Need help planning a trip to Scotland
 

Hi!

My husband and I are planning on Aug 30-Sept 2 in Peterfield (an hour west of London) and then traveling up to Glasgow (probably sleeper train on 2-3) and spending Sept 3-11in Scotland, flying home on Sept 12 from Edinbourgh. There seems to be alot of knowledgeable people on this forum and I could really use some help in making the best of out time.

We are interested in possibly hiking 2 or 3 days on the Highland Way but realize that we probably need to rent a car at some point and I'm not sure how to fit that in. I also found out that Pitlochry is having its Highland Games on Sept. 8 and it would be fun to work that into the intinerary. Another option is that Peebles are having thiers on Sept 9th. We generally are more interested in seeing small towns and the countryside then cities and Skye and some of the smaller islands sound really beautiful. We would like to spend a day or two in Edinbourgh before we fly ouy though.

Thanks so much for your help- I'm really excited to go but planning all of the details seems a little overwhelming!

Just to get started, a wee bit of geography. Pebbles is about a hour south of Edinburgh and could be done as a day trip. However, IMO the city deserves at least two full days on its own.

The hiking option can be done almost any where in the Highlands. Skye is well known for hiking as are the Trossachs, the area around Pitlochry and really almost anywhere else in this part of Scotland.

I would definitely recommend renting a car and this can easily be done in Glasgow.

Both janisj and shelia are very good at suggesting itineraries. I'm sure they'll see your post and provide you with some good ideas.

If you do plan on attending any Highland Games, I'd suggest you book as early as possible.

Do you mean book a B&B in the town?

yode

I feel your pain. You've identified a month's worth of things you want to do in 8 days, so let's try to narrow it down a bit.

I assume you'll arrive in Glasgow off the sleeper on the morning of the 3rd. Please confirm. Your typing is like mine, and there's a "then" in there that I think should maybe be "than"; so, on the basis that Glasgow is a fine shopping and eating city with high quality architecture, and great shopping, but little (it's all relative) visible history. So, how long there?

I think you need at least 2 days in Edinburgh at the end (3 would be no back thing)

You could do either of those Gameses. the Pitlochry one will be more Highland, and you could pick it off on the way back to Edinburgh; or you could do Peebles as a day trip from Edinburgh. What sort of walking do you want to do?

Sorry I wasn't very clear with my first post :) I should edit myself a little more!

Yes, we will be arriving in Glasgow on the morning of Sept 3 after taking the sleeper train from London. From what I've read, Edinburgh sounds more like our style and we would rather spend time there then in Glasogow since time is so limited this trip. So, I guess we were planning on just passing through Glasogow this trip and not really spending time there.

As far as hiking, we had originally planned on just taking this trip to hike the Great Glen Way or the West Highland Way (staying at B&B's overnight) but decided we would rather sample a little more of what Scotland has to offer. I was wondering if there was a portion of a longer trail that would be nice to hike over 2-3 days rather then the 5-7 that it would take to hike the entire trails. We are pretty fit and up for a challenge. I know historytraveler said there is good hiking in Skye.

What is Pitlochry like? Is it a place that would be nice to spend a couple of nights in? I just wonder if we should forget going to the Games since they are right in the middle of our time but physically near our terminal point (Edinburgh).

Wow this is getting long! Thanks for taking the time to read and help!

Ok so I've been working on our itinerary a little more and I could use some feedback.

Sept 2- Overnight train to Glasgow from London

Sept 3- Arrive in Glasgow, pick up rental car, drive to Oban where we spend the night

Sept 4- Leave the car parked in Oban, take ferry to Mull, bus tour across Mull, ferry to Iona where we spend the night

Sept 5- Back to Oban where we pick up the car and drive to Glencoe where we spend the night

Sept 6- Drive to Skye where we spend the night

Sept 7- Skye

Sept 8- Drive to Pitlochry to take in the Highland Games (does any one know how long this might take?) Spend the night in Pitlochry

Sept 9- Pitlochry

Sept 10- Drive to Edinburgh

Sept 11- Edinburgh

Sept 12- Fly home

Does this sound feasable?

Thanks,
Sarah

Sarah, I'd think about taking the train from Glasgow to Oban and seeing if you can pick up the car there - seems like a waste to have a car just to park it for 2 days. The train to Oban doesn't run too often, 2 or 3 trains per day, so you want to check the timing. The ride is beautiful - maybe prettier than the drive (the way diverges just a bit). There's a very cool castle that you pass along the way.

<i>&quot;Drive to Pitlochry to take in the Highland Games (does any one know how long this might take?) Spend the night in Pitlochry&quot;</i>
The games will last all day, but if you are driving from Skye, you will miss much/most of the day's activities. The AA puts the drive at nearly 5 hours from Portree via the bridge. Plus, the drive takes you through some beautiful bits of Scotland and you'll be rushing to get to Pitlochry so you don't miss the whole thing entirely. A bit of a tough way to tour, imo.

Meant to say, the AA puts the route at nearly 5 hours, and usually driving in Scotland takes longer than estimated. I don't think there's much point in rushing across Scotland to attend a Highland Games that you may not reach until late afternoon. Things usually wind up by 5:00 or 6:00, in my experience, although I've not been to Pitlochry's Games.

Pitlochry itself is nice enough - very pretty town, but very touristy. There's lots to see and do nearby and better towns to stay - you'll get good advice here. We have always stayed in Pitlochry, but we had an evening event in town that didn't finish until late, so it has made sense for us. We do have a favorite restaurant, so if you end up there, I'll let you know. On Games day you might want to reserve the meal in advance.

If it were me, I'd take my car on the ferry to Mull. You can't take it to Iona - but you can park it in Fionnphort for your overnight on Iona.

A car is a BIG convenience for touring Mull. And you can get a combo CalMac car/passenger pass that covers the ferry to Mull and the ferry to Skye.

YOu need to be at the Games, ideally, 2-5. At least 2-4. Unless you're going to take the car to Mull, don't get it till you get back from there, at all. The station is right at the ferry terminal

Do you know of a rental co. that would do a one eay lease from Oban to Edinburgh? The one place I found (Alimo, I think) that would do a car rental from Oban to Edinburgh was actually charging $200 more for that 5 day rental then for an 8 day rental from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Would there be a carpark available if we did just decide to rent in Glasgow?

On a different note, does any one have sugestions of reasonably priced but atmospheric B&amp;B's in any of our planned locations? Any great places to eat?

I meant to type &quot;one way&quot; :)

I agree with the poster who suggested taking your car to Mull. When I was there with my nephews, we stayed on Mull and enjoyed driving. There are two castles that we visited along the way.

Our B&amp;B arranged for us to take a trip to Staffa on the day we went to Iona. Staffa was magic. We had a sparkling clear day and got up fairly close to puffins. The trip left Fionport (sp?) in the morning and we had a couple of hours on Staffa and then we were left on Iona where we explored several hours before returning to our car in Fionport. The ferry to Iona only takes
10 minutes or less.

We went to highland games in Fort Augustus. Now this was ten years ago and in a different venue from the ones you are considering. We just stumbled on these and there was no need to buy tickets ahead. It was in a big field. We wandered around looking at animal exhibits--saw some rare breeds of sheep and cattle which were explained. There were displays of highland dancing. An emcee told us lots of history to go with the dances.

The history of plaids and kilts was related and a demo of how kilts were originally used and put on showed us some things we hadn't known.

Then there were the athletic events. Again the history of the events was explained. There was also a chance for kids to participate. My nephews (11 and 14) were welcomed into events.

There were lots of grills selling food (burgers and dogs, chicken, soda, icecream).

We spent most of the day there and we agreed that it was a highlight of the trip. (However, there were many on that 15 day trip.)

I hope that your trip is as wonderful!

From reading the posts, Mull seems to be a neat place. Would it be better to plan on spending the night there rather then in Oban?

Teacher,

Its nice to hear that the Highland Games were such a memorable part of your trip. It sounds like we should definately make that part of our itinerary even if we have to cut something else out (which I hate to do!). I wish we had unlimited time for this trip.... but I guess there is always next time.

If it were me, I'd press on to Mull rather than stay in Oban. But there is a lot of interest around Oban as well, so you won't be wrong whichever you choose.

I really like Mull -- the amazing white sand beaches, the castles, Tobermory - plus Iona and Staffa of course.

I too would suggest Mull rather than Oban

There are plenty of good Wolsey Lodges in Scotland which offer Luxury B&amp;B their website which is user fruiendly is www.wolseylodges.com

Hope that this helps

Pitlochry was my base camp for my first ever visit to Scotland. The main street is really touristy and not much as far as food/bars. It is a good middle ground for travel up and down the eastern coast. We stayed at the Ashbank House and the owners, Helen &amp; Bob were fantastic. They made us feel like family. There is a castle ruin, brewery and distillery within walking distance.

www.ashbankhouse.co.uk
www.moulininn.co.uk
www.scottish-towns.co.uk/perthshire/pitlochry/

Thanks for the links and the reccomendations. Has any one every used Alternative Boat Hire to tour the coast of Iona and Mull?

Well, I'm making good progress with my planning and I have most of our stays booked, but I was wondering if anyone has ever stayed at a B&amp;B on Skye that they would reccomend? Whis part of the island is best?

Thanks for your help,
Sarah

I don't do B7Bs so I can't answer that part of your question.

all of Skye has its joys, but it's very dijointed so I'd suggest you stay either a) somewhere nice or b) somewhere close to where you want to be.

If price's no objection then I'd suggest the Three Chimneys for Skye.. excellent food and superb view..

Getting ready to fly out on Wednesday.
Aug 29- fly out
Aug 30- arrive Gatwick- drive to friend's house in Petersfield
Sept 1- Petersfield
Sept 2- Petersfield
Sept 3- Fly from Southampton to Glasgow- pick up rental car and drive to Mull (Glengorm Castle)
Sept 4- Spend morning sailing (Alternative boat hire) end up on Iona. Spend night at hostel.
Sept 5- Drive to Glencoe- Clachaig Inn
Sept 6- Drive to Skye- Roskhill House
Sept 7- Roskhill House
Sept 8- Drive to Pitlochry (via Inverness) and take in Highland games. Stay at hostel
Sept 9- Pitlochry
Sept 10- Drive to Edinburgh, drop off rental car. Stay at Grassmarket No-1 apartment.
Sept 11- Edinburgh
Sept 12- Fly home.

Any comments on must see things in these areas or wonderful places to eat (local interest type places, price doesn't really matter). Any last second sugestions? Thanks!

Glad you decided to fly from Southampton to Glasgow. This is definitely the way to go - Southampton is a small efficient airport, nothing like the nightmare of the London airports and a FlyBe ticket is a LOT less than a sleeper train ticket from London. Provided you have an early morning flight you should have no real problems getting over to Mull by the late afternoon/early evening. Have you booked your ferry crossing?

Highland Games: ignore the poor advice about booking ahead for Highland Games. No need, just turn up on the day. The Pitlochry Games are a particularly good example. The only thing that bothers me is your drive rom Skye to Pitlochry (via Inverness???) to get there before the ganmes end at 5:15pm. Inverness is way off track for this journey and it always baffles me why tourists always want to go to great lenghts to visit Inverness. Nothing really wrong with it, but the city itself has little of interest to visitors. Given that it will take you at least 4 hours to cover the ground from Skye to Pitlochry, you need to start early and drive as directly as possible.

flying up is a great choice. just a few quick comments . .

I agree w/ Gordon - I'd probably skip the detour up to I'ness. Even just going across the A87/A86 to Dalwhinnie and down the A9 to Pitlochry skipping the Loch Ness/Inverness loop will still be a long drive.

On Mull try to eat at the Keel Row - it is in Fionnphort just down the way from the ferry to Iona. Really good food.

I think you guys are right- Inverness just will not happen this trip! I have not booked the ferry from Oban to Mull yet- do you think it is reasonable to catch the 1400 ferry if we pick up the rental car at 0900? Would it be better to go for the 1600?

I wouldn't bother booking the ferry so loong as you don't have to be on THAT one. That way, if you get there, that's fine, and if you don't you don't.

You could take either of these ferries to Mull if you pick up your hire car at GLA at 09:00. Which one you choose could depend on whether you drive straight to Oban (in approx 2.5 hours) or if you stop off to visit Loch Lomond on the way, and believe me it is well worth seeing.

A few more thoughts about Pitlochry. When we went to the Highland Games a few years ago the town was (not surprisingly) very full. No major problems although getting a decent restaurant to eat in was tricky. All the most appealing places seemed to be fully booked. If you have the time, you might consider an evening's performance at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre www.pitlochry.org.uk. It's summer season is very popular and the productions are high quality.

If the weather is OK, do not miss under any circumstances, the Queen's View, a magnificent viewpoint in the hills about 10 miles NW of the town. It's named after Queen Vic who apparentlly was very impressed when she visited it. On the way, there's the Pass of Killiecrankie (a great Scottish placename if ever there was one), with its charming story of the escaping clansman jumping over the river. See for yourself if you think it could have been done.

Finally Petersfield (actually my own home base!); you're possibly the first person on this forum to stay here. But don't let that put you off, it's a prosperous, archetypal English market town with a beautiful mediaeval market square, great little shops and restaurants and surrounded by the South Downs chalk hills. I'm sure your friends will give you a whistle stop tour!

Sheila- good to know that booking the feery ahead is not imperative. It will be nice to have some flexibility with our timing

Gordon- what a coincidence! I've seen some photos of Petersfield and it looks like everything that I love about England. I'm not sure what all our hostess has planned but I know that we will be attending the Anglican church on Sunday and then checking out the farmers' market afterward. Last time I visited her she lived in Shaftesburry so I'm looking forward to getting and intimate view of a new town. Its always nice to have a local contact so that you can experience the true essence of a place.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful posts- this forum really helped me to focus and fine-tune our itinerary. There has been alot going on with my family these last couple of weeks and this trip will be a much-needed getaway. I'll let you know how everything goes.