Continuing my stream of fairly specific questions...we are driving from Portree to St. Andrews in late August. Yes, I'm aware that this will be an 'all day' drive. According to Google, the most direct route is A87 to A86 to A9 to Perth, then A90 to St. Andrews. We don't want to detour to Inverness and will stick to the direct route I think. What interesting stops along the way, that are short but will allow for leg stretching or a good lunch, should we consider? It is very time consuming to research every village along the route, so I figured I'd put a shout out here. Thanks in advance!

Spean Bridge, Blair Atholl, Dunkeld, and Perth are the possible/practical stops/breaks

Spean Bridge -- Commando Memorial

Blair Atholl -- Blair Castle & Gardens

Dunkeld -- IF the Cathedral grounds have reopened by then it is a must -- but currently the building/grounds are 'temporarily' closed to the public except for Sunday services. The website just says they hope the stonework issues are resolved soon. I'd keep an eye on the website to see if things change

Perth -- Scone Palace

Both Blair Castle/gardens and Scone Palace would take a fair amount of time to visit so you may not want to include them.

The straight drive w/o stops will take between 5.5 and 6 hours -- I personally wouldn't want to do it in one day since the driver will probably be stressed/tired.

. . . and IF the drive is on a weekend or near the August Bank Holiday the drive could take considerably longer

We visited Blair Castle 2 1/2 weeks ago & enjoyed it. But the gardens were a disappointment compared to the other gardens we visited in Scotland, We also really liked the nearby town of Pitlochry and it's Victorian architecture. It's a nice town for a short walk-around. Scone Palace currently has an historic clothing exposition - which my wife enjoyed. However, we thought that there wasn't enough of the Palace open for touring.

Stu Dudley

Thanks for the info, I will research both of your suggestions. Can I ask what gardens you enjoyed in Scotland? We will be there in August so they aren't likely to be as colorful, but that is certainly something I enjoy.

Crathes Castle
Inverarary Castle
Drummond Castle Gardens
Inverewe
Pitmedden

Stu Dudley

Yes, we know this is going to be a long day. Suffice to say that we were meeting multiple priorities! I just looked up the bank holidays and we are not near one, nor are we on a weekend. Thank you for all the info, you definitely are an expert in Scotland!

None of the gardens Stu listed are near or convenient to your route as I think I understand it . . . except possibly Inveraray depending on the route you are taking to Oban.

The best gardens for you would be the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and Dunvegan Castle on Skye

Gardens should be quite colorful/colourful. The herbaceous borders, roses etc should be in full bloom.

Oh and Branklyn Garden is on the outskirts of Perth but it is small and that travel day is already very long.

"The best gardens for you would be the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh "

Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and Inveraray Castle Gardens are both great. We just visited both in last few weeks.

"""None of the gardens Stu listed are near or convenient to your route as I think I understand it . . . except possibly Inveraray depending on the route you are taking to Oban.""

I interpreted her question to be about gardens anywhere in Scotland. Not just the ones on the route from Skye to St Andrews.

Stu Dudley

My post wasn't a criticism - I was merely explaining that while those are lovely gardens, they would have to be for another trip(s)

Regarding gardens, on the drive from Skye you may not be able to get there during opening hours (closes at 17:00/5 PM) but a visit to Falkland Palace and Gardens is easily doable from St. Andrews if you have time. Falkland is a very picturesque place and the palace and gardens are terrific. You could make a "real time" call on attending during the cross-country drive depending on how you're doing for time; the route through Falkland isn't much longer than via Dundee, and in fact might be quicker. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/6xvYk2SCcvAjKVAn9

For those not familiar, Falkland was used extensively in the Outlander series where it stood in for Inverness. Nobody was fooled; it's way prettier than Inverness.

Re Falkland --- a major ditto. I honestly don't think you'll have time on the cross country (all the way across the country ) drive but definitely try to get there from St Andrews, as well as the fishing villages (Crail, Anstruther, etc)

Oops. The Fashion thing is at Blair Castle - not Scone.

https://atholl-estates.co.uk/blair-c...astle-couture/

Stu Dudley

Has anyone been to the St. Andrews Botanical Gardens? Just curious.

A couple of times but most recent was at least 12 years ago. It is a lovely garden about a mile from the Cathedral, the Old Course or other parts of central St Andrews. Well worth a visit IMO.

(BTW both the Castle and Cathedral are closed due to ongoing surveying work)

Thank you. the "wives" will have a day in St. Andrews without a car while the guys golf at Carnoustie. I don't think it will be hard to find things to do but suggestions welcome!

I would bolt for the House of Bruar and Bruar Falls as the best lunch break with a good short walk (cool waterfall). You will need to kept a tight leash on any shoppers in your group as Bruar is pretty cool....outdoor clothes, fashion, deli food, homeward etc. They have a sit down indoor/outdoor restaurant that has a solid menu and a chippy making high quality fish suppers. If you are intent on pushing on I would skip Blair Atholl, get to Perth and visit Scone Palace. Top garden and wonderful pinetum. It is an immensely historic site, plus has an interesting family history within the Palace. Last entry is 4pm I believe with the gates closing at 4:30. You may want to check that. Then you can cap off the final leg to St Andrews and be there well in time for dinner! Enjoy

Thank you!