Itinerary to Scotland 2008
 

OK, I have a group of 9 family and friends coming to Scotland next year, and here is my itinerary. Comments and critiques welcome! We are all interested in beautiful landscapes, historical sites, song and drink, meeting people.

June 13 Fly to Edinburgh
June 14-16, stay in Edinburgh
June 17-19, stay in Inverness
June 20-22, stay in Orkney
June 23-25, stay in Lewis
June 26-29, stay in Skye
June 30-July 2, stay in Mull
July 3-July 5, stay in Glasgow
July 6, fly out of Glasgow

There are several reasons for choosing the above route. Mom used to live in Edinburgh, so she wants to see how it's changed in 40 years (!!). We have ancestors from the area around Inverness (McKenzies). We wanted to be in the Orkney Islands during solstice to be new agey among the stone circles on a 3-hour sunset/sunrise :). We wanted this to be more highlands and islands than 'tourist trap' Scotland. We will have three cars, and will be able to escape eachother if needed - most of our stays will be at B&Bs.

Suggestions are welcome! We love finding out-of-the-way gems, great pubs, restaurants, etc. Thanks!

Forgot to add:

I have a website with information for all our trip members at:

www.GreenDragonArtist.com/STindex.htm

It could help others doing group trips as well.

wow, this is a big undertaking! I got nervous when organizing trips for just four of us. Good luck!

Do you need somewhere to stay in Edinburgh? I'd recommend the Knights Residence (apartment hotel) on Lauriston Street. We stayed there in a two bedroom apartment in June, and it was really nice. I think it was around 90GBP a night but rates probably change. Great location too, and it has been #1 on tripadvisor for awhile. I posted a review on there with pics which should be posted within the day I'd think (my Aberdeen review just got posted and I wrote that first).

Looks like a great itinerary. Covering lots of territory but nice long stops just about everywhere.

Whereabouts near Inverness is the family from? My only major suggestion might be to no stay IN Inverness itself but nearby. But if the family actually lived in I'ness it might make more sense to stay in teh city. But outside of the city towards Beauly to the west or Culloden or Nairn to the east would be nicer stops.

Renting houses would be great - but being in summer most would require a 7 day booking so B&Bs are probably your best bet. But you probably know finding B&Bs large enough for all 9 of you may be a tall order so staying in neighboring places may have to be an option in some areas.

oops - That should be " . . . might be to not stay IN Inverness itself . . . . "

Oh wow! Great Itinerary. Couple of comments:-

How are you getting from Orkney to Lewis?

I assume you're travelling from Tarbet to Uig when you leave?

How are you getting from Skye to Mull?

I'm just trying to focus you on timetabling these bits of the trip.

Now. Can we take teh landscapes for granted. They're just THERE. And I assume you know where the historic stuff in Edinburgh is.

There's nothing historic in Inverness, but by going a few miles you can do Brodie, Cawdor, Culloden, Clava Cairns, Ardersier, Cromarty, and Rosehearty.

On Orkeny see maes Howe, the Stones of Stenness, Skara Brae,a Broch or two, the Tomb of the Eagles and both Stromness and Kirkwall.

I'm useless of Lewis/ Harris, but make sure to see Callanish and Harris's beaches.

On Skye, forget history and just do landscapes.

Mull- go to Iona.

I always find Orkney disappointing when it comes to song, but pick small pubs and you'll find nice people all oper

Amelie: Thanks for the tip on Edinburgh apartment. I'll definitely look it up! My dad is trying to get RCI (timeshare) points for the Edinburgh portion, but that isn't likely, as it's for less than a full week.

Our McKenzies are from Strathpeffer, where I've been before for the 2000 highland games. The 'ancestral castle' is Castle Leod, which isn't open to the public, but can be arranged ahead of time. We were looking at a B&B down the coast that used to be an old church, thought it might be interesting. Clava Cairns, Culloden, Cawdor and Beauly are all on the list :)

We are planning on doing ferries from Thurso to Stromness and back, drive to Ullapool, ferry to Stornoway, drive to Tarbert, ferry to Uig, drive down to Mull, ferry over and back (and yes, spend some time on Iona), and then drive to Glasgow from there. I've calculated ferry costs for cars and people, and unfortunately can't find a
'hopper' pass that covers enough :)

Every item on your list for Orkney and Lewis are on mine :) With several days in each spot, it should be fine.

Any ideas if we might catch some Aurora Borealis? I know they aren't common in the summer, but perhaps it's a possibility :)

Sheila, I think your message got cut off? Small pubs are great, that's one of the highlights of any trip to the Isles :)

Oh - that is great - staying in/near Strathpfeffer/Beauly would be great (instead of Inverness).

The CalMac "hopper" fares do save a lot of money - I doubt any of them cover all your ferry trips - but maybe a combination of some ferry packages and some single tickets would work out. I can't bring the site up just now and my "hard copy" of their catalog is several years old so probably too many changes to be useful.

oops didn't mean to click post - you probably know CalMac doesn't serve Orkney . . .

Yup, I saw Orkney was either Northlink or something with a P... the P ferry seemed cheaper overall by a bit.

Yeah, none of the hoppers cover what we need, and the groups never add up to less than the single tix would be. Ah well! As long as it's pre-budgeted, all is good :)

This was the near-Inverness B&B I was thinking of, it's actually in Urquhart:
http://www.scotlandby.com/oldkirkchurch/index.html

Looks interesting - but for your purposes, I personally would look closer to I'ness around Beauly/Strathpeffer or on the Black Isle, or possibly between I'ness and Nairn. Urquhart is about 40 miles east of Inverness so not at all convenient for touring around where your ancestors are from.

OK, I'll look a little closer in :) Probably near Strathpeffer, that was such a nice little town as I recall, with a pretty spa, and a wonderful falls just north of it (Rogie Falls, I think)>

yep - Rogie Falls.

Somewhere in the Strathpffer/Beauly/Fortrose triangle would be a good base -- right in the middle of your family's area, near the castle, and still convenient to visiting places just east of Inverness like Culloden/Clava Cairns, Fort George, and Cawdor/Brodie csatles.

When I get home I'll see if I have any links to B&Bs around there (a couple of times, I've rented a cottage up the River Beauly a bit, but they only rent by the week)

http://www.heatherlie.co.uk/ Is a very nice place - but it only has room for 6 people :( maybe 3 could stay in a neighboring B&B??

Like this one that also only sleeps 6 or 7 http://dunravenlodge.co.uk/

This one is on the outskirts of the village and is large enough for your whole group http://www.gardenhouseguesthouse.co.uk/

I guess I did get cut off, but I have no idea what I was going to say.

The Lovat Arms in Beauly is nice.

Wonderful selections, janisj - I really like the look of them all. I've got 'em bookmarked, thanks!!!

first impression is that your itinery is quite ambitious. dont underestimate the travel time between your venues. ( we live in edinburgh but confess we havent been to many of your choices.)Is there a boat connecting your islands or are you going via the mainland?

Oh, yes, there are ferries for each of our island crossings.

I've driven in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales, and know that an average of 35 mph is about the best we can hope for, especially up in the highlands, due to road quality and sheep traffic :)

The longest travel day is a very long one, going from Orkney to Lewis. There's the ferry, then the drive from Thurso to Ullapool, then another ferry. Luckily, we can relax on the ferries, and there isn't much driving on either end to/from the ferries, once we're on the islands.

Actually, I don't think your itinerary is overly ambitious at all - given the you do know about that one killer travel day.

The only other time I've been to Scotland (well, not counting when my mom was pregnant with me) was a 'plaid blur' tour, where we were in a different B&B each night. Four nights - Perth, Inverness, Skye, Oban. Never again!

Are you aware you'll be in Orkney during the St Magnus Festival ? http://www.stmagnusfestival.com/
Depending on where you want to stay, it's probably worth booking your accommodation there asap.

We keep thinking of going but it keeps losing out to the Italian weather :-)

When I was in Scotland a couple years back, we drove from Inverness to John O'Groats and took the ferry there to Orkney. It was a nice drive and ferry ride. Also while in/on(?) Orkney, a stop at the Italian Chapel is worth the time.

On the way back, we stopped at Dunrobin Castle. We hadn't heard about it before but saw sign on the road and it was around lunchtime, so we pulled in. We could only spend a couple of hours, but would have liked to have an afternoon to fully appreciate the gardens and falconry as well as the castle itself.

Hi Green Dragon, Have a look at my website, www.glasgowstepon.com If you think Ican be of help, please email. I can give advice on Glasgow and Edinburgh. Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, but Glasgow is the largest city, there are cultural differences. you can have a better time at a Glasgow funeral than at a Edinburgh wedding !!!

Chris_1943: Welcome to Fodors. We have a lot of Scots on here - and they are willing to share great info w/o flogging a for-profit website. (unless you missed the rules when you registered, advertising is not allowed on here)

Yup, noticed the dates of St. Magnus. Does it fill up that quickly? Should I treat it like Edinburgh in August? :)

Chris.. have you joined us? Another weegie? Good, we could do with one- that JJBhoy bloke is just unreliable:)

Do stay please(just don't punt the web site- Fodors are pretty sensitive about their rules). I speak as a furryboot.

SHEILA RITCHIE!!!

I'll "unreliable" ye'

Whatever that means :-)

Jim

It was a joke. Really. It was!

(:):))

Rivalries aside, I'd love recommendations for good value B&Bs in any of the places I'm staying, as well as interesting places to eat.

As always, I can't really do B&Bs, but for eateries:-

Edinburgh- Vin Caffe, The Dining Room, Cafe Vittoria (and I read they'd opened somewhere more upmarket on the Bridges. Have you been, Caroline?), the Kalpna, Black Bo's.

Inverness:- forget it. Culinary desert.

Orkney- I've always been disappointed in Orkeny, but I think it's something I'm doing wrong. There's a very nice wee cafe with good food, down on the pier in Stromness, and the Creel in St Margaret's Hope, gets a good name. Ummm. That's it, ed.

Skye- Cafe Arriba on the Harbour, Eilean Iarmain and Kinloch Lodge on Sleat; oh, and did I mention the Three Chimneys?

Mull- mmm. YOu might like to get the Fishnish ferry across to the White House in Lochaline

Glasgow- Babbity Bowster, the Ashoka, Cafe India, Rococo, Rogano, Stravaigin, the Ubiquitous Chip, the Wee Curry Shop
July 3-July 5, stay in Glasgow
July 6, fly out of Glasgow

Hi Sheila. No, haven't been to the new Vittoria's. Or the Herbe Bistro, also on GIV Bridge, where the Marque people went - have you ?

GreenDragon - my recommendations for Edinburgh eateries...

If you want gourmet, there are three restaurants with one Michelin star.

Martin Wishart's in Leith is fantastic, especially if you have the six course tasting menu (which will all be cooked by the man himself) – now also available in a veggie version. The tasting menus are £60pp for food, £50pp for a wine to match each course - £10 less for each at lunchtime. Three courses £50, bargain set lunch at £22.50 available Tue-Fri. It's very high class but friendly and unstuffy. Book 2-3 months in advance for weekend dinner, less for weekday dinner and lunch. IMO should be 2 stars.

The other starred restaurant is Number One in the Balmoral : food nothing special IMO, ambience is more formal & traditional.

The Kitchin, also in Leith, opened last July & got a star this January – some going ! It's really good but not as good as MW.

If you want 'modern Scottish', Stac Polly on Grindlay Street used to be good, but I've read mixed reviews in the last year. Also branches on Dublin Street and St Mary's Street.

La Garrigue on Jeffrey Street is a small French restaurant specialising in cooking of the Languedoc where the chef-proprietor is from, as are all the wines. The food & the chef are both lovely and the ambience is correct but relaxed. If you sit near the window there is a view of Calton Hill & its monuments.

For Italian, La Partenope on Dalry Road is wonderful. The chef-proprietor & his food are Neapolitan & it's the best Italian food (especially seafood) I've had outside southern Italy. Unusually for an Italian restaurant, in the UK at any rate, even the desserts are home made & very good. They also have a very interesting list of southern Italian wines largely based on little known grape varieties. The ambience is very relaxed.

Centotre on George Street is a busy, buzzy Italian caffe-bar offering everything from a coffee & cannolo to cocktails to to a full slap-up 4 course meal. Can be expensive for the full works but v. reasonable for just a pizza or a bowl of pasta, both of which are very good (best pizza in town IMO).

When we have visitors we've always taken them for Sunday lunch in Leith (the old docks area - which I have now moved to !). There are lots of nice waterfront places, notably the Shore, where you can eat in the restaurant or in the pub; the Waterfront (more upmarket) and Skipper's. All of these are particularly good for fish but do other things too - the Waterfront does vg steak from the Duke of Buccleuch's estates. I used to think Fisher's in Leith was the best for fish but had a very disappointing experience there last time we went. I haven't tried Fisher's in the City for some time so won't judge it, but other posters here have praised it recently.

Both Black Bo's and David Bann's do very interesting & innovative vegetarian cusine. BB's is very casual, studenty even, & DB's is smart casual & v. modern . Both v. reasonably priced.

Incredibly cheap - a) the Mosque, Chapel Street/West Nicholson St (1-7pm I think, except Fridays), for more curry & rice/naan etc than you can eat for £3 (meat & veggie) - outdoors eating, though, so no fun if cold or wet; b) Palmyra on Nicholson Street - £2.80/£3.80 for vg chicken shwarma with salad in flatbread, or even cheaper veggie ones like feta or baba ganoush.

I've never had good fish & chips in Edinburgh.

If you want recommendations for any other specific types of cuisine, please ask.

sheila and caroline have given you all sorts of great selections. On Mull be sure to eat at the Keel Row pub in Fionnphort. Really good fresh food. I usually like to stay in Fionnphort .

This B&B is terrific and is right next door to the Keel Row and about a hundred yards from the ferry to Iona (well just about ALL of Fionnphort is w/i a 100 yards of the ferry :) ) http://www.seaview-mull.co.uk/

But you'd probably have to book up the whole place to fit you group and it is very popular so you'd need to book ASAP. The view across the sound to Iona and the Abbey is terrific and the sunsets are to die for.

Such great information! Copying all this down for our itinerary suggestion pages :) Thanks :)