Overnight in/ near Glasgow
 

Hello, can anyone help?

We'll be driving from London to Kennacraig where we'll be catching a ferry to Islay. We reckon if we set off fairly early morning we can get as far as Glasgow on the first day and overnight there. That leaves us a few more hours drive before a 1pm ferry crossing from Kennacraig.

Does anyone have any suggestions for hotels/ B&Bs that might suit?

Would it be better to find something in the heart of Glasgow or to avoid the traffic and stay on the outskirts? If the latter, where would be best to stay in terms of roads/ routes?

We'd probably stay in same place on way home as well.

Thanks for your help!

Hi Kavey, can't help but thought I would say hello. Roger.

Howdy! :D

Topping, anyone?

I'll top again with a wave - sorry I can't help much :(

I did some research into the area when I was looking to find a place there myself, but decided to stay in the area between (and north!) of Edinburgh/Glasgow. Here are the ones I came up with, for what it's worth:

Adelaides GH (city centre)
Highland House B&B (Callander)
Riverview Guest House B&B (Callander)
The Inn & Bistro at Strathyre B&B (Strathyre)
Craigbuie House (Killin)
All are under £30 per person per night.

Nice to see you! Thanks for the list.

I'm hoping someone who knows the city / area will chime in too as I'm still not sure whether we should go right into centre or bypass and stay on outskirts?

Can't help specifically since I usually rent cottages for a week at a time when in that area. But I personally would not go into the center of Glasgow just for an overnight pit stop. Just too much traffic and hassle.

I'd probably either stay short of Glasgow like around Moffat and get an early start the next morning, or press on to just beyond Glasgow and stay on/near Loch Lomond (Balloch, Luss, etc.)

I looked at Moffat as the location would be good for a stop. But I didn't know anything about whether it would be a good/ bad place to stop. I wouldn't be first in line for an overnighter in East Kilbride, for example, so wanted some input on outskirt locations that would be suitable for an alternative stop!

Moffat is fine and there are lots of accomodations in all types/price ranges

Either stay in the city or west of the centre - there are plenty of small hotels along Sauchiehall Street from where its easy to get to Great Western Road which takes you all the way to Loch Lomond without making a turn.
Google "hotel Sauchiehall Street" for choices.
Take a stroll to Kelvingrove park/University in the evening.
(pronounced Suckyhall)

Kavey,

I'm from Glasgow & I'm with janisj on this one - I wouldn't come into the city unless you wanted to spend some time here, which I gather isn't the case.

I don't want to sound discouraging but you're giving yourself a lot of driving to do on both days, even before you catch the ferry.

My first reaction was to suggest stopping somewhere South of the city since you'll have had a long drive from London behind you (Moffat would have worked).

However, you've also got a fair drive ahead of you the next day. I must confess I've never actually been to Kennacraig but I'd imagine it's probably a good 3 hour drive from Glasgow? Maybe even more as the roads in that part of the country don't always allow for fast driving.

I suppose what I'm really saying is that if you have to be at Kennacraig for 1.00 then you should probably get as far up the road as you possibily can on the drive up from London.

Balloch is a small tourist town at the foot of Loch Lomond, just off the A82 & about half an hour's drive North West from Glasgow. Although I can't offer any personal recommendations, there are plenty of small hotels & B&Bs in the area which would allow you a good start on your drive to Kennacraig the next day.

If you can drive as far as Arrochar or Inveraray that would be even better, but I suspect that might be just too far to aim for.

Jim

JJBhoy is right that Moffat does leave you quite a long drive day 2. If you can get an early start, that's OK. But if you have trouble getting going really early a.m., then pressing on to at least Balloch would be best.

But I just had another thought - are you driving a personal car, or a rental?

If a rental, have you considered taking the train to Glasgow or flying to GLA and hiring a car from there. That would make your drive totally doable/reasonable.

(Of course - if you are using your own car that isn't practical)

We've used the Black Bull in Moffat as a pit stop a couple of times.

Thanks everyone!
The main reason for the looong drives is that we really can't justify taking an extra day/ additional overnight and making the holiday even longer.
We have 8 additional weeks of holiday booked in 2008 (we're self employed) and that's more than is financially wise. I just don't want to extend it any further.
We can share the driving so it should be OK I'm hoping.
We have no problem getting up early but will have a real think about the options you've provided in terms of where to overnight.

Anyone driven London to Glasgow and know how long it takes? I've used google maps and theaa to get time estimates and then padded them but still not sure how accurate they are.

Hi Kavey. In the days when I sometimes did it in a friend's car, it used to take c. 8 hours from London to Edinburgh, so Glasgow won't be much less. (It surprised me initially that the fastest Lon-Edi route is via the west coast ! So it's the same journey as far as J13 of the M74.)

I usually look at AA timings and add 1/4-1/3 on.

Flying to Glasgow & hiring a car would indeed be much easier, but a lot more expensive.

My estimates were coming out at about 8 hours so that sounds OK...

That's doable for us.

We'll make sure we set of extra early the next day to ensure we get to Kennacraig in time for the 12.30 check in!

Every time I've driven to Glasgow or Edinburgh in one day it has been from west of the city (LHR, Windsor, or Oxford)

Actual car time has averaged about 7+ hours. Adding rest/meal stops I usually plan about 9 hours.

Thanks Janis
We'll be starting from North London, we live about 10 minutes drive from Junction 2 of the M1.

Opted for the Abbotsford Hotel in Dumbarton in the end...

It'll be a LONG day on the first day, about 7-8 hours driving PLUS breaks but we'll share the driving plus we'll set off early so should still get to the hotel in plenty of time to enjoy a nice meal in the hotel restaurant.

It looks quite nice and scores well on tripadvisor.

And that leaves us a reasonable drive the next day to get to Kennacraig by 12.30 for the ferry crossing at 1.00

:)

Ha! we'll beat you! We're on the first ferry.