We will be in Scotland in Sept. (we love the country and people)and need a referral for a reliable car rental out of Inverness returning the car to Ediburgh. We are driving from Glenlifit area to Callender via Ft. William and are wondering if that is dooable in a day and/or how many hours it would take? Need recommends for a nice/quaint place to stay in Callender and Edinbugh. Any help would be most appreciated.

I'll send a fuller reply when I get home to my books, but with regard to the middle question, do you mean Glenlivet? I'm not being picky, just intending to check that you are where I think you are. <BR> <BR>if you do, then it will take you about 3 hours to go from glenlivet to Fort William and the same again down to Callendar. So it's definitely doable in a day, but you'd enjoy it more if you took two. <BR>

The Old Roman Camp in Callander used to be wonderful, but the last time we stayed there it was a disappointment. It was the last week of the "season" so that might have been the reason (the hotel was understaffed) and it rained the entire time too. Try to get some other peoples'input. If they sound good, I would go with it.Callander is a charming town, rain or not!!

We did a 10 day driving tour in Scotland in August of '97. I had had so many problems with european car rental agencies over the years that I decided to go with something "All American"...we used Alamo (can't get any more American than that!) and were extremely pleased. We picked up and returned to Glasgow - not sure where else they have offices. <BR>We found Callender to be pretty touristy although we enjoyed a long walk to a waterfall just outside of the town as well as a nearby auto museum. We very much enjoyed our stay at Cromlix House hotel in Kinbuck ( near Dunblane) not too far from Callender as I recall. Very pleasant staff, good food, gorgeous rooms, very peaceful location at Cromlix. <BR>We did drive from Kinbuck to Ft. William in one day - probably took 4 to 5 hours. <BR>A longish drive but not impossible. A lot of the trip was through a rather mountainous area with a single line of traffic on pretty twisty roads - very pretty but not too speedy. We should have packed a lunch as there was no place to stop to buy one, buts lots of great spots for picnics. <BR>Hope this helps - enjoy the trip.

I think if you want to pick up in one place and leave in another you probably need to use one of the majors. Inverness has Budget, Europcar, Thrifty and Hertz. <BR> <BR>if you are thinking of staying outside Callender I would suggest the Monachyle Mhor 01877 384622 which is beginning to get a great reputation

We just got back from Callendar and had a great time. It is a good center for travel in central scotland. You didn't mention how long you will be there. We spent a week and rather than do a hotel or B&B, we did a 'self catering accomodation'. We stayed a place called Leny Lodge. They also have a B&B called Leny House. They both are in the middle of a large farm just outside the town. <BR> <BR>This and other accomodations can be found at the visitbritain.com website. <BR> <BR>I found the drive from Ft. William to Callendar to be the most interesting of our trip.

I stayed at the Cromlix House for a few days last September and it was VERY nice. I think it was pretty expensive, though (I didn't pay) and for me, it was a bit of a distance to town. <BR> <BR>As my hosts were smart enough not to trust me behind the wheel, they arranged for a driver to give me a tour around the region. We sort of speed through Callender, but drove slower through the very quaint towns of Dunne and Dunblane. If I was looking to make a base in this region, I would probably choose one of these. There's also great hiking in the area. <BR> <BR>Took the train one day from Dunblane to Sterling to have a look at the castle (nice, but some was under scaffolding) and try a few pubs (another reason I'm glad I wasn't driving). <BR> <BR>My guide did take me to 3-4 castles that were outside of any towns and these were wonderful. One was perched right on the water in a Glen, though I don't remember the name. We had the whole castle to ourselves - we were literally the only people there. There's probably a book on castles in Scotland if you're interested in seeking them out.

As Sheila has already said Monachyle Mhor is a great place to stay - 6 miles up a glen - further than Rob Roys grave- beautiful scenery and food to die for <BR>Well worth the journey <BR>(we were there on honeymoon in January!)

Morag- so were my friends Graham and Morag Fraser. Did you meet them? Are you them? Is this a wind up? <BR> <BR>Brian in Atlanta <BR> <BR>Was it Dollar Castle in Dollar Glen? <BR> <BR>And incidentally the scaffolding is off Stirling Castle <BR> <BR>

Hi Sheila, no wind up - thought i'd see what you were talking about last weekend - i can see now why you are getting addicted to it! <BR>M

Sheila, I'm ashamed to say that I don't remember the name of the castle. It was on the water (loch) and was about a half mile walk from the road - a very picturesque walk. It was fairly small, mostly open air and had gone through what appeared to be very little renovation. It was a very striking view, though. <BR> <BR>I'll take better notes next time.