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Ani... may I suggest that this planning is for "A" visit, not "THE" visit. In which case you can utilize all of these wonderful tips. Thanks Janis for your approval of my list, I haven't seen all of them, but they and many more, are on my "must see" list of the Southwest of Scotland.

Ani, I think what you're trying to do can be done, but I think you are slightly scarping the surface by doing it. You could split your 9 days into 3 in teh Borders, 3 in Dumfries and Galloway (and I'm sorry, Danna, but I would be struggling to justify that in the context of what Ani is trying to do) and then three further north. You might be better to take two (or none) in D&G and then 4 or 6 further north. A good way south out of Edinburgh would be to drive east from the city and follow the coast road past North Berwick to Tantallon; stay on the coast past Dunbar and when you get to Reston take a left and go down to St Abb’s, then follow the little road round to Eyemouth. From Eyemouth go inland to Manderston just outside Duns, then stay west to Mellerstain, then south to Floors at Kelso,then take your south diversion to Alnwick. I'd probably stay overnight tere somewhere then come north west again to Dryburgh Abbey, past Melrose to Abbotsford and then Traquhair, then come north past Peebles and Neidpath Castle. At this point make up your mind if you'r going south west. If you do, go and see the stuff on Danna's list. If we make the ssumption taht you do, and you've crammed my tour of the Borders into two days as well, that gives you five days to come north. Head out of the south west and just before Stirling head north to Callendar, and on to Aberfoyle, taking in Inchmaholm. See the Rob Roy stuff at Balquhidder, then probably go due south past Doune and Dunbalne to Stirling. Next day do Stirling and Linlithgow, and maybe also Loch Leven. Then go up through Perth, Dunkeld, Blair Atholl, and Kingussie to Inverness and Loch Ness (tho' why you would defeats me:)) On the way back take the east coast route, taking in Culloden,(OK, not mediaeval, but how can you go past it?) Brodie, Cawdor, Elgin, over to Deeside, and batter down Deeside, aiming to stay, perhaps in Stonehaven. Day 5 go due south (side shoot to Glamis) and take in Fife and the coastal villages. One of the problems of what you're trying to do is that Scotland has an immense amount of history in the period you're talking about and almost all of it is in the lowlands; and outside Scotland most people will only know of the high points. Flodden, for instance was probably far more important in Scots history than Bannockburn. More power to you for trying to do/see the less known stuff. What are you reading?

Thanks again for the responses-Sheila I actually have 11.5 days (i've already subtracted travel time). I will definately take your route into consideration-very helpful!! I also asked my husband last night how attached he was to Loch Ness andhe said no prob if we skip it...so we probably will-its the northern most point so far besids Eilean Donan. Anyway thanks again!

Sheila-realized just after posting my last message that you had subtracted our Edinburgh days...oops!

Ani... listen to Sheila...(Sheila, you never have to apologize to me, I trust your insights! one of these days I'll venture north!) Ani, wherever you and your hubby are in Scotland, just the being there will be worth a trip. Although Galloway is fine!

Ani, I feel silly adding to such great thoughts as you have really obtained some gold here. Mostly I wanted to add my vote to missing the north. Maybe you could go up to aberdeen but no more than that given all the other great things you want. One of my highlights in terms of royal building things was actually scone palace which wasn't on my list of things to see (there is another one nearby that is relevant to the current queen's mother but the name escapes me). As for lake mentieth, try and hit it about lunch time. It'll be a great picnic for you two on the island. It was a highlight for my wife and I. I agree witht he circular driving idea and from lake mentieth you can see the things on the way up to the highlands that sheila and others said but add in queen elizabeth park forest if you can and go into the depth of it for some walks or do lunch there if you do lake mentieth before lunch. Oh yeah, and we stayed at a haunted castle called Airth Castle which is sort of between edingurgh and Stirling for GBP 80 per couple (B & B). I think its near falkirk from memory. Don't worry too much about booking every B&B but if you do try and stay outside of the towns. When we were heading to a city (eg PErth or edinburgh) as a over night destination, we actually started to stop in at farmhouse B&B's along the way from about 4 or 5pm latest. We always found something before hitting town and always at good prices (mostly less than GBP 40 per couple). For mary stuff I liked Stirling castle since they did a little play about her history there. A bit corny, but I liked it.

Ani: If you are going to be in the area of Elgin and the Culloden Battlefield, do yourself a favor and stop at Pluscarden Abbey. Started in 1230 by the Scottish King, Alexander II, it is an amazingly beautiful site and the interior is exquisite, serene beyond belief. It is the only medieval monastery in Britain still in use for the purpose for which it was created. Brothers tend the fields and you can see them in prayer through a glass wall. We were made aware of this very special place by good friends in Largs and stop by on every trip to Scotland (the Abbey is also at the top of the Whisky Trail which brings us to this area).

Joe! They are trying to convince Ani she doesn't have time to do everything and you go and throw in another suggestion for something hundreds of miles from where her interests are concentrated. There is nothing wrong with Pluscarden Abbey but there is no way they can add Elgin and Pluscarden to this trip. Read the thread before you add useless stuff!

Sheesh may be on the rude side - but I basically agree w/ him (her?) Ani is refining her itinerary and limiting the areas they are visiting and then Joe muddies the water by plugging someplace all the way up near Elgin.

I just wanted to chime in by suggesting that in late March you might want to restrict yourselves somewhat to the eastern side of the country, and the southern edge of Scotland to boot, in order to avoid the worst of what will probably be a mixed bag (charitable) of weather. Spring may or may not yet be making itself felt, and spending a lot of time in the wetter west and/or colder north will be pressing your luck. Fortunately there are plenty of places in the east and Borders that will more than fill your appetites for medieval sights and relics; not to mention Edinburgh itself. You've gotten a ton of good recommendations already. If you like historical fiction/romance books, you can stoke your anticipation with Dorothy Dunnet's Lymond Chronicles, set in Edinburgh in the 1500s, and of course you should read everything by Walter Scott (good luck) before you head out. I'd also suggest that you include a bit more of Northumberland in your itinerary - Alnwick Castle is good, but so are Bamburgh Castle, the Holy Isle, and (not Northumberland but not that much farther) Durham Cathedral, which exerted so much influence over this part of Britain in the middle ages. Plus it's IMO the single greatest medieval structure in Britain.

Thanks again! Even for the Pluscarden Abbey suggestion! Funnily enough I just finished my first in the Lymond Chronicles...good stuff...also a huge fan of Margaret George. Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles and also Henry VIII were fantastic books. Anyway-thanks again keep em coming!

Sheesh, Janis: Perhaps you need to reread my suggestion. I start with "if you are going to be in the area of...". Sheila's suggested itinerary clearly makes room for Culloden and Elgin in her fourth paragraph. Given her interest in places medieval, Pluscaden Abbey would be a worthwhile stop if, again, "IF" she is going to be in the area. Pluscarden Abbey is six miles from Elgin.

Joe, I like to read these posts, but I quit responding - except when I see something that makes me cranky - because, although they can be very helpful, janis and sheila tend to be pretty dogmatic that the "only way" is "their way". Ani said she was considering Grantown-on-Spey as a destination . . . about 40 minutes tops from Elgin. Hello, janis?? Do you know where Grantown-on-Spey is? It's "all the way up there near Elgin". Ani, the drive from Elgin to Loch Awe COULD take you back to Inverness (Castle Stuart) and along the north shore of Loch Ness which is scenic, and past Ben Nevis . . . which puts you more or less en route to Loch Awe. Im sure sheila and janis can rip this idea to shreds.

Sorry, Joe commiserator, I don't try to be dogmatic. I try to give options. There are thousands of permutations. Where did I asy mine was best?

hey a joe commiserator in case you didn't notice about half way down the thread ani decided to drop loch ness and grantown on spey. janis and sheila always seem to give the most useful suggestions about scotland. what is dogmatic about that. huh? so what if you don't agree. i don't see you adding anything of value to the discussion.

UhOH! This is getting melee-ish! Just to clarify-I'm not entirely certain of anything just yet...most likely will not be going to Loch Ness...but damn I'd like to do the castle trail...anyway anything truly is helpful-there are a couple of things I've counted out already-and I'm sure I'll get poor reviews for doing so but they are just not priority for us so far (ie Abbs Head and Holy Isle)...we'll be back for those someday. Everyone really has been helpful!

Sorry. Had a fight with my dog and my wife pooped on the carpet yesterday. I guess I was looking for trouble.

Smoothound.co.uk is very helpful for finding all price ranges of accomodations in Scotland. I am planning a 2nd trip myself and will be posting a question. All you so helpful people please take a look!