Scotland/UK itinerary

Old Sep 27th, 2016, 10:31 PM
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Scotland/UK itinerary

I will arrive Inverness by flight on 9/4/2017 around 1pm from London and plan to drive to Drumnadrochit for an overnight stay. I plan to drive the next morning to Eilean Donan Castle, cross the Skye bridge and take the ferry at Armadale to Mallaig. I intend to stay overnight at Fort William. I am not sure whether this is doable in a day as I also plan to stop at Glenfinnan on my way from Mallaig to Fort William. The next morning, I will drive to Edinburgh for a 2 nights stay. After 2 nights in Edinburgh, I will leave Edinburgh and spent a night at Keswick before heading to Manchester. I plan to stop at York but again it depends on the time I spent in the Lake District.

So the itinerary looks like this:

Day 1- Arrive Inverness, overnight at Drumnadrochit
Day 2- Drumnadrochit-Eilean Donan Castle-Armadale-Mallaig-Glenfinnan-Fort William
Day 3-Fort William-Edinburgh
Day 4-Edinburgh
Day 5-Edinburgh-Keswick
Day 5-Keswick-York-Manchester.
Day 6-Manchester-London by train

I am just not sure whether this itinerary is even possible as I really cant gauge the time needed for each destination and driving conditions. Hence the request for any assistance. I may be able to add another day to the above itinerary but would have to cut short my days in London. I am planning to spend 6 nights in London before heading back to Australia.

My other option is to fly into Edinburgh and make my way to Inverness and continue with Day 2 itinerary. One of my friends suggested that I fly to Edinburgh and then drive from Edinburgh to Inverness and not fly directly from London to Inverness.

Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Partick C
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 06:20 AM
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I suppose day 2 is doable but you're not going to have much time to see anything, particularly on Skye. And assuming you're using date notation for next April, you're also likely to see everything through wet windows or possibly in a gale.

To be honest, I'm not in love with this plan at all. I understand the appeal of Skye and seeing Highland monuments and castles, but it's really not a great time of year for that, especially if you're playing beat the clock on wet roads. The same goes for the Lake District - might be nice, might be pretty glum. (The weather comes off the Atlantic and the west side of Britain can be noticeably wetter than the east.) Your current route has you zigzagging all over the place, using up a lot of hours.

Thinking out loud, I wonder if you might not do a Highland day trip from Edinburgh - maybe out to Glen Coe via Stirling and back via Loch Lomond - and call it good, then skip the Lakes but head south on the east coast, visiting the Northumberland coast and castles, then marvelous Durham, before ending in York. Just a thought.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 06:28 AM
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>>I plan to drive the next morning to Eilean Donan Castle, cross the Skye bridge and take the ferry at Armadale to Mallaig. I intend to stay overnight at Fort William.Ft William.

One possible fix . . . >>Day 1- Arrive Inverness, overnight at Drumnadrochit York > Manchester will be about a 5 hour drive w/o any stops -- so about 10 or 11 hours if you actually want to spend any time IN York.

Your plan needs re-thinking.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 06:31 AM
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Didn't see Gardyloo's post and I agree I don't really like most parts of the plan either -- my suggestions were mainly to fix it a little.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 06:36 AM
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Oh -- and whether you are traveling in April or September would make a little difference but not all that much.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 04:24 PM
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Hi Janisj

>>I plan to drive the next morning to Eilean Donan Castle, cross the Skye bridge and take the ferry at Armadale to Mallaig. I intend to stay overnight at Fort William.>Day 1- Arrive Inverness, overnight at Drumnadrochit>There is no need at all to stay at Drumnadrochit. After collecting your car at the airport, you can be at Urquhart by about 2 PM and after say an hour exploring the Castle you can be ON Skye by 4:30 or 5PM. You would bes staying somewhere on Skye that night - Sligachan would be good.>Keswick > York > Manchester will be about a 5 hour drive w/o any stops -- so about 10 or 11 hours if you actually want to spend any time IN York>Thinking out loud, I wonder if you might not do a Highland day trip from Edinburgh - maybe out to Glen Coe via Stirling and back via Loch Lomond - and call it good, then skip the Lakes but head south on the east coast, visiting the Northumberland coast and castles, then marvelous Durham, before ending in York. Just a thought.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 04:41 PM
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He is a Harry Potter fan and hence the visit to Glenfinnan.

Well here's an idea for an overnight excursion featuring one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. The West Highland line - https://www.scotrail.co.uk/scotland-...williammallaig - plays a big part in all the Hogwarts Express scenes. The line runs from Glasgow (or Edinburgh) to Mallaig via both the Rannoch Moor and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, both featured in the Harry Potter movies. (The Rannoch Moor - a stunning wilderness just east of Glen Coe - is where the Dementors invade the Hogwarts Express. Rannoch Station is also used in the films.) You could do a long day trip out to Glenfinnan or Mallaig and back, not have to drive, and enjoy the scenery with no worries. Or spend the night in Mallaig, and return to Edinburgh and THEN collect the car for the drive south, saving time and money.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 04:54 PM
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>>Sorry but . . . why?

I thought taking the ferry would be fun.><blue>Then you can drive from central Skye to Glencoe including a stop at Glenfinan in about 4.5 hours.</blue>>I was not sure that I could make it to Syke from
Inverness in a day considering that I would like to stop at Loch Ness for a bit. unless you could. As I posted, from the airport to Loch Ness/Urquhart Castle to Sligachan on Skye is easy and you would be there by late afternoon. Staying at Drumnadrochit would really waste a night on an itinerary w/ no time to waste. So you could stay that night ON Skye, then take the ferry the next mid day, see Glenfinan, and stay the night in Glencoe.

That would save you from staying in Ft William (nothing special)


Alnwick Castle is glorious - and is near other great sites like Bamburgh Castle and Lindesfarne.

Re a day trip from Edinburgh -- consider a tour w/ Rabbies

like this one:

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

They are a terrific company that does small groups - 16 or fewer passengers in mini buses. Not anything like those mammoth bus tours you might imagine.

OR -- From Edinburgh they do this one to Alnwick, so you could do your driving trip through the highlands and still see Alnwick.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/tour-scot...rders-day-tour
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 04:58 PM
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I keep posting the same time as Gardyloo

Yes -- the West Highland Line is great -- it does eat up a LOT of time and you will have to completely reorganize your plans.

Some prefer taking the train -- others prefer seeing the train cross the Viaduct -- which you can do if you time your drive right (I've done both multiple times and both have their advantages)
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 05:18 PM
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>>Some prefer taking the train -- others prefer seeing the train cross the Viaduct -- which you can do if you time your drive right (I've done both multiple times and both have their advantages)
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 06:19 PM
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Hi Janisj

>>There is no need at all to stay at Drumnadrochit. After collecting your car at the airport, you can be at Urquhart by about 2 PM and after say an hour exploring the Castle you can be ON Skye by 4:30 or 5PM. You would bes staying somewhere on Skye that night - Sligachan would be good.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 06:34 PM
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>>Is there any reason you picked Sligachan? Not many accommodations there. Only one if I am not mistaken. Bradford has more accommodations to choose from.Bigger town too.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 09:10 PM
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IF I were to stay in Sligachane, could I drive to Portree and still head back to Glencoe via Mallaig or it may be best to head straight from Sligachane to Mallaig and enjoy the scenery all the way?
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 10:56 PM
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There is no reason really to drive to Portree -- it is simply a town. If you are going to be on Skye at all, use your limited time to see the scenery, not the banks, shops and tea rooms in Portree.

The main scenic area out of Portree is the Trotternish peninsula north of town - but w/ just a few free hours on Skye you really don't have the time.


••••• Now -- as both Gardyloo and I mentioned -- your plan is VERY rushed and not really terrific. Distances in that part of Scotland are farther than they may appear and the travel can be VERY slow. This is sort of squeezing an 8 or 10 day trip into 4 days. My suggestions have been mainly to help you work out a way to fit Loch Ness/Skye/Glencoe/Edinburgh into your extremely short visit. It isn't perfect and isn't what I would recommend if I was starting from scratch -- but it is (barely) doable. To actually get anything out of Skye one really needs to stay a very minimum of 2 nights and that is still too short. •••••
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 11:00 PM
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Sorry, just realised that the flight from London to Inverness lands at 2.15pm instead of 12. Would the plan to drive to Sligachane be feasible?
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 11:03 PM
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Thank you for your comments. I appreciate your advice. I believe I can give another day around FW/Glencoe and Skye before heading to Edinburgh. Where do you propose I stay for the 3 nights around Loch Ness/Skye/Glencoe?
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 11:18 PM
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While you may prefer to drive, I'd just think that through again. I would drive in Scotland but take the train south of Edinburgh.

Up to you of course.
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Old Sep 28th, 2016, 11:28 PM
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>>While you may prefer to drive, I'd just think that through again. I would drive in Scotland but take the train south of Edinburgh.
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Old Sep 29th, 2016, 07:06 AM
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>>Where do you propose I stay for the 3 nights around Loch Ness/Skye/Glencoe?
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Old Sep 29th, 2016, 07:07 AM
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the thread didn't top . . . ttt
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