Thank you Caroline, Shiela and janisj. You have all been of tremendous help in planning this trip (as have all the other good people who have shared their knowledge and wisdom)

Shiela: Stirling will be a pass-through whistle-stop on the way to Callander. Just enough time to photograph the castle and anything else of interest. Thanks to some wonderful websites I have put together a couple of superb day drives from Callander. My mouth waters at the prospect.

We will definitely be crossing to Mull in the late afternoon and driving through to Fionnphort to overnight (at the Seaview). If the weather holds up, I will spend the following morning on a boat trip to Staffa while my friend explores Iona (she doesn't like small boats). In the afternoon we will see what we can of the rest of Mull, ending up at Craignure, ready to take the first ferry out the next morning.

Hi again Yelpir
Just wanted to add, we did not plan to see Stirling on our trip, but ended up in the vicinity with some time to spare, and decided to go. We were just in time for the last guided tour of the day, and it was outstanding -- we had a most interesting guide (I think his name was Frank), full of good stories. We were sorry we just missed the long-sword demo!

It was a great interlude on our trip, and we want to go back once the Great Hall restoration is finished (I think next year, maybe?)

Happy trails!

You are welcome, Yelpir ! I hope you have a really lovely time.