Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Touring the HIghlands

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Touring the HIghlands

I leave on the 11th for Ireland,Scotland and London. Just discovered this site! Most of the trip has been planned except for a 3-day road trip to the Scottish Highlands. Any suggestions about how to best spend the time. Goal of trip to Scotland is to go to Dunvegan for sure and books say not to miss Mallaig. Was thinking of 3 nights in different B&Bs, but now thinking it might be best to stay in one B&B and do day trips. Also thinking I wanted to do the loop through Inverness,Skyre, Glencoe. Should I concentrate on any one area? skip any area? Appreciate all your opinions.

Seems like a pretty ambitious trip for just three days. Not sure where you are starting from but Scotland's roadways tend to pretty winding and narrow, particularly on the west coast. You won't be able to drive that fast so you should evaluate how far you want to go each day and what you want to see along the way. Other places you might want to take in include Loch Lommond. There's a great B&B there located right on the lake near Tarbet called the Bonnie Bank Guesthouse. You might also want to see Oban, a seaport town with a great distillery you can tour. There have been many other posts on this site related to driving tours of Scotland from people who live there. You might want to use the site's search feature to check them out. Good luck to you.

I rented a car once in Scotland just to see Eileen Donan castle. It's a lot of driving... I wanted to see castle Stalker (last scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail) but someone had bought it and it was not open to the public; although a local told me (1991) that this was contrary to the rules of the Historical board(?).

Well, first a lot depends on where you pick up the car a for your 3 day road trip. Mallaig and Inverness are fine - but there are many more interesting places in Argyll and the highlands. A semi-doable 3 night loop to include Skye/Dunvegan, and Glen Coe could include: (Depending on whether you are picking up the car in Edinburgh or Glasgow) Glasgow north along Loch Lomond to Crainlarich and then through Glen Coe to the first night's lodging in Spean Bridge or Invergarry. Then via the A87 to the Kyle of Lochalsh (seeing Eilean Donan on the way) and across the bridge to Skye. Stay 2 nights on Skye. That will give you time to see Dunvegan, Portree and the Totternish Peninsula. Then catch an EARLY ferry to Mallaig and drive back to Glasgow. This will be a long drive but will get you back before evening. If you are starting in Edinburgh - do basically the same thing except drive through Callander to Crainlarich. Neithe of these is the "perfect" trip - but given only 3 nights and with what you wnt to see it is probably about the best you could do. If you are starting from somewhere else (say Inverness) the trip would be easier (shorter anyway).

Jackie (McLeod, right?- explains the fixation with Dunvegan:-)) I would suggest something slightly different to ths above comments with a view to keeping you fresh as daisies. Assuming you're coming from the central belt (let us know if you're not) take the Stirling, Callender, Criaanlarich road to Tyndrum- miss out Loch Lomond because it's pretty mainly for it's name and reputation and there's lots better- and then drive down through Glencoe. That should take, without stops about 2 hours. The cross the Corran Ferry, and drive round past Strontian, and Acharacle to Arisaig and on west to Morar and Mallaig. I am amazed the books say don't miss Mallaig. It's essentially an industrial town ,nuilt as a rail head and ferry terminal and although much improved is still a bit of a dive and not somehwere you'd want to spend more than the 30 minutes check in time for the ferry. This will take another 2 hours. Take the boat to Skye- you'll get the timetables on www.calmac.co.uk- and then drive onto where-ever you choose to stay on Skye. I'd suggest somewhere central. The places I'd recommend are Hotel Eilean Iarmain (Isle Oransay), which is in the wrong place for you, but is great; or the House Over By at the Three Chimneys, which is handy for Dunvegan and not much else. Portree apart from its location does not have much going for, but if you want to stay there try the Rosedale on the harbour. Both of the other 2 are moderately expensive. The Rosedale is reasonable, but there are lots (and I mean LOTS) of B&Bs all over the place which would be better still. I would aim for 2 nights in the same place Take day 2 to tour Skye- you may want to include the excursion over the bridge to Eilean Donan and Plockton- only disadvantage is the toll and the fact that it's pretty stuck out on the east. You can pick these two up on he trip up to Inverness next day. Day 3 drive over the bridge and up Strathcarron and on to Inverness-take the side trip down the loch if you want. That takes, without stopping about an hour from the bridge. Go east from Inverness to Culloden, then do east again to Elgin. Brodie Castle shop has good shopping.Meander down through Speyside and take in a distillery tour. When you get back on the A9- the main road south- stop for the night in Dunkeld- the Atholl Arms maybe?- and go for a walk round the Hermitage, the Little Houses, the cathedral, along the riverbank; You're about an hour and a quarter's drive from Edinburgh- another half hour from Glasgow. That should give you a flavour for a lot without trying to cram in too much.

Great info! I did do a search and read through all the advice offered to Micki, esp. yours Sheila. I'm a MacLeod, thus Dunvegan. Books recommend drive to Mallaig, not the town itself. If more intesting places to see, I'd rather skip it. I will get the Michelin Guide today to find all the places suggested above and be more realistic about what is doable. I'm thinking a few castles, the battlefield and some ruins. I'll be headed to the Highlands from a 3 night stay in Edinburg. From the Highlands, will return the car and take train to London for 2 nights and then home to Boston

Jackie The road to Mallaig is lovely. It's just the town that's a tip. That route give you:- Stirling castle, Rob Roy Country, Glencoe and the massacre, (you could pick up Castle Stalker), Loch Linnhe, the white beaches where they filmed Local Hero, you could detour to Ardnamurchan, the ferry crossing to Skye (and who wants to get to skye on a bridge?) all the Skye stuff, Eilan Donan, (everyone says the tour isn't worth it, but the outside is)Culloden, Egin cathedral, Brodie castle, Cawdor castle (yes, THAT Cawdor); och masses of stuff. Do come back if you want more.

All of Sheila's suggestions are great -- except you only have 3+ days. To do a loop from Edinburgh, Clen Coe, Skye including Dunvegan, Loch Ness, Culloden, Cawdor, a whisky distillery, and Elgin and back to Edinburgh is VERY ambitious for 3+ days. If you actually want to see anything, that itinerary would take more than a week. Consider - Just on Skye -- Dunvegan and the grounds take at least two hours (much more if you are a McLeod because of the family interest). Totternish Peninsula and Portree - at least four hours. Glen Brittle an hour minimum. Plus the slow driving - you can see that Skye easily take 2 days w/o any other places of interest. Glen Coe takes either minutes or hours, depending on if you want to wander around the glen (highly recommended). Culloden again is one of those places that takes 30 minutes ot 2 hours - personally to go all the way there and not take the time to wander through the battle field is really a waste. The (beautiful!) trip via the Corran Ferry, and drive thru Strontian, and Acharacle to Arisaig, Morar and Mallaig takes hours plus the 2 ferry trips. Cawdor, Elgin and a Speyside distillery is easily another full day. And you still have to get all the way bak to Edinburgh to catch the London train. So you have to decide - do you simply want to rush through and check places off a list -- or do you actually want to see anything? Being a Mc Leod, I would think your best plan would be to concentrate on Skye and Argyll and not try to squeeze in toooo much. Remember - Except for the A9 from the north back down to Edinburgh, all of the other roads on your itineraries can be VERY slow. I agree about Loch Lomond - I only mentioned it thinking you might be picking up your car in Glasgow.

Sheila & Janis Thanks for all the great advice. Based on it, I have decided to cut a night out in Edinburg in favor of the Highlands and to do a combination of 2 tours a day of castles, battlegrounds, ruins. (This after I conferred with my 19-year old niece/traveling companion who said "not too much of any one thing") Thanks to you, I have a great itinerary in hand. Will let you know how I make out. One silly question, what time does it get dark in Scotland?

Late, Jackie- after 10pm.

Hi Jackie, I'm an American just back from Scotland. This is just my own personal opinion, but if you need to cut down the itinerary due to time, Skye was not worth the vast amount of time it took to see it. The terrain was beautiful, but rather wind blasted and desolate. I much preferred the landscapes from Mallaig to Glen Coe. The mountains, lochs and glens were green and stunningly beautiful, typically what an American thinks of when they here the word Highlands. I would recommend getting 2 to 3 different B+B's along the way. Scot's are very proud of their country, and each area has it's own treasures and highlights. My best advice came from the people local to each area, and my fondest memories are of the people I met along the way. Kathleen

I am back from trip to Ireland and Scotland. Scotland is a lovely country and one I will return to. I had a great itinerary setting out, but quickly learned that I should have heeded advice about seeing/doing too mcuh. Next time I will spend 2 weeks in 2 or 3 main sites and do day trips from there. Spent 3 nights in Edinborough enjoying the Castle and Musuems. By end of day, I was looking for quiet places for dinner--found one that had been estabished prior to the US--amazing!. I loved all the old history, Mary Queen of Scots and the really long days. Weather was cooler and crowds greater than expected. From Edi.. headed out to highlands. Went to Glencoe which was amazing, however it rained and had low clouds--I can only imagine how truly beautiful it would be on a clear day. From there spent the night in Onich--would travel further next time. Took ferry to Stronthian and scenic route to Mallaig. Again rainy, foggy, misty (while traveling on a single lane highway). It was still an extraordinary ride. I never made it to Dunvegan-the purpose of my trip. The ride from Onich to Portree was just too stressul to go further. Next day headed out for Inverness in the rain and fog, the driving got too much and ended up turning around and heading into Pitlochry. The sun was out and temperature up by 20 degrees--it was a major boost to our spirits. I'm glad I got to see all that I did. Each region is so different. I now have a better sense for planning my next trip to this lovely country. Thank you all for your advice.

I've been wondering how you trip turned out. Too bad about the weather - but that is something one can never plan for. I had worried that the advice given re the Corran Ferry to Mallaig was too ambitious - but it is a beautiful area so even though it cost you a visit to Dunvegan it was not a waste I'm sure. And - remenmber, the Fairy flag will still be there at Dunvegan waiting for your next journey. When you are ready to go again, send me an e-mail if you'd like and I can give you some suggestions and help to refine your itinerary.