Scotland Highlands Help
 

My husband and I are thinking of spending a long week in Scotland in September - hopefully 9-10 days. I'm struggling a bit with which area to visit. Hoping JanisJ, Gardyloo and others might have some opinions.

1. Interested in coastal or island areas with water views, natural beauty, hiking, possibly golf and fishing, whisky, good dining. Would like a relaxing romantic trip versus checklist of places. Castles not necessary - unlikely to tour any.

2. Not interested in moving about a lot or long driving days except perhaps at the beginning and end. Or one long driving day in the middle. We will be flying out of JFK so I'm assuming to Edinburgh but we've spent time there already and want to head to country right away.

3. Would prefer one - three "Country House Hotels" as a base with activities nearby rather than moving around to numerous smaller places.

4. Will "stalking" be an issue for September in terms of limiting hiking?

Things that look interesting so far: Mull, Eriskay, Skye.

Hope I'm not sounding too naive, and thank you in advance for suggestions.

No doubt the experts will chime in, but some years ago my wife and I spent a week on Skye, and then a few days in Plockton. We thought it was fantastic, like wandering around inside a landscape painting the entire time.

It was July, cold, wet and windy, romantic weather! The wind kept the midges down.

We were mostly in Portree on Skye, but had meals at or near these places which might be what you are looking for:
http://www.hotelintheskye.co.uk/
http://www.the-tables.co.uk/

I did a couple of full day hikes: Blaven on Skye and Five Sisters of Kintail in Lochalsh. Apparently no stalking issues on either, but there are tons of lesser options if that's more hiking than you want.

Skye had all your requirements and more. Thinking about it makes me want to return!

Skye, and go here at least once:
http://threechimneys.co.uk

Three Chimneys has lodging, too, but we didn't stay there.

"1. Interested in coastal or island areas with water views, natural beauty, hiking, possibly golf and fishing, whisky, good dining. Would like a relaxing romantic trip versus checklist of places."

For your interests -- Mull and Islay will tick the boxes.

I'd split the time 50/50 between the two plus a day/night on the Kintyre Peninsula for http://www.machgolf.com. . . .


Skye is great, but for Whisky it has to be Islay -- so Mull/Islay and a day/night on the mainland.

Thanks all - this is a big help!

elberko - I may not come back if Mr. Gruezi takes me to three chimneys - it looks like paradise!

Three Chimneys is wonderful -- but unfortunately Skye doesn't fit a lot of the wish list.

It was, gruezi! We celebrated DH's 60th birthday there.

Janis - is it the whisky or golf that is missing?

<i>> is it the whisky or golf that is missing?</i>

I thought it had both, but Talisker is definitely an acquired taste!

Mr. Gruezi is a fan of Lagavulin but I don't know if he needs to actually visit where it is made. I'll need to discuss that with him. We are not big on guided tours unless the setting or tasting is somehow special. When we went to Sonoma last year we were a bit bored after the first few wineries.

Mr. Gruezi is in general a tricky traveler - gets bored easily (little interest in scenery) and misses his sports. But he's determined he wants to hike with me in the rain;) I'm not convinced but hope springs eternal. We'll be celebrating his 59th birthday and our 29th wedding anniversary.

He just told me three chimneys is fully booked until October:(

Yikes!

I had no trouble finding whisky anywhere in Scotland, and decided to try a different one with every meal. Talisker was the winner for me.

We toured 4-5 distilleries, and enjoyed noting the differences and similarities of different size operations. I know that wouldn't appeal to everyone.

I know a lot of people do enjoy the tours. But I think one would be all my husband would be interested in and I would be fine with zero. But it would be a good foul weather plan I think and I'm easy about going along for the ride (and drink)!

One good think about whisky tours - the driver can have those wee samples of the water of life!

<i>> Talisker was the winner for me.</i>

It's wonderful that they distill Scotch for all tastes! We like Speyside and enjoyed our tour of Glen Moray, on the other side of Scotland.

yo Gruezi...I don't do lounges so I haven't caught many of your posts even on Europe, Asia, or US or SA. I'm not as attentive as I was back in my hay days/ Happy to see you are on the boards again. I recall you living in Switzerland at one time.

I don't do TR's (working deadlines with my publishers are all the writing I do)but I share pics for many locations to familiarize the poster. I've made several auto trips to England, Scotland Ireland and Northern Ireland.(see Scotland and some Wales on one of my trips which included the Highlands) See below.

Best wishes and happy to know you're still on Fodors! You had two(?) teenage girls if my old mind can recall. Where are they now?
Stuart Tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...LakesAndWales# Gru, you'll see some Highland pics, also some photos of 1980's visits. First visit to UK was in 1970's

No advice from me. I've only doe one distillery tour, and that was more than enough for me, but I am not a whisky lover. DH, who knows and loves whisky, enjoyed it but is of the been there done that don't need to go again opinion. He'd rather drink it than see it made.

A shame about the Three Chimneys.

I hope you have a wonderful trip wherever you decide to go, happy birthday to MrG and happy anniversary to you both.

We'll be celebrating our 41st somewhere in Brittany I expect. Hopefully we will set off for all points west mid August. We have to be back home September 20th for a hospital appointment on the 21st so the earlier we go the better really, even though it will still be high season and be crowded.

Hi Stu - nice to "see" you here! I'll look forward to seeing your photos. Yes, you remember correctly that we spent 4 years in Switzerland. We've now been back more years than we were away. I believe you helped me plan a WWII trip with my older daughter. She went on to study Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies at Wellesley and then worked on the Hill for Senator Blumenthal for a few years. She's headed to grad school for Middle Eastern studies this fall. The younger one just graduated nursing school and started a nurse residency program at Georgetown hospital this week. I also returned to school when we came back from Switzerland and am now a psychiatric NP. My best regards to you and yours!

Heti - thanks for checking in here and for your always kind thoughts! Mr. Gruezi said last night he's fine to visit a distillery but absolutely not planning the trip around it. Wishing you a very happy anniversary - Brittany sounds wonderful - I love coastal areas the world over. Hope the hospital visits are only routine.

Why JFK?

I'm recalling direct flights from EWR to Edinburgh, not from JFK.

Hey Russ - whichever one has direct flights. I assumed JFK.

Hi Gruezi, what a great choice for your trip! I did a Scottish highlands tour on a day trip from Greenock while on a cruise. It was a lovely tour, that included Luss, Inverary & Inverary Castle, Lock Awe and Kilchurn Castle. I have no idea if this area fits in your plans, but wanted to throw it out there that these places were really nice. Have a great trip!

<<I assumed JFK.>>

Check on that. The airline once known as Continental had straight shots to EDI and to Glasgow from EWR. AA, BA, Delta, et al. don't go straight to Scotland from JFK.

Thanks hpeabody.

Russ - flights are my husband's area. He probably already knows the exact price and is checking daily. He says JFK now has direct to Edinburgh.

gruezi... in the Lounge I recommended Martin Clunes series on islands in Scotland. However, upon reading your wish list I think the places he visited would be a little to wild and
wooly 4 u -:)

Haven't read all the responses -- What is missing is much whisky and any golf.

Skye has, well Talisker, whereas Islay is the promise land for whisky w/ 9 or 10 active distilleries.

Machrihanish is one of the top 100 links courses in the world - amazing setting.

Mull has amazing sea/beach scenery, the foot ferry to Iona, boat trip to Staffa/Fingall's cave and MUCH more:

Fingalls cave http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/ima...st-of-mull.jpg

Calgary Bay https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...5c/amazing.jpg

Duart Castle http://www.scotland-flavour.co.uk/pi...tland_7101.jpg

Iona https://www.visitscotland.com/wsimgs...1706587634.jpg[ToFit1200x800]

Tobermory http://www.tobermorygolfclub.com/images/tobgolf.jpg

etc etc.

Oh -- don't get me wrong -- I do LOVE Skye -- but I just think Mull/Islay/Machrihanish would be a very memorable trip w/ world famous golf, Islay single malts, great scenery, castles, Iona and even puffins :)

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-ge...-Mull-5277.jpg

If you do make it to Skye and want to splurge on accommodations, take a look at Kinloch Lodge. We stayed here with friends when we couldn't find anything less expensive and although the price made us all gulp, we unanimously decided it had been more than worth it when we figured in the value of the absolutely amazing dinner and breakfast we had there. Everybody thought the food was better than Three Chimneys, which we also visited.

I would go back tomorrow.

I agree with all the above re Islay. Given your timing and priorities I think it ticks as many boxes as possible, save the one for golf. To cover that priority, my suggestion would be to use Glasgow as your point of entry, not Edinburgh. There's nonstop service to GLA from Newark (United) Philly (American) or JFK (Delta) or one-stop service through many other airports.

The drive from GLA to the Islay ferry is scenic but quite long, and it's on busy and/or narrow/mountainous/twisty roads unsuited for the jet-lagged.

However, there's air service on Flybe (a major UK carrier) through its affiliate Loganair (which has been flying around the Highlands and Islands forever) to both Islay and Campbeltown down by the Mull of Kintyre (hello, Paul.)

Return airfare from Glasgow to Campbeltown is around £85; to Islay it's around £140 - £150. There are car rentals available in both, at rates that aren't very different from those at GLA, maybe even cheaper.

I'd fly to Campbeltown and spend a day getting over jetlag, then get a car and drive around an hour north to the Islay ferry at Kennacraig. Cross over to Islay and spend a few days touring around - distilleries, beaches, walks, etc...

Then return to Campbeltown and play a round of golf at the famous Machrihanish Dunes course - http://machrihanishdunes.com/ - and spend a couple of days touring around Kintyre - fabulous landscapes, villages, even a couple more distilleries (producing whisky notably different in "nose" than the peaty Islay ones.)

You could spend the whole time in Kintyre and Islay, or fly back to Glasgow and spend a couple of days in the area (maybe head down to Ayrshire for more golf or the Burns Heritage Trail, or up past Loch Lomond to Glen Coe, or the Trossachs, etc.)

This would be something of an off-the-beaten path itinerary, but a very rewarding one.

I know nothing about golf, but when we stayed on Islay we saw lots of people who had come to play at the Machrie Golf Links across the street from our bed and breakfast and next to the airport.

Gruezi tell your husband to forget the golf. Go for walks. He can stop every two hundred yards, swing his arms and swear. It's the same thing but cheaper.

Unless of course you enjoy the hours he is away?

I loved Mull over Skye. However, to be fair we had glorious weather on Mull and it bucketed rain most of the time we were on Skye. I was traveling with two nephews (11 and 14) so obviously did not check out whisky or golf, but had lots of hikes and loved our time in the countryside.

Janisj has given a list of things to do on Mull so I won't repeat her websites. But will say that we enjoyed our time on Iona where we walked around and visited the abbey where Macbeth and other early Scottish kings are buried. Our day out to Staffa was one of those clear sparkling days and we hiked to the end of the island and just watched puffins. We explored parts of Mull on foot.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Puffins are unlikely in September:
https://owlcation.com/stem/Where-To-See-Puffins

Oh -- I didn't notice the date . . . Sorry. Lots of other birds/sea life though.

Wow - thanks for all these great additions to the thread. My sense is we can't go too wrong (at least for me) on the areas discussed so far. I'll enjoy looking at all the links posted here and the various recommendations.

Thanks very much - this is very helpful.

oh - it looks like one of my links doesn't work - this will be better

http://www.duartcastle.com

gruezi..Clunes does visit Islay in the series. I think it's toward the end of Series 2.

In a strange twist of fate Mr. Gruezi has decided to try a cruise and put Scotland on hold.

I'm secretly relieved because I don't think this is his kind of trip. He was miserable in Ireland and we came home early.

I, however, am very, very grateful for the advice here as I'm just as anxious to get back to Scotland as ever and hopefully can get there 'ere long.

Thank you all a million times!

(We will cruise the coast of France, Spain and Portugal. Lots of interesting ports on the itinerary. It's our first cruise in over 20 years.)