4 weeks in Scotland

Old Oct 15th, 2014, 10:20 AM
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4 weeks in Scotland

My husband and I are in the beginning stages of planning a four-week adventure to Scotland in September and possibly the beginning of October2015. Scotland is number one on my destination bucket list. My husband and I are in our mid 60’s. Our primary objectives would be to see natural scenic beauty, take up to 6-8 km day hikes, explore castle’s and abby’s, enjoy traditional music, take in an Highland Festival (Braemar, Pitlochry, or Invercharron), relax and enjoy the culture and people, and learn more of Scotland’s history. We have tentatively thought about staying in Edinburgh-4 days, Pitlochry-3 days, Inverness-4 days, Ullapool 4-days, Portree-3 days, Fort William-4 days, Oban or Inveraray-3 days, and Stirling 3 days. We will rent a vehicle (except for Edinburgh) to travel around the country and to take day road trips. We are accustomed with driving challenging roads, having driven coastal and inland regions in Ireland and Italy for example. We are thinking about a train ride either from Edinburgh or Ft. William to Inverness. We will probably generally stay in B and B’s or hotels. We love B and B’s because you sometimes meet other travelers and we have found innkeepers to be generally very welcoming and helpful. We are very open to suggestions about specific towns to stay in or places to see or experience. Any feedback about this tentative itinerary or suggestions for this trip would be greatly appreciated.
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 10:27 AM
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I am dashing out so won't post much right now . . . just one quick note.

You have the luxury of time and will have a car . . . so IMO you don't want to stay in Pitlochry, Inverness or Ft William. ESPECIALLY not Inverness or Ft William. There are sooooooo many other/better options.
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 10:52 AM
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I will agree with janisj. So many people are bounded by a two week trip, and don't get the chance to go to the islands or up in the north. These are stunning parts of the country! We had 23 days, and did a big circle. 3 nights each in Edinburgh, Grantown-on-Spey, Orkney Islands, Isle of Lewis, Isle of Skye (4 nights here), Isle of Mull and Killin (near Stirling). It was wonderful! I would do it again in a heartbeat.

With four weeks, I would have added Shetland, and gone down into the lovely lowlands, with all the huge abbeys on the borders.

Staying in cities isn't my thing, for the most part. I love the smaller villages and towns, where you get to know the locals better. Edinburgh is beautiful, mind you, the most beautiful city I've been to, but after three days I was ready for the villages. We chose each place very carefully. Click on my trip report if you like. While I can't advertise it, I will be coming out with a wee ebook soon on how to plan your own trip there, with all sorts of lovely photos, hidden gems, and tips and tricks
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 11:01 AM
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First thoughts that spring to mind arebr />
4 weeks is enough to see a significant amount of Scotland (some people on this forum post ludicrous itineraries where they attempt to see the whole country in 4 or 5 days).

September is a great time to visit.

Why Fort William and Inverness? Seems like everyone who wants to visit Scotland for the first time wants to go there, but that's perhaps more of a relfection of the places people have heard of rather than those that are worthwhile visiting.

No island hopping? Using CalMac's excellent network of ferries to visit at least some of the islands off the west coast is a highlight of a trip to Scotland for many people.

No Glasgow? It sometimes gets a bad press but it's a lively city packed with museums and architecture that's worth taking in if you have the time.

"Highland festival" - by that I assume you mean Highland Games. Check the http://www.shga.co.uk website for all the details.
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 11:18 AM
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You might find my trip report, even if a little old, useful; click on my name to find it. We started in Glasgow, rented a car at the end of our stay in that city and returned it when we arrived in Edinburgh.
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 11:20 AM
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crossing the E
Here's just a wild throw.

Into Edinburgh
Hadrian's Wall
Dumfries and Galloway (packed with Abbeys and Castles)
Ayrshire (Culzean Castle)
Glasgow
Loch Lomond / Trossochs
Oban via Inverrary
Mull ferry to Adnamurchan
Millaig ferry to Skye
Ferry to North Uist
Lewis then Ferry to Ullapool
Over the the East coast, working your way down to Edinburgh.

Don't forget Hadrian's Wall, The Tullie Museum in Carlisle and The Edward 1 monument just outside Carlisle. It's a day but it isn't possible to view Scotland's history without it. The Edward 1 monument may seem a strange choice but it is extremely atmospheric, the English massed the largest army imaginable in a final attempt to finish us off. Edward died whilst crossing Esk and the attack never happened.

It is also worth some time to investigate the terrible and bloody nature of the Borders which for 100s of years were ungovernable and dominated by families constantly at war. Many of the family names will be instantly recognisable to Americans such as Armstrong, Kennedy, Johnson and Maxwell.

Personally I would steal some time and go down the East coast of England as far as Newcastle to use a couple of days in Northumbria. The castles and coasts are just stunning, then cut over to Carlisle.

Of the whole circle, I wouldn't miss Mull, Skye, North Uist and Harris/Lewis.

Best thing to do is take in all the advice you will receive here and decide how much driving and at what speed you want to do it.

Personally, I couldn't live out of a suitcase for a month.

What about renting a cottage for a week to relax?
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 11:22 AM
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And as Gordon posts September is a great time to visit, I swam in the sea this year on my birthday which is the 24th. It was warm.
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 12:20 PM
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If you haven't already found it, then the Undiscovered Scotland website is great as it has lots of information and pictures, including all those parts of Scotland the guide books never mention. I use it to plan all our holidays in Scotland.
www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

Start with the maps and follow the links to the text pages for pictures and information. You may also find the driving tours offer some good ideas.

Have you found these websites for walking ideas:
http://www.walkscotland.com/
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/

Depending on what you are wanting to do there, four days in Ullapool may be a bit long. Also check out what you are planning to do from Stirling and check there is enough to keep you busy for three days.


With four weeks do try and include some of the islands. Mull seems to be very popular at the moment. We love Harris and Lewis and prefer them to the Uists. Orkney is do-able easily if you get to the north of Scotland, or on the ferry from Aberdeen and is stuffed with ancient remains. Shetland is further - overnight ferry from Aberdeen - and depending on what else you are planning there may not be time to do it justice.

True, nearly everyone heads to Fort William and Inverness, but they are good bases with some superb countryside and some good walking. You don't have to stop in the towns themselves as there is plenty of accommodation around, or small towns in the case of Inverness. Clava cairns and Glen Affric are my two favourites from Inverness and Fort George with its ramparts is a fascinating place to visit. Fort Willaim is c
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 12:26 PM
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Back . . .

>>True, nearly everyone heads to Fort William and Inverness, but they are good bases with some superb countryside and some good walking.near Ft William or Inverness. The point is don't stay IN either town. And w/ a car there is no reason at all to stay IN either one.
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 01:00 PM
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If you want to learn about the history of Scotland, I highly recommend some time in Edinburgh at the National Museum of Scotland. I spent two afternoons wandering through the ancient peoples and kingdom of the Scots sections. Ask one of the docents for help in understanding how the collections are laid out, as it isn't easy to understand. It helped me to put the rest of Scotland in perspective.
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 03:23 PM
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All that time and no island stays like Skye or Mull or Islay?

Staying in Inverness area is fine - the town is meh, the area has a ton.

Pitlochry is a whole lotta not much, except for tourist stores. Completely unimpressive.

No time in Aberdeenshire and you like castles? That doesn't add up. http://www.visitscotland.com/en-us/a...en-city-shire/
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Old Oct 15th, 2014, 06:37 PM
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I can't really add anything to the excellent suggestions but will advise you to start studying Scottish history now. I've been working at it for several years now and feel I've only skimmed the surface. And, there's so much more than just its history....art, literature, music etc...
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Old Oct 17th, 2014, 11:45 AM
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I'll second that recommendation for Undiscovered Scotland. It was a fantastic resource for my own trip, due to those interactive maps, and pics with descriptions of interesting hidden places. I loved it and would spend hours researching.
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