Ancient Scotland!
 

I just booked open jaw tickets into London and out of Glasgow for 17 nights next May! I am trying to figure out how I can see Kilmartin Glen and some other western or highlands area in about a week plus. Our last trip we spent too much time driving, according to the driver. LOL. I am thinking of taking the train from the Norfolk area, where we are visiting friends, and renting a car outside Glasgow. Or would it do better to take a train even further north? I love the ancient sites and would love to see Skara Brae, but I have learned my lesson- you can't always get what you want. Any ideas for me?

From Norwich Airport you can fly to Aberdeen. You could hire a car and wend your way back to Glasgow.

From Aberdeen Airport you can fly to Kirkwall if you want to see Skara Brae.

>>From Norwich Airport you can fly to Aberdeen. You could hire a car and wend your way back to Glasgow. <<

That will be of no help if Kilmartin is the ultimate destination. Aberdeen could hardly be farther out of the way.

>>Or would it do better to take a train even further north?<<

Farther north really won't help that much -- to get a wider selection of rental agencies you'd have to go all the way to Inverness. You could take the train to Oban and rent from a small local company. But I'd just go to Glasgow and get your car there. Easiest place would be out at the airport.

With just a week to allot to the Highlands and Islands, I'd limit myself to a fairly modest loop, starting and ending at someplace like Glasgow airport. However in addition to Kilmartin, I'd look at spending a night or two on an island, either Colonsay or Mull.

Colonsay is a very small and isolated Hebridean island with numerous prehistoric sites. I should note that I have never set foot on Colonsay (would sure like to) so am only going on second-hand information. But Colonsay has several standing stones and carved crosses, and it's a very beautiful and remote-feeling place notwithstanding any ancient bits; you'd also get a vivid feel for life in the Hebrides. You might even cross over at low tide to Oronsay, a nearly uninhabited island with a ruined priory that has several grave slabs and carved crosses, not unlike Kilmartin.

Prehistoric sites map - http://www.britainexpress.com/attrac...on=Prehistoric
http://www.colonsay.org.uk/
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...sla/index.html

Alternatively, you could head for the much bigger and more facilities-rich island of Mull (still very remote feeling) and make your way to Iona and its ancient abbey. There are also stone circles and standing stones on Mull, as well as beautiful beaches, Tobermory with its brightly painted waterfront houses, impressive Duart Castle (seen from the ferry) a distillery, and lots of empty roads to explore.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ull/index.html
http://www.holidaymull.co.uk/
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/t...s/mull-p245081

Here's an imaginary route - https://goo.gl/maps/UTR75s27Tqm . I'd have you going north to Glen Etive and Glen Coe, then down to Oban for either the Colonsay or Mull ferry. Then after returning to Oban you'd visit Kilmartin, then come around to Inveraray on Loch Fyne (picturesque village, grandiose castle) before returning to Glasgow.

With an extra day or two, you might also consider taking the train to Newcastle and getting a car there. That way you could stop at, say, Lindisfarne (the Holy Isle) on the fabulous Northumberland coast, or head east to Housteads and Hadrian's Wall before heading to Scotland. This might put you at risk of another episode of overdoing it, but I'll throw out the idea in passing. Here's the map showing the Lindisfarne option - https://goo.gl/maps/3F8FTnbibGy - and one showing the Hadrian's Wall option - https://goo.gl/maps/bfxwFN5SUfB2

Whatever your final decision, don't skip Kilmartin Glen. It was a highlight of our trip last May.

But then, there were no lowlights. :)

You guys are the best!

We visited Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberlour, Ballater, and Callander in a whirlwind tour on our first trip. I thought going west would be good this time. We definitely want to stay in a couple of places and do day trips. Gardyloo, thank you for the map and help. Very interested in an island. Will look at all the links! LCBoniti, we missed Kilmartin Glen the first go-around, and don't want to miss it this time! How many nights should we budget in order to explore? And is there a village you would recommend that is central but would have a pub to enjoy a wee dram in the evening and a restaurant, etc?

The tiny village of Kilmartin has a pub (Kilmartin Hotel) with quite good food. We had dinner there. We stayed at The Old Manse B&B: http://www.oldmansekilmartin.co.uk/ and I could not recommend it more highly.

We stayed one night, arriving late, spending the day, and leaving late for the fairly short drive to Luss.

I would consider two nights so you have an entire day in the glen. That is plenty as the stone sites are close together - mostly within walking distance, although we did drive to some of the more outlying ones. And be sure and visit the small Museum for good background info. http://kilmartin.org/index.htm

Here is the link to my trip report - Kilmartin is just after Edinburgh:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-no-rain.cfm

We stayed in Inveraray (mentioned above) when we visited Kilmartin. There is a very lively pub in the George Hotel with excellent food -- I had one of the better steaks of my life there. http://www.thegeorgehotel.co.uk

We stayed at the Argyll Hotel, which was fine if a bit stuffy. Do not eat at their restaurant, which was not fine and very stuffy.

LC: Thank you for that trip report. BTW, Clava Cairns was one of the highlights of our trip, too. I think definitely 2 nights at Kilmartin Glen. Can you just walk about the cairns, etc. any time? I would love to get up early and go for a long walk...

Gardyloo: Mull rather than Islay? I looked at Colonsay, and it does look terrific, if a bit difficult to get to.

On our first trip, we drove and stayed one night everywhere (except Edinburgh). This was because I had a hard time figuring out what was important to me. I think I'm a bit more focused now, but I'll read someone's trip report and think,"I must go to see that!" even though it is far away from target area!

>>Gardyloo: Mull rather than Islay?<<

Not Gardyloo - but my 2¢ - IF you are very interested in single malt scotch and whisky in general -- then Islay is your place. But otherwise Mull has it over Islay IMO. Don't get me wrong, there is some lovely scenery on Islay - just more of it on Mull. Plus a trip to Mull includes Iona and Staffa/Fingal's Cave which really are musts.

<i>IF you are very interested in single malt scotch and whisky in general -- then Islay is your place. But otherwise Mull has it over Islay IMO.</i>

This.

I suggested Colonsay owing to a somewhat higher density of prehistoric sites (more sites, smaller island.) However if it was me and with limited time, I'd call it good with Kilmartin and one or two sites on Mull, because there's more to see on Mull and it's easier and quicker to get to.

[Frankly my preferred prehistoric site in Scotland after Kilmartin is way the hell north, a stunning Pictish broch called Dun Dornaigil or Dun Dornadilla, up in the far north between Lairg and Durness - http://gardyloo.us/20130614_146Hs.jpg . Too far for this trip for you, unless you do a major makeover of your plans.]

There are just TONS of neolithic sites - several others in the far north near the site Gardyloo linked (Hill o' Many Stanes, Camster Cairns, etc.) and on Orkney, Shetland, Clava Cairns, the outer Hebrides, Cairn Holy standing stones in far SW Scotland, standing stones and other sites all over Aberdeenshire (which even has a 'Prehistoric Trail'), etc etc etc.

But . . . Kilmartin Glen is a good taste w/o driving all over the country.

janisj: We do love a good dram, but scenery is good also. Orkney will have to be another trip...I'd also like to see where the chessmen of Lewis came from and many other places..

So for Mull, Gardyloo's map leads to Fionnphort, not Tobermory. Any reason? Would three nights be adequate for Mull? Is it difficult to get on the car ferry? Do you need 4 wheel drive or anything special for Mull?

And one more greedy question: Our flight from Glasgow leaves at 1 pm. Where would be a good last night stay coming from say Kilmartin? Inveraray looks too far? Easy to get to the airport in the morning, but nice Scottishness for a last memory...

>>Gardyloo's map leads to Fionnphort, not Tobermory. Any reason? <<

I also prefer Fionnphort to stay (though you will want to visit Tobermory if only for a look-see)

If you can get a room here -- do! http://www.iona-bed-breakfast-mull.com

Great food, great views (waking up and seeing Iona Abbey from your bedroom is glorious). John is a fisherman and Jane is a very good cook/hostess. A very short walk to the foot ferry to Iona and the boast to Staffa All the roads on Mull are single track and since many things you will want to see are towards that end of the island, staying out at Fionnphort will actually save you time.

You can visit Duart Castle just after driving off the ferry and then head out to Fionphort. (I do this to let the day tripper coaches clear the road -- following one of them out to Fionnphort is not fun and they head there off the morning ferry to get to Iona before clogging up the road returning in the mid afternoon)

>>>Inveraray looks too far? <<<

It took us about one and one-half hours to drive from Inveraray to the airport, which we did the morning of our flight -- which was on a weekday, as I recall.

>>Our flight from Glasgow leaves at 1 pm. Where would be a good last night stay coming from say Kilmartin?<<

What is your budget? For spendy but terrific Cameron House on Loch Lomond would be my choice.

Or - if you arrive in the early to mid afternoon consider staying in Helensburgh or Rhu and visit the Charles Rennie Mackintosh masterpiece The Hill House.

Right, I showed Fionnphort on the assumption that your quest for antiquities might include Iona, and really the map was just supposed to show Mull as an alternative to Colonsay. Tobermory would be very nice too. I think janisj knows Mull better than I do, however.

With a 1 PM flight the drive from Inveraray might make you a little nervous, especially if there's traffic along the A82. You might spend the last night in Luss, a small village on the side of Loch Lomond. You'd be about 30 min. from Abbotsinch airport (GLA) staying there.

If you want to be on Loch Lomond and Cameron House outside the budget, then Luss would be a good location.

I don't know whether anyone answered your question about whether you can just walk freely among the cairns at Kilmartin Glen, if they did I missed it. In any event, you can go at any time, there are no gates, many of the sites are scattered around various fields in the surrounding countryside. Just be careful not to step in the sheep droppings.