We just returned from a great trip to the United Kingdom (June 9-June 23). The weather was fantastic! I am going to try to share a full trip report, a bit at a time. I went with my husband and a sister who had never been overseas. It was fun to share some of our favorite places with her and explore some new ones!

Overview of our Itinerary
1 Fri Travel:Fly from PHL to LHR
2 Sat Doune &Stirling: Fly to Glasgow, arrive 11 am, spend night in Doune at The Woodside Hotel - visit Stirling Castle
3 Sun Glencoe area: Drive to Glencoe, taking the road to Glen Etive, stopping by the Three Sisters mountains, visiting the Glencoe Visitors Center, and spending the night at the Glencoe Inn
4 Mon Isle of Skye: drive to Isle of Skye, climb the Old Man of Storr, and spend night at Hotel Sligachan
5 Tues Isle of Skye: visit the Fairy Glen, Talisker distillery, and spend night at Hotel Eilean Iarmain (also stopped at the Skye Museum of Island Life)
6 Wed Isle of Skye: climb the Quiraing, quick lunch, then drive to the Onich Hotel in Onich (had planned to visit the Fairy Pools that morning but prolonged lack of rain in the area made the Quiraing a better choice)
7 Thur Drive to Grasmere, stopping in Lockerbie for lunch, then checking into Moss Grove Organic (for 5 nights)
8 Fri Lake District: Blea Tarn, Wrynose Pass, Hardknott Pass, the Roman fort there, lunch at the Three Shires
9 Sat Lake District: Take the Honister Pass to Buttermere, lunch at the Pheasant Inn, quick trip to Ullswater (Kirkstone pass closed for road worik)
10 Sun Lake District: Relaxed morning, roast beef lunch at the Drunken Duck pub, boat trip on Windermere
11 Mon Lake District: Castlerigg Stone Circle, hike along Buttermere, lunch at Syke Farm Tearoom, boat trip on Derwentwater
12 Tues Cotswolds: visit Coventry Cathedral, lunch nearby, drive through the Slaughters, check into The Maytime (for 2 nights)
13 Wed Cotswolds: Bourton on the Water, Stow on the Wold (Old Bakery Tearoom lunch), Kliftsgate Gardens (near Chipping Campden), Lower Slaughter (drinks at Slaughters Country Inn), dinner at Swan Inn
14 Thur Last day: visit Bibury, lunch at Duchess of Cambridge Pub, quick visit to Windsor Castle, return rental car, spend night at Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel and have dinner there
15 Fri Travel: Cab to airport and direct flight home from LHR

Here is a quick photo of the Quiraing, taken on the Isle of Skye with my phone. Still downloading images taken with my Fuji camera.

Beautiful. Look forward to more.

We stayed at the Glencoe Inn for 2 nights in June and loved our stay there. Glen Coe is stunningly beautiful, and we wish we had an extra night there. We took our time driving along the road to Loch Etive; the scenery and the rhododendrons are gorgeous, and we were stopping every 5 minutes to take photos.

Looks like you had s great trip. Scotland is incredible.

Day 1 - In Scotland
We had a connecting flight from London Heathrow to Glasgow. All went well, and it was a relatively easy process to pick up our rental car from Europcar (arranged through Auto Europe). We had a Volkswagen Tiguan SUV (diesel, automatic), and it was great to have all our luggage fit easily. (We paid extra to be able to drop it off at London Heathrow, and that was a remarkably smooth process as well.)

We spent our first night at The Woodside Hotel in Doune, Scotland not far from Stirling. This ended up being one of our favorite places to stay - definitely our favorite in Scotland. It was recently renovated and opened under new ownership. Everyone working there was very friendly and helpful, the food was excellent, and our rooms were very comfortable. We had lunch here, dropped off our luggage, then went to Stirling Castle (parking right next to the castle), and arrived in time for the last tour of the day. (Many thanks to janisj for the suggestion to go directly from the airport to Doune and to see if we could park in the castle car park. Excellent advice!) Our tour guide at Stirling Castle was excellent, and we felt that visiting the castle was an excellent way to spend part of the afternoon. When we returned to our hotel, we saw quite an influx of dinner guests and belatedly asked whether we could get a reservation for dinner. They managed to seat us later in the evening, but I will remember next time to make a dinner reservation in advance - especially on a Saturday evening!


View of Stirling Castle from the garden below


The Woodside Hotel patio where we enjoyed lunch on Saturday. (Photo taken at breakfast time on Sunday morning.)

Looking forward to your report. The Woodside looks like a great. find I've driven past it countless times being right on the A84 but not stayed or eaten there. That would be a really convenient location for visiting Stirling, the Trossachs, Crieff, Inchmahome, etc. and walking distance to Doune Castle.

We really enjoyed our visit to Stirling Castle and had a great tour guide, too. I love your photo of the castle!

Day 2 -The Drive to Glencoe

After a delicious breakfast at The Woodside on Sunday morning, we drove from Doune toward Glencoe. Thanks to input from Gardyloo, we made sure to include the Glencoe highlands in our itinerary. Next time we visit Scotland, we will be sure to spend more time here! The drive from Doune to Glencoe is beautiful! Since we were only spending one night in Glencoe, we only stopped a few times along the way. One of these was a stop at the Way Inn attached to the Kingshouse hotel, on the right side of the road before the road to Glen Etive. This was a good place to get beverages and use the facilities before taking the road to Glen Etive. We sipped our lattes outside, sitting at a picnic table and taking in the gorgeous views. (We didn't order any food here because we had a few snacks with us and thought we'd wait to get a late lunch in Glencoe.)

The Road to Glen Etive
It took us about two hours to drive both ways on this lovely road. We took it slowly, having heard that an employee at the Way Inn (Kingshouse Hotel) helped 5 customers change flat tires in one day! He warned us not to drive too quickly onto the sharp rocks at the side of the road when avoiding oncoming traffic. Fortunately, there were very few cars when we were there. (Note: We were there on Sunday June 11th and had earlier passed a place where a lot of cars were parking for an event, so that might explain why we saw few cars on the Glen Etive road.) I am thinking that June might be an ideal time to visit Glen Etive as there were lots of rhododendrons blooming as well native foxgloves. We also saw some deer along the way. When we reached the loch at the end of the road, we found a parking spot and enjoyed stretching our legs there before turning back.

In retrospect, I wish we were here in the early morning or late afternoon if visiting in June because the lighting on the first part of our drive was a bit harsh. But we enjoyed the drive in spite of the sun overhead.

The Three Sisters
Continuing our journey to Glencoe, we made sure to stop at the Three Sisters viewpoint. The lighting was perfect for getting some quick photos. Well worth stopping there!

The Glencoe Visitors Center
Google maps directed us to the Clachaig Inn instead of the Glencoe Visitors Center, and I gather that happens often. (Rather than turning right off A82, one goes a little further and turns left at the sign for the Glencoe Visitors Center.) This misdirection gave us a good opportunity to check out the Clachaig Inn, and we would love to stop back again sometime but we continued on to the Visitors Center. People said the Visitors Center was a good place to buy gifts to take home, and we did buy several things here including a book about places in Scotland where movies have been filmed. (We knew that our adult children would want to read this.) But one of the reasons that I wanted to stop at the Visitors Center is because of my interest in history and genealogy. I was interested in seeing the turf house with its earth walls and heather thatched roof, replicating the kinds of homes built in the 17th century. Most of my husband's ancestors emigrated from Scotland in the mid 1800s.

The Glencoe Inn near Loch Leven
We spent the night at the Glencoe Inn and enjoyed our stay there. We found a warm welcome and appreciated its location near Loch Leven. We ate dinner at the more casual restaurant that night, and our food was excellent. After dinner, my sister and I ventured out to photograph Loch Leven and walk down a nearby street. I was driven back inside by the midges but she explored a bit longer. The next morning, we had an excellent breakfast and and enjoyed talking with a friendly mountain climber from Wales.

While the Clachaig Inn bar scene looked more inviting than Glencoe Inn's bar, we loved the Glencoe Inn's proximity to Loch Leven and the lovely dinner we had there. Hope to visit Glencoe again and stay at one inn or the other more than one night!


View from Ways Inn at Kingshouse Hotel


Beautiful road to Glen Etive


Loch Etive at the end of the Glen Etive road.


View of the Three Sisters, taken with iPhone.


The turf house at the Glencoe Visitors Center, replicating a 17th century home with turf walls and thatched roof made of heather.

We spent 2 nights in Glen Coe and wish we had an extra night. Such a beautiful place. Glen Coe wasn’t on my radar until janisj recommended it, and it was one of the highlights of our trip!

Your photos are beautiful!

We will be returning to Scotland sometime "soon" with our children and grandchildren. Hoping to be able to share the beauty of Glencoe with them but then again, there are so many beautiful places in Scotland to explore! Glad you are enjoying the photos!

I would love to stay there again and do a bit more exploring of the area!

Getting to the Isle of Skye
After a delicious breakfast at the Glencoe Inn, we set off for the Isle of Skye. We wanted to drive through this area partly because our family had booked a week's stay for July 2020 near Spean Bridge that we had to cancel because of the pandemic. (Three generations of our family still hope to go over in a year or two when the little ones are a bit older.) After passing Fort William and Spean Bridge, we realized that a lot of smaller cafes were closed on Monday. Fortunately, we found a little bakery/sandwich shop that was open and we had a lovely lunch there right beside the A87. I think we looked out on Loch Duich? Then after stopping to take a quick photo of the Eilean Donan Castle, we were crossing the bridge to Skye.

Hiking up the Old Man of Storr
My sister was traveling with us on this trip, and the Old Man of Storr was at the top of her list of places she wished to hike. So we chose to go there when we reached the Isle of Skye, knowing that the afternoon light be lovely then. Having scoped out the hike ahead of time (Old Man of Storr description of hike with slideshow), I encouraged her to hike it on her own. Having had a knee replacement years ago, I just went part way up, stopping to take photos along the way. The light was good and it got even better while we were there. And my husband? He chose to relax in the car, looking out over the water and reading a book on the Renaissance.

(Note:: We read that one needed coins to use toilets at the Old Man of Storr - and we stopped to get some in Portree - but there was no need this time as machines were covered with duct tape.)

Sligachan Hotel
We had made an 8pm reservation for dinner at Sligachan, so we went back through Portree to get to our hotel after seeing the Old Man of Storr. We found out that the restaurant was closed that night, but we enjoyed eating in the bar. One pleasant surprise was that the bar offers flights of whisky. (My husband and my sister each had a flight.) The other lovely surprise was that their Sticky Toffee Pudding is gluten-free so my sister (who has celiac disease) was able to try it! And the staff there were very helpful and friendly.

The Sligachan Hotel was in a great location, our rooms were comfortable, and I wish we had been able to stay longer (but we could only get two rooms for one night when I booked). It is definitely on my list for a return visit!


Old Man of Storr, taken with iPhone while hiking.


Old Man of Storr seen from parking lot a little later that afternoon - far from the trail.


The Sligachan Bar with an array of food and beverages available.

Our Itinerary
I wrote up our rough itinerary with links to things I might want to look up later, then printed out a copy and made sure I had it on my phone. This was very helpful the first few days when we were still adjusting to the time change. I also saved hotels, restaurants, and places we might want to visit in a "trip" on another travel website.

Navigation
We used Google Maps for navigation, and I discovered on this trip that I could set a location then add stops to continue on. This let me estimate how long various routes might take, and then add extra time to allow for traffic, rest stops, the occasional sheep in the road, etc. It also let us "continue" the navigation after reaching our first stop. We also chose to get an international phone plan via AT&T and that proved helpful a few times when Wi-Fi was unavailable. But it was available at most of the cafes, pubs, and restaurants we visited.

Google Maps was less helpful when we were trying to return our rental car at Heathrow, showing roads that didn't exist. But we eventually found our way.

Curious whether people have a favorite navigation app for the UK?

Paying to Park in Various Car Parks
We could usually pay with a credit card but sometimes needed exact change. (We didn't buy a National Trust membership at the Stirling Castle, but later wondered whether we spent more than the cost of an individual membership when one added up all the parking fees.)

The Weather
We knew the weather would be unpredictable and tried to prepare for a range of weather conditions. The long range weather forecast had been for mild temperatures during the day with occasional showers and cooler temperatures at night. But the weather was quite warm and dry during our visit. (While we were hiking the Fairy Glen, a friendly couple from Glasgow remarked on how "We never have weather like this!") This also meant that our hotel rooms were rather warm at night so we took cool showers before heading to bed. And the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye? People were talking about the Fairy "Puddles" so we decided not to go there on this visit.

Midges
During our visit, the midges bothered us if we were outdoors after 9 pm without insect repellent. I had brought along some insect repellent wipes, and they did help a bit.

Flexibility
I was reminded on this trip that one may well have to change plans along the way. When we visited the Lake District, the Kirkstone Pass had just closed so that improvements could be made there. So we had to skip driving through that pass this visit. There were also times when it was impossible to find parking, such as the day we took the Honister Pass to Buttermere. So we continued on toward Keswick, turning onto a road that we had never taken before. That presented us with the opportunity to do some wonderful hikes on that route.

Day 4 - Tuesday on the Isle of Skye
On our first full day on the Isle of Skye, we headed to the Fairy Glen where my sister and I enjoyed hiking together. (My husband had recently finished PT for his ankle, so he chose not to join us.) This was a lovely area that people of all ages seemed to enjoy exploring, and it is not a difficult hike. But if time is limited, I'm not sure whether I'd recommend the Fairy Glen over the Quiraing?

After hiking in the Fairy Glen, we stopped at the Uig Hotel Restaurant for lattes and facilities. Our next stop was the Skye Museum of Island Life where there are several crofts and info about island life one hundred years ago. (I was interested in seeing some crofts that might be typical of the kind of home my husband's great-grandfather called home in the 19th century before emigrating to Canada.) As a bonus, there are some Highland cattle close to the parking area. After a quick visit, we set off for the Quiraing. Unfortunately, the roads in this area are some of the most challenging we encountered. While not difficult to drive, there were lots of hairpin turns and pulling over for oncoming traffic. So when we overshot the turn off for the Quiraing, there was no question of trying to turn back. Instead, we went to Hotel Uig for a delicious lunch and a break from driving. Then we went to the Talisker Distillery. We made it in time for one of the last "tasting experiences" but I was glad that we hadn't tried to make reservations because traffic was very slow to allow for painting new lines down the center of the road.

We stayed at Hotel Eilean Iarmain on our second night on the Isle of Skye. (We had booked two rooms at the hotel in July 2020, and we received a voucher when we had to postpone our trip.) This is a lovely hotel in a beautiful setting. The skies were dark with storm clouds when we arrived around 6pm, and we were eager to get some photos. Our dinner reservations were for 8 pm, so we had time to relax in the bar which was crowded with locals enjoying mussels. I would love to return another time and spend a little longer in this part of the Isle of Skye. It would have been lovely to have 4 or 5 days on Skye but it was hard to get rooms so we were grateful for the days we had!

Day 5 - Wednesday on the Isle of Skye and then Onich
We had initially planned to go to the Fairy Pools on Wednesday and then take the ferry off the island. We changed our minds after overhearing people calling them the Fairy Puddles because of the lack of rain. (We had seen similar comments on the All Trails app and another website.) So we decided to drive up through Portree to the Quiraing instead. The Quiraing was beautiful and there was plenty to photograph whether one went for a shorter or longer hike. No regrets. I looked online for a place to stop for lunch and found the Hungry Gull Cafe. It was busy and the food was excellent, but we never would have found it without GPS! (It is in the Staffin Community Hall.)

We stayed at the Onich Hotel that night, and we enjoyed looking out over Loch Linnhe. This is another hotel under new management, and there is a lot of work underway. Our rooms were comfortable, and each one had a balcony and a couple of chairs. There were several curries on the menu, and they were delicious. This was the only hotel where the breakfast was not cooked to order, but it was fine. There was a tour group there but they hadn't eaten breakfast and left the hotel before 8 am when breakfast was available for other hotel guests.

Day 6 - Traveling to the Lake District
After breakfast, we set off on the long drive to Grasmere. We made good time even though we stopped by Luss and had lattes at the Village Rest. This would have been a great place to have lunch, but we chose to drive further before stopping for a late lunch at Just Be in Lockerbie. What a great place! The food was delicious, the staff friendly, and there was a nearby memorial to those lost in World War 1.

Continuing on, we finally reached Grasmere and checked into Moss Grove Organic. This would be our base for the next 5 nights as we explored the Lake District.

My sister remembered that the place we stopped for lunch was The Pitstop at Kintail. I had a delicious bowl of soup along with a latte and water, and my husband and sister also enjoyed their food. Someone sitting at the next picnic table told us that he had come from the Netherlands and planned to walk to Ullapool, camping along the way.

I am really enjoying your report about Skye. While we were happy with our entire itinerary, our two favorite places on our trip are Skye and Glen Coe.

Looking forward to your report of the Lake District. We hope to visit in a couple years and include the Lake District and Cotswold with a visit to London.

I meant to say that tour group had already had their breakfast and left the hotel before we came down to breakfast. On the previous evening, they were having dinner in the area used for the breakfast buffet, so while we saw people from the tour in the bar and out on the deck that night, we thought the hotel did a good job of accommodating a tour group and other travelers.

Day 7 - Visiting Blea Tarn, Driving through the Wrynose and Hardknott Passes
On Friday, we drove through Ambleside and Little Langdale to reach Blea Tarn and the road over Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass. It was a lovely day, and there weren't a lot of people there. We stopped in a parking area to go see the Roman fort and sheep were our only companions. (Note: We should have turned back at that point because it was harder to turn around later.)Then we went back to The Three Shires for a delicious lunch and cold beverage. Highly recommend stopping there for lunch or dinner.

Day 8 - Honister Pass, Buttermere and Ullswater
We knew that Saturday would probably be crowded wherever we went but decided to go over the Honister Pass to Buttermere. It was crowded, and we were unable to find parking to hike around Buttermere Lake. So we decided to take a break at the Syke Farm Tearoom (lattes and then ice cream), then made our way toward Keswick. Our GPS took us on a road that took us along a lovely, winding, narrow road over Newlands Pass with a parking area near Moss Force waterfall. I walked toward the waterfall, and my sister hiked up a different path where she was able to view Buttermere and Crummock Water from above. We noticed a Rabbie's van stopping here as well, so it may be one of their usual stops in the Lake District. It was windy, a bit rainy, and peaceful up there.

When we reached Keswick, we decided to drive a little further to the Pheasant Inn in Bassenthwaite. We have been there several times before, and our food was excellent. We then decided to go across to Ullswater before heading back to Grasmere. (We would normally make a day of driving over the Kirkstone Pass from Grasmere and enjoy several stops along the way, but that section of the road was closed so they could install some safety barriers.) Pooley Bridge was a little too crowded and hot for our liking, but we walked around a bit so my sister could see the town. Then we drove south along the lake - toward the Kirkstone Pass - so we could stop further along shore where families come to relax. Then it was time to head back to Grasmere for the night.

Day 9 - A Relaxing Day with Lunch at the Drunken Duck and a boat ride on Lake Windermere
On Sunday, we planned a more relaxing day. First we stopped by Mathilde's Cafe for lattes after the lovely breakfast provided by Moss Grove Organic. Mathilde's is adjacent to the Heaton Cooper Studio, and we enjoy visiting both places when we are in Grasmere. Then we went to the Drunken Duck Inn for their Sunday roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding (served only midday). We wanted to do something relaxing later in the afternoon and ended up taking a boat trip on Windermere. It was the first time we've done that, and I'm not sure we would choose to do it again. But it was certainly a more relaxing way to see part of the Lake District!

Day 10 - Buttermere and Derwentwater
Monday was our last full day in the Lake District, and we decided to head back up to Buttermere. First we stopped at the Castlerigg Stone Circle. It was beautiful with morning light interspersed with light drizzle. It was easy to get parking as there were only a few people there. Then we drove to Buttermere, taking the small winding "back" road rather than going over Honister Pass again. We found parking at the Gatesgarth parking area, and it was easy to access the path to the far side of Buttermere Lake. (Note: Coins were needed for parking there, and it caught several people by surprise since credit cards could be used most places.) My sister and I enjoyed a long walk while my husband enjoyed the scenery and reading his book on the Enlightenment. We met several delightful, friendly people from the UK on this walk.

After a delicious lunch at the Syke Farm Tearoom, we took a boat ride on Derwent Water. This was a last minute addition to our itinerary, and we had trouble finding the correct location. (I think Derwent Water Jetties was the correct location.) We were able to get tickets for the last boat ride around the lake, and it was a lovely way to see more of Derwent Water.

NOTE
We have visited many other places on previous trips to the Lake District. Among those that I enjoyed were:

Enjoyed your report about the Lakes District. Thanks for including the links. I clicked on some of them, such as Buttermere and the Roman Fort. Looks beautiful! Do you have photos?