir, and if that's what suits you... Just a few additional comments, though (trying to be helpful, not critical).

Bear in mind that a lot of the time you are travelling through countryside and some very small villages. In Glencoe, for example, takeaways, corner shops and bakeries are thin on the ground, never mind supermarkets ! But it sounds as though you are organised enough to stock up when you can.

Where are you planning to eat your takeaways for dinner ? I'm not sure of the etiquette of taking hot food back to a B&B, but I have rarely stayed in B&Bs so I daresay you know better than me. I hope you are not betting on the weather being good enough to eat sitting outside on a wall or something, although it may be.

£10 per day is *very* low. I take your point about big B&B breakfasts and I suppose you could then get a something like a pastry and a bottle of juice from a shop during the daytime, and a takeaway fish supper for dinner, for £10. But are you going to want to live on fried breakfasts, pastries & greasy takeaways for dinner for 12 days ??

Well done for checking the B&B breakfast hours.

Where do you live, out of interest ?

pittpurple

We haven't been allowed to bring hot food into a B&B anywhere yet (we are always on a budget when we travel) so just make sure you are ready to eat in the car whenever necessary. £10 is really low but doable - I would stop by a supermarket as soon as you get here and pick up some staples for the car - say a loaf of bread and peanut butter and honey and some bananas should see you through the day. That would leave room in your budget to have pub dinners sometimes (£7-9 without drinking). Soups at pubs are usually really good and filling and there's almost always a snack menu with smaller items you could try - it would be nice to have a break from eating in the car.

The itinerary makes me tired to look at but it seems you are being flexible enough to drop things as necessary. I thought Eileen Doonan was really fascinating inside - the family still lives there and it was really interesting to see how they've adapted it for modern living. Just in case it's really horrible weather and you want to cut something out of that day.

We tend to get home from travelling absolutely exhausted so I do understand your philosophy. I'm interested to see how you do!

Good luck,
PittPurple

janisj

Yelpir: You've worked so hard on this but it has come a cropper. Sorry, but your plan is all about the driving and nothing about actually being anywhere. OK - I guess - if the driving is more important to you. But if so, then you are basing the driving on impossible expectations.

When I see exact times in a city itinerary - It makes me feel sorry for them because the plan will fall apart after about 15 minutes. But when I see these types of exact timings for a driving tour - my feelings are much stronger. I know you've done a LOT of research -- but this level of detail is just <b>crazy</b>. For instance:

&quot;<i>Drive to Stirling (arrive approx 3:00pm) - View Stirling Castle - Leave Stirling by 4:30pm)</i>&quot; is just not easy to accomplish. First you have to navigate through Stirling and up to the castle, then park the car, then walk to the castle, and then go inside. If you arrive in Stirling by 3PM it is very likely you won't be inside and touring the castle until 3:30 or later.

Most of your other days are plain nutty. NOTHING can be timed that closely. Get stuck behind even just ONE caravan or lorry or road construction signal and your entire itinerary is blown out of the water. When one plans <u>36 minutes</u> or <u>14 minutes</u> for certain drives - just can't be done. Where did you get these times anyway - if from a mapping site? Did you add 25% to 35% more time as we usually suggest?

&quot;<i>I really only plan to that level to see whether or not each day is achievable. I can then measure our progress against the plan and take shortcuts as necessary.</i>&quot;

Your plan doesn't mean any or all of those days are acheivable. What happens one day or one leg has no bearing on anything else since conditions can change around the next turn in the road.

And your plans for meals are totally inadequate. Both money and time-wise. When a B&amp;B starts serving at 8 AM you will be lucky to be out and on your way before 9:00 or 9:30. If you sit down right at 8:00 - they will bring in the coffee ask for your orders you'll have the cold dishes and maybe if you are lucky be served by 8:30.

I'm trying not to rain on the plan too much - but I don't see any way to soft soap this. <b> It is plain crazy . . . .</b>

rogeruktm

This is meant to be harsh...totally ridiculous. Surprised you haven't made a specific time to stop for a wee.

janisj

Oh - meant to add one other thing about your mornings.

You aren't just eating breakfast and leaving -- you are checking out as well.

So besides serving you and any other guests, the same landlady/landlord will be clearing up the dishes, serving late comers, writing up your bill (and maybe other's), collecting payments, finding change, making small talk. It isn't as if they have staff to do those things.

If I'm staying over I usually count on getting into the car about an hour give or take after hitting the breakfast room. But if I'm checking out it can easily be as much as 2 hours.

Yelpir

rogeruktm: Thanks for pointing out that omission. I will update the schedule with pee breaks. Sorry, just kidding

Thanks Caroline, Janisj and pittpurple for your very thought-provoking comments.

Distances/times: For each leg of each journey there is a departure time, a driving time and an arrival time. The driving times come from the AA route planning site. If you subtract the departure time from the arrival time you will find that quite a bit of fat has been built in over and above the straight driving time to allow for photostops, traffic jams, comfort breaks, etc. The total AA estimated driving time for each day is probably less than half of the total scheduled journey time.

Eating: You have certainly given me something to think about here. Where possible, we usually eat picnic-style in the open. In the case of bad weather, we eat in the car. I have read almost every review of every B&amp;B on TripAdvisor and, while none allow you to eat in the room, some will allow you to eat your own food in the breakfast room. We will check this before pitching up at a B&amp;B with food in hand.
Neither of us drink alcohol so if we can get food in a pub without drinking for under GBP10 that would be great. We will buy food like bread, peanut butter, fruit, etc whenever we get the opportunity and keep it in the car (as suggested by pittpurple When we can, we eat in take-away joints that have tables. Do they have a MacHaggis take-away in Scotland? Sorry, just kidding

Castles: We rarely (virtually never) go inside castles or museums. We tend to photograph from the outside and move on so the time allowed for Stirling Castle should be adequate to get external photos.

Breakfast/Checkout: Wow! Two hours to eat breakfast and check out! That blows my mind. Most of the B&amp;Bs have very few rooms/guests so breakfast/checkout shouldn't take all that long. Many require that breakfast orders be given the night before (presumably so that they can be pre-prepared) so that should help. Since we never have extras (such as phone calls) it might sometimes be possible to check out the night before (we always did this in New Zealand where we hit the road before the hosts were even up).

I really do appreciate all your comments (honest) and I will tweak the itinerary where I can, but I am fairly constrained as all my accommodation and ferries have already been booked. On each leg of the journey I have planned for the longest route but I have shorter routes in reserve. If after a few days we are finding it all too arduous, I will abandon the long routes and opt for the short routes.

Once again, thanks for all your help and advice

GreenDragon

I'm rather torn here. I know from where Yelpir is coming from, but I also see the other side very clearly. I'm a get-up-get-out-and-go person on vacation. However, janisj is right - there are always things to hold you up in checking out. And we didn't stay at large B&amp;Bs either. This CAN be alleviated by settling the bill the night before (which we did several times on early mornings). And if you tell the B&amp;B owner you are on a tight schedule, he/she can work with you... just give advance notice.

As for driving, advice is spot on. City driving is always fun - getting lost can REALLY add to your time, even if you are expecting to slow down and enjoy the scenery. I learned this lesson on my first over-planned trip to the UK... this was my sixth over-planned trip. Trust me on this one.

The big part of a fun driving trip in the UK is saying - hey! That sign said a castle/stone circle/site is to the left, let's go explore! It might take 10 minutes, it might take an hour, but you do want to allow yourself leeway to do this.

As an example, we COULD have driven from Orkney/Scrabster to Ullapool in time to make the mid-day ferry to Lewis. However, we would have MAYBE a half hour leeway on the 4 hour trip - and see nothing along the way. By reserving the evening ferry, we had plenty of time to find such gems as Smoo Cave, and explore the underground waterfall, to stop and take countless pictures whenever we wanted to, and not have to worry about missing the ferry.

Seriously. It's fine to do all the research. The secret is to throw half of it out before you start.

twk

I'll cut Yelpir some slack and assume that he put that list of numbers together merely to get some idea of feasibility and not so much as a plan that he realisitcally hopes to execute. I've known some OC people who would put together that list without the fudge factor. When I look at that list, I'm trying to ignore those interim times and see if his beginning and ending are feasible given what he wants to do in between.

I would say that the trip starts out at a reasonable pace, but ends up with a lot of one night stands in the Highlands, where driving times are most unpredictable. Beyond mere time itself, I found a 2 hour drive on certain single track roads to be as mentally taxing as a 4 hour drive on a regular rural road with 2 lanes because driving those roads can often feel like a continuous game of chicken--blind curve, followed by blind summit, followed by blind curve, etc. To do that kind of driving, while uprooting every day, might be overly ambitious. Take that from someone who lives in West Texas and thinks nothing of driving about 300 miles to a football game and back the same day--driving in the Highlands is much harder.

I also think you may be cutting it too close on your final day at the airport.

GreenDragon

twk, that is EXACTLY what the drive from Craignure to Fionnphort is like - for 30 miles. It is incredibly taxing, and we were glad enough not to have to do it again until we were leaving. Otherwise I would have explored much more of the island when the weather didn't allow the boat trip to Staffa!

twk

One more thought on single track roads: One reason why you really need to build in some breaks on these roads is that because of the concentration required by the driver, the driver doesn't really get to see the scenery the way that you would want to. These routes can be lovely for passengers, but end up just being a blur for the driver. I can remember the road from Uig to Staffin, over the Quiraing, on Skye, mostly as a series of hairpin curves, then dodging sheep, except for our stop at the top of the Quiraing. There were some great views going out of Uig, but I didn't dare look at them, other than a glance.

GreenDragon

We call these trips 'the plaid blur tour' if in Scotland, or 'the green blur tour' if in Ireland

janisj

OK - you seem to be willing to at least listen so here goes:

&quot;<i>We rarely (virtually never) go inside castles or museums. We tend to photograph from the outside and move on so the time allowed for Stirling Castle should be adequate to get external photos.</i>&quot; <u>Then I truly suggest you skip Stirling entirely.</u> Not kidding. You can't &quot;see&quot; Stirling Castle from outside. You can basically see the gate and one side of the bldg. Hardly worth the effort of driving through town. Just a cursory walk around inside the castle easily takes an hour.

Same w/ almost every other castle on your itinerary.

Dunvegan? Same - sorry but w/ you can't even see the castle from the car park You have alloted <b>15 minutes</b> for Dunvegan. That is silly - sorry but it is. Why bother?

Inchmahome Priory? You have to wait for the launch to come over to get you, then see the Priory/island, then often have to signal for the launch to come back for you. They use a signal board on both jetties - the launch isn't always just sitting there waiting for you. You can barely see the priory from the shore.

Eilean Donan? That is the ONE you can easily skip going inside

30 minutes total in Glencoe - and that includes eating lunch??

You really, REALLY TRULY, need to re-think this. And I also suggest you show this thread to your traveling companion. Just to let her know what she's in for

bettyk

I'm sorry, but I have nothing constructive to add that others have not already said.

Certainly not my idea of a vacation. The most enjoyment I have traveling are those spontaneous moments and places that you never plan on.

I got dizzy just reading your itinerary. Too structured for me.

Yelpir

He he. Wow! I'm taking a beating here

Honestly, folks. If you ignore all that mindnumbing detail and just look at the overnighting points, is the itinerary really so unreasonable?

Day 1: Lake district to Callander
Day 2: Trossacks
Day 3: Trossacks
Day 4: Callander to Fionnphort (Mull)
Day 5: Staffa and Mull (overnight in Craignure)
Day 6: Craignure to Broadford (Skye)
Day 7: Explore Skye
Day 8: Broadford to Gairloch
Day 9: Gairloch to Durness
Day 10: Durness to Inverness
Day 11: Inverness to Edinburgh
Day 12: In Edinburgh
Day 13: Fly to Heathrow

The detail is all flexible.

Driving: It is precisely because of the points raised in this forum that I did all that microplanning. I wanted to be sure that I could, in fact, drive from Callander to Fionphort in one day, allowing for the ferry (icluding queuing time, embarkation time and disembarkation time) and still have time to stop for pictures, comfort breaks, etc. If I did not microplan, how would I know whether or not such a journey was feasible? It doesn't mean that I will stick religiously to that microplan, but at least I will know that, in order to catch that ferry, we must be in a certain place by a certain time, otherwise we will miss the ferry.
Think of the schedules as 'time budgets'. I am budgetting a certain amount of time for each activity to make sure that we have enough time to do what needs to be done. If the schedule shows that I can get where I need to be when I need to be there, I am happy.
I remember how shocked I was when I read GD's itinerary that she was planning to travel from Orkney to Lewis in a single day. I thought that that was impossible. Yet not only was she able to do it, she even stopped for pictures and a visit to Smoo cave along the way. I am only planning to drive from Gairloch to Durness in a day. GD knew what was achievable. I do not, so I microplan. I am now at least reasonably confident that I can get from point A to point B each day without missing any ferries and without waking up my hosts at midnight.

The majority of the concerns here seem to be that I am planning to see too many things each day. A lot of those are just sort of menu items from which we will pick on the day. We will not necessarily set out to see them all. Aberfoyle is a good example. We do not plan to visit All of the Scottish Wool Centre, the Forest Park Visitor Centre and the Trossachs Discovery Centre. It is just a note that they are there and we can visit one or more if we choose on the day. The 15 minutes at Dunvegan was budgetted simply to allow time to stretch the legs. I wasn't actually planning to visit the castle, but it's a good suggestion so I may try to fit it in. The 30 mins at Glencoe was just a lunch break. I didn't realise there was actually anything to see in the town.
Stirling was literally a drivethrough with a stop somewhere to get a picture of the castle sitting on the hill. If this is silly, we can bypass Stirling and not bother. I was told that Stirling is not a place to waste a lot of time on.

Actually, GD's &quot;Plaid blur tour&quot; is pretty appropriate. We have already done the &quot;Green blur tour&quot; of Ireland in a coach

I am grateful for all the comments that I receive, no matter how bruising I learn a lot from them. For example, I now know that I need to allow much more time to get across to the Inchmahome Priory. I didn't know that before. Since Inchmahome is a 'must do' I will pinch the time from somewhere else.

We are all different and one person's fun might be another person's nightmare. I am a very restless traveller and I like to keep moving. If I stop for more than 20 minutes I start wanting to saddle up and get moving again. There is always the next hill or glen to see. I enjoy driving and can drive for many hours. Some of the comments about how demanding and tiring driving in Scotland is have me a bit worried. All my driving times are based on an average of 30 miles per hour, excluding stops. If I include stops I will probably be covering about 15 miles an hour.

If anything I am planning to do is impossible, please tell me. I don't want to miss any ferries or wake up any hosts at late hours. I accept that what I am planning is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's an attempt to match my restless nature with my lady's more restful nature. She gets 3 nights in the Lake District and 3 nights in Callander while I get 3 nights on the move in the north. We sort of share Mull, Skye and Edinburgh

bettyk

Well, we overnighted in Stirling, spending several hours at the castle and then wandering around the old cemetery down the hill. We found ourselves wishing we had more time in Stirling to visit the Braveheart monument, old bridge, etc.

You are right. Everybody's travel style IS different. I hope you enjoy your trip.

historytraveler

Well, as others have said,I wouldn't want to try it, but have a go,and let us know all the details when you return.

Beannachd leat !

Blessings go with you!

pittpurple

Hi Yelpir,

Funny how different people's advice is! I have to say that driving is absolutely exhausting on these roads - even as a passenger. If it's raining, it can be even more exhausting. I was going to ask if you had shorter plans just in case - honestly, you don't know how the roads will affect you until you're there.

I absolutely agree about skipping Stirling. The town is a bit difficult to drive around and you don't get great views from the outside. Eileen Doonan is a must from the outside - I don't know enough about which direction you're coming from, but check out the views as you drive up to it and as you drive away, we were heading to Skye and as we turned around to look again we had the most amazing view.

It can take a really long time to get breakfast, etc. at a B&amp;B - there is usually only the host there to do everything and it only takes one guest to slow everything down. Just adding my thoughts to the previous posters.

If you do get nice weather, there's nothing nicer than pulling off the road and having a picnic in some gorgeous spot - we've been lucky with that a few times!

I honestly think your budget for food can be done - definitely since you aren't drinkers. I would split it up a bit differently - find something super cheap one night and then eat at a little pub the next. In the smaller towns, you can find things in your budget at the pubs - just check the menus.

Good luck! I really am curious to see how this turns out for you.

As an aside - unless you are really into engineering, I would consider the Falkirk Wheel something you could cut out as well. But Falkirk will definitely have plenty of grocery stores so you could stock up on supplies.