Scotland in Feb.
 

We will be ending up a 5 mo. European trip in Scotland in Feb. I understand that the weather certainly won't be ideal, but I'm wondering what we could possibly see in about 3 weeks. It sounds like traveling by train might be best, rather than driving on the opposite side in the snow, but then some of the trips you can sign up for seem to run from Apr.-Oct. I see the Jacobite steam train won't be running then, though other trains are. Here's a tentative list of places I had hoped to see:

Edinburgh
Dunkeld
Aberdeen
Inverness
Loch Ness
Isle of Harris
Skye
Mallaig
Tobermory
Glencoe
Loch Lomond
Glasgow

My husband would prefer to be based somewhere and take day trips, or even do 3-4 days in 4 different spots, but I'm not sure that is feasible.

Would anyone have any guidance as to what we might consider? What we should perhaps skip given the time of year? We will be taking a train from the Lake District in UK, likely to Edinburgh. I appreciate your input.

Susan

<<My husband would prefer to be based somewhere and take day trips, or even do 3-4 days in 4 different spots, but I'm not sure that is feasible.>>

Why wouldn't it be feasible? You can't choose just one base for what you want, but various hubs would work.

Neither Inverness nor Aberdeen are tourist destinations for themselves. They're useful for exploring the surrounding areas - like the castle-infested Aberdeenshire or Invernesshire.

Loch Ness is a lake. Scots will likely tell you there are prettier lakes. There is no ginormous reptile trawling its seafloor.

I wouldn't go to Harris in February, but that's on you. Looks like it'd be brutal.

And you can't really do Scotland by train like England - too many sites are too far from the rails.

Thanks Russ for your reply. I'll consider your comments.

The train from Glasgow to Mallaig ( West Highland Line ) follows the same route that the Jacobite train does. It's particularly scenic and actually covers more ground than the Jacobite train. I have managed to see quite a bit of Scotland by train but for three weeks I'd certainly plan on renting a car at some point. Several places you've mentioned can't be reached by train.

For that time of year I'd probably concentrate on Edinburgh and Glasgow spending 4/5 days in each. I agree with Russ in that Harris might not be the best option and the ferry schedule has a good chance of being disrupted due to weather.

You should look at Rabbies tours www.rabbies.com I don't know if they have scheduled trips, but I believe they offer tours for those that want them regardless of the time of year. Check with them to see if they might be able to arrange something for you. A much better plan than trying to drive some of these places in the middle of winter.

In February I would not plan on any of the islands, nor really rural parts of the highlands. I would stick to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Inverness. You could do day trips from any of them.

You say 5 month european trip. Not sure where you are from, but you do know that americans are limited to 90 days in Schengen, don't you?

Yes, nytraveler, I do know. We are starting out with a month in Ireland, then moving over to Italy, all because of that. I thought I'd understood it and then thought we could get a long stay visa, but no, so then had to cancel several of our VRBO reservations, cancelling the Amalfi coast, etc., losing service fees, etc. We were going to have ended up in UK, Ireland and Scotland. But reorganized our itinerary.

We always would have ended up in Scotland in Feb. however. We are from Cleveland, OH, so we know winter. We've spent a Xmas in Paris. Figure if we dress warmly, we'll be ok. But transportation options are obviously different there, so that's what I especially wanted help with.

You may understand winter, but do you understand weather?

UK weather is notoriously unpredictable and may vary drastically within a few hours or a few miles. It's not uncommon for islands to be cut off for several days

You also have the problem of shorter daylight hours which may be reduced further by weather conditions.

Personally I wouldn't take the risk of a Scottish holiday at that time of the year except in the major cities, then use any decent weather to do day trips

Living in Cleveland and holidaying in rural Scotland are two entirely different things.

You won't get the extreme cold you can have in Ohio . . . But temps are not the main issue.

Oh. Thanks for the further info. Points taken. I've decided I'll follow janisj suggestions and just do Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Wondering now, if Inverness is possible then though janisj suggested it above? If yes, could I get from there to Maillag, or even Fort William, so I could catch the West Highland back to Glasgow? Is the best part of that train journey from Mallaig to Fort William, or is even the part from FW to Glasgow worth the effort?

You can take a train from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and make your way by bus to Armadale on Skye.

From there, you get the CalMac ferry to Mallaig and catch the West Highland railway to Glasgow, one of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world. I have done it several times in the other direction.

You need to check ferry, bus, and train schedules to see if this works in February because they may be reduced in the winter.

Also remember that Inverness is the same latitude as Juneau, Alaska, and daylight can be quite brief in the winter.

Most likely taking the train, any train,in Scotland in feb you may not see much of anything except water streaming down the windows and low clouds in the distance.

Now, any specific day could be clear, crisp and lovely . . . But most won't be.

So, skipping Inverness...what if we start in Glasgow for 5 days, for a day trip catch the West Highland to Mallaig, spend a couple hours and then catch WH back, and then take a train to Aberdeen for 5 days there and then a train back to Edinburgh for a week. Take some of the Rabbie or other day tours from any of these places that may be available that time of year. That's a few days less than I originally thought of but, given the time of year and all of your promised weather, maybe this will still provide us with plenty of Scottish sites. And after 5 mo. of traveling, my husband will be more than happy to get back a few days early. Does this sound doable?

My you're getting a lot of negatives. ;) If Scotland is where you want to go and you're aware of the negatives ( as have been pointed out here ) and still want to plan an itinerary for Scotland then go for it.

I'd plan to spend time in the cities and do day trips from there either by train or organized tours. You can actually make last minute plans depending on weather. I might even plan for a short stay somewhere in the Highlands that you could get to via train. There won't be a lot to see/do in mid-winter but you may find it relaxing just to hibernate in a cozy spot for a day or two.

You might want to consider going to the Isle of Arran. It is a destination that is reasonable from Glasgow for a one day trip. You take a 55 minute train trip from Glasgow to Ardrossan where the ferry will be waiting. The crossing takes around 55 minutes and you arrive at the village of Brodick. There are buses at the pier that can take you around the island but if the weather causes the return sailing to be cancelled, you can easily find a bed and breakfast place close by. Arran advertises itself as Scotland in miniature, so if you find a nice sunny day when you are in Glasgow, this would be a great way to spend it. Two days there would be your best bet.

Well, historytraveler, I asked for input and these people obviously know lots more about Scotland than I do. Unless I hear anything further about my most recent plan, think I'll find some places to stay in each of those cities. Planning a 5 mo. trip has taken much planning and time. We leave in 20 days and I just want to be done with this part of the trip. Thanks for all of your comments!!