I am spending 3 weeks in Scotland in May 2017. My plan is to do a loop from Glasgow to Edinburgh then north to Inverness via St. Andrews, east to the Isle of Skye, south to Oban (side trip to Mull/Iona) and back to Glasgow. I am mostly interested in seeing the countryside with a few castles, a few distilleries but mostly land, lochs, and authentic villages. I have a few questions about the first leg. My plan is to fly into Glasgow, spend 2 nights there, then take the train to Edinburgh and spend 3 nights there. Then rent a car. My first question concerns getting to St. Andrews. Should I skirt the coast passing Kirkcaldy, St. Monans, etc.? Or should I take the A92 north to Dundee and then down to St. Andrews with side trips to East Neuk? Is East Neuk worth a visit? I like fishing villages. Then should I head north thru Dundee and Perth on the way to Inverness? Should I miss Stirling? If any respondents are from Scotland I’d love to buy you a pint or a whisky on my way. Thanks.

>>My first question concerns getting to St. Andrews. Should I skirt the coast passing Kirkcaldy, St. Monans, etc.? Or should I take the A92 north to Dundee and then down to St. Andrews with side trips to East Neuk?<<

DEFINITELY take the coast -- visit Falkland Palace, Anstruther/the Isle of May, Crail, etc.

>> Is East Neuk worth a visit?<<<<

Yes!

>>Then should I head north thru Dundee and Perth on the way to Inverness?<<

Me personally -- No. I'd go up the coast, visit Dunnottar, Crathes (maybe Glamis before cutting over to the coast) then drive along Deeside and up to Grantown-on-Spey > Nairn. I'd probably stay one night (at least) in Ballater.

Meant to address the Stirling question . . . Stirling castle is magnificent -- but so are Edinburgh castle and several other you will see. On your Itinerary, if you want to see Stirling -- visit it by train. From either Glasgow or Edinburgh. It is a very short train ride.

<B>OR</B> . . . If you zig back through the Trossachs for a couple of days (highly recommended) en route Oban and Glasgow - you could see Inchmahome, Doune, and Stirling and still be a short drive back to GLA.

There really isn't any 'best' answer to your questions. With 3 weeks, your overall plan is fine. How you zig and zag along the way really doesn't matter that much. It's a question of there being 100s of places that fit your interests to choose from and obviously, you aren't going to get to all of them but you will get to some of each of your interests with no problem.

I would agree to follow the coast from Edinburgh though through the East Neuk villages to St. Andrews. All in the Kingdom of Fife. Did you know it was a Kingdom? If you read the following, you will see why in Fife alone you could spend your entire 3 weeks and still not see everything that might be of interest to you.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ife/index.html

Bookmarking. Thanks Janis and Dogeared

Thanks Janis & Dogeared. Another question for Janis. When leaving St. Andrews are you suggesting taking the A92 north past Dunnottar Castle to Stonehaven or Aberdeen and then over to Ballater? And if so, how best to get from there to Inverness. I'm having some difficulty finding some of these villages on my Michelin map. I greatly appreciate the help from both of you.

Get a better map

You would go from Ballater west just a bit to the A939 through Tomintoul and on towards Grantown on Spey.

"Side trip to Mull"

Are you aware how big the island is and how poor the roads are?

There are very few two way highways, 90% of the roads are single track with passing places. The speed limit is 60 mph but it takes a very steady nerve to drive at that speed.

The island is stunning, as is Iona and the beach at Fidden is amongst the best in Scotland.

Thank you Janis. And thank you BritishCaicos for the tip on Mull. Now I'm wondering if that trip makes sense. Maybe I should stick to Isle of Skye. Comments? Also, driving from St. Andrews to Ballater should I take the A92 to Stonehaven and over or continue to Aberdeen and over? Or should I take the A90 to Stonehaven or Aberdeen? The former looks more picturesque but maybe I will have seen enough of that coastline going from Edinburgh to St. Andrews given my somewhat limited time. Thanks again.

Getting there thanks to your help everyone. Another question. Before the suggestion to visit Ballater I had planned to go north on the A9 thru Perth, Pitlochry and Aviemore to Inverness. If I go to Ballater should I skip that route or find a way to fit it in? Comments welcome.

>>Maybe I should stick to Isle of Skye. <<

The travel is no faster on Skye and it is an even larger island.

>> I had planned to go north on the A9 thru Perth, Pitlochry and Aviemore to Inverness. If I go to Ballater should I skip that route or find a way to fit it in? <<

I would skip it. Aviemore isn't that big a deal and Perth isn't a must. Scone Palace is lovely but losing it wouldn't be a huge loss. You'll see better scenery crossing via Tomintoul.

>>should I take the A92 to Stonehaven and over or continue to Aberdeen and over? Or should I take the A90 to Stonehaven or Aberdeen?<<

If you want to make time, take the A90. If you want to meander more, take the A92. But in neither case would you need to go as far as Aberdeen. Stonehaven > Banchory on the A957 and Banchory > Ballater on the A93.

You have 3 weeks, you want to meander, there are no wrong answers.

All I see now is a move to detailed planning of each turn in the road. Does the term 'anal retentive' ring any bells for you?

"There are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths." Mark Nepo.

What if you get lost, take a 'wrong' turn and end up in Pitlochry? Will it be a disaster or will you discover there is a play in the Festival Theatre that sounds really worthwhile and discover the great food at the Fern Cottage restaurant.

http://ferncottagepitlochry.co.uk/

https://pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/

Asking a local or two for hotel suggestions, someone mentions the Atholl Arms Hotel right across the road from Blair Castle.

http://www.athollarmshotel.co.uk/

And the hotel happens to have a 2 nights for the price of one, special offer on. That worked out well and then you discover that the steak pie in the hotel's Bothy Bar is the best steak pie you have ever tasted. Is that waitress giving you the eye?

You do a day hike along the river or up Glen Tilt. Maybe go see the salmom jumping up river or visit the castle across the road. Discover the Duke of Atholl's Atholl Highlanders, is the only legal private standing army in the UK and Queen Victoria took tea supposedly in the Atholl Arms hotel.

http://blair-castle.co.uk/

So did you take a wrong turn?

Never sweat the small stuff. It's what you make of where you are each day that matters.

Peterfromca:
I haven't driven on Mull, but have been DRIVEN there, and not much traffic, so roads aren't that big a concern, I think. But have driven, and been driven, on many Scotish highland roads and they are GRAND.
I also am from CA, as your name suggests, and by comparison to the roads in CA.....well, ours are an embarrassment. Our Gov. Moonbeam seems to prefer a high speed, unpaid paid for, train to nowhere instead of repairing/improving our roads. The Scottish roads, even in the far north are superior by far.

Dogeared- I have to say, you have a way with words. I'm guessing that when you referred to anal retentive tendencies you were thinking about a common hyphenated word sharing that particular body part. So when I get to Scotland I'm gonna call in some markers with my pals in the intelligence service and track you down to your favorite pub and buy you a refreshment. or two. But, if I didn't do some planning I might never know to search out, or stumble on, the Fern Cottage restaurant. But maybe I'll just do distilleries and pubs and go where the patrons tell me to go later that day. Serendipity at its best. So thanks for the tips. And thanks again to Janis and to ayemimi2007 from CA.

Don't fret the dog man - he's been on these boards before and every time he eventually gets sent packing by the powers that be for attacking people. He was actually pretty nice to you

Whichever you decide on you will have a great time.

How about instead of a pint OR a whisky, a pint OF whisky?! I'd give it to Janis, if I were you.

Absolutely puzzled by the "roads are better in Scotland than California" comment? Not in my experience.

I have to agree. Could we have a more specific example?

I think I can explain - California's infrastructure is falling apart(not the only state w/ those problems). There is the massive freeway system (which have their own problems) but local roads in a lot of places are full of pot holes and many bridges and culverts need repair.

While the roads in Scotland may be narrow and twisty/turny - in general they are in much better repair. Still doesn't mean one can make good time on them . . .

Maybe the OP is from Canada?