Scotland Driving Tour - Need Advice
Jan 4th, 2011, 02:21 AM
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Scotland Driving Tour - Need Advice
My wife and I are planning to visit Scotland in mid-late May for about 8 days. We're scheduled to fly into to Edinburgh on a Sunday afternoon and will then spend the next two days in Edinburgh.
We are keen to get out into the countryside and checked a few different itineraries from the Forum. One that interested us was Sheila's suggestion from 2009 as follows:
Day One- Edinburgh to St Andrews
The Forth Rail bridge is worth driving past. The estuary of the Forth widens to superb beaches (with wonderful links golf courses behind them) and in Fife you have St Andrew's, home of golf (and the beach where they filmed the opening sequences of Chariots of Fire). To get there you go past Loch Leven, where Mary, Queen of Scots was kept imprisoned on one of the islands.
If you want to play golf, and you can’t play at the Old Course, there are courses all the way up through Fife. Amongst the best are Elie, Lundin Links, Ladybank and Crail
Day 2 - Dundee to Tomintoul
Cross the Tay Bridge to Dundee, then cut across country to Glamis (castle) then go on to Blairgowrie where you pick up the A93 to Glenshee, and down to Braemar and Deeside. This is where Lizzie Windsor has her summer place, much beloved of American tourists. It's also in a beautiful location and therefore worth the visit. Just at Crathie, which is where you will find Balmoral, if you're daft enough to want to, there's a sign to Royal Lochnagar distillery.. It's not the best whisky in the world but there's no such thing as a bad malt and it does a good tour.
Come back onto the A93 and continue east a few miles till you see signs pointing left to Tomintoul. Take that road and go over Gairn Shiel to Corgarff then turn left towards Cockbridge and up over the Lecht to Tomintoul.
By now, you have crossed two of Scotland's highest roads, and it's not yet tea time. There's a very good whisky shop in Tomintoul (much better than the tourist trap on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh) and, incidentally, there is also a very good wood carver right next door. I would suggest staying here.
Day 3, Tomintoul to Drumnadochit (but not in a straight line).
Go back on your tracks a bit and follow the road down to Dufftown. Here you will find Glenfiddich distillery. Still not my favourite dram, but probably one of the best sellers in the world and almost certainly the best tour.
Follow the road down to the Spey at Aberlour (or Charlestown of Aberlour, to give it its Sunday name)You are right in the heart of Speyside, on the Whisky trail. If you want to see more, almost evry second distillery is open to the public. If you have a favourite, ask at one of the tourist offices if they do a tour and just go along. The Macallan is pobably the best Speyside whisky, but Aberlour itself is a good second. Follow the river to Grantown then go up to Nethy Bridge on the south bank. Outside Nethy Bridge you will find Abernethy Forest and Loch Garten which is a huge nature reserve and is worth stopping at to see the Ospreys.
Drive on to Aviemore, close your eyes so you miss it (a travesty of 1960s planning) and go stright up to inverness on the A9. Spend a little time in Invernes and either spend the night here or ( my choice) set off down Loch Ness towards Drumnadrochit, and find somewhere to stay on the Lochside.
Day 4- Loch Ness to Skye
Get up early and drive quickly down the Loch and then strike west to Kyle of Lochalsh and cross the bridge to Skye and spend the whole of the next day there. You can visit Dunvegan Castle, the Cuillin mountains, Portree, Isle Ornsay, Broadford, Uig, the Clan Donald centre and many more. Scenery terrific. Accommodations available include the Rosedale hotel in Portree and the Isle Ornsay Hotel, both of which are excellent but in different budget categories. An available castle is Kinloch Castle owned and run by Lady Clare MacDonald who is also a gourmet chef
Day Four- Skye to Glasgow
Take the ferry from the south end of Skye at Armadale to Mallaig then drive right east to Fort William through Morar and Arisaig. Drive down the coast road to Oban, through Kilmartin Glen and past Dunadd to Crinan; back to Lochgilphead and over to Inveraray. Cross the Rest and be Thankful to Arrochar on Loch Lomond, go down the lochside and back into Glasgow . That’s a long day and could be easily split
Given that neither of us are golf enthusiasts, we thought of swapping the First Day visit to St Davids with a visit to Stirling and then travel on to Dundee on Day Two to "rejoin" the programme. Given that we've never driven in Scotland before, we were wondering what the actual driving times are going to be like? We would like to spend some time out of the car having a look around (rather than just driving all day). Will this itinerary give us time for some "out-of-car" experiences? I have been warned that we may not be able to do more than 30 mph/60kph on some country roads in the Highlands. Is that true? No problem if it is ... we just need to factor it into our time planning for the trip.
We'd be really grateful for any advice/suggestions ... or even thoughts on alternative routes that other Forum members may have done themselves.
We are keen to get out into the countryside and checked a few different itineraries from the Forum. One that interested us was Sheila's suggestion from 2009 as follows:
Day One- Edinburgh to St Andrews
The Forth Rail bridge is worth driving past. The estuary of the Forth widens to superb beaches (with wonderful links golf courses behind them) and in Fife you have St Andrew's, home of golf (and the beach where they filmed the opening sequences of Chariots of Fire). To get there you go past Loch Leven, where Mary, Queen of Scots was kept imprisoned on one of the islands.
If you want to play golf, and you can’t play at the Old Course, there are courses all the way up through Fife. Amongst the best are Elie, Lundin Links, Ladybank and Crail
Day 2 - Dundee to Tomintoul
Cross the Tay Bridge to Dundee, then cut across country to Glamis (castle) then go on to Blairgowrie where you pick up the A93 to Glenshee, and down to Braemar and Deeside. This is where Lizzie Windsor has her summer place, much beloved of American tourists. It's also in a beautiful location and therefore worth the visit. Just at Crathie, which is where you will find Balmoral, if you're daft enough to want to, there's a sign to Royal Lochnagar distillery.. It's not the best whisky in the world but there's no such thing as a bad malt and it does a good tour.
Come back onto the A93 and continue east a few miles till you see signs pointing left to Tomintoul. Take that road and go over Gairn Shiel to Corgarff then turn left towards Cockbridge and up over the Lecht to Tomintoul.
By now, you have crossed two of Scotland's highest roads, and it's not yet tea time. There's a very good whisky shop in Tomintoul (much better than the tourist trap on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh) and, incidentally, there is also a very good wood carver right next door. I would suggest staying here.
Day 3, Tomintoul to Drumnadochit (but not in a straight line).
Go back on your tracks a bit and follow the road down to Dufftown. Here you will find Glenfiddich distillery. Still not my favourite dram, but probably one of the best sellers in the world and almost certainly the best tour.
Follow the road down to the Spey at Aberlour (or Charlestown of Aberlour, to give it its Sunday name)You are right in the heart of Speyside, on the Whisky trail. If you want to see more, almost evry second distillery is open to the public. If you have a favourite, ask at one of the tourist offices if they do a tour and just go along. The Macallan is pobably the best Speyside whisky, but Aberlour itself is a good second. Follow the river to Grantown then go up to Nethy Bridge on the south bank. Outside Nethy Bridge you will find Abernethy Forest and Loch Garten which is a huge nature reserve and is worth stopping at to see the Ospreys.
Drive on to Aviemore, close your eyes so you miss it (a travesty of 1960s planning) and go stright up to inverness on the A9. Spend a little time in Invernes and either spend the night here or ( my choice) set off down Loch Ness towards Drumnadrochit, and find somewhere to stay on the Lochside.
Day 4- Loch Ness to Skye
Get up early and drive quickly down the Loch and then strike west to Kyle of Lochalsh and cross the bridge to Skye and spend the whole of the next day there. You can visit Dunvegan Castle, the Cuillin mountains, Portree, Isle Ornsay, Broadford, Uig, the Clan Donald centre and many more. Scenery terrific. Accommodations available include the Rosedale hotel in Portree and the Isle Ornsay Hotel, both of which are excellent but in different budget categories. An available castle is Kinloch Castle owned and run by Lady Clare MacDonald who is also a gourmet chef
Day Four- Skye to Glasgow
Take the ferry from the south end of Skye at Armadale to Mallaig then drive right east to Fort William through Morar and Arisaig. Drive down the coast road to Oban, through Kilmartin Glen and past Dunadd to Crinan; back to Lochgilphead and over to Inveraray. Cross the Rest and be Thankful to Arrochar on Loch Lomond, go down the lochside and back into Glasgow . That’s a long day and could be easily split
Given that neither of us are golf enthusiasts, we thought of swapping the First Day visit to St Davids with a visit to Stirling and then travel on to Dundee on Day Two to "rejoin" the programme. Given that we've never driven in Scotland before, we were wondering what the actual driving times are going to be like? We would like to spend some time out of the car having a look around (rather than just driving all day). Will this itinerary give us time for some "out-of-car" experiences? I have been warned that we may not be able to do more than 30 mph/60kph on some country roads in the Highlands. Is that true? No problem if it is ... we just need to factor it into our time planning for the trip.
We'd be really grateful for any advice/suggestions ... or even thoughts on alternative routes that other Forum members may have done themselves.
Jan 4th, 2011, 02:30 AM
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"we were wondering what the actual driving times are going to be like?"
Try: http://www.theaa.com/
The Route Planner will give you driving times but obviously these will increase if there's an accident, road works, heavy traffic etc.
Try: http://www.theaa.com/
The Route Planner will give you driving times but obviously these will increase if there's an accident, road works, heavy traffic etc.
Jan 4th, 2011, 02:31 AM
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I think it is St Andrews you mean to skip, and nothing wrong with that if you are not golfers.
Given the limits of your time, this is a pretty good tour. Don't bother to go into Dundee, though I was once asked at the airport in Glasgow "Are you one of the [insert family name] of Dundee?" No, but I used to read the comics printed there.
Aberdeen is, however, worth a visit for its waterfront and town center gardens. You can do that instead of St Andrews.
Given the limits of your time, this is a pretty good tour. Don't bother to go into Dundee, though I was once asked at the airport in Glasgow "Are you one of the [insert family name] of Dundee?" No, but I used to read the comics printed there.
Aberdeen is, however, worth a visit for its waterfront and town center gardens. You can do that instead of St Andrews.
Jan 6th, 2011, 12:09 PM
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Shelia's loop is certainly doable. I did a somewhat similar loop in reverse, starting with a trip to Stirling. If you want to read the details from my 2007 trip, click here:
http://tinyurl.com/yd479lr
Note that there is a typo on Day 8 (where the Scotland portion of our trip started) where Loch Lomond somehow came out as something completely different.
http://tinyurl.com/yd479lr
Note that there is a typo on Day 8 (where the Scotland portion of our trip started) where Loch Lomond somehow came out as something completely different.
Jan 13th, 2011, 12:10 PM
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Edinburgh to St Andrews takes 1 1/2 hours without stopping. It's another 20 minutes to Dundee
Dundee to Tomintoul- is just over 2 hours non-stop
It's then 1/2 an hour to Dufftown, and an hour to Nethy and 1/2 hours to Drumnadrochit via Aviemore
It'll take an hour and a half to get to Kyle of Lochalsh next morning
It's an hour from Portree to Ardvasar, and another 3 1/2 hours to Glasgow. Factor in the check in time and 30 minutes for the ferry crossing
I really would not advise you to miss out St Andrews, which is lovely; and if you're not in St Andrews do not bother with Dundee. I only put it on because it's on the way.
Here is a more radical suggestion
Drive from Edinburgh to Stirling (passing Linlithgow Palace; and Stirling Castle and Bannockburn) then north to Callender, through Strathyre, past the Braes of Balquhidder (Rob Roy country), past Lochearnhead,and through Glen Dochart to Crianlarich and Tyndrum. Continue north across the edge of Rannoch Moor and down through Glencoe (the massacre of Glencoe) to Ballachulish. Spend the night at Kentallen or Port Appin depending on your budget.
Day 2 drive north through Fort William, past Ben Nevis and up the Great Glen to Invergarry, where you turn west to go along Loch Cluanie and on through Kintail to Dornie (Eilean Donan Castle) and the bridge at Kyle. Take the short detour up to Plockton on Lochcarron for the views. Then cross to Skye. Skye is mostly scenery and cultural heritage, rather than history. Stunning mountains, lovely bays and sea lochs.
Day 3 have a look at some of the rest of Skye- Dunvegan castle and the Fairy Flag or Flora Macdonald’s Grave and the Museum of Island Life. Catch the late ferry to Lochmaddy on North Uist; there’s a place called Taigh Chearsabhagh, which does Gaelic Culture in a big way.
Stay all of next day, day 4, then catch the evening ferry from Lochboisdale to Oban (you need to coordinate the ferries for all this through Cal-mac’s web site- www.calmac.co.uk.
Day 5, go south from Oban through Kilmartin Glen and see the stone circles and Dunadd, then stop at the Crinan canal, go south to Inverary; see the jail, cross the Rest and Be Thankful, go down to Arrochar; down Loch Lomond, skirt Glasgow on the motorway then over to Edinburgh- leaving you with a day there.
Dundee to Tomintoul- is just over 2 hours non-stop
It's then 1/2 an hour to Dufftown, and an hour to Nethy and 1/2 hours to Drumnadrochit via Aviemore
It'll take an hour and a half to get to Kyle of Lochalsh next morning
It's an hour from Portree to Ardvasar, and another 3 1/2 hours to Glasgow. Factor in the check in time and 30 minutes for the ferry crossing
I really would not advise you to miss out St Andrews, which is lovely; and if you're not in St Andrews do not bother with Dundee. I only put it on because it's on the way.
Here is a more radical suggestion
Drive from Edinburgh to Stirling (passing Linlithgow Palace; and Stirling Castle and Bannockburn) then north to Callender, through Strathyre, past the Braes of Balquhidder (Rob Roy country), past Lochearnhead,and through Glen Dochart to Crianlarich and Tyndrum. Continue north across the edge of Rannoch Moor and down through Glencoe (the massacre of Glencoe) to Ballachulish. Spend the night at Kentallen or Port Appin depending on your budget.
Day 2 drive north through Fort William, past Ben Nevis and up the Great Glen to Invergarry, where you turn west to go along Loch Cluanie and on through Kintail to Dornie (Eilean Donan Castle) and the bridge at Kyle. Take the short detour up to Plockton on Lochcarron for the views. Then cross to Skye. Skye is mostly scenery and cultural heritage, rather than history. Stunning mountains, lovely bays and sea lochs.
Day 3 have a look at some of the rest of Skye- Dunvegan castle and the Fairy Flag or Flora Macdonald’s Grave and the Museum of Island Life. Catch the late ferry to Lochmaddy on North Uist; there’s a place called Taigh Chearsabhagh, which does Gaelic Culture in a big way.
Stay all of next day, day 4, then catch the evening ferry from Lochboisdale to Oban (you need to coordinate the ferries for all this through Cal-mac’s web site- www.calmac.co.uk.
Day 5, go south from Oban through Kilmartin Glen and see the stone circles and Dunadd, then stop at the Crinan canal, go south to Inverary; see the jail, cross the Rest and Be Thankful, go down to Arrochar; down Loch Lomond, skirt Glasgow on the motorway then over to Edinburgh- leaving you with a day there.
