Visit to Scotland
 

Hello folks
We are a Canadian couple (70 & 63) planning our first trip to Scotland. We arrive in Glasgow (via Air Transat) on Aug 26 am and leave Sep 16 am. The plan is to rent a car, although driving on the wrong side of the road scares us (me LOL). I'm open to suggestions as we are fairly flexible. One definite stop has to be the area of Loch Insh (Specifically Farr, and Insh church) which was the home of my GG grandfather. I have read about the folk museum in Kingussie and that sounds interesting. I would also like to see the Ormiston Yew (near Edinburgh?) Isle of Arran, Skye, and Orkney look good too. Folk music is a big interest as well and we hope to hit a festival or two. Blas looks interesting.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
Linda (Stewart) Rae

Let me just offer some reassurance regarding driving on the left. You can do it, especially if you plan carefully and limit your driving to areas that are easier. Intersections are by far the trickiest point, whether it's making a proper right turn or dealing with multi-lane roundabouts. Starting out from an airport with easy access to a freeway, or from a suburban rental car office, will make it easier for you to get comfortable. Driving in rural areas is usually easy, the one caveat being the single lane roads you encouter in parts of the Highlands. Read up on how to master those, and they aren't all that difficult, but they will slow you down and tire you out more than normal driving, so factor that in to your itinerary.

Have a good trip.

You are sort of all over the place . . Orkney, Arran, Skye, Farr, Ormiston (!), and throughout the Highlands/Inverness for the Blas festival.

Since the festival doesn't start until 3 Sept-- I'd do your southern bits first.

here is one possible itinerary:

Arrive GLA 26 Aug, stay 3 nights in Glasgow to get over the jet lag and explore the city for 1.5 days and Arran for 1 day. On the 28th do a day trip to Arran (train and ferry from central Glasgow)

29 Aug - train to Edinburgh and stay 3 nights (book your accommodations ASAP)

1 Sept - collect rental car in the AM drive east a few miles to Ormiston -- the tree is in a housing development and apparently reachable by car. Then drive down into the Borders for 1 night (or 2 nights if you decide you have the time) -- maybe near Melrose.

2 Sept - drive north to near Callander or Stirling for 2 nights. See Stirling Castle, Doune Castle, Inchmahome priory.

4 Sept - up the A9 visit Loch Insh/Farr stay in Kingussie or there abouts.

5 Sept - Up the A9 to near Inverness - stay 3 nights. Not IN Inverness but nearby. Explore the area including Clava Cairns/Culloden, Ft George, Loch Ness, a distillery, Cawdor, etc.

8 Sept - drive north to Scrabster and take the ferry to Orkney. stay 2 nights.

10 Sept - ferry back to the mainland and travel around the NW to Ullapool.

11 Sept- to Plockton/Kyle of Lochalsh and across the bridge to Skye. 3 nights. Maybe in Portree but we can give lots of other suggestions.

14 Sept - ferry to Mallaig, to Glencoe and down to Oban for the night.

15 Sept - Oban to Inverary, over Rest and be Thankful to Loch Lomond. Drive down the loch and drop the car at GLA. Stay the night in an airport hotel.

16 Sep - fly home

Thank you for ideas. I have been reading some of the other forums..plenty of ideas :-) My head is spinning LOL

Only thing I'd add is stay either in Glasgow West End (Hilton works well) or city centre for the last night; the airport is only a 20 minute (£20ish) cab ride.

And I must learn to read these things properly....you wouldn't need the cab to the airport as you have a rental car.

Forget those other forums, brisky... you've struck gold! Seriously, use the Search field at the top of the page to look up specific places and sites that interest you so far. Or, click on the user name of a poster who sounds particularly helpful to you, and see the other threads they've contributed to.

I know it seems overwhelming now, but as you focus your research more it will all start to fall into place. FWIW, I think janis's suggested itinerary is not a bad starting point / outline / template. Take it from there!

And re: driving on the left side of the road... that actually didn't bother me as much as driving on the right side of the car. In any event, you'll get used to it after a day or two. Probably.

First, driving on the left. DH did it in 1998, and 2000 (he's 64 now) and plans to do it again next year. He always specifies I order him an automatic, and though he drove in Edinburgh and Glasgow, he says this time he'd actually prefer the country roads--even though I told him some of those are singletrack.

Janisj--I see you have the Sept 10-11 itinerary going from Ullapool to Kyle of Lochalsh. I have been debating going from Ullapool, see the garden at Inverere (I always spell it wrong), stay one or two nights at Torridon, then through Kyle of L so I can see the Eileen Donean Castle, probably spelled that wrong too. So my question is: is that the highway you are recommending to them, or the one through Strathpeffer/Ft. William?

Well, corrections,just got back from work. My point was, driving on the left is very doable. If one person is navigator, and can point out road signs, etc, and reminds the person whenever you exit an alleyway or driveway to think left, you learn it quickly. DH also loved it in Ireland.

Janisj, I'm reading the 2010 Fodors Scotland today--and seeing quotes from you and Sheila!! I think what I was asking is could I drive from Torridon, see the Eileen Donean Castle, and make it to an overnight somewhere near Ft. William in a reasonable day?

htt: That would be Inverewe and Eilean Donan. And yes that is the road I'm suggesting (definitely not a 'highway' though :) ). But that suggestion is for getting to Skye. You'd pretty much have to go that route to get from Ullapool > Inverewe Gardens > Eilean Donan > to EITHER Skye or Ft William

Is there a reason you want to get to Ft William?

I haven't booked a room at Ft. William. It was just an estimated stopping place. I would plan the next day to go through Lochaline to Mull. Earlier in the trip I would be seeing Skye. In 1998 we drove from Ft. William to Oban.

OK -- need more info about your route. Since Skye is so close to Eilean Donan - taking a huge detour enroute to Ft William to see it might not make sense.

Eilean Donan is really just a 10 minute photo op (no need at all to go inside) and can easily be done as a short excursion over the bridge from Skye.

Whatever you do -- don't stay IN Ft William. It is a dump of a place. Ballachulish or Glencoe or Onich would be better.

But in general - what is your itinerary? It may make sense to re-order things a bit.

Janisj, thanks. I'll re-open a new thread with my potential itinerary. Don't want to keep hijacking OP's original question.

A recent magazine picture of Torridon was what originally prompted me to look at that route. And if too spendy, they also have a cheaper inn I guess near the hotel there.

Oh - oops :-]

I forgot you weren't the OP (sorry brisky :) )

no prob janisj, I'm enjoying reading all the posts in this forum

Two suggestions: the Insh Falls are well worth a visit and you may be fortunate enough to see the salmon leaping.

I have not seen the Ormiston Yew, but I have seen the Fortingall Yew. This is reputed to be possibly as old as 5000 (yes 5000) years old. Moreover the village and Glen Lyon are beautiful: ("The area immediately surrounding Fortingall has a variety of prehistoric archaeological sites including Càrn na Marbh, a Bronze Age tumulus. Place-name and archaeological evidence hint at an Iron Age cult centre at Fortingall, which may have had this tree as its focus.The site was Christianised during the Dark Ages, perhaps because it was already a sacred place. According to legend, Pontius Pilate was born in its shade and played there as a child. This is considered unlikely as Britain was not part of the Roman Empire at that time." (This story apparently originated in the New York Times in 1899))Unusually for Scotland a number of the nearby buildings are thatched. The adjacent church is really simple and lovely.

It is quite easily reached off the A9, just south of Pitlochry, which you will probably be driving along when you head north. Go west through Aberfeldy, crossing over as you do over the Tay across one of the few bridges still used which were built by General Wade to facilitate the march north of English troops to subjugate the Scots after the 1715 Jacobite rebellion. It was designed by Robert Adams's father.
Altogether a really lovely area and well worth the diversion whilst heading north, which does not take too long.

hello again folks. Plans are progressing. We arrive in Glasgow Aug 26 8am. Right now I am researching rental cars. The 2 I have checked are Arnold Clark (approx $51.75CAD per day) and Avis (approx $40 CAD per day) I looked at autoeurope but they were more. Any recommendations? any idea why such a difference in price? We're looking for an automatic small to mid size with power steering. The above prices were with all insurance included.

Be sure to VERY carefully compare what is included. CA$40 per day seems very low for an automatic. Do all of the quotes include the same level of insurance?

And have you checked for rates w/o any insurance (except for the mandatory liability that is included). Your credit card may cover the insurance.

To clarify - I know you say all insurance is included -- but is it? Even CDW plus the excess/topcover?

Have a look at our recent trip report for our Scottish week.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-354860-2.cfm