Going to be in Scotland from U.S. Aug 12-24. Staying in Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Aberdeenshire area, Inverness, Skye, Oban, Lock Lomond area. Suggestions for 3-4 castles and 1-2 distilleries not to be missed in these areas? Would also welcome any other suggestions for tourists. Are in our early 60s but in good shape. No mt. climbing but up to a reasonable hike (did a glacier in Canada and mountain area in Mexico recently) Interested in Scottish history and culture. Enjoy museums, churchs, momuments as well as the outdoors. <BR>Thanks!

If you're interested in Scottish History, Edinburgh & Stirling Castles should not be missed. Eilean Donan Castle (which is on the way to Skye if you're travelling via Skye bridge) is beautiful.

Agree with Kendra. Also, just for giggles, while in the Inverness area visit the Stuart Castle, supposedly hunted. The Stuart family runs a hotel and a tour of the place is $5/pp. Lots of fun with the secret passages and fake library shelves, the tour guide was excellent in relating the history of the castle and its place in Scottish history. Beautiful countryside location, great pictures of the valley from the top tower. Also nearby is the site of the Battle of Culloden; fascinating history. In Kinross, we visited the Loch Leven Castle. Is not much to see, but it has a very interesting past as Mary, Queen of Scots was kept prisioner there for a while (pregnant at the time, she lost twins which are said to have been buried at Loch Leven). You can only get there by boat (about $3/pp). Of course, Edinburgh Castle (windy!) and the Holyrood Palace are must see. Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness has a mysterious aura, tough to explain... <BR> <BR>I envy you as I can't wait to go back to Scotland. Nice people, great food, amazing sights!!!

That Lock's a loch, Dolly, however you pronounce it. <BR> <BR>I know you're staying at Pittodrie House, so let me recommend a few castles in our neck of the woods. <BR> <BR>The Tourst Board markets this area as "castle country" becasue we have so many and many of them are open to the public. Pittodrie House itself has a castle at the core, although it has been much extended since then. <BR> <BR>You are closest to Leith Hall at Kennethmont, which is owned by the National Trust, and is very nice. the trail leads you in one direction to Kildrummy Castle which is a ruin and owned by Historic Scotland, then up through Strathdon to Corgarff Castle, which has a fascinating wall skirting it. It was a barracks for the soldiers building the Wade road nearby. Crodd over the moor to deeside and Braemar Castle which is privately owned, but open to the public, then come down Deeside to Balmoral, the Queen's wee place in the Highlands. Given your dates you are likely to be here whilst she is there and you are not allowed in whilst they are in residence, so go on to Royal Lochnagar distillery which does tours. come further along Deeside into Glen Tanar national nature reserve and pick a walk from the range on offer through uor ancient caledonian pine forest. <BR> <BR>Come back over to Craigievar and visit Craigievar castle, the sugar plum castle Disney is supposed to have used as his model. If you stay on Deeside you can visit Crathes Castle and Drum Castle, both of which are fun. crathes has the added attraction of terrific gardens. Crossing back to Donside to come home can bring you past catle Fraser with its resident ghost. <BR> <BR>If you go the other way from Leith Hall, you reach Huntly Castle another ruined ancient monument. Keep going north and you come to Fyvie Castle which is the grandet of them all. Come south to Haddo House, ancestral home of the Earls of Aberdeen, then past Tolquhon Castle at Tarves to Pitmedden, in its lovely formal gardens. <BR> <BR>To pick 3 or 4 from that lot, I'd do one of the ruins, probably Kildrummy, plus fyvie for grandeur and Craigievar for cuteness- and which ever of the rest takes your fancy. <BR> <BR>The best distillery tour (as opposed to whisky- tho' the whisky is not bad either) is meant to be Glenfiddich on Speyside. Lots of the Speyside distilleries do tours. If your route follows what you have written down, go north from Pittodrie to Inverness by following the road past Leith Hall towards Huntly. At Gartly turn left instead of right and when you get to Rhynie go over the Cabrach to Dufftown, which is where Glenfiddich is. Then go on to Tomintoul(great whisky shop) and down to the Spey. Follow the Spey to Aviemore, then go up the A9 to inverness. Not as direct as the A96 from pitcaple to Inverness, but infinitely more fun. <BR> <BR>Talisker distillery on Skye and Oban in (guess where?) Oban also do tours, and they are very different whiskies to the Speyside ones. <BR> <BR>Pittodrie is at the foot of a low mountain called Bennachie which is awash with lovely paths. <BR> <BR>Near Pittodrie is a visitor centre called Archaeolink, which interprets the ancient histoy of Scotland's people, and whcich I think you might enjoy (did I say I chair the Trust that runs it???) <BR> <BR>Go to the Discovery centre in Dundee when you leave st andrews for the story of scott of the Antartic and visit the ship which is docked there. <BR> <BR>Try Culloden battlefield near Inverness for the atmosphere of the '45. <BR> <BR>Skye is just stunning. Stop at Plockton on the way down for views and atmosphere. See the sign to Strome Ferry (no ferry) at loch Carron. Go to Elgol on Skye and take a boat trip to Loch Coruisk and see the seals. <BR> <BR>South of Oban visit Kilmartin Glen and go to dunadd, where the ancient kings of Dalriada had their stronghold. <BR> <BR>How's that to be going on with?

Hello Dolly, <BR> Sorry, I couldn't resist. One castle that often is overlooked, but is definitely worth seeing is Glamis Castle. There are several ghost stories surrounding it's history and the tour is excellent. <BR> I agree that Eilean Donan is another must-see. It is the most photographed castle in Scotland. <BR> My other favorite is Blair Castle; It also is in a very scenic area. <BR> There are so many great castles. I would suggest researching them for yourself to find the ones that interest you. Have a great time!

Dolly, <BR> <BR>It's going to be difficult to add much to Sheila's info, but here's what I can offer: <BR> <BR>If the weather is nice while you're in Edinburgh, consider climbing Arthur's Seat or the Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park. I'm in lousy shape and I made it up Arthur's seat last summer. The views of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth are great. <BR> <BR>If you go to Stirling, visit the Wallace memorial, 2 mi north of town - you can take a local bus to the ticket office. Again, the views are well worth the climb. If you're interested in history, this is THE spot to be. According to my guidebook, from the Wallace monument you can see seven battlefields, including the one where Kenneth Macalpine put the "Scot" in Scotland. Also of course the battlefields of Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn. (Of course, Stirling is MOST famous as the place where I had my first - and only - taste of haggis!) Doune Castle is also quite close to Stirling (10 miles?). I only saw the outside from a distance, but have been told it's worth visiting. <BR> <BR>Aside from walking along the river, I didn't find too much of interest to do within Inverness itself, so I'll look forward to any suggestions others might make. There are a number of nearby places of interest, though. I took a Bus/Boat tours of Loch Ness which went by bus south to Castle Urquhart (ruined, but still great) then by boat back up the Loch, through the Caledonian Canal to Inverness. The bus also stopped at the "Official Loch Ness Monster Visitor Center" (or something like that) which was surprisingly interesting. <BR> <BR>Don't know if you're driving or taking the train, but the train ride from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh is incredible. I took the early morning train from Inverness and the clouds were literally forming around us as the mist rose from the streams, marshes and lochs. Every time we turned a corner, another rainbow came into view! Take lots of pictures from the train windows - surprisingly many of mine turned out and were spectacular. <BR> <BR>If using public transport, there is a bus from Kyle to Eilean Donan Castle (about 15-20 minutes I think). Definitely worth the effort if you can possibly fit it in. As Jeff said, it's very photogenic and once you've been there, you'll be amazed at how often you recognize it in photos and movies. <BR> <BR>If you find yourself with time to spare in Kyle, while waiting for a bus or ferry to Skye, walk up to the overlook (10-15 minutes from the train station). There are great views of the surroundings, including the Isle of Skye and what I believe is the mouth of Loch Carron. <BR> <BR>If you're going from Oban to Loch Lomond, consider a detour through Glen Coe. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. <BR>

!