bamafam

Hi - thanks again to all who helped me narrow down options for a 1-week solo trip in early June, and ultimately inspired me to choose Scotland. Here's the tentative itinerary for your input. I was sorely tempted by Orkney, but in the end the logistics weren't going to work out neatly, and I think I'd rather see the Highlands for my first time in Scotland. Orkney will be another trip.

To recap, special interests include medieval history, prehistory, medieval-era castles (esp. ruins), outdoors and nature, dramatic scenery and the coast.

I've decided to skip Glasgow this trip. I'd like to keep it to just one city in order to have more time in the countryside, and Edinburgh appeals much more.

Finally, I won't be renting a car. I'm not a great driver at home in the States. The UK probably isn't the place to find out that I'm also not a great driver in Europe.

Day 1
Arrive EDI midday
Afternoon open to wander and get oriented

Day 2
Edinburgh Castle
Holyroodhouse
Arthur’s Seat

Day 3
National Museum of Scotland
Dunfermline Abbey or Rosslyn Chapel

Day 4
Open day. I'd thought of training up to Stonehaven & Dunnottar Castle, or following Gardyloo's idea to take a day tour down into Northumberland. But since the next few days will involve some transit time, I'm not sure how much time I want to spend on a train or bus. Other suggestions closer to town are welcome!

Day 5
Edinburgh > Oban with a little detour via Glencoe. I'd like to hire a private driver/guide for this. Are there any companies you might recommend? Other suggested stops along the way? I'm not sold on Stirling but could reconsider.
Base in Oban

Day 6
Day tour of Argyll prehistoric sites (Dunadd & Kilmartin)

Day 7
Day trip to Mull & Iona by ferry. Staffa looks tempting, but I'd rather spend extra time on Iona.

Day 8
Train Oban > Edinburgh via Glasgow
Overnight in Edinburgh

Day 9
Depart EDI

janisj

Just some random thought/stream of consciousness:

>>and I think I'd rather see the Highlands for my first time in Scotland. <<

Fine -- but except for a possible detour to Glencoe you are not visiting the highlands at all.

Having a driver from Edinburgh to Glencoe to Oban and for touring Kilmartin will cost a fortune. You'd have to play for his/her accommodations and meals as well as


I'd maybe skip Glencoe (though it is glorious) because the logistics are difficult.

If it was me -- I wouldn't do a 'day trip' to Mull. I'd stay ON Mull (or on Iona) for one, or better, two nights. Train to Oban, ferry to Mull, local bus to Fionnphort. Stay there 2 nights - that will give you enough time to really explore Iona AND take a boat to Staffa. Then local bus / morning ferry back to Oban and hire a local taxi to take you around Kilmartin sites -- the local tourist office in Oban can hook you up w/ someone.

I'd flip days 3 and 4 and do a trip up to Stonehaven/Dunnottar on day 3. Then stay around Edinburgh day 4 so you are traveling long distance back to back.

I'd look into open jaw in to EDI and out of GLA or vice versa - though in/out of the same airport works too.

bamafam

Thanks janisj. Great advice and ideas. I'll definitely flip Days 3/4 - easy fix. I'll also look into staying over on Mull, though I'm not 100% sure that's what I want to do.

If I were to keep Glencoe in the itinerary, and keep Oban as the home base, perhaps it could look something like:

Day 5
Train Edinburgh to Oban

Day 6
Hire taxi for Glencoe & Rannoch Moor, and do a bit of hiking in Glencoe (not the cheapest day out, I realize)

Day 7
Mull & Iona

Day 8
Hire a taxi to spend morning at Argyll sites
Train Oban to Glasgow late afternoon
Overnight in Glasgow

Day 9
Depart GLA

bamafam

Alternatively, if there's a bus from to the Glencoe visitors' center or another easy jumping-off point for a hike, I'd be open to that too.

janisj

>>Hire taxi for Glencoe & Rannoch Moor, and do a bit of hiking in Glencoe<<

Rannoch Moor is only really accessible by car from the east side. There are no roads into the Moor from the west/Glencoe so that really isn't viable.

>>Alternatively, if there's a bus from to the Glencoe visitors' center or another easy jumping-off point for a hike, I'd be open to that too.<<

Awfully complicated - but you could take the train from Edinburgh to Ft William, then a bus to Glencoe.

http://www.visitfortwilliam.co.uk/fo...ing-to-glencoe But then you'd have to bus back to Ft William and then a 4 hour train ride to Oban w/ a change at Crianlarich. Or a two hour bus ride that runs maybe every 2 hours. So not really a day's trip.

Your whole plan would be 1000000% easier if you would drive. But if you want to rely on public transport you'll have modify your itinerary to where the public transport serves . . .

Lots of people do manage remote/rural areas by bus/train . . . but they are generally traveling slower.

If Glencoe is a must -- consider a day tour from Edinburgh w/ Rabbies.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/tour-scot...lands-day-tour

But it wouldn't give you time to hike.

bamafam

Got it. I don't mind skipping Rannoch. I know this would be so much easier if I were willing to drive, but for me, peace of mind > convenience. I don't want to be white-knuckling it down rural roads on the opposite side from what I'm used to.

Gardyloo

As janisj knows, Kilmartin is one of my "don't-miss" destinations in the west of Scotland, but visiting it without a car can be very tricky.

The bus from Oban (an hour or so and cheap) will drop you at the church, which has a terrific collection of grave slabs and carved crosses. However, the real draw of Kilmartin Glen is the collection of prehistoric relics on the valley floor below the village and church. Here's an old photo taken from the valley floor back toward the village, which <i>understates</i> the distances involved: http://gardyloo.us/akscot%20053a.JPG The sites (stone circles, standing stones, burial cairns etc.) are spread out over a considerable area in the glen.

So by using the bus, you'd have quite a long day hiking to and through the glen to get to the sites. And of course, in western Scotland weather happens.

You might want to google for taxi or car services in Oban to see if they might quote you a decent price for a few hours' mini-tour. No idea of the cost (probably pretty expensive) but that might be one way of solving the problem. Get one for the whole day and you could probably include Glen Coe.

Gardyloo

Meant to add, the Fort William leg of the West Highland Line actually crosses the Rannoch Moor and stops at Rannoch Station. You could ride the train to Fort William and then hop a bus down to Oban, and kill two birds as it were.

https://www.scotrail.co.uk/scotland-...williammallaig

bamafam

Thanks Gardyloo. As per my original posts in this thread, I'm very willing to hire a taxi. I just mentioned the bus in case it was a viable alternative. If not, no harm.

I'll cross my fingers for good weather! I don't mind hiking in a misty rain, but definitely not a downpour or worse.

janisj

Idea -- only partly in jest. Any chance you could find someone to travel w/ - one who can drive?

bamafam

I'm afraid not this time around, for a variety of reasons. Sincere question and not at all snarky: Given my draft itinerary, is it really going to make a vast difference in my experience if I drive vs. paying someone else to do it on a couple of occasions? It seems as though Glencoe and the Argyll sites are the only two not easy by public transport. Or am I wrong?

janisj

Edinburgh is easy peasy -- you don't want a car there.

Kilmartin -- really hard w/o a car. But it is near enough to Oban that a driver from Oban would be relatively manageable cost wise. Since you want to see Oban and Mull anyway that would be doable.

Glencoe is more difficult -- there is no town nearby except Ft William -- meaning a long train ride before you even get to a town where a driver could pick you up.

There are other parts of the country that are easier by public transport

bamafam

Thanks janisj. I checked the Traveline website and if I interpreted correctly, it looks like there are regular 1-hour buses between Oban and Ballachulish, which is the base for a firm called Alistair's taxis. Perhaps I could grab a morning bus to Ballachulish, hire a taxi for most of the day and then take a late afternoon bus back. Just an idea.

Gardyloo

<i>Sincere question and not at all snarky: Given my draft itinerary, is it really going to make a vast difference in my experience if I drive vs. paying someone else to do it on a couple of occasions? It seems as though Glencoe and the Argyll sites are the only two not easy by public transport.</i>

It's not snarky at all. People have different traveling styles, it's just that rural Scotland is not rich in public transportation infrastructure, so a car-less visit needs to be a little more planned and less ad hoc than when visiting other areas.

Two ideas come to mind. First is to contact the local tourist offices, for example in Oban - [email protected] - and ask about driver-guides or car services that you could use.

Second is to look at the associations of independent tour guides, like the Scottish Tour Guides Association - https://www.stga.co.uk/ - to see if there's someone in your target area that's a member. On that site, for example, I found this person - http://www.scotlandtourguide.co.uk/index.asp - who's based in Inveraray and therefore should be intimately familiar with that part of Argyll. She advertises half- and full-day trips in a passenger car, that might be ideal for your needs. (I'm not recommending her, just linking as an example.)

No idea of the costs involved, but you might get more bang for the buck or punch for the pound than using taxis.

bamafam

Thanks Gardyloo! I absolutely understand the tradeoffs of choosing not to drive in a region not well served by public transport, and I'm ok with them. Appreciate the link to the guide network - that may be a good way to go.

janisj

>>which is the base for a firm called Alistair's taxis.<<

First of all it really isn't a 'firm' -- it is a guy w/ a car. Second -- not totally sure he is still in business. You'll need to check that out.

As I suggested in my first post -- you should contact the tourist office in Oban for referrals for taxis/drivers

https://www.visitscotland.com/info/s...centre-p332491

maragold

Not sarcastic: how crazy are you?

I lived in Scotland for 6 months during college, and on one holiday break, I decided to take a trip to both the Inner and Outer Hebrides. It was 2004. I did not have a car, and at 20, wasn't old enough/financially well off to rent one. I think I was totally overly optimistic and naive and gutsy and brave and stupid. My plans were to take trains, buses, boats, and in remote areas, hitch a ride with the postman, something I read was a possibility in a guide book.

I took a train to Oban and stayed in the youth hostel there. I remember making ramen noodles while sitting on the porch steps looking out at the water as one of the most peaceful moments of my life. I loved it so much, I ran off the ferry boat 5 minutes before it pulled up the dock to to stay in Oban another night.

From Oban, I went to the Isle of Mull and had a heavenly, adorable day in Tobermory (with lots of children who were SO EXCITED to be "going to Balamory", Scotland's version of Sesame Street). I had some of the best fish of my life while listening to Frank Sinatra at the Tobermory Hotel.

From there, I went onwards for a week without a car, to South Uist, and Barra. When I told a man on the ferry of my plans to get to my accomodations by bus, he nearly spit out his drink in a mixture of laughter and deep concern before offering to just drive me himself. And that was the case nearly everywhere. It was a different time I suppose, but I hitchhiked or walked everywhere, and I had an amazing trip. I took a plane ride to see an aerial view of North Uist and Benbecula, and stayed in at the Castlebay hotel in Barra.

I got plenty of stares in the Outer Hebrides. The fact that I was traveling alone, as a young woman, without a car... it was unheard of. I was the only traveler in many places for miles and miles.

Maybe it was the thrill of being young and alone and female and just doing what I wanted with no one to tell me no. But this trip will forever stand out as one of the best of my life--and I've taken a LOT.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you want to do it, there are still enough people in rural Scotland to help you pull it off if you're crazy enough. Life moves much, much, much slower there. I would not pass up an opportunity to go at least to the Inner Hebrides, even with no car, far more than Edinburg (my least favorite place in Scotland--give me a fried Mars bar and the architecture of Glasgow any day).

Good luck!

bamafam

Sounds like heaven, maragold. Solo travel is the best. I've done it many times and it is so rewarding. Like I mentioned, I'm going into this with both eyes open - I well understand the challenges of getting around outside the larger cities, so that's why I'm planning workarounds in advance. Thanks to everyone who has weighed in.

MRaiser

An easy day trip from Edinburgh via public transit is the Borders. Melrose and Dryburgh Abbey are my favorites and I could return again and again!