Planee the Highlands in 2weeks.1st week driving up from Glasgow as far as John O'G.2nd week self-catering-daily excursions from a centralised location.
Which way seems best?Drive West side and day trip NorthEast side or the opposite?
Considerations?

Supplementary:What are the chances of finding L25 pppn BnBs mid May.
When driving where will we seniors find WC's
(toilets)during the day?Does not look like there are many bushes to hide behind

You could work out a great itinerary doing it either way (drive west side/self cater NE, or Drive NE and self cater somewhere in the N/NW)

But your options are better doing it as you spelled out - driving north and then basing for a week in the NE. The main reason is that things are just more remote in the far N/NW. There are fewer places that plopping down for a week makes sense.

If it were me I'd look for a cottage somewhere along the Dee - from there you could manage day trips anywhere from Fraserburgh/Elgin to Aberdeen to the coast as far as St Andrews, to the Castle trail, to Blair Atholl to Perth. Good roads most everywhere.

janisj
I understand the Dee location and how nice that would work out.
Further to exploring the West side option for the self-catering:What if we stayed around Fort William.Would it be feasible to cover the West coast from there or some other place along there.
ps This is our first visit to the land of our ancestors.
Thank you for your advice

&quot;<i>Would it be feasible to cover the West coast from there</i>&quot;

Not really - Ft William itself is not such a great place. There are other places not far from Ft William that are fine - but they would not be good bases to see much beyond maybe Skye and Loch Ness. You could see Glenco/Skye/Mull/Oban from that area but not farther north like you mentioned wanting to visit. If you want to see some of the glorious far north - Inverewe gardens, Loch Broom, Loch Marie, the north coast etc - then Ft William just doesn't work.

But if you wanted to forego going up north - then sure, a cottage somewhere Between Ballachulish and Oban would be a decent base.

Before you decide though - where are your Scottish connections from? That might be an area to consider for your self-catering week.

I totally agree with Janis on the logic. The west is a series of in and outs, making a single base for more than 2 peninsulas very difficult- not that you can't make 2 peninsulas last for ever, but...

So drive up the west and use a base on the east.

I might go slightly further east than Deeside, but the logic is the same. Although it's not as marked in the east, the landform is a bunch of east-west river valleys, so if you can get past the heads of them, it's less hassle to cross over to the next one.

Were it me, I'd pick Highland Perthshire- Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy- leaving Deeside, Donside, Speyside. Perthshire and Fife in easy reach.

Loos are not a problem- within limitation. if nothing's been built, there won't be a loo, but most villages will have a facility you can use. And if nothing's been built you'll only have the birds to worry about

B&amp;Bs? Probably. At &pound;40 definitely.

Where are your ancestors from?

Great suggestions so far.

I think that if you based yourself more centrally say for example around the Inverness area, you could use that area as a hub and have day trips in pretty much any direction.
From there, you could see all there is to see in the immediate area, Culloden, Cawdor, Fort George, Nairn, Loch Ness etc. Drive up to the Black Isle, Strathpeffer.
Take day trips to the west coast, Ullapool, Gairloch, Inverewe Gardens,
Kyle of Lochalsh, Skye.
You would also be in a great location for taking trips further east to for castles, distilleries, Speyside.
Then you could take trips a bit south for the Cairngorms, Rothiemurchas etc.

Skye, you can't really do justice to on a day trip, but it is possible to get see quite a lot and get a sense of the place in a day.

If Skye and the North West Coast particularly appeals, then you could base yourself in that area for the week.

Alternatively, you could drive up from Glasgow through Fort William to Mallaig and take the ferry across to Armadale on Skye and spend a day or two there on your way North to John O'Groats.

As for public toilets, then the Highland Council seems to win awards for some of it's facilities every year in the Loo of the Year Awards!!!!!
I think the public toilets in Kyle of Lochalsh should be a tourist attraction in themselves! as the attendant has added all sorts of decor in the way of plastic daffodils and bits of heather in empty whisky bottles and tartan posters on the walls.
Other personal favourite loos are near the falls at Invermoriston and in the rose gardens in Tain! All important info when you are driving around!
Some facilities can be a bit grim or non existant however and that's when you will find yourself driving off down a wee track looking for that bush!

Oh, and for toilets in Aberdeenshire have look at this link!

http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/visit/toilets/index.asp

Happy planning.

My ancestors came from Auchinblae and Aberdeenshire(?).Thanks for the detailed advice.We arrive in Scotland May 3 for 19 days.We realise now that we underestimated the costs(how many times do you hear this? so are trying to decide if us old folks could handle Hostels and if not perhaps self-catering static caravans as budget stretchers.We will be looking out for Loo-of-the-year candidates.
Your advice is a great help.

Hi again,

I've just had a look at your original post and I think that certainly would be able to find B&amp;Bs on the west within your budget.

Have a look at this link which will give you some idea of the costs of B&amp;B and self catering in different areas of Scotland including Aberdeenshire.
www.scotland-inverness.co.uk/cairngorm.htm

Yes, please note I said &quot;probably&quot; not &quot;no&quot;.

If you haven't, you should read &quot;Sunset Song&quot; and &quot;Cloud Howe&quot; before you come.

My secretary lives in Drumlithie which is the next village down from Auchenblae.

Good recommendation Sheila.

You've inspired me to hunt out and dust off my yellowing copy of A Scots Quair.

You will be able to get some really good 3 and 4 star B&amp;B's for &pound;25.00/person.

We normally get the local tourism board to send us a brochure of B&amp;B accommodation in the areas and take it from there.

We prefer to check out the B&amp;B's that have web addresses with the advertisments so we can have sneak preview.

One thing to consider is evening meals. If the B&amp;B is in small village it is advisable to check if the B&amp;B offer an evening meal or you may end up driving along way for a meal!

Thanks all for the great advice