msalli

Hello,
We are returning to the UK in June of this year. We celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2015 in the UK, and now we will be celebrating our 25th. Our group includes my husband and myself in our young 50s, our soon to be 15-year-old daughter and my mother who is 76.

Our interests include: scenery, castles, history, hiking (light hiking for my mom), small towns/local culture, medical (my interest), picture taking (hmmm, my interest again) and did I mention castles. We thoroughly enjoyed Edinburgh, Stirling and the Highlands. We stayed in Strathpeffer for several days and took some day trips from there. We realized, too late, how early we needed to leave for a drive to see the Isle of Skye (from Strathpeffer) , so it was basically a drive-by experience. Our fondest memory was when we visited Elcho castle, tromping up and down the stairs and exploring every inch we could. We also saw Eilean Donan, Doune castle and Cawdor castle, and had a tiny bit of time to see the Dunvegan grounds. We are happy to see these again because I would love for my mother to see them.

I have some very firm dates that cannot be changed. Because of this and the need to see the entire country of Scotland (sarcasm), I’m having difficulties determining a good route and how many days to stay in each site while in Scotland. Though we recall drive times being longer than what we’re used to (we live in Colorado), it is still difficult to plan travel to all the places we want to see and how long to spend at each site/area. And likely you will all tell me that it is not possible to see everything and retain our sanity😢.

So, what do we want to see? Stirling “area”, “the Isle of Skye” and surrounding area, the Inverness area (Culloden, Ft George, other ideas?), the East Coast (I’m a tad bit obsessed with seeing Dunnotar and Slains castle) and finally Edinburgh (the usual plus we’d love to get to Leith, Dean Village and the Roslyn chapel, plus castles other than the main one). Small towns to stay in sound wonderful.

So with that lengthy introduction, here are our travel dates including dates that cannot be changed.

We land in London, Gatwick at 12:40 PM on June 3. We will stay in London until the morning of June 8. (Booked)

We travel by train to Oxford on June 8 and will stay the night. (Booked)

Travel to “Scotland” by train on the 9th.

We ride the Jacobite train on June 14, the afternoon train. (Booked)

We leave Gatwick on June 23 at 4 PM. (Booked)

I would really love to end our trip in Edinburgh, staying 4 nights, leaving for Gatwick/London on the 22nd to ensure we are close to Gatwick for our trip home on the 23rd. Being in one spot and not traveling madly around the country before we leave for home, is important to us (basically me because I work the day after we return home).

My original plan was: train from Oxford to Glasgow on June 9, pick up hired car and drive to Stirling. Stay two nights (9-11) in Stirling knowing we won’t want to see much the first day because we’ll have had a long day traveling (see Stirling castle, Doune, Dunblane cathedral, etc). Then drive leisurely to the Isle of Skye (castles and scenery on the way) for four nights (11-15) driving back down to take the Jacobite train on the 14th (Jacobite train arrives back in Ft. William around 8pm), drive to the Inverness area for two Nights (15-17), drive to Aberdeen and stay for one night (17-18), then Edinburgh for 4 nights (18-22) and then Gatwick “area” to home.

Honestly the Jacobite train date puts a hitch in things, but I waited too long to book and that’s what I could get.

I tried to plot the trip counterclockwise but seemed just as stuck as going clockwise. Though I’m seeing some wiggle room (maybe less time in Skye?)around my Skye dates, now that I’ve typed it out.

Apparently I need suggestions for changes and some reality checks on my itinerary, hence my post.

I thank you all for any guidance that you have.

Michele

janisj

You say Oxford is booked -- is it an absolute 'must' and is the booking cancelable? Don't get me wrong -- I truly LOVE Oxford but it does mess up your plans a fair bit. With your dates so firm etc -- I would very seriously consider flying from London up to Inverness working my way south and around-ish doing JUST London and Scotland.

Generally . . . Inverness area, Skye, Ft William/Jacobite, Stirling/the Trossachs, Aberdeenshire coast/Dunnottar, Edinburgh . . .

If Oxford IS a must, you could do it as an easy day trip from your base in London either by express coach or train.

RaymondLuxuryYacht

I invite you to check out the blog (trip report) from our 2-week trip to Scotland, much of which was influenced by input from Fodorites here.

https://stricklandia.wordpress.com/

Of particular recommendation is the Isle of Mull, which we'd never heard of until people in this Fodors forum recommended it.

Here's the specific blog post that shows our itinerary and route map:

https://stricklandia.wordpress.com/2...ip-highlights/

We had an utterly fantastic trip, loved every minute, and can't wait to go back! Hope you have an equally enjoyable visit.

Sue_xx_yy

train from Oxford to Glasgow on June 9, pick up hired car and drive to Stirling.

**For me that would be a long day. I have a rule of no more than 3 hours a day doing transport, if I can possibly manage it. Things Happen. As janisj points out, google maps estimates can be optimistic in Scotland (sounds like you know this from the last trip.). Plus, trains get delayed. The rental car depot is staffed by Edward the Terribly Slow. Laundry.

So June 9 I'd only train as far as Manchester, about 3 hours. Maybe catch the Science and Industry museum, after all, you are not far from where the Industrial revolution started.
June 10 1 n Glasgow, slightly over 3 hours by train. See Charles Rennie MacKintosh's house.
** This requires 2 nights be stolen from something else. I'm taking them from Skye. Yes I know, but you are coming all the way from Oxford. And, later down the pipe, I'm swapping out Aberdeen and one of your Edinburgh nights for 2 nights in Glencoe or, my preference given logistics, Fort Augustus. You'll note I'm penciling in some laundries for you. And with a 76 year old and a young teen, I'm thinking you will need room for rather divergent interests popping up en route.

Note: car times are from Google maps, which can be optimistic.

June 11. 2 n Stirling Get a laundry done, pick up the car in Glasgow, get to Stirling
June 12. Stirling.
June 13. 3.5 hours to Fort Augustus, 2 nights. Nice little museum in Glencoe, lovely light hiking, okay, walking. (You've seen the highlands before so you know this.) or maybe see Glencoe en route, .
June 14 your train is not far away, about 3/4 to 1 hour backtrack (you'll want to be there in plenty of time.) I take it you are taking the pm run, so maybe time to get a laundry done in am. If your train doesn't come in until 8 pm, you will be happy having a drive of half the time to get back to Fort Augustus, than to Inverness.

June 15, 16 Head to Skye for 2 nights (2 hours Fort Augustus to Portree). Yes, I know this is shorter than you had planned, but you are already covering a lot of ground. Also, this is a Monday and a Tuesday. Accommodation may be a little less tight.

June 17, 18 2.5 to 3 hours to Inverness
June 19, 3.5 to 4 hours to Edinburgh, 3 nights. Drop the car (Edinburgh airport and then commute in, that was a good tip Janisj had - no driving downtown Edinburgh.)
June 20, 21 Edinburgh, Again, a little shorter than you had planned.
June 22 fly to LGW.

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You wrote: Inverness area for two Nights (15-17), drive to Aberdeen and stay for one night (17-18), then Edinburgh for 4 nights (18-22) and then Gatwick “area” to home.

janisj

"Note: car times are from Google maps, which can be are almost always overly optimistic."

For example "2 hours Fort Augustus to Portree" is typically more like a 3-ish hour drive.

historytraveler

Your biggest problem is in trying to get from Oxford to Glasgow. This is not an easy route. You will have to make several changes which makes the journey even longer than it needs to be not to mention a real hassle. I suggest you rework your Oxford stop. Perhaps do it as a day trip from London which is easy peasy or if you absolutely need to stay overnight, it’s still easier to do it from London.Then take the train from London to Glasgow or Edinburgh. This is another easy trip taking a little over 4 hours. So you can leave a London in the morning and be in Glasgow or Edinburgh before noon.

Gardyloo

While I'm not crazy about your route, let me just mention that it's altogether likely that flying from Heathrow to Inverness or Glasgow would be cheaper than taking the train from Oxford to Glasgow, and obviously a LOT quicker. If you flew up to Inverness and simply rearranged your schedule accordingly, you'd spend less time in transit and lots more time actually seeing things. There are frequent buses from Oxford to Heathrow that take around an hour.

Since you're leaving Glasgow immediately upon arriving, I'd also suggest that flying is easier than the train, unless you're keen on wrangling a car and driving through city traffic to get on the road. And by flying into Inverness, you're basically next to Culloden Moor, there are decent places to stay, and one-way surcharges on rented cars are not common in the UK.

janisj

Gardyloo is right that flying makes more sense even if you DO stay a night in Oxford. Whether you fly up to INV or GLA - or heck even play around with EDI and ABZ and see what kind of driving route makes sense with your firm Jacobite date. I don't have time right now to work out some of the options -- but I definitely would not take the train from Oxford to Glasgow.

Sue_xx_yy

This was why I suggested travel via Manchester, you can go direct Oxford Manchester (not all journeys, but some) and there's also a direct train Manchester to Glasgow.

I like your and Janisj's idea of a daytrip but we don't know why the Oxford trip.
***************

Gardy, flying: If memory serves, that Oxford LHR bus is about 1.5 hours to terminal 5, then 2 hours checking in, etc at t5, another 1.5 hours flight time to EDI, and then having to disembark the plane, go downtown Edinburgh...about 6 hours all in, and the plane isn't generally as comfortable as the train. But you are undoubtedly correct about the expense.

janisj

"This was why I suggested travel via Manchester, you can go direct Oxford Manchester (not all journeys, but some) and there's also a direct train Manchester to Glasgow."

But . . . you are recommending an overnight in Manchester. So a hecka a bigger time commitment. Two days traveling to Scotland instead of a few hours.

historytraveler

If there was something in Manchester the OP really wanted to do or see then that might be a possibility, otherwise not a particularly good option. Time wasted.