Stirling, Loch Lomond - Musts?
 

Planning an itinerary for 8 days in Scotland next June. Here is what I have<BR><BR>Day 1 Edinburgh<BR>Day 2 Edinburgh<BR>Day 3 Falkland, St. Andrews, Glamis Castle<BR>Day 4 Braemar, Cawdor Castle, Nairn<BR>Day 5 Isle of Skye<BR>Day 6 Ferry to Mallaig, Drive to Oban<BR>Day 7 Isle of Mull<BR>Day 8 drive to Glasgow<BR><BR>Lots of conflicting advice, info, opinions. So Like an idiot I thought I'd ask for some more. Is Stirling somewhere I'll regret not visiting? Is a drive by Loch Lomond on the way back to Glasgow enough? Input?

WHY do American think they can only see things if they drive hours every day? This is a serious question. Not to be rude to Sylvie, she is probably a very nice lady, but on this route she will spend 5 to 6 hours driving every day and have VERY little time to see anything at all. I see similar routings posted here all the time. WHY? Isn't it much better to spend at minimum a couple of days in each area so one can see things other than the inside of the car? If one only has 8 days, spend them enjoying some of the countryside instead of trying to see everything.

Stirling Castle is nice and there is a lot of Scottish/English battle history around Stirling, which is either a smallish city or large town. <BR><BR>The castle sits at the top of the hill. As I recall we parked in the city parking garage and walked up to the castle on the left hand side of the road when it splits. On the way up to the castle there is a very interesting church with beautiful bright hued stained glass windos. The view from the castle is nice.<BR><BR>However I did not see any reason to make a special truip to Stirling. Just MHO<BR><BR>US

I think you've got more than enough in. It's not quite as Curious says. You've got no moe than 3 hours in the car on day 3, and maybe 4 on day 4 (I could do it in less, but why would you?). It's an hour and a half from Nairn to Kyle, with another hour to Portree, 2 hours down to Armadale and then 4 to Oban (so that's a long day driving, but you have the ferry trip to break it up). As much or as little as you like on Mull and 3 hours to Glasgow.<BR><BR>Leave yourself something to do when you return:)

Stirling Castle is one of the finest castles in Scotland. Many people enjoy it more even than Edinburgh. So it is a definite must see.<BR><BR>But not very possible on this itinerary. As Curious says, this is a very ambitious routing with no spare time to see places like Stirling (or Crathes, or Glenfinan, or Glen Coe or Cawdor or, or, or) As for Loch Lomond, a drive along the shore will have to do since I don't see any time for more than that.<BR><BR>Sylvie, your itinerary is doable but it is a lot of driving and there is no room for any glitches or down time.<BR><BR>FYI you do not need to go to Oban to catch a ferry to Mull. You can drive straight from Mallaig to Lochaline and catch a ferry to Tobermory or Fishnish. This would save you an entire day and get to Mull on Day 6.<BR>

Add'l info. I agree with Sheila's drive time estimates - for a local or returning visitor. I could do most of these drives in the times Sheila offers. But my experience with friends is that most people inexperienced with driving on single track roads, etc take a LOT longer.<BR><BR>plan on averaging about 35 or 40 MPH or less.

hi sylvie. Husband and I were in Scotland in May of 2001, for 6 days. In my opinion, your itinerary is certainly doable (is that even a word?). We did our own tour -rental car and bandbs. This was our itinerary:<BR> Thursday: arrived Heathrow around noon, and picked up car. Drove to Nottingham--overnight.<BR> Friday: To St. Andrews -we had already done Edinburgh a few years ago. Overnight.<BR> Saturday: To Perth, Caithness Factory Tour (I'm a collector, sort of), Trossachs (Rob Roy Country), Queen Elizabeyh Park, Callander. Overnite.<BR> Sunday: to Glencoe, Loch Leven, Ft. William, Mallaig (Glenfinnan) and back to Ballachulish. Overnite.<BR> Monday: To Inverness, Loch Ness (no Nessie), Inverness, Ft.George, Cawdor Castle, Culloden Battlefield, Glencoe. Overnite.<BR> Tuesday: To Glasgow via Oban, Inveraray Castle, Loch Lomond, Glasgow. Overnite.<BR> Wednesday: To Dublin.<BR>Scotland is so Beautiful, so much to see, we enjoyed every minute of the trip. We are not late night people, the day being more important. And husband likes to drive, as you might have guessed. So, hope this is of some help. Happy and Safe travels....Helen

Curious:<BR><BR>Sophie never said she was American. So WHY do people like you rush to judgment and assume she is, and then make generalizations about a country of 28 million people?<BR><BR>Second, the amount of driving you see on American itineraries is probably due to our own geography. That is what we are used to. I *am* an American, and I have to drive an hour and fifteen minutes to work everyday, and the same back. Large parts of the US are very spread out, and even going to the store can take a lot of driving. It's the same reason I've seen Europeans ask if they will be able to just use cabs to go everywhere in, say, Dallas (umm...no), or if they should take the bus in L.A. (yeah, right). My home state is larger than all of England and Scotland put together, and I drive all around it all the time, and I'm just used to it. To see my home state as a tourist, you'd have to spend 3 weeks minimum, and do a TON of driving, and you'd see only portions even then. <BR><BR>I'm going to Scotland next month, too, and we had a lot of driving on our itinerary, as well. Probably like Sylvie, we're excited, and just want to see everything! My husband and I thought it was odd when we first posted our itinerary on her that people thought that 4 or 5 hours of driving was a full day of driving. Now, 12 or 15-- that's a day of driving! :) To us, 4 hours is nothing. But, we got a lot of feedback saying that we were doing too much, so we DID cut back. I think your advice to Sylvie is very valuable, but I don't think you had to add in the assumption and stereotyping about Americans.

280 million!<BR><BR>right on ummmm.

Typo. I meant 280 million. Thanks anon.

If you're driving to Skye, go by Kyle of Localsh ferry and take a short sidetrip to Eileen Donan castle. Although much is a 1930 rebuild, it is a sight not to be missed.<BR><BR>Also, on the south side of Loch Linne, down from Ft. William nr North Balluchlish, is a small island with Castle Stalker (actally just a tower) on it. If this is the way your sense of humour runs, it was the scene of the grand finale of &quot;Monty Python and the Holy Grail&quot;. (&quot;so we meet ahgain, seelly eengleesh kaniguts...&quot;).<BR><BR>Unfortunately, when I was there in 1991, the locals said it was bought by an English family (kaniguts?) who were probably violating the Scottish trust provisions by closing it to the public. Still, nice to stop and look at if you're in the area.

Oops. A quick search finds www.castlestalker.com with an interesting on-line tour. An it seems the locals strung me a line.

Hi Sylvie: Loch Lomond was pretty but unnecessary if you have lakes where you are from. We did have fun there for an hour or so talking to a fisherman who kisses maggots (he uses them as bait and says they are his bread and butter!) - don't even want to think about him kissing his wife with those lips!!<BR><BR>I really enjoyed Stirling castle however, and did the same route as you, and did not find it difficult to go from Edinburgh through Stirling and Loch Lomond by car - I remember we arrived mid afternoon after stopping at Stirling for a few hours and the lake for an hour. Have fun!

ummm: A little defense of Curious. I am a Californian who thinks nothing of driving 800+ miles to and from LA for the weekend. But I also lived in the UK for 5 years and driving there is TOTALLY different than driving down I-5 for 5 or 6 hours. <BR><BR>Sure, you can make good time on the few motorways - but there are no views from the Motorways, and no places to stop if there were. On vacation you will be on minor or VERY-minor two lane and single track roads through busy villages and amazing scenery. The stress most Americans suffer because of the &quot;wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car&quot; syndrome plus the unfamiliar roads, signage, traffic and different driving rules makes 4 or 5 hour drives very difficult.<BR><BR>I usually recommend they limit their total driving to 100 miles per day unless they are driving long motorway distances. For instance, I often drive all the way from London to Edinburgh in one day on the M's. But once up there and off the motorways short driving days are MUCH better.

Maurice, I don't think you'll find the &quot;locals&quot; spun you a line; just that your information is somewhat out of date.<BR><BR>The ferry stopped when they opened the bridge

Stirling was one of my favorites and would recommend anyone to visit it (I also didn’t have it on my original itinerary and added a stop there after reading this forum). <BR><BR>Just 10 – 15 min from Nairn is a lovely town Forrest, it has lots of B&amp;Bs, but I don’t have much information about it since we discovered it on out way to Dallas Dhu and spent just an hour on the way back. Liked it much much better then Nairn.<BR><BR>Most attractions are closed by 5:30 and you will find it easy to spend few hours on the road before dusk. It was easy to find everything; most castles and touristy places had clear signs long time before approaching. Enjoy you visit. <BR>

That's Forres

I can't comment on Stirling, have driven past many times but never stopped. <BR><BR>As far as Loch Lomond goes, I find many others Lochs more scenic. What you see in your drive down to Oban I think will be much prettier. I have questioned my Scotish family friends about the draw of Loch Lomond and it seems to be it's easy access from Edinburgh or Glasgow is the draw.<BR><BR>Have a fantastic time. It is an absoutely beautiful country with wonderfully warm people. I was traveling alone and always found people to chat with in the pubs and restaurants.<BR><BR>I was in Scotland the first half of October and drove about 1500 miles. This is I beleive my 8th trip to Scotland and I never cease to be amazed by the scenery - it is fabulous. I spent about 8 days in the Highlands, on my own, and was able to see a lot and still do a lot of things even with the driving. Some of us find the driving to be enjoyable.

Spent a whole week near Stirling (Callendar) and had places to see every day. Only 2 days did we really get out of the area - Edinburgh one day, Loch Ness on another.<BR><BR>Driving takes a lot of time - usually much more than you estimate.

To Laoghaire: Your 'doable' comment is laughable. If you are just going to rush through places or drive by them, why bother - just rent a Scotland video from your local library.