PaddyCinn

My fiancee and I are beginning to plan our honeymoon in Ireland and Scotland next August (maybe late July to early August). Week 1, we'll chill in Galway most of the time, then visit my relatives in Leitrim the last couple of days. Then Week 2 in Scotland, we want to spend most of the time on one of the islands -- probably Skye, but we're pretty open to suggestions, having never been to any of them -- and then probably Edinburgh the last couple days, and fly from there back to the States.

My question is about the, er, transition from Week 1 to Week 2. One scenario is we take a train from Carrick-on-Shannon to Dublin, then a plane to Glasgow, then a train to Fort William (maybe stay in Fort William), then the scenic train to Mallaig, and finally the ferry to Armadale on the Isle of Skye. And even upon arrival in Armadale, we'd have to then take a bus to Portree. (Driving is out of the question -- I'm an anxious driver here in my native U.S.A. If I tried to drive over there, on the opposite side of the road, not to mention opposite side of the car itself, I would drive my lovely bride batty and enjoy none of the scenery.)
So, what do you think about that route from Leitrim to Skye? Is it completely bonkers? Would it be much smarter to somehow (unclear) get to Belfast or Larne and take a ferry to one of the smaller islands? Would we be better off spending most of the week on one of the smaller islands anyhow, considering we won't have a car? (Thinking we could rent a bike and/or walk on one of those.)

janisj

one question - Can't your bride drive? (it isn't just the man's job) Seeing the island(s) is easier by car.

Whatever you decide, don't stay in Ft William. If you end up doing this by train - then stay a night in Glasgow and take the train to Mallaig the next morning. There is a LOT to see/do in Glasgow. Ft William really is nothing much.

IMO flying to Glasgow makes tons more sense than schlepping on the ferry from NI to Scotland and then having to navigate all the way north.

PaddyCinn

Oops! Yeah, she doesn't want to drive, either.

So, Glasgow-to-Fort William-to-Mallaig-to-Armadale isn't too much of a slog? This is food for thought. Thanks!

PaddyCinn

How about at the front end? Does anyone have thoughts as to whether the train from Carrick-on-Shannon to Dublin makes sense? An alternative, I think, would be a bus to Sligo (or Knock?) and plane from there to Glasgow? Would that be a little easier?

janisj

Another really doable option to at least think about . .

If you want an island experience but it doesn't have to be Skye specifically - - there are regular flights from GLA to Islay. It is a terrific place, amazing scenery, distilleries, etc.

http://www.scotland-inverness.co.uk/islay.htm
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...sla/index.html

flanneruk

In Ireland, you need to use the CIE bus website, as well as the Glasgow and Prestwick airport websites to check on where flights arrive from. Usually, there are more flights from Derry (to where there's good CIE and Ulsterbus services from all over the NW of the Republic) than from Sligo or Knock. Fares are often a lot lower from Dublin though.

There are ferries from Northern Ireland only to the Scottish mainland. From those ports, getting to Skye is a really, really serious pain: in practice from Stranraer to Glasgow, then onwards as if you'd (sensibly) flown to Glasgow in the first place

Glasgow to Mallaig by train is a joy. Then a nice ferry (if it's still running) and a ruinously pricey bus to Portree. Start 9 am ish: get to Portree by teatime. Worth almost every second.

PaddyCinn

Thanks so much for all this info. Gahh, Islay does sound great, too. This is such a tough call!

sheila

Paddy, if you email me, I'll send you a doc on Islay which I hope will make up your mind

GeoffHamer

How about Arran? It's a mountainous, sparsely-populated island, but is easy to reach. From Glasgow, the journey time is about two hours, by train to Ardrossan, then ferry (www.calmac.co.uk).
There are buses from Sligo and other Irish towns to Belfast (www.buseireann.ie). From Belfast, you can take the ferry to Stranraer then a train, or there are buses from Belfast to Glasgow via the Stranraer ferry and Ayr (www.nationalexpress.com). From Ayr, there are local buses to Ardrossan.

PaddyCinn

Hmm, I keep reading that Arran is "Scotland in miniature," but my ignorant impression upon looking at it on a map is that it has to be the least interesting island, since it appears to be in a bay rather than out at sea. Is there really much to see there? I think we'll be happy as long as there's
a) a distillery
b) a broch (or similarly ancient structure)
c) a castle
and of course, d) nice scenery. Bonus points for non-expert-but-scenic walking trails, beaches, and evident Gaelic culture. (I'm not banking on great trad. music, but it'd be a big plus.)

PaddyCinn

Oh, about the buses -- see, I couldn't figure out how to get to Belfast via Bus Eireann -- it doesn't even seem to be an option in their pull-down menu on the website. (Although maybe I shouldn't worry about it, as I'm hearing that it might be easier to fly anyway.)

GeoffHamer

The highest point on Arran is Goat Fell (2866 ft). The island is more mountainous than Islay (highest point 1609 ft) and further from the mainland than Skye. Arran has a distillery (www.arranwhisky.com), castles at Brodick and Lochranza, and ancient standing stones on Machrie Moor.

Bus Eireann's route 66 goes from Sligo to Enniskillen where it connects with buses to Belfast:
www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1258132202-66.pdf

sheila

you are definite;y talking Islay. You really are.