Early plan for Scotland
 

This is very early but we are planning a trip in June of 2004 to Scotland. We estimate two weeks for Scotland and then on to the rest of UK, or should we start in London and save the best for last? My husband's family is from the Highlands, many generations back. It will be his 70th birthday so we are planning to celebrate the birthday also. There will be six of us, all adults, youngest is 40. We want to see the &quot;family&quot; area of course but would love to have your suggestions for &quot;what else shall we see&quot;. So far we are planning 3 days for Edinbourgh. Is that enough time?<BR>We all enjoy scenery, good food, museums, shopping, castles, not into hiking or mountain climbing. thanks for your suggestions.

three days will give you a good overview of Edinburgh. As for your other questions - Where in the Highlands is your husband's family from? That is a very large / diverse area and the recommended itineraries would vary depending on which village the family is from.

I don't have the name of a town that the family is from, just a general &quot;Lochaber District, Inverness&quot;. I am not sure if that means a town called Lochaber or if Inverness is a county name and not just the city. The family ancestor moved to Nova Scotia in 1783 and the descendents came to the United States from there in the early 1900s. Thanks for all suggestions.

Well, Lochaber is generally the area between Ft William and Mallaig. It is a gorgeous area that includes Ben Nevis, Loch Sheil, Morar, Ardnamurchen, Glenfinnan and is the stopping off point for the ferry to Skye.<BR><BR>You could do a 9 or 10 day loop after staying in Edinburgh for 3 or 4 days. This loop would take you generally through Stirling, the Trossachs, Glen Coe, Lochaber, over to Skye, up to Inverness and back to Edinburgh to fly home.<BR><BR>This would give you generous time in most areas and allow you to wander around the Lochaber area for a few days.<BR><BR>The trip up to Inverness is mostly so you can see Loch Ness and visit Culloden Moor. If you choose not to go north to Inverness you could just spend more time in the Trossachs, Lochaber and Skye.

Wow; you are so lucky.

before you leave home get hold of No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod which apart from being beautifuuly written, is hugely moving and is about a family emigrating from Loch Shiel to Nova Scotia.

I would suggest that you start in Englandshire, then you take a week for the south and base yourselves in Edinburgh and do day trips into the Borders and Fife and Perthshire; then a week somewhere about Glenfinnan which will give you all those things you're looking for, but let you sit in peace and quiet and beauty overlooking a noce loch or a mountain if you want to chill out a bit, before the long road home. Everywhere Janis mentioned except perhaps the Trossachs is within easy reach by day trip of Glenfinnan or Spean Bridge (I have two specific places in mind for you:))

Sheila's suggestion about a week near Glenfinan is a good one. You could do day trips out of Edinburgh, stay a night or two somewhere near Callander or Killen for the Trossachs and Stirling, and then rent a cottage near Glenfinnan for a week. That would give you a home base for easy day trips all over the area including over to Skye. A self catering cottage would be convenient because you would have a kitchen, washing machine and probably your own garden to sit out in the loooooong evenings you will have in June.