Adoc86

My husband and I are planning our first visit to Scotland in October. We will have 12 days (not including travel days, so 12 full days) and plan to rent a car for the majority, if not all, of the trip. We are both 29-years-old and looking forward to beautiful scenic drives and small towns/villages. We are well traveled and typically enjoy taking our time to explore a few areas rather than trying to cram everything in. If we love Scotland, which I expect we will, we can always return to see more.

One thing to take into consideration is that I am in a small, manual wheelchair. I still still extremely mobile and my chair has never been much of a hindrance in our travels. I know some castles have wheelchair access, but we are okay with seeing them from just the outside when access isn't available. Due to my chair, we aren't interested in any type of hikes. I can roll on grass, gravel and uneven pavement with no issue at all. Mud, which I expect to encounter when/if it rains, and sand are definitely a problem though. I can manage a few stairs here and there with my husband's help, and when necessary he can carry me, but I'd rather avoid these circumstances.

We visited Tuscany a couple of years ago and we are planning to take the same approach for Scotland that we used on that trip - choosing a base and taking trips (drives of reasonable lengths) out from there. I don't want to sleep somewhere different every night or two because I feel like all that moving can be somewhat exhausting, so we'd much rather have a set base for a few days before moving on.

Here is what we have come up with so far, but nothing is set in stone. I have used this forum many times and the information I've gained from it for our past trips has always been so incredibly valuable.

We plan to fly in and out of Edinburgh
Day 1 - Edinburgh
Day 2 - Edinburgh
Day 3 - Edinburgh

1st question: Is this too long/short of a time for Edinburgh? I know its a 'different strokes for different folks' type of question, but generally what are your thoughts on this? If we need at least full 3 days for Edinburgh then I assume we would not need a car for this portion of the trip if we are staying in town. If its a bit too much time though we can always get a car and explore the surrounding area.

Day 4- Drive to Inverness and use it as our base
Day 5 - based in Inverness
Day 6 - based in Inverness
Day 7- based in Inverness
Day 8 - based in Inverness

This is basically 4.5 days based in Inverness, which we hope will give us a decent amount of time to see the surrounding areas there.

Day 9 - Drive to Glencoe. Stay the night in Glencoe
Day 10 - Glencoe as a base
Day 11- Glencoe as a base
Day 12- Drive back to Edinburgh and stay there for our last night. Fly out the next morning.


Any suggestions or plans we should definitely change? Anything you can think of that we should definitely avoid given our circumstances? Also, in regard to Trossachs National Park - if we are not interested in hikes, is this still a nice area to just drive around, or are most of the most scenic parts best seen on foot?

Thank you!!

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...sAndWales#Adoc, these pics might give you some ideas, since I've included Edinb, St.Andrews and vicinity, the highlands, Loch Ness...not much for Inverness but it may very well make a good base for you at least to visit Culloden battlefield. Suggest you use at least two of the Inverness days and one of the Glencoe days en route in order to visit Isle of Skye, followed by Glencoe which is a very small town within the stark surroundings of the Glen and only needs two days IMO.

I think you might enjoy the rhododendron gardens in the Dunoon area, too. I include a charming guest house to stay in Dunoon.I also tossed in my pics for the Lakes and Wales.

Enjoy your visit Adoc. I would imagine that your wheelchair will get you around OK for most locales you plan to visit.

janisj

I had just finished a long (too long really ) response when the site went down. Grrrrr

Anyway - I remember your planning and trip report for the trip to Italy/Spain. I admire your 'gumption' -- not exactly the reight word but I hope you understand what I mean . . .

Actually Edinburgh will be one of your big issues. It is quite hilly and <i>everything</i> always seems to be uphill. More than once I've seen people struggling to push others in wheel chairs up through the castle - they seldom seem to be having fun. It is a slog.

You may find taking taxi around in town will help.

The Inverness area has a LOT to see/do - I normally recommend staying outside the city itself but for you it probably makes sense since there will be multiple restaurants/pubs within walking distance of your hotel.

Re Glencoe -- I love LOVE it -- but after looking at the view, it really is mostly about the hiking. Instead I'd stay somewhere like Callander and be driving distance of Stirling, Loch Lomond, the Trossachs, Doune Castle, Inchmahome, Killin and Glencoe. It is a small town w/ several places to eat/shop so might make a better base than Glencoe.

janisj

Didn't see tower's post >>I think you might enjoy the rhododendron gardens in the Dunoon area, too.<<

They ARE lovely . . but no need at all to travel to Dunoon to see them since Rhoddys are rampant all over Scotland. However - irrelevant since they don't bloom in October.

tower

Seem to be having some Picasa problems..please try this if you were unsuccesful with the link abovehttps://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/ScotlandEnglishLakesAndWales#

Adoc86

Tower - Thanks for the link, your photos are lovely! We are very interested in visiting the Isle of Skye, but I wasn't sure if we would be short changing the Inverness region in order to do so. If we rearrange things a bit do you think that only dedicating 3 days to the Inverness area would still allow for us to be somewhat leisurely with our sightseeing? I took a couple of very fast-paced trips back when I was 18/19 years old that I really regret. You know, the type of fast-paced bouncing around itineraries that make most people on these forums cringe lol. Ever since then I've opted for itineraries that allow us to take our time. We like to have time to wander around and get lost.

janisj - I had seen you around a lot of the Scotland posts and I hoped you would happen upon mine Thank you for the compliment! We went to Greece last October and after that I feel like I can conquer anything. Definitely not the most accessible place in the world

I had read that Edinburgh is quite hilly. We've managed these types of things before, but it can become tiresome and get old pretty quickly. I had wondered if we should have a car in Edinburgh, for the city itself as well as to maybe see things on the outskirts. But I would be lying if I said I'm not a tad worried about my husband diving in to driving on the opposite side of the car/road in a city. I think a taxi might be the better option to start with.

Can I ask your opinion about what Tower suggested in regard to shortening our time in Inverness in favor of the Isle of Skye? I'm just curious if it would be the consensus.

Thank you both!

historytraveler

You do not want a car in Edinburgh regardless of your particular situation. My advice for Edinburgh is to familiarize yourself with the geography ( uphills/ downhills ) and adjust your itinerary accordingly as much as possible. Just take as many breaks as necessary. Nothing more pleasant than stopping for tea or whatever whenever it gets to be a bit much. And, a taxi when needed.

elberko

I think the scenery on Isle of Skye is much more interesting than the Inverness area.

janisj

>> I had wondered if we should have a car in Edinburgh, for the city itself as well as to maybe see things on the outskirts.<<

You don't want to drive in Edinburgh -- just use taxis when/if you need to. Cabs aren't expensive - the distances are short.

Then take the tram or a taxi out to EDI and collect your car and head out. Outside of the city the driving is pretty easy. You will find congestion IN Inverness but it shouldn't be too bad.

Skye is wonderful of course -- but it will be mainly sitting in the car and looking because Skye is also a LOT about the hiking. There are a few sites (a castle/a distillery, etc). Should you include it - maybe. But there are 20 other magnificent areas you will also be missing.

Some things you can see around Inverness: Ft George - ENORMOUS but almost entirely accessible.

Culloden Moor

Clava Cairns

Cawdor Castle - the gardens are totally accessible but AFAIK only the ground floor of the castle

Loch Ness -- the cruises are accessible as is Urquhart Castle. You may need to be pushed in the chair but they have an elevator for the climb down from the car park.

••• Note: I've been to just about every corner of Scotland multiple times and there are just toooooooo many gorgeous places to visit. Many people will advocate for Skye, or Islay, or Mull, or Deeside, or the Borders, or Glencoe or, or, or . . . No matter where you decide to visit, you will miss even more. So go the places that 'call to you'. If that is Skye - great. Just don't get bogged down trying to add every place others recommend - it will drive you crazy •••

historytraveler

I agree with janisj. Many seem to lock on to Skye as the most scenic. It is beautiful but there are plenty of other places just as nice.

One note: if interested in castles, the area around Aberdeen and west of Aberdeen offers great options for castle visits. The sites around Inverness ( see janisj's post ) provide a good variety of places from castles to historic, even prehistoric sites. You could even do so seal viewing excursions.

janisj

>>You could even do so seal viewing excursions.<< . . . and Dolphins too

historytraveler

That's what I meant...seals/ Dolphins ; They're not the same ?

janisj

Adoc86

Janisj & Historytraveler - Thanks so much! I think we are just going to focus on the Inverness area and save Skye for another trip. I think it just makes more sense and I won't feel like we're stretching ourselves too thin.

We'll definitely heed your advice not to bother with a rental car in Edinburgh.

Thanks again!