datl

Hi - other than a great day in Edinburgh 7 years ago, Scotland is new territory for us. We will be two couples in our 50's - looking for a wonderful break from a tough year. We are talking probably the first week or so in May, would like to spend the first night or two in Edinburgh at a lovely place, and then head to a cool self catering accomodation that we can use as a base, or to be happy in if we need to spend a day 'at home'. My husband is dealing with cancer, so a spot maybe near or in a village or small town where we can stay close if necessary would be a plus. But where? I think we should be able to explore the Highlands, of course....nice walks, pretty villages.... Would love some ideas on where to start. I've wanted to see Scotland for a long time, and we are all very excited about our ability to put this together now. All help is greatly appreciated.

janisj

Hi,

I have NO time right now -- am literally running out the door for for a few hours. Renting a self-catering cottage would be the very best option for you. I have lots of suggestions and will post more when I get home. Just wanted to top your thread so others might see it . . . .

Palenque

Some place near Fort William perhaps, a large well-equipped medically if need place but a town, on a fjord, that is at the heart of the Scottish Highlands picture etched in your minds' eye - and lots of neat little places to visit - such as taking one of the world's most dramatically scenic railways - the West Highlands Railway, which tracks along rugged coasts and thru the desolate Rannoch Moor (sp?) - you could day trip each way from the Fort William area - one way to Maillaig, on the sea and a gateway to the Isle of Skye by boat or to the Rannoch Moor, perhaps getting off at a station in the really gorgeous but yes desolate moor. From Ft Williamto Maillag i believe there are, in addition to the regular passenger trains also special vintage steam trains to ride - there is also some kind of Harry Potter connection with that train- i think not sure.

Anyway one area that will fulfill your dreams. I am sure Janis will be a font of knowledge on your Q (one of the very top British and Scottish experts on Fodor's IMO) but here is one area you can't go wrong.

RAILSCOT | West Highland Railway
An illustrated guide to a line, now part of the Scotrail network, running from Glasgow through to Mallaig. Includes a chronology.
http://www.railbrit.co.uk/West_Highl...lway/frame.htm - Cached - SimilarWest Highland Line - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The West Highland Line (Scottish Gaelic: Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is one of the most scenic railway lines in Britain, ...

History - Route description - The route in detail
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Highland_Line

datl

Thank you for all the info and ideas, Palenque. I spent the afternoon checking out the Fort Williams area and the West Highland Railway. I did notice that a few cottages I checked availability on in the FW area were well booked up in May. I wonder if that will be an issue? Do I take it that you Can't really do Isle of Skye, for instance, in a day trip? Maybe a night there? I look forward to Janisj's thoughts! I'm also enjoying the info on a couple of the other Scotland threads. I find it kind of daunting to figure out Scotland for some reason! We've had two wonderful trips to England in the last 6 years - I am at home and in love in the Yorkshire Dales! - but we loved Edinburgh and Scotland calls.

janisj

I personally would not stay near Ft William. A day trip to Skye would be very doable from Ft William -- but I'd prefer other areas for a week's stay.

What are some of your main interests? Whiskey? Golf? Castles? Wild scenery or more gentle/cozy places? Hiking/walking? Seaside or mountains? etc.

It is quite late to be booking places for May - but w/ effort you'll be able to find something. W/ such short lead time, I'd stick to booking agencies instead of searching individual owners' sites like vrbo.

A good agency will have an inventory on their books, and will know which places have availability for your time.

The first and last weekends of May are Bank Holidays (3 or 4 day holiday weekends) so places do fill up <u>very</u> early. Mid-may is MUCH easier. So if you are flexible w/ your dates and can go in mid-May you should be able to find something.

I'll dig out a couple of files of self catering places in nice areas and post more later.

janisj

Oh Poop

WHISKY!!! (drop the 'e')

janisj

Here are a couple of good, long-standing rental agencies . . .

http://www.uniquescotland.com/

http://www.mackays-self-catering.co.uk/

Both are very reputable.

I'd concentrate my search in 1) coastal Fife -- or 2) near Inverness (though not IN Inverness itself. Maybe w/i 10 miles of the city) -- or 3) Somewhere in the triangle of Stirling/Callander/Aberfeldy.

OR - on Skye and spend the whole week on the island.

If you need to be near a large-ish town or city 'just in case', #1 has St Andrews, #2 has Inverness, and #3 has Perth and Stirling.

Skye is much more rural/remote so might not be best in your situation.

Gordon_R

St Andrews (with a population of 16000, many of whom are students) hardly qualifies as a large-ish town or city. It is however within 30 minutes of the city of Dundee (which, although not attractive as a destination, has well-equipped hospits and medical centres if you are at all concerned).

Palenque

personally would not stay near Ft William. A day trip to Skye would be very doable from Ft William -- but I'd prefer other areas for a week's stay>

you do not say why? I am curious as to why Ft William is such a poor place for the Highlands or a Scottish base - not the city but a smaller place like OP wants.

After riding the West Highlands train a few times i cannot imagine a better place to experience the Highlands- taking short hops on the train may be better for the OP than driving, a car needed in most bases i think.

alanRow

<<< Ft William is such a poor place >>>

It's a dump, if it wasn't where it is you'd go miles just to avoid it

janisj

PQ - you are train-centric. For you Ft William might be OK - barely.

But for most visitors -- to quote alanRow: >>><i>It's a dump, if it wasn't where it is you'd go miles just to avoid it</i><<<

It really is pretty dreadful.

datl

You asked about some specifics...probably would like to be seaside - with the ability to do a few day trips 'into the wild'. I contacted one of the agencies so far - just out of curiousity - how far is like Ullapool from Edinburgh, driving? I'm assuming we would rent a car in Edinburgh - assuming we fly into there. We also like pretty/interesting villages or towns for browsing, nice walks. And Fyfe, Janisj mentioned that - I will research that.

Here's a general question, that I'm actually very interested in your answers....for those who love Scotland - can you tell me why.

And one more, I am a devoted fan of Dunnett - any recommendations for reading from now til May? A particularly good history or historical novel?

Janisj - as for "Whiskey" with an e...we had a beloved pony named that - with the e. It's how I always spell it now!

historytraveler

I've never driven directly from Edinburgh to Ullapool but I'm guessing the drive is about 4 hours. Personally, I think there are better options if you can still find rentals. As janis suggested, try St. Andrews area or the area just south known as East Neuk, or the area around /near Stirling, Aberfeldy or Callander. The Isle of Skye is also a good location unless you need to be near a hospital. Cal Mac ferries offer day trips to North Uist, Harris and the Small Isles if you want to venture further afield. Another suggestion is The Borders which includes the towns of Melrose, Moffat, Peebles, Kelso and Selkirk. The area is close to Edinburgh and has some great places to explore.

As to historic novels...is there a particular time period you're interested in?

Most places spell whiskey with an 'e' but in Scotland the 'e' is omitted.

latedaytraveler

datl, glad that you are so well advised by Janisj and other who know and love Scotland so well. My experience in late May was that the temps in Scotland were very chilly (and I am from New England). Just suggesting that you factor that into your arrangements particularly if one in your party has health conerns. It is a beautiful country...

janisj

Edinburgh to Ullapool is about 220 miles and most route planners would quote maybe 4.5-5 hours. But in 'real life' count on 6+ hours w/o any stops. And there are a TON of places to see in between

(When checking any of the on-line route planners -- you need to add between 30% and 50% to the drive times. Count on averaging between 30 and 40 mph over most roads)

Ullapooll is in the middle of some tremendous scenery, is on the water, - but I would not try to drive there from Edinburgh in one day. I actually have done that, but I've been to Scotland MANY times and was only trying to get from point A to point B that day.

But it is a looooong way from any major services so it depends on how remote you want to be.

Fife is surrounded by sea, has wonderful scenery (but not as wild and dramatic as up near Ullapool) has St Andrews, several wonderful fishing villages, Falkland Palace and is w/i day trip distance of Glamis Castle, Perth, up the coast to places like Dunnottar, even Stirling.

Another area that might be a good base is along the river Dee. You would be near enough to Aberdeen if you needed anything. You could see Dunnottar, Crathes, all the properties of the 'Castle Trail', Aberdeen, the NE coast and even over into Speyside for whisky distilleries and up to Culloden/Nairn etc. Deeside is where Balmoral is -- if it is good enough for the Queen . . . .

I'd get a map of Scotland to see where these place are.

sheila

No way Edinburgh to Ullapool is 6 hours. It's about 4.

Ullapool is a nice town but it's hanging right out there.

Let me (for me- I've got a short attention span) summarise your requirements:-

Two couples in our 50's; first week or so in May; cool self catering accommodation; near or in a village or small town; able to explore the Highlands; nice walks, pretty villages; seaside; day trips 'into the wild'.

Two preliminary points. Fort William is pretty much a slum. Don't go there.

Scotland, on the other hand, has fabulous scenery, great food, stirring and soulful music, romantic and wild history, beaches to die for, lovely built heritage, and hospitable people (blush). To me, a resident native, every stone speaks.

Now, to your question. You have some minor problems getting everything at once. Sea is not a problem- we're somewhat surrounded by it. But the "best" scenery is on the west coast and there the villages are quite far part. If you go as far north as Ullapool, you'll find that you are in the middle, pretty much, of wilderness. Beautiful wilderness, but nonetheless... So I think you're going to have to rank somethings above others, to get the mix you're looking for.

I am a well known devotee of the islands, and I want you to think seriously about Islay. It fits EVERYTHING on your bill- except "able to explore Highlands". In a week you can do Islay, Jura and Colonsay, but seeing the rest of the mainland is not easy. YOU COULD tag some stuff on at either end, and you do have most things you could wish for right there.

Running down your needs and wishes:-

Accommodation. Islay has a very broad cross section. I have in mind for your one of two places

http://www.11shorestreet.co.uk/ is in the picture perfect village of Port Charlotte within easy walking distance of three places to eat and one wee shoppies, and beaches, and the natural history centre. It's a short drive to the nearest distillery. We stayed there during the whisky festival and loved it.

If you were up for being out of town a wee bit

http://www.anlinnean.co.uk/ is a couple of miles away. It's on my wish list.

The coolest place I can think of to stay in Scotland is

http://www.stay-hebrides.com/

but I've never been to Harris and I think there would be other problems ticking your boxes.

I'm a bit puzzled by janis's choice of agency. Over decades we've done a huge amount of self catering in Scotland. IMHO uniquescotland caters almost exclusively to the American market and is dear for what you get, and Mackays is absolutely the other end of the spectrum- downmarket. The two we use most frequently are Discover Scotland and Large Holiday Houses (with its interesting offshoot- Little Holiday Houses).

Please have a look at this web site

http://www.islayinfo.com/index.html

for more about my favourite place in the world (northern).

There is a small cottage hospital- so no acute care, but basic stuff readily available.

If you don't got there and determine on the mainland, I think you should look at somewhere like the Moray coast- with easy access to the Grampian mountains and distilleries, and the fishing villages of the east.

I can't specifically recommend anywhere there to stay, but my first Google click got this

http://www.highlandhideaways.net/

datl

Oh, you people are really terrific. I am now processing....will be back soon!

datl

Ok, back again. AFter a LOT of emailing back and forth and looking about, we have pretty much decided to rent a cottage in Plockton and use that as our base. Looks like a charming place, we decided we would like to be in a village where we could stroll for a cup of coffee or glass of wine, and it seems to us that we can fan out from there for some nice day trips. Ullapool up north, Applecross, towards Inverness, and of course Skye and a ferry trip or two. Also looking into a train trip for a day perhaps. So - here I am asking for your thoughts on this plan! I know we can't see 'everything', and want to keep a slower pace, but would appreciate any ideas you all might have. We could certainly spend a night somewhere if that worked out - Skye? - or would we be close enough to go back again another day? Thanks again...

sheila

Good plan. Skye is easily close enough for day trips.

If you want a day away, a very cool thing to do, would be to take the boat from Uig on Skye to Harris, go and see teh stones at Callanish, stay overnight, get the boat back from Stornoway to Ullapool and drive back either the inland road or round the coast.

datl

Sheila,

That sounds like a great idea. Thank you. Any other day trips, or even an overnighter that you want to suggest is again very appreciated. I definitely am keeping this one to put into our week. It has been a bear getting the air travel down. Can they make it anymore difficult! We are using BA into Heathrow and then onto Edinburgh. Also - we will be spending 2 nights in Edinburgh at the start - any especially neat ideas for inns or hotels for Fri and Sat nights - April 23 and 24. Trying to keep to USD150.00 or better. Thanks again.