AllenofSV

Hello. We are traveling to Scotland September 4-13, 2003. Will fly into Glasgow and rent a car for the entire trip. We are more interested in exploring the natural beauty than the big cities, but do want to spend a day in Edinburgh. Here is what I have planned so far.

YOUR COMMENTS/IDEAS ARE APPRECIATED!!

Day 1: Drive to Royal Deeside from Glasgow, visiting Stirling and St. Andrews on the way - stay in Ballater

Day 2: Braemar Royal Highland Games - stay in Ballater

Day 3: Explore more of the area, castles - stay in Ballater

Day 4: Drive to Skye, explore Skye, stay in Waternish Peninsula area

Day 5: On Skye til Noon, drive south stopping in Glencoe - THINKING OF STAYING IN THE LAKE AREA - CRAINLARICH?

Day 6: Day trip to Mull/Iona - stay in lake area

Day 7: Explore lake area and small towns - stay in Glasgow

Day 8: Edinburgh - stay in Glasgow

Day 9: Early flight to U.S.

ARE WE STRETCHING OURSELVES TOO THIN W/ THIS ITINERARY?

THANKS A BUNCH FOR YOUR CRITIQUE!!

janis

You will love Scotland - but you have some basic problems --

First of all day 1 is impossible. Are you arriving from overseas? If so you will not be in any condition to drive that far. Even if you were - there is no way you could visit Stirling, St Andrews and get to Ballater in one day. Stirling castle alone takes a minimum of 3 hours to see, it is about 60 miles to St Andrews, and then St Andrews would take 3 to 4 hours minimum. The total drive would be more than 250 miles. That is 5 to 6 hour of driving w/o any stops or sightseeing.

Days 5-7 -- What lake area?? There are many, MANY lochs on that route. (BTW there is only one "lake" in Scotland - the Lake of Menteith between Callander and Aberfoyle)

Your whole route is sort of a zigzag around the country -- Glasgow > Stirling > St Andrews > Deeside > Skye > Glen Coe > to ?? > Glasgow > Edinburgh > Glasgow.

You should consider skipping St Andrews - it just doesn't fit in with the other places if you want to be up on the Dee that day for the Braemar Games

sheila

Similar comments. Whilst you COULD do your day 1, I would advise strongly that you miss out St Andrews. Stirling is on the way and will not cost much physical or emotional capital, but St Andrews would be a killer to add in.

Have you got your accommodation booked for the Friday and Saturday night? If not book it now. Deeside gets full for the Braemar Gathering.

I'm not certain what you mean by "lake area" Scotland only has one lake- the Lake of Menteith Our other stretches of inland water are called lochs. If you intend to do Skye, Glencoe, Mull- you do not want to be as far east at Crianlarich (which in any case, in a typical unpleasant railhead town)between Glencoe and Oban. Either stay somewhere at the top of Loch Awe, or (my pick) somewhere between Ballachulish and Oban. My standard recommendation is the Pierhouse at Port Appin.
I'm back to confusion about this lake area, but if you mean the Trossachs, then fine, use your day to meander back through this area to Glasgow.

Ani

Out of curiosity, where are you staying in Ballater? We were just there in April!

AllenofSV

Thank you so much, Janis and Sheila, for your comments. Very insightful.

See, being from the states, everyone talks about St. Andrews. Is is worth squeezing in at another point in our trip??

Yes, we have booked at the Cambus O'May Hotel in Ballater for days 1-3.

Yes, the Trossachs area for days 5-7(meant to say LOCH instead of LAKE).

Sheila: The Pierhouse at Port Appin is not in our price range. From looking at a map, Loch Awe would probably be a better spot for us, so that if we can't do Stirling on Day 1, we are at least a little further east and can go there if we like. WHAT HOTEL/B&B DO YOU RECOMMEND IN THE LOCH AWE AREA? (25-30 BP PPPN PREFERRED)

Regarding Day 8 (our day in Edinburgh), do you recommend leaving our car at our hotel in Glasgow and taking a train into Edinburgh?

TuckH

In my humble opinion, you're running up too much mileage. I'd argue that you should concentrate on the Western Isles...Skye (Portree) and Mull (Tobermory) and Iona, Inverewe Garden, etc, etc, exploring by driving slowly, with the many, many lay-bys (you'll be surprised how many friends you have with all those other drivers waving to you!), taking ferries, and by hiking often. Edinburgh, yes; Glascow, no. Allow for poor weather when you should just wait it out instead of having to move on. Slow down and enjoy the stunning scenery!

TuckH

Oh yes, one other thing: Stay in B+B's, you'll make some more friends!

sheila

I can't really help with B&Bs around Loch Awe, I'm afraid.

yes, don't take the car into Edinburgh- go by train.

AllenofSV

WE will have a rental car with us. Does it make more sense to ferry the car over to Mull and explore the island ourselves - including a ferry over to Iona (I know we can't take the car) ....OR.... leave car in Oban and take a bus tour of Mull with a side trip to Iona.

OR..... is there a bus system in Mull in which we can take it around the island at our own pace??

TuckH

Of course you should ferry your car with you! That's the whole point! Forget the bus idea.

Instead of taking the Oban ferry (expensive), I suggest bypassing Oban (ugly) and crossing Loch Linnhe at Inchree, then again at Lochaline to Mull. Circuit the entire island, going to Iona and back. Retrace thru Strontian and take the ferry from Mallaig to Skye. Again, circuit the island. There's a new bridge at the Kyle of Lochalsh, then go over the mountain road to Applecross, Loch Torridon to Inverewe. Take 4 or 5 days to do this and enjoy some of Scotland's wildest and most beautiful scenery!!!

Tammi

yeah you sort of are spreading yourself too thing. Do you golf? if not why see st andrews? I've never seen it (I'm american and have been there many times).

As for your skye trip, just one day? It was a five hour drive from Aberdeen and we were there for 2 nights 3 days. The drive is sooo long.

duncmom1

Rather than staying in Ballater, can you find a place in Braemar? We stayed in Ballater one year and I would have given anything to have known about the Fife Arms in Braemar ahead of time. I just loved it!

sheila

TuckH has half a good idea there. Come off Skye from Armadale to Mallaig and drive round Ardnamurchan- turn right at Arisaig), then get teh ferry from Locahline to Mull. Where I would differ with him is, I would then come off to Oban and go south towards Lochgilphead through Kilmartin rather than east to Crianlarich.

This misses out Glencoe, but adds in some superb stones.

Ani

I have to agree with Duncmom...we stayed in Ballater (at The Glen Lui FYI) as I stated earlier, and it was....ok. Nothing spectacular. Our hotel was barely OK (except the food and service was great). Also, we did make a trip to St. Andrews and it was really pretty-we enjoyed it-but were there for under an hour as we do not golf. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way. Just my 2 pennies.

AllenofSV

Thanks Tuck and Shelia for the idea of getting to Mull via Lochaline. MUCH cheaper to ferry us and the car!! But, if we do things that way, we will get to Mull in the late afternoon (because we wanted another 1/2 day on Skye) and have to stay the night on Mull and spend the majority of the next day there. We really just wanted a day trip to Mull/Iona. However, if we decide to go the route you suggested, I was thinking of leaving Mull and driving to Glasgow and staying there for the last 3 nights. Is it a good base to see the Trossachs?

Others who replied: We are staying in Ballater at the Cambus O'May Hotel. Braemar is already full because of the Highland Games on September 6th, which we are attending.

AllenofSV

How long is the drive from Skye to Lochaline?

Waternish or Trotternish peninsula on Skye for best views and sunsets? (thinking of staying 2 nights on Skye - 25-30 BP pppn budget)

TuckH

In my opinion Glasgow would be an exclusion, except to arrive and leave Scotland. (You say you want to explore the natural beauty rather than the big cities, why stay in Glascow 3 nights?) The Trossachs pale in comparison to the rest; skip it.

As for 'how long does it take to drive...', remember this is not a ballgame where you're speeding around the bases. You're there to soak up the scenery!

The uniqueness of this Scottish scenery is the interplay of land and sea, isles and lochs. Go the coastal roads where ever you can and enjoy the enchantment of it all.

While on Skye, get to Portree and explore from there. While on Mull, get to Tobermory and explore from there. Both are picturesque port towns worthy of stops.

AllenofSV

Hello. Based on your comments, I have revised my itinerary:

Days 1-3 ... Royal Deeside, Braemar Royal Highland Games - stay in Ballater at Cambus O'May Hotel.

ANY INEXPENSIVE GOLF RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE ROYAL DEESIDE FOR SUNDAY, SEPT. 7 WHERE THEY ALSO RENT CLUBS?

Days 4-5 ... Isle of Skye - staying 2 nights in either Uig or Waternish peninsula (ANY RECOMMENDATIONS?)

Day 6 ... Isle of Mull w/ side trip to Iona - staying at Glengorm Castle on Mull

Day 7 ... back to mainland via Oban and on to Stirling - stay in Glasgow

Day 8 ... Take a train to Edinburgh - stay in Glasgow (early flight day 9)

ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A GLASGOW HOTEL THAT IS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF TRAIN STATION AND HAS PARKING FOR OUR RENTAL CAR? (25-30 #s pppn)

janis

What is your reason for staying in Glasgow? There are a LOT more scenic areas near Glasgow (therefore convenient for catching your flight out) and near enough to Edinburgh for a day trip,

You could stay those 2 nights near Callander, Aberfoyle or on Loch Lomond. You would be just a few miles from Stirling, the Trossachs (BTW the Trossachs are absolutely lovely) and could easily drive or take the train to Edinburgh.

When I have an early AM flight out of Glasgow I usually stay on Loch Lomond or near Drymen/Aberfoyle since they are an easy drive from the airport w/o having to navigate the city's traffic. If my flight is REALLY early - like 5AM - I stay right at the airport having turned my car in the night before.

AllenofSV

Hi Janis. We were thinking of staying in Glasgow because Edinburgh would be easily accessible by train (we don't want to drive in Edinburgh) and our flight is out of Glasgow at 11:00 am. However, I like your idea better.

WHICH TOWN WOULD YOU RECOMMEND STAYING IN, IN ORDER TO CATCH A TRAIN TO EDINBURGH FOR THE DAY ...AND...BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO GLASGOW FOR THE AIRPORT? ALSO, DO YOU HAVE ANY INEXPENSIVE HOTEL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS TOWN?

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!