Eilean Donan and Dunvegan on the same day (!) you <i>do</i> enjoy the driving ;)

Remember that Arizona is a large state. We can drive 4 hours and still not be outside the state. So I guess we get used to driving. I love the scenery here so maybe that helps!
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>>Remember that Arizona is a large state. We can drive 4 hours and still not be outside the state.<<

I'm from CA which is even <i>bigger</i> and can drive 15 hours and still be in state ;)

But there ain't no I-5 or I-10 on Skye :)

Enjoying your report. Sounds as if we may have passed on the roads. We were in Skye and from there went to Ballater. We got to Edinburgh today. If you have a chance after leaving Skye take a diversion and go to Glendon. It's a fantastic 30 minute drive across the mountain. Wonderful. We had lunch at the pub in the small town.

Loving your report!

I noticed you skipped over the Bealach pass part....we're going to that area in September and I've read tons of cautions. i.e. not for the feint of heart, the grade is terrifying, etc. etc.

We almost talked ourselves out of it since we're not the most comfortable on mountain roads. We you tubed it, and it appears that there are guard rails on the drop offs, so that's comforting. Was it ok? I'd hate like hell to go all that way and chicken out!

How long did it take to do that Applecross, Bealach to Torridon?

We went to Three Chimneys last year for my birthday, what a wonderful memory. It was a delicious meal on gorgeous Skye!

Scotland is my new favourite country :)

Sugarmaple, the pass was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. Yes it's a single track but if you take your time and allow others to pass you by pulling into the passing spots as needed then you will be fine. We found most people (only had one jerk) were not in any hurry at all. It was a beautiful drive and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It took us at probably over an hour if not more to go the whole route from Torridon to Applecross and then over the pass. DH thinks it was closer to 2 hours.

Yestravel, I'll take a look to see if Glendon is an option. We did a slight itinerary change on the spur of the moment so have some driving today. Thanks for the tip.

Dinner at Viewfield House last night was average. We both had Halibut which was so so in flavor. Our best meal at a B&B has been Cardhu House hands down. Wonderful dinner there

Sorry, spell check changed the name. It's Glenelg.

Our sudden diversion was when we realized we had come to Scotland and hadn't see Loch Ness. How could we leave and answer all those questions we were bound to get. So up to Loch Ness for a short boat ride and to see Urquhart Castle. Yes we're crazy for the driving but what the heck. Now on to our next stop.

Inverlochy Castle

We had decided to treat ourselves and booked at the Inverlochy Castle for 2 nights. We just arrived. OMG it's beautiful! We are staying in the Prince's Suite and it's huge. Will be dining tonight complete with wine pairings.

More to come...

Dinner

The castle is amazing. We wandered just inside as we didn't have much time before dinner. Doors open for unoccupied rooms so it was nice to see what a double room looked like. They were all very nice and very large for double rooms. The hotel manager said they are booked up till September.

We had cocktails in the lounge before dinner. They brought us an appetizer in the lounge and after cocktails let us know our table was ready. DH had to wear a jacket to dinner but the hotel provided one and told him that a lot of men used the same tailor so he could expect to see several more in a similar style. They have a nice staff who go out of their way to provide great service. We had the wine pairings with dinner. It was a wonderful dinner with some very tasty dishes. I won't go into it all but if you enjoy fine dining you will enjoy the experience.

Back to the room and a beautiful turn down service. DH went out to get some sunset shots while I catch up here.

Time for postcards.

Inverlochy Castle

This morning we drove to Glenfinnan to catch sight of the Jacobite Steam Train crossing the viaduct. Janisj's tips were right on and D H had his tripod all set up and ready. We parked in visitor center lot and put our parking pass (Royal Oak Foundation- NTS) in the window so no cost to park since they recognize the pass.

The train arrived between 10:45 and 11:00. I even managed to get some video.

The rain started in earnest so we're now back at the Castle for some down time and a nap.

Callander

Our visit to Inverlochy Castle was wonderful but over. We left after breakfast and drove to Stirling to see the Stirling Castle. Our Explorer Pass was going to expire after today so instead of visiting the castle after spending the night in Callander we decided to go today.

The weather is beautiful today. We spent a couple of hours at the castle and enjoyed seeing the sights. We enjoyed the Regimental Museum and I pointed out to DH the display about the battle in Zulu Land - love the movie Zulu with Michael Cain.

From there we went to Doune Castle and enjoyed the audio tour with all the tidbits from Monty Python. What a hoot. Between the two sites, coupled with the rest of our trip, we certainly got our money's worth from the Explorer Pass.

Now we're at Annfield Guest House deciding on dinner.

Enjoying your detailed report. We picked Scotland to celebrate our 20th anniversary and are so looking forward to it. I hope we get decent weather. I know, we will try and make the most of it. I wonder if we should get the explorer card you mention - don't think we are doing many castles since we are limited on time.

Alas, we tried to stay at Annfield last year, but it was booked.

Loving your report so far!

"From there we went to Doune Castle and enjoyed the audio tour with all the tidbits from Monty Python."

The five pounds I plunked down for those coconuts were well worth it, and I agree, the audio tour is informative and vey fun for Monty Python fans.

((H))

Mnag - check the website to see where the Explorer Pass covers. There is a shorter pass too aside from we had. For us it was a big money saver as a couple of our stops weren't planned.

Annfield is a lovely property. We had a room on the first floor- only one set of stairs! We had a chance to talk to some fellow Americans in the sitting room who were there for their son's wedding. Married in Scotland, honeymooning in Norway. How funny.

So our last night of fish and chips we suspected. Off to Mohr Restaurant where we had Haddock fish and chips and of course beer. Then a stroll around the town which was a nice walk. I got some Drambuie for later while DH had his Glenfiddich. Saw some bagpipers practicing which made for some nice entertainment.

Beautiful area.

After leaving Callander we decided to take a side trip to see The Falkirk Wheel. It was pouring down rain so driving was a little bit of a challenge but we made it. I was surprised by the number of tour buses there.

We opted for the boat ride on a canal boat which didn't go far but it was an interesting demonstration of the Wheel. We rose 24 meters to go from one canal to another. Unfortunately the visibility was so poor we couldn't see anything but it was still an enjoyable visit.

Glasgow

Time head for Glasgow. Our trip is getting closer to being over. Driving in Glasgow - not fun. Just like any major city traffic was horrible. With the pouring rain even less fun. Located the Marriott Hotel right off the highway. We were able to check in and put our luggage in our room. Then it was off to find a gas station before heading to turn the car in. A few blocks away after some maneuvers on one way streets we made it. All this time our GPS worked great but now it wouldn't recognize the location for Avis to turn in the car! So out comes my iPhone and Maps and the Avis website did the trick.

Avis office wasn't that far from our hotel but under the viaduct and in a bit of an industrial area. We held our breath on turn in as the right front tire (tyre) had a piece of rubber loose. The mechanic checked it over and said no worries as the wheel itself was fine. Whew!!!! So car in and then a walk back to the hotel in the rain.

Quiet night at the hotel for dinner and hoping the weather is a little better for sightseeing.

Still following along and enjoying your report. We are thinking of returning to Scotland and spending more time there so interested in where you went and what you did .
To bad you didn't have a Hertz rental car. Their pick up and drop off was in a room in the Marriott.
I will be interested in your opinion of Glasgow. I loved anything related to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, but was underwhelmed otherwise. Have fun!

Yestravel - I think you summed up how we felt about Glasgow, underwhelmed.

After sleeping late we had breakfast and then caught the hop on hop off bus. It was pouring down rain. We enjoy museums but only the highlights unless we have a particular interest in one area. I really wanted to see the Willow Tea Rooms but it was closed for renovations.

So we ended up simply taking the bus around and luckily the weather cleared. We enjoyed the cathedral and we went to The Tenement House which we found really interesting. We walked around several sites and finally got back to our hotel around 4:00 p.m.

Overall we were glad we saw Glasgow but not a place we would return to.

Tomorrow will be travel to London. We are on frequent flyer mile tickets for our flight home so London was the easiest to and from spot. We will be doing one night at the Hilton in Heathrow Airport. I will do a "sum up " post afterwards.

We've been home a week now. How quickly the time flew by!

Here is the summary:

FLIGHTS:

Outbound we flew Phoenix to Houston; Houston to London on mileage saver tickets with United. Inbound was British Airways London to San Francisco and American San Francisco to Phoenix. United Polaris Class Business Class was very nice and much nicer than the BA flight we had in Club World. The plane with BA was old and not nearly as comfortable as United. Not sure we would do BA again if we could help it.

TRAIN - Thoroughly enjoyed the train to Edinburgh. We enjoyed the scenery and it was comfortable.

HOTELS:

Edinburgh - The Rutland Hotel. We enjoyed this hotel. It was a boutique hotel at the end of Princes Street. I liked that it was not on the Royal Mile actually. We had all the buses and the airport tram very close by and this made it convenient to get around the city. The staff were friendly, breakfasts were very good, room was nice and we would certainly recommend it. There is a lift that takes you to the 2nd floor. We had to walk up one small flight of stairs to get to our room but the lift was certainly nice for luggage.
http://www.therutlandhotel.com/

Kirkwall - The Albert Hotel. This hotel was very convenient being downtown Kirkwall. It was nice that it too had a lift so we could take luggage up without having to tote up the stairs. Both a pub and restaurant on site. Food at each was average. The room we had was a double an we thought it was fine. Another hotel I would recommend. http://alberthotel.webeden.co.uk/

Speyside - The Cardhu Country House. Probably our favorite B&B. The drive to get here is really pretty even if you think you are headed for the middle of nowhere! The room we had was large as was the bathroom and very light and airy. Grounds were beautiful. The dinner here was one of the best. http://www.cardhucountryhouse.co.uk/

Torridon - The Torridon Inn. This was an O.K. property. I think it gets so much hype because of The Torridon Hotel right next door. It really is more of a motel and it was clean. If I had known, I probably would have booked somewhere else. There are not a lot of places to stay in the area but I would have opted for a B&B for more atmosphere. https://www.thetorridon.com/inn/

Isle of Skye - Portree - Viewfield County House. I liked the fact that we could do laundry on site. I know people rave about the house and it was nice, but I do think it was a little gloomy. The grounds were pretty and we liked having parking easily accessible. The dinner we had was average. Staff were very friendly. We didn't enjoy it though as much as Cardhu Country House. http://www.viewfieldhouse.com/

Inverlochy Castle - A very big splurge. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a unique experience. The staff were very friendly and it was just an experience we thoroughly enjoyed. Dinners were amazing. http://inverlochycastlehotel.com/

Callander - The Annfield Guest House is really nice. If you plan to be in this area, I would certainly recommend it and the small town of Callander. http://www.annfieldguesthouse.co.uk/

Glasgow - The Marriott Hotel. Typical corporate hotel. A little old and the room was a little cramped even though it was supposed to be an Executive Room. I think all that means is that it has a desk it it! What we did like was that it was convenient off the M8 and close to our rental car turn in. In addition, the hop-on, hop-off bus and a stop literally right out the door across the street.

Heathrow Hilton - again a corporate airport hotel. But it was convenient for our flight and the food in the restaurant was good.

TOURS, ETC. We weren't that keen on the Rabbies tour. Even though it was only a 16 passenger bus we felt it was cramped. We felt the timing in areas was off too. Either too much or not enough. It severed the purpose though and maybe it's because we're so used to being on our own that we found the timing of the tour just a little off.

Explorer Pass well worth purchasing we thought as was The Royal Oak (sister of National Trust of Scotland) Pass. We felt we got our money out of both.

WHAT WOULD WE CHANGE?

After now doing the trip, I think we would have added a night in Speyside. We felt like we could have enjoyed more time in this area. Other than that, we felt like for the limited time we had we got to see a good variety of the country.

An enjoyable trip.