Scotland - will this work?
 

We are staying with friends in Biggar for a few nights then heading north to see Isle of Skye and Loch Ness. I had hoped to stay at a campground (wigwam) for three or four nights in a central area and take day trips to different areas. Is this doable. I will be travelling with 4 kids (5-12). We have rented a van.

yes, but the Wigwams (I assume we're talking Glen Dochart) are not really handy for anywhere in particular

thank you sheila - i was thinking of staying at glen dochart. Do you have another suggestion - what about hostels?

Unless you want to be somewhere where there's nothing but scenery (and there's nothing wrong with that, of course), I think you need to be further east. If you are happy to be in the middle of mamba (miles and miles of buggar all), hen go with the wigwams. The west coast has lovely stuff but it wiggles in and out a lot, making long distances between places.

I'd probably stay somewhere like... Crieff? Dunkeld? Aberfeldy? Giving you options to go east, then pick up Oban on your way to Skye. Do Loch Ness on the way back. Pick a place and we can advise on accommodation after that

How far is Oban from Biggar? I was hoping to leave Biggar in the morning, take M74 to Stirling and then head to Glencoe and Fort Williams. Is it doable to stay in the Fort Williams area and do day trips to Loch Ness, Iverness, Skye and Firth? If I can see whales and dolphins at the Skye then I don't necessarily need to go as far as Iverness or Firth.

"Firth"? Not quite sure what you mean - a Firth is just a body of water (Firth of Forth, Moray Firth, Pentland Firth, Solway Firth, etc.)

You are all over the place - Presumably you'd go to Stirling to visit the castle. Biggar to Ft William via Stilring is easily a 4.5 hour drive (could be more depending on traffic). That is a long time in a car - w/ just 2 hours at Stirling (it usually takes longer) an hour at Glencoe, a meal, and any other sightseeing you will be on the road ALL day long.

One wouldn't usually <i>choose</i> to stay in Ft William -- it is a bit of a dump.

(BTW -- if you are staying in Biggar -- you aren't limited to getting to Edinburgh from Gatwick. Glasgow is another option. There are several flights to GLA each day.)

Okay - suggestions please!
I would like to see the Isle of Skye unless there is someplace just as nice and easier to get to.
I would also like to see Loch Ness
Lastly I would like to whales and dolphins at Moray Firth (my mistake earlier) - I could possibly see these when in Wales but I thought I read somewhere that you could see them best in Scotland
Nothing is set in stone, these are just places I thought we would enjoy to see - I'm open for suggestions - I want my girls to be in awwww (spelling??)

OK do you have 4 nights after leaving Biggar?

If so, here is one plan that is pretty hectic but doable.

Day/night 1: Biggar to Callander via Stirling. Visit Stirling castle and maybe the lake of Menteith/Inchmahome Priory.

Day/night 2: Callander to Skye. Stay in/near Broadford (mostly to reduce the drive times to/from Skye). Enroute visit Glencoe and take the ferry from Mallaig.

Day/night 3: ON Skye/Broadford

Day/Night 4: Leave Skye early in the AM via the bridge, to Loch Ness and on to Fortrose on the Moray Firth. This is about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive so even w/ 45 minutes at Urquhart castle on Loch Ness you could get to Fortrose by early afternoon and take a dolphin cruise.

From there - do I understand you want to go to Paris, or is it just down to London or somewhere else in England? Depending - you have options - overnight train to London from Inverness, 4+ hour drive to EDI to fly to London or Paris - or others depending on what you want to do next.

One thing - you sort of painted yourself into a bit of a box w/ those flights in/out of Gatwick. You may have to alter some of your wish list/musts.

The plan is to visit Scotland, then Wales then London. While in London I hope to take a train to Paris just for a day. Thank you for your suggestions - I will look into it.

The plan is to visit Scotland, then Wales then London. While in London I hope to take a train to Paris just for a day. Thank you for your suggestions - I will look into it.

If you are driving down to Wales -- you'll want to rearrange things a bit.

Edinburgh first. Then the loop I suggested - but possibly in reverse order. <u>THEN</u> visit the friends in Biggar. Then down into the Lake District and on to Wales.

Otherwise you are making a huge back track because Biggar is south of Glasgow/Edinburgh and you'd end up going back through that area on your way to Wales. I think you'd do well to get a good map of the UK and see where things are in relation to each other.