Scotland advice, 2 days between Cumnock and Drumtochty Castle
 

Hi. We will be in Scotland for 2 weeks in late May this year including our DD’s 3 day wedding celebration at Drumtochty Castle. More info on our trip below. Afraid I have fallen down on the job on planning and hope you can help. Thanks in advance for any suggestions! I will be posting again.

We have 2 days free for a short road trip with the bride and groom. Leaving Cumnock (near Glasgow) Saturday and arriving at Drumtochty on Monday afternoon. What to do but mostly, where to stay? We have Saturday night booked at Victoria Square in Stirling. Debating between there or somewhere else 2 nights or a second hotel Sunday night. Like the idea of Victoria Square or someplace similar that’s worth a stop and has convenient dining (and drinking) without need to drive after dinner.
Know this is vague but weekend nights, so want to book hotel(s) soon.

Overview of trip. We are parents of the bride. Groom is from Scotland. They live in US and actually, are married; eloped because Scotland wedding was delayed a year.
DH and I spent 3 days in Edinburgh 10+ years ago. Interests - Scenery, lochs, walks, cute towns, castles, a distillery or 2, maybe a little time to relax. We know this trip is short, but we like to travel thinking we can always return. Want to make the most of the days by car with DD and SIL (son-in-law). Days on our own will be travel by train.
Schedule
Wednesday evening, 5/18, arrive in Glasgow, (from US)
Thursday - sightsee Glasgow
Friday - wedding errands, stay near Cumnock.
Sat am to Monday afternoon - road-trip with DD and SIL
Monday to Thursday - Wedding celebration at Drumtochty Castle
Thursday am to Sunday - road-trip with DD and SIL
- Thursday night - Inverness area? Need to book!
- Friday and Saturday - Marmalade hotel, Isle of Skye
- Sunday - DD and SIL will drop us off in Fort William(?) and continue to Glasgow and flight to Honeymoon.
Monday to Wednesday - travel by train
- Fort William to Mallaig round trip with stop(s)
- train back to Glasgow or Edinburgh, maybe a stop or 2. Hoping the Caledonian train will add back day-trip cars by then.
Fly to Paris late Wednesday or early Thursday. River cruise departs Thursday.

Some thoughts about the journey from Cumnock and Drumtochty...

Have a stop to have a look at the Falkirk Wheel which is a wonderful example of modern engineering. It is a boat lift that raises boat 80feet between the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canals. That might sound boring, but it really is incredible - AND go for a short boat trip too.
Attachment 6332
https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/falkirk-wheel/book/

Close by are the Kelpies - another modern sculpture.
Attachment 6333

After Dunblane, do a detour to Castle Drummond Gardens, which must rank as some of the most spectacular in Scotland
https://www.drummondcastlegardens.co.uk/

The castle isn't open to the public and there isn't a cafe, so you may want to head to Crieff afterwards to find a cafe. The opening times for this year aren't on the web yet, but in the past the gardens have just been open in the afternoon .

Plan an overnight round here and then head to Drumtochy the next morning.

The ruined Edzell Castle is worth a visit and has lovely gardens too.
https://www.historicenvironment.scot...le-and-garden/

Wasley has given you some great advice -- Major musts for the Falkirk Wheel and Drummond Castle Gardens. I'd add Glamis Castle before heading up to Edzell. Just north east of Drumtochty - less than 15 miles - is a major must IMO - Dunnottar Castle which hopefully you ca squeeze in . . . and Cratehs Castle Gardens/Garden - another 15 miles.

IF it was me I would 100% skip the train out to Mallaig and back. If you take the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig when leaving Skye (you would have used the bridge bridge for tthe drive TO Skye so you'l want to take the ferry off the island) the road takes the exact same route as the train with he added benefit that you can stop wherever you want because the scenery is glorious. The scenery is actually better by the road in a lot of the route. Taking the train both directions will be a long slog and will actually get boring after a while (and I LOVE that train route). It isn't really a route where you can easily hop on hop off - practically it will be out to Mallaig then back to Ft William with just time for a meal in Mallaig.

Thanks Wasleys and Janisj, Falkirk was on our list; recently watched show about Falkirk wheel. Checking out other suggestions now.

Can I suggest Fortingall as a second stopover point? This is a tiny village at the bottom of stunning Glen Lyon, with a noteworthy hotel that might be ideal for your purposes. Fortingall is famous for the ancient yew tree in the churchyard, ostensibly the oldest living thing in Europe, and for its collection of picturesque thatched buildings, highly unusual for Scotland. There are ancient relics like standing stones in the area, and a drive up Glen Lyon is (IMO) one of the best in that part of Scotland. https://goo.gl/maps/wUCBCV1XP4DWJoTs9

Fortingall Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland
https://goo.gl/maps/eoxMA7dPZg52DBog6
Map - https://goo.gl/maps/RxeLMhDpCbjhpHjF6

I agree that the Falkirk Wheel is worth the effort, but, if time is short, I would skip the boat ride part of the experience. You can actually see the wheel operate from many vantage points if you are walking around it. IMHO, you don't see as much of the engineering from a boat.