Yelpir

Hi all. After months of research I think I have fine-tuned the Scotland itinerary for my friend and myself for our September adventure. I would be very grateful for comments on what you think I have missed out, what you think I have included that I should not have, things we should see along the way and recommended accommodation for the overnight stays. We will be driving all the way. Our accommodation budget is between GBP25 and GBP35 per person per night sharing.

Day 1, Thu Sep 11: After 3 days in the Lake District we drive up to Stirling where we overnight.
Distance: 168 miles. Driving time: 3:00 hours

Day 2, Fri Sep 12: In and around Stirling. Overnight in Stirling.

Day 3, Sat Sep 13: Drive from Stirling to Oban via The Trossacks, Loch Lomond and Glen Coe (the long way round). We overnight in Oban. (If we arrive early enough we may take the ferry to Mull and overnight there as the first ferry the following day is only at 9:50am).
Distance: 142 miles. Driving time: 4:00 hours

Day 4, Sun Sep 14: Take the ferry to Mull (if we didn't do this the night before) and drive to Fionnphort where we take a boat ride to Staffa to see Fingal’s Cave. We may also spend a bit of time on Iona. We overnight in Tobermory.
Distance: 113 miles. Driving time: 4:00 hours

Day 5, Mon Sep 15: Take the early ferry from Fishnish to Lochaline and drive to Ardgour where we take the ferry across to Nether Lochaber. We then drive to Fort William where we visit Glen Nevis and then drive the “Road to the Isles” to Mallaig where we take the ferry to Armadale on Skye. We overnight in Armadale or Portree on Skye.
Distance: 123 miles. Driving time: 4:00 hours

Day 6, Tue Sep 16: Spend the day exploring the Island of Skye, overnighting in Portree.

Day 7: Wed Sep 17: Drive over the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh, visit Eilean Donan Castle and then drive up the west coast via Shieldaig to Gairloch where we spend the night.
Distance: 110 miles. Driving time: 3:15 hours

Day 8, Thu Sep 18: Follow the northwest coast of Scotland through Ardessie, Ullapool and Kylestrome to Durness where we spend the night.
Distance: 123 miles. Driving time: 4:00 hours

Day 9, Fri Sep 19: Drive from Durness through Tongue and Lairg to Dingwall where we spend the night.
Distance: 119 miles. Driving time: 3:35 hours

Day 10, Sat Sep 20: Leave Dingwall and drive via Inverness, Nairn and Granton-on-Spey, through the Grampian Mountains to the Royal palace of Balmoral. From there we drive to Braemar, where we spend the night.
Distance: 100 miles. Driving time: 4 hours

Day 11, Sun Sep 21: Leave Braemar and drive via Spittal of Glenshee, Blairgowrie, Birnam and Perth and over the Firth Bridge to Edinburgh where we overnight.
Distance: 104 miles. Driving time: 3 hours

Day 12, Mon Sep 22: Sightseeing in Edinburgh. Overnight in Edinburgh.

Day 13, Tue Sep 23: Fly from Edinburgh to Heathrow and fly home.

I eagerly await feedback from the experts and non-experts alike

Yelpir

Additional information:

My friend and I are very keen photographers and love photographing beautiful scenery. We are not very interested in the insides of castles, museums, churches, etc but enjoy photographing them from the outside. A ruined castle on a cliff or island is a marvellous subject for a picture. We are really inspired by lakes, mountains, rivers, cliffs, waterfalls, forests, etc. We would like to see the most beautiful places that Scotland has to offer.

janisj

I will only post a very short comment now - and I don't mean to sound rude -- But I personally would not enjoy this itinerary at all.

You'll have 1 night stop after 1 night stop after 1 night stop w/ at least 4 hours drive time every day. When you factor in all your photo ops, meals, and checking out/in you will be in transit for probably 8 - 10 hours every single day. That is a LOT of car time . . . . .

Instead of stretching yourselves so thin - why not slow down a bit and actually see some things?

BTW - Balmoral is not open to the public in Sept.

Yelpir

Some specific questions:

1. How far in advance is it advisable to book a flight from Edinburgh to London?

2. Is there enough to see around Stirling to warrant a full day there, or should we rather move on and spend some of the extra time on Skye?

3. I was not able to fit the Great Glen, Glen Affric and Loch Ness into the itinerary. Is this a big loss and should I have another go at fitting it in?

4. Is the far north west worth the time we are investing in getting there and back?

5. Is there a shortcut to finding good accommodation at our stopovers? (I am finding this a daunting task).

Many thanks.

meks

With regard to the north west of Scotland I would think that that area would give you excellent photographic opportunities for remote lochs, countryside and beautiful scenery including ruined castles etc etc.
Do your homework on this area as frequently the best views/ places to see. are slightly off the single track roads.
In September I would prefer the Bettyhill to Altnahara to Lairg road as the scenery is better but at that time of year the deer herds will probably be closer to that road and may present you with photographic opportunities. It is a more winding road than the Tongue to Altnahara to Lairg road but usually has less traffic.

Cocoa Mountain in Durness is well worth a visit especially for chocaholics. The nearby Smoo Cave is interesting, especially if the small boat is operating within the water fall area.

Hope the midges are not out in September as they can be problematic in July and August.

jewela

Wow....this itinerary is very ambitious. So much driving.

Yelpir

Many thanks for your feedback; much appreciated

janisj and jewela: Yes, it is a lot of driving. The reason for this is that my friend comes from Australia and I come from South Africa.
1. We are used to driving long distances/long hours
2. This will probably be our only ever trip to Scotland (we are in our sixties), so we would hate to miss anything really good
3. Last year we covered the whole of New Zealand in 2 weeks with a series of one-night-stands and a LOT of driving (about 4000 miles). We loved every minute of it.
I realise that this kind of holiday is not everybody's cup of tea but I have been doing it all my life. I have never been one for 2 weeks holiday in one place. My next trip will probably be the Trans Siberian railway from Moscow to Shanghai via Mongolia. The faraway hills are forever calling me

meks: Thank you for that very valuable feedback. It is just the sort of thing I am looking for. I will research the route you suggested. Sounds like you know your way around

janisj

W/ all due respect - Scotland is not Australia, NZ or South Africa - nor ANYTHING like them. You cannot drive the same distance or speeds. The roads are narrow, hilly and winding. They are mostly 2 lanes and in some of your areas - you will be on single track roads for long distances. A single track road is a one lane road for 2-way traffic. You have to wait in passing places for oncoming traffic to pass.

a 4 hour drive in California or in Australia will cover hundreds of miles. A 4 hour drive in NW Scotland will cover perhaps 130 or 140 miles - if you are lucky and don't get stuck behind a caravan for 10 miles or blocked by a hay wagon or sheep for 15 or 20 minutes.

You are basing your itinerary on other driving experience. If it was me - I'd listen to those who have actually been where you are going instead of how things are in the wide open spaces of SA or OZ . . . . .

caroline_edinburgh

"How far in advance is it advisable to book a flight from Edinburgh to London?"

As soon as possible - the earlier, the cheaper. Presumably you are flying home from Heathrow, are you ? If so your choices are BA (all flights on 23 Sept currently £45) or bmi (economy currently £38-75).

alanRow

VERY stupid idea to book a separate flight from Edinburgh to London on the same day you fly home.

What happens if the Edinburgh flight is delayed / cancelled / you miss it?

Are you prepared to pay the FULL COST of a one way fare to Oz / SA.

As for "We are used to driving long distances/long hours", I'm used to driving long distances / long hours on UK roads and even on routes I do on a weekly basis 100 miles in 2 hours is the norm on single carriageway roads - and I know where I can speed, where the speed cameras are, where overtaking is safe to do...

Treat UK roads as if you are driving in Joburg / Sydney for several hours - that's the level of skill & concentration you'll need for all but motorway driving in the UK (and motorway driving could mean you do 10mph for 2 hours at the wrong time)

alanRow

Just to add - sunset time in September is around 7:00pm, so you may find that you are doing some of the driving in the dark

caroline_edinburgh

Well, what time are your flights home ? If they are early to mid afternoon or later you'd be fine flying down from Edinburgh the same day - both BA & bmi have flights every hour or two and if there's a problem with one, they'll put you on the next (being full service airlines - I wouldn't recommend this with Ryanair or one of the other dodgy budget airlines).

We all manage to fly from Edinburgh to London and onwards elsewhere, in the same day, for our holidays - as we mostly have to do since there aren't that many direct international flights from here.

Yelpir

Once again, my thanks to you all for your comments

Driving times/Distances:
If you look at my itinerary you will see that I have have posted distances and driving times for each day. These were basically taken from the AA website but work out to an average of roughly 35mph. Basically I budgetted on 120 miles and 4 hours of direct driving each day. This after reading many posts in this forum on the nature of the roads, driving conditions, etc. We plan to start out each day at 8:00am and reach our destination at about 4:00pm, giving us 4 hours of driving and 4 hours of sightseeing/relaxing along the way.
In most cases the holiday is the journey and not the destination. The destination is simply a place to sleep for the night. We will stop often to admire the view and to take photographs. So, even if we arrive at 6:00pm nothing is really lost.
It is, essentially, a relaxed driving holiday.
Is this really so terrible? Are those figures really unrealistic? Do I need to cut the miles per day?

Flights from Edinburgh to Heathrow:
BMI have a number of flights on the 23rd. We plan to catch the one that leaves Edinburgh at 11:00am and arrives at Heathrow at 12:25pm. My friend's flight to Australia leaves at 18:00 while mine leaves later. The 11:00am flight gives us 5 1/2 hours at Heathrow before my friend's flight. There are also flights at 13:10 and 14:25. The 13:10 would give us 3 1/2 hours at Heathrow whereas the 14:25 would give us only 2hrs and 10mins. So the 13:10 is a reasonable backup to the 11:00am and the 14:25 is a panic backup . We should not miss the 11:00am as we will be overnighting in Edinburgh the night before.

Keep the comments coming. They are very helpful

caroline_edinburgh

Thoughtful planning. But don't leave it any longer to book your flights !!

rogeruktm

I don't think you will have a problem on getting on the road by 8:00, in some B&B's they didn't serve breakfast until 7:30/8:30. Many will try to meet your needs, but just be prepared for juice, coffee and cereal. I like your plans by the way, my kind of travel as I agree that it is the journey, not the destination.

GreenDragon

Yelpir

Having driven long distances in the US, the UK and in Ireland, I understand everyone's advice - but if that is your type of holiday, go for it. I have done it your way, and while enjoyed it, won't do it again. However, my husband is the type that loves road trips - and that is basically what this is, a long road trip, with incidental stops each night. As you say, the journey rather than the destination.

Since you have a realistic view of the driving time possible (about 35mph at most), you are going in with your eyes open. That is good! Your flights sound like there's plenty of wiggle room.

I think you will have a lovely time.

Near Stirling are some of the loveliest lochs in the country - Loch Tay, Loch Katrine, and Loch Lomond. Do some time around those areas, and in the Trossachs Park. That in itself is worth an extra day in Stirling.

In Mull, you are right to check out Fingal's Cave (incredible hexagonal stone structures, loads of wildlife). Also, Iona makes a wonderful backdrop to picturesque scenes. Sounds like you've done some good research there.

Skye is fantastic, surreal, and beautiful. One day may not be enough - can you squeeze in another? It's bigger than it looks on the map, and there is just SO much beautiful scenery, from Kilt Rock and the Quirang on the northern end to the Red Cuillins. We are spending four days there next month, and I still don't think that will be enough Watch the movie Stardust - many of the scenes were filmed there.

On Day 10, you will be passing through the Castle Trail country. If you like castle scenery and dramatic settings, do some research and plan out a trail - Dunnottar in particular is a stunning setting. There are many other castles, each unique and different in style and appearance. From crumbled ruins to working hotels.

If you want, there are some suggestions on my website for our trip coming up next month - there are several places we are staying at that are on your trip. Please feel free to browse (I've got links to sites in each area, as well)

http://www.greendragonartist.com/ST/STindex.htm

Click on each town to get details on that area.

noe847

Yelpir, I understand your goals and that driving doesn't bother you. My only general comment would be that in the areas you are traversing there are so many potential stops that you could see amazing things and take fabulous photos without so much mileage. Put another way, you will have make some hard choices of stops to keep yourself to 4 hrs of stops/shots per day.

Our first trip to Scotland involved a good bit of driving and one night stops along the way (and a ton of photos also). My resolve when I left was that a return trip would include as much time north and west as I could possibly fit. IMO, it just gets better and better the further up into the Highlands that you go (and I haven't been anywhere near as far as I'd like to go).

As for specifics, I'd give Stirling just the one night and definitely add the time to Skye (I loved the little drive we did on the Sleat Peninsula).

Glen Coe is marvelous for some atmospheric shots - it always seems to be foggy/misty, and the little streams and waterfalls are beautiful. Leave some time for Rannoch Moor.

If you end up staying overnight in Oban, you could take the early morning hours to explore and shoot some pictures (since you are likely to reach Oban after dark). The harbor and the Folly are quite scenic. There's a nice castle ruins just north of town, and I also took some lovely sunrise pictures from a hill on the south of the harbor.

Loch Ness is not a great loss, imo. And while I'm the forum's big Glen Affric fan , I'm sure that the things you'll see as you head up above Inverness will more than make up for it!

I'll go back to my notes and look for the names of our favorite lochs...

janisj

If you take a morning ferry to Mull - you will be sharing the looooong single track road (nearly 40 miles) from Craignure to Fionnphort w/ the day tripper coaches and delivery lorries from the mainland. That trip can easily take 90 minutes or even more if you are stuck behind a series of coaches/trucks. It is single track all the way - as are most roads on Mull.

That is not a problem if you take a late afternoon ferry to the island since the tour buses have to be back to Craignure the same time you would be arriving.

You are going to Mull on a weekend so even though it is off season, there will be tour buses.

Yelpir

caroline_edinburgh: Thanks for the advice on advanced booking. I will make the flight bookings in the next couple of days.

rogeruktm: Thanks for the info on breakfast times. We will try to alternate 8:00am starts with 9:00am starts so as to enjoy a few of those famous full Scottish breakfasts

GreenDragon: Thanks so much for the link to your website. I found it most helpful and informative. Wish we were travelling with you as you seem to know what you are doing. Thanks also for all the other helpful tips.

noe847: I hear what you're saying. I'm having a tough time adjusting to Scotland which is like a whole world condensed into a small area. I'm accustomed to travelling long distances between beauty spots and it seems in Scotland I'm going to want to stop every 100 yards or so.
I think I will take your advice and spend the 2nd night I had planned for Stirling somewhere en route to Oban. I'll try to shuffle that time along to give us more time on Skye (I don't know how practical that's going to be)

janisj: Good thinking on the ferry to Mull. I was toying with the idea of going over in the late afternoon anyway, but your advice has pushed me over the edge. I will now plan to go over the previous afternoon.
Would it be a good idea to spend the night at Craignure and get on the road to Fionnphort before the first ferry arrives in the morning, or would we meet too much traffic coming in from Fionnphort(Sunday morning)?

janisj

I wouldn't stay in Craignure. I'd book a place in Fionnphort. You won't have much traffic at all because all the buses/lorries will have to get back on the ferry you are getting off of. Then the next morning you will be right there and can be on the first ferry to Iona before the day trippers get there. Then you can leave Iona as the day trippers arrive and take a boat to Staffa then. You will practically have Iona to yourselves (except for the residents of course)