Back from Scotland
 

Just got back from 16 days in Scotland. Had a great time. Even the weather wasn't too bad... The itinerary was 1 night Perth, 3 nights Grantown-on-Spey, 3 nights Portree, 3 nights Oban, 2 nights Stirling, 4 nights Edinburgh. Stayed in B&B's at every stop and all were great. We particularly enjoyed the castles of Scotland. Each was different and full of interesting history.

Thanks to all who helped me in planning this trip.

My trip report will be posted on my web site in a month of two, but I will be more than happy to answer any specific questions about the trip.

I remember seeing your "planning" posts, sssteve. Glad to hear the trip went well!

Highlights? Lowlights?

Highlights:
all the castles (Stirling,Edinburgh,Scone & others)
the great salmon in most restaurants
the Falkirk wheel
Edinburgh in general
All the B&B's

Lowlights:
Only the weather - My wife complains that it was too cold, and it was "misty and murky" for 3 days while we were in Oban.

I am definitely interested in what all you did during your 3 night Grantown-on-Spey stay. We are going in less than a month and have a night near Glencoe and a night near Aviemore. Where did you eat, and stay and what did you do?
Thanks! And glad you had a nice time.

Sssteve, I'll be looking for your trip report and, yes, Scotland is not known for its fine weather, but one can get use to it. My husband teases me that when in Scotland I seem impervious to the cold and rain while at home I'm looking for a sweater if the temperature drops below 65 degrees. :)

Will you be able to leave a copy of your trip report here as well? Especially interested in your stay on Skye.

It sounds as though we were in Edinburgh at the same time, and you were just ahead of us in Portree. I didn't think much of the weather.

Here are a few tidbits:

In Grantown-on-spey, the Garth Hotel restaurant is excellent. Otherwise, the town is very small and there isn't much of a culinary selection. While in Grantown, one day we spent in Inverness and the area, and the other day we drove east and north and visited Banff and Cullen on the coast In Cullen we had the famous Cullen "skink" for lunch. (soup based on smoked haddock.)

We had a great time on Skye. We stayed at a B&B right near Portree and enjoyed our lunch at the 3 chimnneys restaurant very very much. Enjoyed the scenery as well.

Glencoe is breathtaking. We drove through it twice.

I have a web page and all my trip reports are there. Here's the URL:
www.travel.stv77.com

Nonconformist: we had pretty good weather in Portree, but not so good in Oban. We were in Edinburgh from June 23-27. If you were there on the 24th, you should remember that it was a really hot sunny day. I even got a bit of a tan!

Just read the Garth Hotel Restaurant's menu. YUM. Do you need reservations?

We made reservations. It's really a surprisingly elegant place. They take your order in the waiting area next to the bar and only after the ordering process are you taken to your table.

Hmm, do we have to dress elegantly?

As far as I could see, shirt pants and shoes were enough, but it was one of the few restaurants in Scotland that I saw men in ties.

I'm glad you had a great time, and great B&Bs. And Three Chimneys :)