4 days in the Highlands without a car!
Jan 18th, 2012, 06:01 PM
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4 days in the Highlands without a car!
Hi all,
I know--I should either rent a car or spend more time, but here I am. We finish work in Aberdeen on Sunday night (June 18) and we'll take the Caledonia sleeper to London on Thursday night. We've been to Edinburgh and will return for Glasgow and Skye on another trip, so we've decided to try to get to the Orkney Islands this time. We usually like to stay somewhere for 4-7 days, but sometimes life gets in the way. We like history museums, beautiful natural landscapes, long train rides, moderate hiking . . . Here is the plan:
Monday: train from Aberdeen to Thurso (changing in Inverness), arriving in Thurso at 17:46 (hoping to see lots of gorgeous scenery--a sense of the highlands from the train). The ferry from Scrabness to Stromness leaves at 19:00. Do I need to factor in for the possibility that the train is late? Can I get from Thurso to Scrabness in just over an hour? Are there busses for that trip or do I have to take a cab?
Stay Monday night in Stromness.
Tuesday and Wednesday spend on the Islands, seeing the Scapa Flow visitor center and as much of the countryside as we can with public transportation (maybe check into a tour for the Skara Brae site). We'll leave on the night ferry to Aberdeen from Kirkwall late Wednesday night, so maybe stay Tuesday night somewhere in or near Kirkwall instead of staying both nights in Stromness. Any thoughts about that choice?
We'll get back to Aberdeen Thursday morning at 7am, so we have all day on Thursday to wander through a Scottish town. I'm currently thinking Perth. We like history and beautiful scenery. If I can find a tour of distilleries starting in Aberdeen and ending in Perth, I would jump on it, but haven't found one yet. Inverness sounds interesting, but I don't want to take the very same train ride we took on Monday. The train from Aberdeen to Perth will be through different country.
What do you think? And thanks in advance for any advice!
I know--I should either rent a car or spend more time, but here I am. We finish work in Aberdeen on Sunday night (June 18) and we'll take the Caledonia sleeper to London on Thursday night. We've been to Edinburgh and will return for Glasgow and Skye on another trip, so we've decided to try to get to the Orkney Islands this time. We usually like to stay somewhere for 4-7 days, but sometimes life gets in the way. We like history museums, beautiful natural landscapes, long train rides, moderate hiking . . . Here is the plan:
Monday: train from Aberdeen to Thurso (changing in Inverness), arriving in Thurso at 17:46 (hoping to see lots of gorgeous scenery--a sense of the highlands from the train). The ferry from Scrabness to Stromness leaves at 19:00. Do I need to factor in for the possibility that the train is late? Can I get from Thurso to Scrabness in just over an hour? Are there busses for that trip or do I have to take a cab?
Stay Monday night in Stromness.
Tuesday and Wednesday spend on the Islands, seeing the Scapa Flow visitor center and as much of the countryside as we can with public transportation (maybe check into a tour for the Skara Brae site). We'll leave on the night ferry to Aberdeen from Kirkwall late Wednesday night, so maybe stay Tuesday night somewhere in or near Kirkwall instead of staying both nights in Stromness. Any thoughts about that choice?
We'll get back to Aberdeen Thursday morning at 7am, so we have all day on Thursday to wander through a Scottish town. I'm currently thinking Perth. We like history and beautiful scenery. If I can find a tour of distilleries starting in Aberdeen and ending in Perth, I would jump on it, but haven't found one yet. Inverness sounds interesting, but I don't want to take the very same train ride we took on Monday. The train from Aberdeen to Perth will be through different country.
What do you think? And thanks in advance for any advice!
Jan 19th, 2012, 03:12 PM
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1) Scrabster is very close ( 1-2 miles from Thurso) so you shouldn't have any problem. Trains can be but are rarely late by more than 10/15 minutes.
2) Although Scrabster is close, your problem will be transportation in getting there. I believe there are buses to Scrabster in the afternoon ( don't know times so you'll need to check) from Olrig Street which is several blocks from train station. The bus sation is next to train station but not sure if there are any late afternoon buses departing for Scrabster. There is a taxi stand at the station but that doesn't mean there'll be a taxi there unless you pre-book. The train station is small and not always staffed.
3) Buses on the Orkneys are limited and are geared more for locals than sightseeing tourists. I think it might be best, certainly easiest if unwilling to rent a car, to either get a day tour of the islands or hire a taxi for private tour. The following website has a link to Stagecoach schedules as well as tours and taxis for private hire. There is fairly regular service between Stromness and Kirkwall except on Sundays which won't affect you anyway.
www.visitorkney.com/around/index.asp
4) Highland Park distillery is located just south of Kirkwall. They do offer tours. Excellent whisky.
2) Although Scrabster is close, your problem will be transportation in getting there. I believe there are buses to Scrabster in the afternoon ( don't know times so you'll need to check) from Olrig Street which is several blocks from train station. The bus sation is next to train station but not sure if there are any late afternoon buses departing for Scrabster. There is a taxi stand at the station but that doesn't mean there'll be a taxi there unless you pre-book. The train station is small and not always staffed.
3) Buses on the Orkneys are limited and are geared more for locals than sightseeing tourists. I think it might be best, certainly easiest if unwilling to rent a car, to either get a day tour of the islands or hire a taxi for private tour. The following website has a link to Stagecoach schedules as well as tours and taxis for private hire. There is fairly regular service between Stromness and Kirkwall except on Sundays which won't affect you anyway.
www.visitorkney.com/around/index.asp
4) Highland Park distillery is located just south of Kirkwall. They do offer tours. Excellent whisky.
Jan 24th, 2012, 02:54 AM
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The train route to Thurso doesn't exactly go through high lands. Some of it, especially the section north of Inverness is stunning but it's not mountains.
There's a bus at 17.41, clearly timed to link to the train and ferry. It might be worth asking Stagecoach in Thurso if it's their habit to wait if the train is late
If you're up for it, you might be better to take one of the organised mini-bus tours of Orkney. I really think you would see more than using the public buses. I've used Go Orkney in the past and thought they were super, but there are other options
I wouldn't bother moving between Kirkwall and Stromness. I MIGHT stay in Kirkwall instead of Stromness both nights. Then again, I might not.
Perth is a very fine town in very nice scenery, but it's not very visibly historic. (It is historic- they just knocked all the very old stuff down). Distilleries between Aberdeen and Edinburgh are a bit hard to find unless you back track a bit.
Probably the easiest is Edradour, in Pitlochry- train from Perth there and back- but you could do Highland park when you're in Orkney.
There's a bus at 17.41, clearly timed to link to the train and ferry. It might be worth asking Stagecoach in Thurso if it's their habit to wait if the train is late
If you're up for it, you might be better to take one of the organised mini-bus tours of Orkney. I really think you would see more than using the public buses. I've used Go Orkney in the past and thought they were super, but there are other options
I wouldn't bother moving between Kirkwall and Stromness. I MIGHT stay in Kirkwall instead of Stromness both nights. Then again, I might not.
Perth is a very fine town in very nice scenery, but it's not very visibly historic. (It is historic- they just knocked all the very old stuff down). Distilleries between Aberdeen and Edinburgh are a bit hard to find unless you back track a bit.
Probably the easiest is Edradour, in Pitlochry- train from Perth there and back- but you could do Highland park when you're in Orkney.
Jan 24th, 2012, 03:52 AM
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Northlink's website has information on travel to the ports, with bus times and phone numbers for taxis.
www.northlinkferries.co.uk
They have this warning:
"Please be aware: Train Passengers are advised to prebook Scrabster taxi travel for ferry connections due to the restricted bus timetable between Scrabster and Thurso"
An alternative is the small John O'Groats ferry which has a connecting bus from Inverness:
http://www.jogferry.co.uk/orkexp.htm
Bus routes on Orkney include an hourly service between Kirkwall and Stromness.
www.northlinkferries.co.uk
They have this warning:
"Please be aware: Train Passengers are advised to prebook Scrabster taxi travel for ferry connections due to the restricted bus timetable between Scrabster and Thurso"
An alternative is the small John O'Groats ferry which has a connecting bus from Inverness:
http://www.jogferry.co.uk/orkexp.htm
Bus routes on Orkney include an hourly service between Kirkwall and Stromness.
Jan 24th, 2012, 04:31 AM
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I did research tours before, and came across Go Orkney as well - they have 1, 3, and 5 day tours, I believe, and seem to do a lot of great stuff. Might be worth it to keep the headaches down to a minimum. Orkney is fantastic! Going in June be prepared for VERY long daylight hours. It doesn't get dark until after midnight and the sun is up by 4am. It doesn't get totally dark at night - just twilight for 3-4 hours. We were there over summer solstice in 2008. You can look up my trip report for the experience, if you like. Dress warm - it was 45 and very windy on our trip.
