I have about a week to look around after a conference in Glasgow. I went to the highlands several years ago, so now I want to see the rest of Scotland. I was thinking about driving to the Lake Country, but read that it is very crowded in August, which is when I'll be traveling. I'd really appreciate anyone's ideas about some 'must sees'. I'm particularly interested in great houses, castles, good sceneries, etc.

..dont miss Durham. Fountains Abbey another must. Chatsworth is probably the greatest of the "great houses".

Here are my ideas for you...

The beautiful North Sea coastline of Northumbria featuring castles at Alnwick, Warkworth and the haunting castle ruins at Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh. Also there's historic Holy Island, accessible at low tide only. Not too far away is Hadrian's Wall, well-worth seeing.

In August two places that will be mobbed are the Lake District and especially Edinburgh. Tuck's idea of the N Sea coast is a good one. The Borders area of Scotland, the Northumberland coast, and Hadrians Wall will all be much less crowded than the Lakes or Edinburgh.

I'm going to assume you are flying into/out of Glasgow. What I would do w/ a few days is head SE from Glasgow into the Borders for a couple of days -- see the Border Abbeys and some lovely castles and the unbelievable St Abbs Head (sort of the Big Sur of Scotland).

Then south into England - visit Lindesfarne (Holy Island) Bamburgh and/or Alnwick castles and then head inland and spend a day or two exploring the Roman Wall/forts. Then down to Durham.

Then depending on how much time you have left either drive straight back to Glasgow, or detour into the SW bit of Scotland (Dumfries/Galloway/Ayrshire) for some more beautiful coastal scenery/castles/gardens.

I too think you could usefully spend a couple of days enjoying the Borders and the lovely scenery along the Tweed.

Send me an email and I'll send you a route.

We spent three days in the Lake District last August and it wasn't as crowded as I expected. However, we went Tuesday through Friday.

From there we made our way north and spent three days in the Borders staying a night in Hawick and two in Kelso. We really enjoyed Kelso as a homebase. It's a small town which doesn't offer much nightlife, but it's quite central and easy to head out from. We stayed at Dispensary House run by Mrs. Swan. She was great!

The other comments on Fountains Abbey and Chatsworth are also right on. We had a nice time there as well.

You've already gotten some great replies and suggestions, so I won't repeat all of those (St. Abb's, Lindisfarne, Fountains Abbey, Hadrian's Wall et al), but will add a couple more things in the Dumfries & Galloway area.

We loved Caerlaverok ("cah-LAV-ah-rock" in American) on the SW coast, and we had great fun trying to find the giant scuptures at the Glen Kiln Reservoir. Have dinner at "The Eatin' Place" in the center of Dumfries.

Sweetheart Abbey, and the nearby New Abbey Corn Mill, were both worth a visit, and we got to watch part of a local lawn bowling game behind the restaurant/tea room immediately across the from Abbey.

Threave Gardens was spectacular in September - I can only imagine how beautiful it would be during your visit in August.

Whithorn Priory was interesting, but probably not worth the long drive to get there.

The Mull of Galloway is an awesome spot to watch the waves and the sea.

Personally, I guess I'd be hard-pressed to go to the areas you've mentioned and NOT find wonderful things to do, friendly people, and memories to warm a lifetime.

Have fun!

Gayle