Worth the visit? Even though the castle is not open? It looks like a beautiful place.

I'm looking for some places to visit for our summer 2006 trip there from the US (husband is from Aberdeen and moved here). Might be a place worth stopping on a trip up from Glasgow Airport/Edinburgh Airport or on the way to a trip to Edinburgh?

Absolutely!! It is an amazing place. I try to take every new visitor there and w/o exception they are blown away. Don't worry about the castle not being open - it really serves more as a backdrop to the amazing gardens. And the general area warrants a several day stay if you can work it into your itinerary.

w/i short drives of Crieff are Loch Earn, Killen/Falls of Dochart (another "must&quot, Dunblane, the Trossachs, Inchmahome Priory, Stirling Castle, Doune Castle, Perth, Fortingall, Ben Lawers and a LOT of other great places..

Janis,
Thanks! Is there any month that the gardens are best at? Maybe June versus August? We haven't decided which month we are coming yet.

Also, if you have some free time and want to describe/elaborate on Loch Earn, and the Killen/Falls of Dochart (or all of the places you mentioned, except Stirling - I've been there that would be great. I love hearing other peoples impressions of places. My husband is such a bad tour guide, and he lived in Aberdeen his whole life! I feel like I know more places than he does (thanks to Fodors). We will be taking my parents over with us on this next trip, and I want it to be really special for them.

My husband has also never been to Loch Lomond, I find that a little shocking.

Thanks
~amelie

amelie: Don't worry too much about which month for Drummond Castle. Even in the early spring when none of the flowers are set out/in bloom it is still almost shockingly colorful. Just the many colors of the foliage/trees - it is hard to imagine trees come in that many colors. The formal landscaping viewed from the terrace up by the Castle - just hard to take it all in. I LOVE Scotland in June - the very long days and the usually fine weather. The main problem w/ August is that if Edinburgh is part of your plans, it is just soooooo crowded because of the festivals/Tattoo.

Some brief descriptions of some of the places I mentioned (don't blame your husband Almost every trip I take to the UK I end up taking some of my Brit friends to places they've never been or sometimes never even heard of)

Loch Earn - a lovely loch right outside of Comrie/Crieff. And about 5 miles beyomd Loch earn is Balquhidder where Rob Roy is buried

Killen/Falls of Dochart - Killen is a small village at the west end of Loch Tay with several channels of the River Dochart running through the center. Unless it is a very dry year this is a gorgeous falls (not a waterfall but more like rapids on steroids)

Also near Loch Tay are Fortingall and Ben Lawers. Forttingall is a tiny village with open fields, thatched cottages and the reputed birthplace of Pontius Pilate. Ben Lawlers has a mountain information center and some really interesting hikes.

Dunblane - A small town w/ a glorious Cathedral. Dunkeld is even better - a small village w/ its cathedral ruins on the bank of the River Tay.

the Trossachs - A general area of wonderful scenery sort of west of Callander. The Trossachs include the northeastern shore of Loch Lomond, Loch Katrine, Loch Ard, Loch Venachar and several waterfalls.

Inchmahome Priory - My favorite place fpr a picnic in central Scotland. it is on a small island in the middle of the lake of Menteith (the only "lake" in Scotland). it is a VERY serene place - a ruined priory w/ lovely views back to the mainland.

Doune Castle - A really interesting castle that you can clamber all over. Lots of Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed there.

Perth - a nice city easily reached by train from edinburgh. Scone Palace is on the edge of town. Huntingtower Castle is also nearby.

try basing yourself in Kelso fro a dya or 2 and go to Traquair House, the oldest continually used private home in Scotland,search for the carved William Wallace "Braveheart" statue (about 15 feet high tucked in teh woods near Kelso) and visit Sir Walter Scott's boyhood farm...and take in Scott's view. You'll love it. Try staying at The Ednam House Hotel on teh River Tweed...and ditto to the Drummond gardens. We were there in early July and the gardens were fabulous!

We made the trip into the Drummond Gardens in early June 2005. Spectacular. I'd encourage you to go out of your way to see this place. Duone Castle is fun but does not hold a candle to Drummond Gardens

Thank you all, and thank you Janis for taking the time to do that. Very helpfull, I will save this.

Yeah we haven't decided if we actually want to go in August for the specific reason of seeing the Tattoo and festivals, or if we want to save money and go in June (my personal favorite time).

~amelie

Drommond Castle gardens is one of Scotland's hidden gems. Do visit

the nature of the grdens makes it best to see them in high summer, butthey're pretty good all year round.

Loch Earn is pretty little loch about 15 miles west of Crieff. At the east end is St Fillan's, which can be a nice place to sit and watch the water. Lochearnhead at the west end is a bit busier with water sports. If you have time, go up the outh side of the loch which is much less trafficked and thus, prettier.

Killin (sp!) is at the west end of Loch Tay. The Falls of Dochart ar not waterfalls in the sense of something coming down the side of a cliff, but a wide rocky place where the river Dochart splashes into the west end of Loch Tay, which is Loch Earn's big brother.


Other places between Aberdeen and Glasgow worth a visit would be Glen Shee (after you've driven along Deeside), Dunkeld, minor detour to Blair Castle, Kenmore at the other end of Loch Tay, Scone Palace outside Perth, where the kings of Scotland were crowned before the English stole the Stone of Destiny, Ardoch at Braco, which has a massive Roman marching camp.

Ach, you'll have a ball

Sheesh - I CAN'T believe I did that! Of course it is Killin. Wasn't a simple typo - more a serious case of brain fade

Oh, but Sheila - it is Drummond Castle

THAT definitely WAS a typo

Are there any B&Bs, or castle hotels in this area (Perth maybe?) that you'd recommend?

I should do a search though, but if off the top of your head.

I think that would be nice to stay in a B&B at least once during our stay. I'm going to try to make the trip as memorable as possible for my parents, who have never really been out of the US before (Aruba and Canada don't really count in my book).

Let me rephrase my question.

If we wanted to explore Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, some of the places you mentioned, and St.Andrews. Would it be best to maybe explore the Loch area and Trossachs on one day, and base ourselves in Stirling, and then explore St. Andrews the next day before heading back up to Aberdeen?

OR, does it really not make that much of a difference time wise, if we were to stay in Perth or St. Andrews (more options)? Or is it all possible as a day trip from Aberdeen, not even staying overnight at all?

Thank You!

There are LOTS of options in the area. You don't have to stay in a city like Perth or Stirling.

Every village in the area has one or several B&Bs. Callander is a small town with at least 15 B&Bs in or on the outskirts plus a couple of higher end hotels. Crieff and Comrie have several to choose from, as do Killin, Aberfeldy, etc.

If you wanted a village/small town but large enough to have shopping and several pubs/restaurants then I'd probably choose Callander or Crieff - I'd prefer Callander to Crieff but that is just personal preference. But Kenmore, or just about anywhere in the area would be a good choice.

I usually self cater for a week or more when I'm in that area so haven't used that many B&Bs - but get a decent map that has details - not one w/ just the major towns - and plug any village and bed and breakfast ionto Google and you will get a lot of choices.

This B&B is in St Fillans which is on the east end of Loch Earn. it is only about £20 pp.

This one is in Dunkeld and is VERY nice. It doesn't have ensuite bathrooms - but still merits a 4 star rating from the the STB. That is pretty unusual.

One place for a bit more of a splurge would be the Lake Hotel on the Lake of Menteith. It is a very nice place with lawns down to the lakeside, and views across to the priory, the fishing boats and there are always swans at the bottom of the garden.

If you can swing more than one night you would be well rewarded - there is a LOT to see/do. And then it is an easy trip over to St Andrews/Fife for your route back to Aberdeen.

Janis,

Is this the same hotel you mentioned:

www.lake-of-menteith-hotel.com

It does look nice.

Thanks again.
~amelie

Oh, Lordy, I just realized I omitted the links to the two B&Bs. Yikes - having a bad morning

here they are :

http://www.earngrovecottage.fsnet.co.uk/

http://www.thepend.com

And yes - that is the Lake Hotel I was talking about.