Edinburgh to Loch Ness - Enroute options for stops?
 

We (2 Moms w/ our 20 y/o daughters) are spending a week in London and Edinburgh, then renting a car for touring Scotland (at least some of it).

After Edinburgh, our first stop is 2 nights in the Loch Ness area (this is not negotiable). We opted to stay near the Loch, in the Drumnadrochit area. Since we have 2 nights there we can spend the 2nd day touring around the Loch, Glen Affrich, etc. My question is: is it possible to visit St Andrews for a few hours, and then still have enough driving time to get us to our B&B at a reasonable hour? It takes us out of our way to the East, but we would like to see St Andrews, if possible. Any other recommendations for the best route, or good stops to make along the way, would be appreciated. Maybe a scotch distillery? I'm just not certain of the driving times we will need. We will be picking up our car at Edinburgh airport around 10am.

It will take at least 5 to 6 hours to drive from EDI to Drumnadrochit via St Andrews - without ANY stopping time. B&B's don't like people arriving late in the evening, so realistically you just don't have time to visit St Andrews on this journey. St Andrews may only look like a minor detour to the east on the map, but... the main A91 road over to St Andrews is slow, twisty and notorious for delays behind slow-moving trucks and farm vehicles. I once missed an important flight thanks to under-estimating the journey time from St Andrews to Edinburgh - and I've driven that road dozens of times.

You'd be far better stopping off somewhere in Perthshire along the A9 (take your pick from Perth, Pitlochry, Killicrankie, Queen's View, Blair Castle, Scone Palace...) Loads of distilleries on this route too.

I reckon the drive time is about 5 hours- 1 1/2 to St Andrews and then 3 1/2 to Drum.

IF (emphasised) you want to do this, you could leave Edinburgh at 10.00am, be in St Andrews at 11.30, spend a couple of hours mooching around and have lunch, get on the road at 3.00pm and be in Drum at 6.30pm

Long day, but doable. The main road is the best- there is no merit in not using it.

Would you want other things to do en route?

If you don't want to do this, as Gordon says, there's masses of stuff to see en route, but there's not much point in giving you the detail if you're going to be passing at speed.

Thanks for your assistance. We are definitely not unwilling to pass up St Andrews in favor of other stops more along our driving route. I was just tryig to get an idea of the driving time. We would just as soon visit a nice distillery (any suggestions?) or other highlights on the A9. I'm not that familiar with this area, nor the best things to see. This is our first trip to Scotland and trying to gauge the travel times needed.

Leave Edinburgh towards Perth, and cross the Forth Road Bridge; you pass the rail bridge, one of the modern wonders of the world on your right, and you don't even have to slow down.

Just over the river (the Forth) Dunfermilne is on your left. Robert the Bruce, the hero king who won Bannockburn is buried here in Dunfermilne Abbey (although his heart is buried at Melrose in the borders); go back onto the main road and you will shortly come to Loch Leven, where Mary Queen of Scots was locked up in the castle on the island (v. romantic..the story of the escape- she then fled to her cousin in England for succour. She, locked her up for 20 years then beheaded her.) There is a very pretty bird reserve at Vane farm on the south side on the loch.

Just before you come to Perth you cross over the "Wicks of Baiglie" and can see right down the Tay valley to Dundee. Myth says that Julius Caesar made it this far, and seeing the broad fertile valley stopped and said "Ecce Tiberus!" (Look, the Tiber!)

Perth is a very nice little city; capital of Scotland before Edinburgh and imbued with history. There are two large parks on the edge of the city centre, the North and South Inches.(Inch is from the Gaelic innis- a meadow)The story goes that a particular Earl of Perth, wanting to be buried in the City Church, St John's, told the town magistrates " If you give me six feet, I'll give you two inches"

Take time to climb Kinnoull Hill which proudly overlooks the town and the Tay and is surmounted by a folly castle built by another Earl of Perth, who had done the Grand Tour and thought that the Tay valley was just like the Rhine except it didn't have castles on its hilltops- so he faked a couple.

Then drive on to Dunkeld, a lovely town on the Tay, with a beautiful historic square, a cathedral and some wonderful views. There's a pub in the village (the name of which I can't remember but it's the second one on the street on the right immediately over the bridge- you can't miss it) which is a fine place to spend an evening.

If you then take a wee detour west to Aberfeldy and Loch Tay you will pass Breadalbane Castle, former home of the Marquis of Breadalbane, and now a golf course! and come to the lovely 18th century planned village of Kenmore. The Loch is stunning. And if you're up to the walk, go along the north side to Ben Lawers and drive up to the National Trust visitor centre. Time it right and then walk up to the top.

Then drive back down to Pitlochry . Pitlochry is a tourist dive so don't stay long; although it is a good place to get your tweeds and tartans and woolens and things...if you've got any money left after Edinburgh. It does have a very fine distillery, Edradour, which is worth a visit.

Go north again and stop at Killiecrankie and see the famous soldier's leap. If you don't know the story, learn the song.

A couple of miles further on is Blair Atholl, another planned village and a superb castle for a visit. The Duke of Atholl is the only person is the UK licenced by the Queen to have a private army.

From Blair Atholl, go north again on the A9. You will pass a place called House of Bruar which markets itself as "the Harrods of the North" It's a real fancy shop and I hate to say it but I love it. Worth stopping.

Next up you will come to Dalwhinnie- great whisky, great distillery. I don't know if it does tours but it's worth stopping if it does. Come off the main road somewhere north of here and carry on on the old main road- less traffic and more scenic.

You come to Newtonmore and Kingussie I can never remember which comes first, but at the first one there is a superb 17th century barracks built by the English to keep the Scots down after Culloden. Worth a trip. It's immediately adjacent to Inch Marches which is another bird reserve- lots of brilliant ducks and waders ( did I mention I was into birds?) Carry on up the Spey until just before Aviemore and turn right as though you were going to Grantown on Spey. You come first to Rothiemurchus which has all sorts of visitor facilities, then to Abernethy estate, which is also owned by the bird people (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds- like the Audobon) At their Loch Garten reserve you can see Osprey which are wonderful fish eating raptors which live in Africa in winter and come to visit us in summer. They always come back to the same nest so the RSPB have a live TV camera showing everything that is going on. In any case, Rothiemurchus and Abernethy are remnant Caledonian pine forest- our oldest trees; and I guarantee you, that, unless you are made of stone, a walk off the track will make your skin tingle. You have the sensation of being where generations have been before. If you go up into the hills here ( quite a long walk- 4-5 hours, but worth every minute) you may well see Golden Eagle. By going back to Aviemore and going to the ski slopes at Cairngorm, you can take the funicular well up the mountain; but we'll all hate you for doing it the easy way. If you carry on towards and past Grantown you are into the whisky country of Speyside. Glenfiddich distillery at Dufftown may not make the best malt in the world ( there's no such thing as a bad one) but it probably does the best tour.

Back to the A9 along the Spey and you drive on to Inverness capital of the Highlands. (Aviemore is like Pitlochry but modern- avoid it like the plague) you have the Cairngorms Mountains on your right and the Monadliath Mountains on your left. It's just grand.

Just before you get to Inverness turn right and go back as far as Culloden-6 miles.(as an alternative to this you could carry on east from Dufftown and arrive at Elgin and come up the A96, stopping at some of the Moray fishing villages on the way. Culloden will appear on your left before you get to Inverness.

Inverness is at one end of the Caledonian canal, which you need to see. It has nice pubs and hotels, but is essentially a sweet little town with little to keep you in it. It's what is nearby that matters.

Leaving Inverness you cross the Kessock Bridge over the Moray Firth. You should stop at the tourist information office just over the river. It has a live closed circuit TV linkup to a Red Kite's nest; and you may see dolphins in the river from the car park If you decide to do one of the dolphin boat trips please pick one of the boats which is "approved" ie doesn't hassle and hound the dolphins all day.

Tead off down Loch Ness. Stop at Castle Urquhart, and Drumnadrochit. Buy your Nessie tee-shirt here. If you haven’t seen the movie, make sure you do.

Wow Sheila, you are a fountain of information, I'm so impressed! After reading all of the posts I have a question. My husband and I want to drive from Edinburgh to Glen Roy in one day and then back to Edinburgh. We are thinking of renting a car at the airport if it will put us closer to that area. Can we get to Glen Roy and back in one day? About what time does it get dark in early October? I don't want to be driving in the dark trying to get back in to Edinburgh and our B&B. What do you think would be the best, most direct route? Thanks for any information you can give me.

starla: Glen Roy is about 140 miles from Edinburgh and a minimum of 3.5 hours each way. Plus the road into the glen itself is very narrow (no traffic to worry about - it is just that driving to the glen from EDI is only part of the time commitment). I certainly wouldn't want to do it myself.

Sunset will be approx 6:30

From the airport is only a few miles less - but it easier to drive out of EDI than out of central Edinburgh.

Okay, now I'm scared. My husband will be driving and he's a very good driver but has never driven on the left. We want to visit a mountain climbing museum of sorts owned by a well known mountain climber/rescue guy that I heard about and emailed. He invited us to come see his collection but it may be too much for just a one day drive. I've already booked a B&B in Edinburgh for the three days we will be in Scotland or I would just say we would stay overnight in Fort William or something. Thanks for the information.

Easy solution IMO - contact the B&B and change your booking to 2 nights. It would be a shame to miss all the glorious stuff up in/near Glenroy/Spean Bridge/Glencoe. Stay one night somewhere up in the north.

Meant to add DON"T stay in Ft William - just about anyplace would be better . . . .

There are lots of B&Bs in and around Glen Roy, most of which have a moutainy theme. Get your pal to recommend one. He will be sooo impressed you're coming just for that.

You are going through lovely scenery, and frankly, could use your whole trip just doing that

Thank you JanisJ and Sheila for all your information. I think staying near Glen Roy for one night is probably the best plan and it will save a lot of stress on my part. Besides, I've never been north of Edinburgh so it's a win-win situation. This will be our 20th wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday trip, plus he's never been to Britain, so I want it to be as special as possible. Can't wait till October!!

Another place to see on the way north from Edinburgh - near Dunkeld is the Hermitage forest. It has a lovely walk through to a stone bridge and a triple waterfall, I expected elves to jump out at any moment!

A photo I took there:

http://www.greendragonartist.com/Gal...ntownWood2.jpg

Sheila and GreenDragon - Thank you for the suggestions for our route. Sheila, you are a wealth of knowledge! I had to really scour my map to find all the places you mentioned. I don't think we will have time to stop at all of them. We would like to do a distillery tour, perhaps Dalwhinnie? If we only have time for one, which is the suggestion? My husband loves MacAllan, but I read that they do not distill during July, is this the case with others? He is not coming with us on this trip, so we at least need to pay homage to Scotch whiskey for him!

Janis thanks for the suggestion of changing my B&B plans. I've done that and I saw a place on the internet called the Stronlossit Highland Country Inn in Roy Bridge that looked nice. Have you any thoughts on this place? It's only for one night but I want it to be nice and reasonable. Thanks.

Starla

I didn't like the look of the place on the web site and looking at Trip Advisor, it doesn't look too great.

Have a look at this. It's the only place I KNOW in the vicinity, although I haven't been since it changed hands last. It does get great reviews, tho'

http://www.oldpines.co.uk/

mktopks. I think I'd pick the Edradour. I was trying to give you a range to choose from, not suggest you do them all:)

I don't know it personally - but it looks fine. For a lightning trip like yours it might be best to stay a place like that w/ a restaurant and pub attached so you don't have to drive around looking for a place to eat dinner.

We are re-thinking our 2 night stay in Drumnadrochit at the beginning of our driving tour. Instead, leaving Edinburgh, driving through Fife, seeing St Andrews, staying 1 night there, and then driving on to Loch Ness, revising our stay to only 1 night there. Then we head on to 2 nights on Skye, 2 nights Oban, 2 nights Ballach, last night in Glasgow by the airport.
Three questions - What is the best driving route for Edinburgh - St Andrews - Drumnadrochit?
Does anyone know of a good, reasonably priced (30-35GBP pp)B&B for a 1 night stay in St Andrews area?
I could use suggestions for what to do in Glasgow for our last day there prior to our US return flight?

If it were me, the route I'd follow would be:-


Cross the Tay Bridge to Dundee, then cut across country to Glamis (castle) then go on to Blairgowrie where you pick up the A93 to Glenshee, and down to Braemar and Deeside. On the A93 continue east a few miles till you see signs pointing left to Tomintoul. Take that road and go over Gairn Shiel to Corgarff then turn left towards Cockbridge and up over the Lecht towards Tomintoul. You get to a T-junction just 1/2 a mile before Tomintoul and there you should turn RIGHT towards Dufftown.

Follow the road down to the Spey at Aberlour (or Charlestown of Aberlour, to give it its Sunday name). Follow the river to Grantown then go up to Nethy Bridge on the south bank.

Drive on to Aviemore,and go straight up to Inverness on the A9. Set off down Loch Ness towards Drumnadrochit, and find somewhere to stay on the loch side.

That is not the most direct route.

I would also add a day back on some where north and sty in Balloch right up to your last night. It'll take you no longer to get to the airport from Balloch than it does from Central Glasgow