Driving from Culzean Castle to Bamburgh
 

We will have 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 days to drive from an overnight (not yet determined) near Culzean Castle to our rental in Bamburgh.

Would like to stay off the A69 and A1 which Google picks as the the fastest route.

Moniaive is mentioned in an article I read as a small village in a scenic area.

I think we will visit Melrose Castle and Sir Walter Scott's House on a day trip from Bamburgh, so that is not a priority.

Looking for goprgeous scenery, maybe a few small stops, a nice place to stay near Maybole and another along the way. (And yummy pubs or dinner spots!)

When will this trip take place?

I'd be inclined just to meander through the Borders, although you could swing a little north and transit the Lammermuir Hills or a little south and transit the Cheviot Hills (on the northern edge of Northumberland National Park.)

You could also head south from Ayrshire to Dumfries and Galloway before heading east, although with just a day and a half or two days that might feel a little rushed.

Give us an idea of your overall route so we won't suggest places you're planning to visit in the first place.

The obvious thing to do is Hadrian's Wall, then cross country via Bellingham and Rothbury for places like Cragside

You could instead go via the A72 along the Tweed Valley for places like Traquair & Walter Scott country.

Or you could just drive up to Edinburgh

Our part of the country.

Drive south to Thornhill and stop in at Drumlanrig castle which is home to the Duke of Buccleugh ( one of the few aristocrats in Scotland left with any money). They are one of the largest landowners in Europe, the house is quite unusual in its architecture, absolutely stunning and they offer tours. They have a considerable and notable collection by the Dutch masters. The estate offers lots of opportunities for country sports, the fly fishing lessons are really good fun.

From Drumlanrig, head down to Dumfries and the coast.

On the way stop off at Loch Arthur farm shop which has world class contemporary architecture, high quality food local fresh food and dry food from around the world, also has a great cafe for lunch. It's a co operative which a very commendable mission of employing people with learning difficulties. We love the place.

From there drive down to Kippford and pick off stops on the beautiful and very quiet stretch of coast which is our home. We know every blamed of grass and probably where every deer, badger, hen harrier, marsh harrier, falcon and fox lives!
The RSPB site at Mersehead is a lovely place with coastal walks.

Heading towards England, Caerlaverock castle is one like no other.

From there you could stop off in Carlisle to visit the very informative Tullie House museum which holds many of the Roman items recovered from Hadrians Wall and the area.

Then stop off at the wall.

Lannercost Priory has a very good cafe for lunch.

Further along St Martins church, Brampton Church has stunning stained glass by Burne Jones in William Morris' studio. It's a jaw dropping example of pre raphaelite art and at the right time of day if the direct sun shines though it's awe inspiring. Very few know of it and it's frequently passed by.

From there just head to Bamburgh and spend as much time as possible.

It's one of my favourite beaches in the world along with the Exumas, Thailand and Mozambique. The light at Bamburgh is magical.

In terms of stopovers :

There's a lovely B&B in Rockcliffe our home village or one of the small hotels near Carlisle.

What would your budget be?

I'd take two full days starting early from Culzean.

One day in D & G and one near the wall.

How much does wildlife interest you?

May I ask what you have against the A69? Because it is by far the most logical route. Otherwise you'll be zigzagging all across the Borders and right past Melrose (I assume you mean Melrose <u>Abbey</u>). BTW there is a LOT more to see in that area besides Abbotsford and Melrose - including Dryburgh, Traquair House (not to be missed IMO), Floors, Mellerstain, and many more.

If it was me -- I'd head south into Dumfries & Galloway for 1.5 days maybe visiting Threave, then a day across on the A69 along Hadrian's Wall, visiting Lanercost Priory and one or two Roman forts.

Moniavie would be OK but I'd maybe stay a likke farther south. From anywhere in D&G you'd want to take the A69. Otherwise you'd have to head SW (say to to Moniavie) and then way N on the A7 practically into Melrose then NE across to the coast through Kelso and south on the A1.

There are very few E-W roads across your route so it is really either the A69 or a heck a lot of to-ing and fro-ing S > N > NE > S.

we were all posting at about the same time. I got interrupted and didn't see the other posts.

Great Minds!! :)

"likke" farther was supposed to be little farther . . .

We've been to Edinburgh, so not really interested in that. Looking for a more southerly route.

We start our trip staying near Scone to go to the Scottish Game Fair the end of June, which we went to the last time and loved.

We'll pick the best weather day for the Fair, go to Scone Palace another day and ?? another day. Maybe Linlithgow palace, haven't been there.

Then we're headed to Islay for 3-4 nights, with an overnight stop near the Ferry departure so we can book a morning ferry to Islay and not worry about missing it :)

When we leave Islay we'll do an overnight somewhere (Helensburgh?) and leave the next morning for Culzean Castle near Maybole. When we leave the Castle I'm looking for someplace to stay overnight close by

Then comes the 1 1/2-2 1/2 days to meander (it depends how long we stay in Islay)

Jedburgh looks interesting with the Abbey and Mary Queen of Scotts House?

Traquair looks interesting, was thinking we might stop there when we leave Bamburgh and head back towards Edinburgh Airport for an overnight when we leave.

AWESOME!

Let me look at this after dinner, thanks so much

Janis ............A69 may be the most direct route but we love to-ing and fro-ing and zig zagging back roads when we have time :)

And we have been to Hadrians Wall

From Islay it's really easy to avoid a long drive.

Take the ferry from Kintyre to Arran and then Arran to Ardrossan which is very close to Culzean.

Sorry Janis, forgot Floors : very impressive house.

The two short ferries would save you an overnight.

The main issue isn't being 'direct'. It is than the other routes have you going through Galashiels, Melrose, Kelso which you said you didn't want to do because you'll be there another day.

Perhaps instead -- consider going to D&G, and then stay a couple of nights in the Borders (near Melrose) since there are so many things to see/do there - then dip down to Bamburgh as a day trip before heading back to Edinburgh.

That would be more efficient but still let you zig zag/to fro . . .

Sorry all wasn't clear ~ we are in Bamburgh for 7 nights, so lots of options for day trips from there, including Melrose

Meikleiuor Arms 4 nights after arrival
drive towards Iaslay, 1 night near Ferry to Islay
early morning ferry to Islay then 3-4 nights on Islay
1 overnight after leaving Islay before driving to Culzean Castle
1 overnight near Culzean Castle after visiting it
1-2 nights on the way to Bamburgh
7 nights Bamburgh, using as a base
1-2 nights between Bamburgh and Edinburg Airport

Later, busy time of year for me, have to be up by 5:30, and just had Limoncello, what more can I say???

>>1 overnight after leaving Islay before driving to Culzean Castle <<

You don't need an overnight between Islay and Culzean. Follow BritishCaicos route. That will net you an additional free night you can use in D&G.

I don't see Kintyre on Isaly?

I see the ferry from Port Askaig, then a drive south to Campbelltown and a ferry across to Androssan

My thought was that if we leave Islay after breakfast and drive to Port Askaig, take a ferry, then drive south to Campbelltown, take a ferry, arrive Androssan, drive to Culzean, we chance getting there too late for a leisurely visit, and probably a tour.

How long do the ferries take?

Google isn't always right, but they have the above ferry route taking almost the same amount of time as driving?

>>I don't see Kintyre on Isaly?<<

Because it isn't.

Kintyre is the Peninsula on the mainland across from Islay. You'd take ferries from Islay to Kennacraig, then from Claonaig to Arran, and then to Ardrossaan.

Door to door time including the ferries would be a little shorter, but the time driving would be a tiny fraction You'd have less than 50 miles behind the wheel - probably less than 40 depending on where you start on Islay.

So all in all a much easier journey. I haven't checked but I'm pretty sure CalMac offers a Hopscotch/Island Hopper ticket covering all three ferries.

I looked at some of the timetables, and it looks like we could spend some time sitting waiting for ferries, we would have to be very sure of timing and days. Not sure I want to risk missing a ferry, or waste time sitting waiting for ferries....

Hopscotch 16 would be what we would need?

Wrenwood - Are you staying at a hotel or B&B in Bamburgh? I spent 2 nights in Budle in June and have been thinking about going back for a longer stay, with Bamburgh as a base. Tx.

vickiebypass, we are staying in a holiday apartment for 7 nights. In addition to Bamburgh Castle and walking on the beach I thought it looked like a great base for a lot of day trips!

The Islay ferry arrives on the Kintyre peninsula at Kennacraig from there there it is a 10 MINUTE drive to Claonaig get the ferry which takes about 20 minutes to Lochranza on Arran have a stunning 30 minute drive over Arran to the ferry terminal and the ferry is about 30 minutes to Ardrossan. From there you are virtually in Culzean.

Compare this to the alternative which is a haul over most of Argyll and Bute around the Trossachs and down Loch Lomond. On a good run in my very agile sports car with much overtaking, I could do this in 2 and a half hours, for a cautious visitor : well over 3 hours ...... if the traffic co operates.

If it is busy, you need to be aware that it has taken me 2 hours to drive the 15 miles down Loch Lomond on a bad day.

The choice is yours.

After many, many trips sailing and ferrying on the Clyde I have never had a trip without seeing dolphins, seals or porpoise. It's a lovely journey.

BritishCaicos, thanks! That makes me feel much better, I'lltake a closer look on making it happen.

When one is landlocked in the US, reading a Ferry schedule, and worrying about making all the connections is a little daunting!

The ferries are clockwork if the weather is anything less than diabolical.

They a way of life for many of us, just like a bridge and very relaxing.

OK more questions about the ferries, than back to my original question

If I have a Hopscotch pass, and we make a reservation for a certain time and we miss that ferry, the Hopscotch pass still gets me on the next ferry assuming there is availability? In other words it is for 31 days unlimited?

And I assume the pass will be cheaper, even if only for 6 ferry rides (mainland to Arran, Arran to Kintyre, Kintyre to Islay and return trip)

There will be 3 of us, so from what I can tell on the website the cost for our roundtrip with a Hopscotch Pass would be 3x‎ £1‎9.55 for driver and 2 passengers, and ‎£89.50 for the car cost, total about ‎£150?

Since we will only be doing this roundtrip and we don't need a 31 day pass, but that's all I see offered, I can't tell if it would be cheaper just to book, as I can't find prices for booking w/o the Hopscotch pass since not all legs are operating at this time of year.


So on to our driving route after Islay. I made a little more time by re-arranging some things.


*When we come back from Islay, we'll stay around Ayr somewhere overnight for 1 night.

*The next day after breakfast leave for Culzean Castle (opens at 10) and hopefully leave by 1:00 to drive 1.5-2 hrs to Drumlanrig Castle (closes at 5:00)
**If we don't make it to Drumlanrig Castle after Culzean Castle, we will being staying overnight very close by, so we can go to to Drumlanrig Castle the next morning. We will then start driving towards Jedburgh Abbey which closes at 5:30

Note ~ I am opting out of Caerlaverock Castle as we will be visiting quite a few Castles (Scone, Lithlingow, Culzean, Drumlanrig, Bamburgh, Alnwick, Warkworth) Good idea or bad idea? Skipping Caerlaverock Castle will give us more time in Melrose area

Wow, there is so much to do in Jedburgh/Melrose area!

We will stay overnight 2 nights near Jedburgh/Melrose area, we will have
1/2 day upon arrival
full day after first night
1/2 day or more after second overnight as we can't check into our Bamburgh rental until 4:00, and later is OK

We also have 1-2 days unscheduled at Bamburgh so we could make another drive to the Melrose area if we wanted to as a day trip

I read that driving from south to north on the A68 through Northumberland National Park has a very pretty view of Scotland from the top, might be a nice way to go back to Melrose area if a nice day.

So, on my radar for that area is Melrose Abbey, Mellerstain House, Abbotsford, Floor Castle, Traquier House, Queen Mary House, Jedburgh Abbey, Thirlestane Castle, Scotts View, Dryburgh Abbey Let me know your favorites!



***So to recap itinerary***

Meikleour Arms 4 nights after arrival at EDI (Scone Palace, Game Fair, Linlithgow)

drive to Ardrossan to start 3 leg ferry trip to Islay
Stay 3 nights on Islay ( Single Malt distilleries and scenery, history)

Leave Islay, after getting off last Ferry stay 1 night near Ayr

Drive to Culzean Castle (opens at 10) and hopefully leave by 1:00 to drive 1.5-2 hrs to Drumlanrig Castle
Stay 1 night near Drumlanrig Castle, visit the next morning if not done the day before

2 nights near Jedburgh/Melrose

7 nights Bamburgh, using as a base
Bamburgh Castle
Alnwick and Warkworth Castle
Craigside House & Brinkburn Priory
Lindisfarne Castle and Priory
Boat trip to Farne Islands if weather is good
???????

After leaving Bamburgh rental (by 10:00AM) stay 1 night Melrose area if more to do or stay somewhere else?????

After the 1 night stay near Melrose area or somewhere else????? maybe stop at Lennoxlove or Rosslyn Chapel on the way to a Hotel near the Airport for 1 night before our departure the next day (our flight leaves around noon)

Thanks for great advice and suggestions!

All sounds great.

Thomas Tosh in Thornhill is a lovely interior shop with a great cafe for lunch.

I can't speak highly enough of Trigony House in Closeburn , down the road from Drumlanrig, the food is good, rooms are comforting and the staff warm.

Have you booked anything in Bamburgh?

http://www.ladythornehouse.co.uk/ind...s/page0001.htm

Is close by, it's the sort of place you only find in Britain.

Try CalMac's website again, it can be temperamental. If the price is return then it seems OK to high. Yes! Just roll on and off, very rarely do you have a problem with capacity unless it's very good weather and peak time.

Ayr's not my favourite place, there are some lovely small hotels on Arran.

Just a very quick note . . . I would not stay IN Ayr. I'd either stay that night on Arran or down the coast or a bit inland like Maybole.. On your Culzean Day don't miss Crossraguel Abbey . . .

(My bucket list includes staying in the Eisenhower Suite)

BritishCaicos, yes we have a 7 night rental looking right at Bamburgh Castle :)

I agree about Ayr, I was hoping to find something on the outskirts, but nothing was resonating with me. And I kept looking at pictures of Arran, it looks gorgeous, looking forward to driving from Brodick to Lochranza.

So Janisj, where would you stay in Arran, fairly close to the Ferry? Anyone else stayed on Arran, fairly near the ferry departure?

If we stayed that night on Arran, we would take the ferry back to the mainland after breakfast, it would then be about an hours drive to Culzean Castle

So OK for Culzean Catle, but doesn't give enough time to also do Drumlanrig Castle that day.

When looking for places near Ayr, I found Dumfries House Lodge, which looks great but complicates things

http://www.dumfrieshouselodge.co.uk/

Complicates things because the Dumfries House and Estate looks wonderful, would be a shame to stay there and not see it

https://dumfries-house.org.uk/

So........
*we could stay the 1 night on Arran instead of near Ayr (I do like this idea)
*after breakfast on Arran, take ferry to mainland, drive about 1 hr to Culzean Castle.
*after Culzean Castle drive about 45 min to Dumfries House Lodge, stay 1 night
*the next day visit Dumfries House Estate and Drumlanrig Castle (45 min apart)
*After Drumlanrig Castle drive 10 min to Trigony House
*stay 1 night at Trigony House near Thornhill
*leave Trigony House after breakfast, drive 2 hrs to Melrose/Jedburgh area, visit what we can for the afternoon, stay 1 night (instead of 2)
* the next day visit what we can in Melrose/Jedburgh area before leaving for our rental in Bamburgh by 5:00 or so (about an hour's drive)

Since we wouldn't have 2 nights in Jedburgh/Melrose area, we would definetely plan on 1 or 2 daytrips from Bamburgh

Might need some help prioritizing favorites to see in Melrose/jedburgh area.......

Oh man, just got this from Trigony House
Unfortunately we don't take 1 night Saturday bookings in the summer

>>Unfortunately we don't take 1 night Saturday bookings in the summer<<

You will likely find that with many of the nicer properties.

Can't help w/ accommodations on Arran -- the only time I've stayed over on the island (other than day trips) I rented a cottage for a week.

I'd probably spend a few hours exploring the island then take the ferry and head south for the night to be closer to Culzean.

Re things to see/do in the Borders. I LOVE the Northumberland coast and around Bamburgh. But IME there is much more to see/do/visit in the general Melrose/Galashiels/Dryburgh/Jedburgh area. You may find yourselves doing several day trips.

Wrenwood, I'm so sorry.

At the back of my mind I knew that and had forgotten. I'm getting old.

I have to go out but will be pleased to help with the other points. There's a lovely farmhouse B&B in Thornhill, I'll dig up the name and a link.

I'm really pleased for you, the trip looks great and takes in many spots that people pass by,

For me, there's three beaches in Britain which have a certain spirit to them, they are ( in no particular order) : Iona, St Ives and Bamburgh.

On a calm day at sunrise on Bamburgh beach, the water is eerie.

BritishCaicos, no problem, old brains have SO much information in them, it's hard to find the right "files" at times! ~ is it Holmhill Country House ?

Scaurbridge House looked nice except the rooms didn't look wonderful, and very few pictures of the rooms, her video has a lot of garden and goldfish footage.

Moffat looks like cute town but 45 min from Drumlanrig

Have always wanted to go to that part of England, and after having been in Scandinavia I've become rather fascinated with the Vikings, so looking forward to Lindisfarne.

I LOVE Lindesfarne -- was last there maybe 2 years ago.

. . . was actually the summer of '14. Man (!), time flies . . .

I've never been to Islay and had missed the fact that the ferry at both ends weaves its way up the coast, leaving the crossing timed at 2 hours which is long!

The journey from Islay to The Border is very much dependent on the pace you prefer.

You seem tied into the 7.00am departure from Islay which gets into Kintyre at 9am. It's a short drive over the Kintyre peninsula to Cloanaig, there's a ferry at 10am which arrives at Arran at 10:30am. From then it's time to decide !

The crossing to Ardrossan takes an hour they leave every 90 minutes.

Going straight over to Brodick from Lochranza you'd be in Ardrossan for about 1pm.

Drive down to Culzean for the afternoon.

Then.......it's how long you want the day to be.

It's 90 minutes to Thornhill to stay at ...yes Holmhill is lovely. Or an hour to Dumfries House.

Or stay near Culzean and go to Drumlanrig or Dumfries House the following morning before going to The Borders.

Which house?

Very differemt.

In line with most of Dumfries and Galloway, Drumlanrig is very quiet, undiscovered and off the tourist path. You'll think you have found a special place.

Dumfries House is very impressive, very corporate and well and truly on the beaten path.

Personally, I think trying to from Islay to either DH or Drumlanrig in a day and then driving over to The Borders a day later is a large ask.

Yes, BTW Moffat is a posh little place with good shops and eateries maybe for another trip!

When you are in Northumbria visit Chillingham castle, the owners are a scream : totally batty and leave all the wide ranging and deep family memorabilia from the past 300 years around the place for you to nose around.

One of the more bizarre house tours we have enjoyed.

Comes a close second to :

We once knocked on the door of a huge Georgian House in deepest Ireland as it advertised house tours. The lovely 122 year old owner came to the door and showed us round, there were stains on the walls where paintings had hung. I asked where they were - she replied that the "naughty IRA boys from the north had stolen them some years back". We looked up the news story afterwards, two Titians and a Rubens - she had no alarm system!

Sorry this really is going off the subject but I love stories like this. It's an age since I looked up this story, we visited Ireland in 1989!

The family have been broken into 3 times, it appears that the IRA were using them as a local bank.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ngs-theft.html

3 times, and no alarm system? Crazy!
I wonder if they had insurance on the paintings?

Wrenwood - I spent 2 weeks in Northumberland and the Borders area in June and visited a number of the castles/stately homes you listed. My report is long, but contains detailed impressions of the homes, which might help you decide which ones to visit.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...sheep-cows.cfm

For example, I was not impressed with Mellerstain at all - not many rooms open to the public when compared to Manderston, Chillingham, etc. Melrose Abbey I loved - very evocative and the audio guide (included in admission) is great, lots of historical context. I stayed at Traquair House for 3 nights since it was a good base for sightseeing. As BritishCaicos says, Chillingham is a blast! Very different approach to stately homes (sort of like someone emptied their attics haphazardly) but that what made it fascinating to me.

Thanks Vickibypass!

Looking at Traquair House now, and will look at your trip report. Appreciate it!

Vickibypass, glad to see you went to Brinkburn Priory, I have it down to visit the same day as Craigside

hmmmmm...... Herterton House & Gardens looks interesting

And the drive through Northumberland Park is planned,we will stop in Elsdon so we can find the huge copper beech tree

And thanks for the comments on all the gardens, Garden and Landscape design is my business so I'm always searching out places with good gardens and big old trees!

Couldn't find your comments on Mellerstain, which day were you there?