The FastDay Forum

I'm just back from a week in Scotland, visiting relatives. It's such a beautiful place but probably takes as long for me to get there from south east Kent as it will you! We took the train as hubby wasn't able to join us - 1.5 hours to London then 8 hours from London to Inverness not including a short delay and connection time. Worth it though!

Inverness is absolutely gorgeous and Loch Ness is stunning. Take a boat trip and enjoy. Loch Lomond is also absolutely gorgeous. I echo most of the other travel suggestions already made, especially Skye. Haven't been for years, well before the ferry was ditched for the bridge, but it's an ethereal place.

I just love the highlands and would visit much more often if I could. You will have a fantastic time.

Do let me know in advance what your travel dates are; if a meet up is planned maybe I can combine it with a visit to my sister!

[Tracieknits]

Oh thank you, Ladies

we haven't picked our dates yet, but a meetup would be fun! is July or August better? My son gets out of school the last week in June and has to go back the first week in September. When does the heather bloom?

We will probably buy our tickets in January, as they can be quite cheap then. We like to fly Air France because my husband has status with Sky Team, and we can fly direct Montreal to Paris, then connect to Edinburgh.

Dear Tracie@Tracieknits,
I forgot to mention that M Scott Peck wrote a book about his travels looking at standing stones and other remains. I think that it is called "In Search of Stones". I can't quite remember, but I seem to think that he includes some Ennglish and Welsh sites, although I might have invented that. The book is not really about the stones, but the nature of life, art etc. I have mixed feelings about him as a writer, but found the book enjoyable, and it may interest you. It includes lovely drawings which were done by his son, who based them on holiday snaps taken by the author and his wife.

Regards,
Bracken.

[Tracieknits]

Thanks! I'll check it out

[Tracieknits]

Well we bought our tickets! January usually has some good prices and we got round trip Montreal-Paris-Edinburgh with a return of just Paris-Montreal on Air France for $140 each. Now we just have to buy airfare from somewhere in Scotland (probably Glasgow as it has cheap direct flights) to Paris.

We land in Edinburgh on 3 July and we'll stay the first two nights at a hotel just off the Royal Mile.
Our tentative plan, so far, is:

Sunday: drive to Doune Castle (we're big Monty Python fans), visit it, and then on to Pitlochry and ending at Inverness where we've booked a B&B for (so far) two night.

Monday we plan to drive to the Strathisla distillery in Speyside for a tour, because we love Speyside whisky and it's one of the few distilleries that allows under 18s on the tour. We'll then drive up toward Nairn to either look for dolphins or nose around Cawdor Castle on our way to the Clava Cairns and Culloden battlefield. We'll try to get in tea at Culloden house.

Here's where our plans get fuzzy:
I want to see a circle of standing stones, and I don't know how to choose between the Callanish sites or the Orkney mainland sites. Orkney is more difficult/expensive to get to and would require at least an overnight. We can do Callanish as a day trip either by plane from Inverness ($$$ as it would also require hiring a car on Lewis/Harris) or by driving to Ullapool and taking a coach day trip with Calamac ferries. But there's so much awesome stuff at Orkney. I need someone to decide for me and BruceE won't There is one bus tour from Inverness - they pick you up really early, then you take a bus to John o Groats and then a ferry, and then hang out on a coach tour, with the long, long long ride back to Inverness. I'm not sure if that's a good idea or a good punishment!

Do the Scotland forumites have any input on that?

So our plans are completely unformed until Friday night, when we are booked at the Glasgow airport for one night, probably booking the early morning non-stop to Paris on Flybe.

We'd like to fit in some things in the general area of Fort William, including Eilean Donan castle, Ben Nevis, Glencoe and a drive past Castle Stalker (maybe lunch in the cafe that overlooks it while we practice taunting with a bad French accent).

So any votes on Orkney vs Callanish and which method is better? I don't want to shell out $$$ but we may get a good tax refund in which case I might be in a position to blow the cash on airfare for one of the two sites.

Thanks so much!!

[Tracieknits]

Bracken has voted Orkney previously, and Nessie seemed to like the coach tour idea, so maybe we should:

Monday in Inverness - wake up early and get to bus station for coach tour to Orkney
Tuesday in Inverness - sleep in and do the speyside/Culloden visit
Wednesday - choice of waking up early and rushing to Ullapool for 9:40 ferry/tour or ferry crossing with car. which means choice of sleeping in Ullapool or on Lewis/Harris - but if we sleep in Ullapool we'll have a lot less time in the car than if we sleep on Lewis or Harris. --

Alternate idea: Wedesday we could just drive down past Loch Ness, visit Urquart Castle, and head toward Eilean Donan. We could check out the very southern tip of Skye and that area until we have to head to visit Castle Stalker and check into our hotel at Glasgow Airport.

Thursday if waking in Ullapool, we would meander down western coastline, making way toward Eilean Donan and spending the night in the area. Friday would still be heading down past Castle Stalker toward Glasgow.

Favour your drive down Loch Ness - over to Eilean Donan. Check out Glenelg (mainland just south of Skye) and google Glenelg Skye ferry ...
In Glenelg there are also some very old brioches (sic) and it is also the place where Gavin Maxwell lived and Ring of Brightwater is set. South skye and Plockton all worth a visit and in the general area. Google Lochalsh, Kyle of Lochalsh, Plockton, Glenelg, Glen Shiel. The drive there does actually give the drive through Glencoe a run for its money.

Glenelg Skye ferry also has a very entertaining FB page ....

[Tracieknits]

Oh thank you!

[Tracieknits]

Favour your drive down Loch Ness - over to Eilean Donan. Check out Glenelg (mainland just south of Skye) and google Glenelg Skye ferry ...
In Glenelg there are also some very old brioches (sic) and it is also the place where Gavin Maxwell lived and Ring of Brightwater is set. South skye and Plockton all worth a visit and in the general area. Google Lochalsh, Kyle of Lochalsh, Plockton, Glenelg, Glen Shiel. The drive there does actually give the drive through Glencoe a run for its money.

Glenelg Skye ferry also has a very entertaining FB page ....

@Silverdarling We have booked two nights in Fort Augustus at a lovely hotel? B&B? It's called "The Inch" We are planning on driving to Eilean Donan Castle on that Thursday morning. I had been planning on driving on to Lochalsh and just over the bridge to Skye to nose around a bit. Do you recommend that we drive to Kylerhea and take the ferry to Glenelg for the rest of our day, sleeping in Fort Augustus? We were not completely sure how we were going to spend this day.

Then on Friday, would it be too much to leave Fort Augustus in the morning, drive past Ben Nevis and through Glen Coe, on our way to have lunch at the cafe with the view of Castle Stalker (I've written to ask if they will do tours that day - we'll see) on our way to Glasgow? We're staying at the Holiday Inn at the airport, planning to take a plane to Paris first thing in the morning.

I decided not to consider @Bracken's description of the Hebrides as a challenge, and to simply take it as a description. So on Tuesday morning when we wake in Inverness, we are going to get on the 7am John o Groats bus to JoG, ferry to Orkney, bus to Kirkwall and hire a car on Orkney. We'll be staying at the Lynnfield on Orkney that night and taking the 9am bus/ferry/bus trip back to Inverness, arriving 1:30pm. That afternoon we'll drive down to Urquart castle and visit on our way to Fort Augustus

Sounds like we actually have a trip planned. It sounds a bit busy but fairly reasonable, I hope!

Tracie, you wouldn't be driving through Glencoe to get to Castle Stalker, you would go along Loch linnhe, and then you would be doubling back north, then turning east along Loch Leven, and then into Glencoe and back down the A87 towards Glasgow. It would be a long day's driving, on roads that are not like those in the states.

I am sure you could get to the Lochalsh area, including Eilean Donan, on the Thursday. Best to go to ED first, then possibly Plockton if you have time. Go on to Kyle of Lochalsh and over the skye bridge, down to Kylerea and go over to glenelg from there on the ferry. But allow enough time. The roads are not fast, off the main road, and the road down to the ferry is single track, and the same the other side in glenelg. It would be a shame if all you saw of the Highlands was from a car window.

Hi@Tracieknits,
I'm glad that you are going to Orkney. There's so much to see. I hope you can do it justice in such a short time. Orkney can be pretty cold and windy; even in summer sunshine. I echo the comments about Glenelg- well worth seeing, and the drive over the Mam Ratagan pass is fabulous. There are also great views over The Five Sisters and Loch Duich from the top. The little ferry across Kylerhea is also great, but I didn't enjoy the drive on the other side, despite being used to Scottish single track roads.

I used to work with someone whose grandma looked after the key to Doune castle; it was his holiday playground as a child.

Castle Stalker is a wonderful sight and I understand that it is possible to arrange visits, but I'm not aware of the details. I think that the cafe which overlooks it gets very crowded, but it is well located. If you have any time to do so, I'd recommend also taking in Port Appin, which wouldn't be too much of a detour.

A good spot for taking photographs of Eilean Donan is just below the outdoor clothing store. It is also worth paying to visit the castle which has quite a good cafe and touristy shop.

If you plan a return visit have a look at Kilmartin glen! In my view each and every site is more impressive than Clava Cairns, but perhaps that's just me!

Enjoy your visit!

Edit- I've just realised that I've discussed the Glenelg trip in reverse to that described by Silverdarling. Plockton is lovely. If you decide to see Glencoe, it is also worth a walk around Glencoe Lochan. A very romantic place - you'll be able to read the story attached to it. I got married there; that's not the story!

[Tracieknits]

Thanks @braken! I just went through the drive from the A87 to the ferry, "walking" it on google maps, and it looks gorgeous, but yeah, kind of scary too. My husband grew up in a really rural area, and he wasn't bothered by the walk through. I guess maybe we'll see what we are up to on the day. Maybe we'll just drive back and drive to glenelg.

Castle Stalker has a website and apparently they allow some tours during summer months. I have emailed them, but I haven't heard back yet. We do plan to wander the Glencoe area a bit before heading to Castle Stalker, so if the weather cooperates we'll check out Glencoe Lochen I was thinking any spare time I have that day on the way back to Glasgow Airport would be spend in the Loch Lomond area. Do you think it's worth driving out of the way to Kilmartin? Or that we'll have time?

The best thing about Clava Cairns is that it's *really* close by some other things we want to see, and will probably take a grand total of 15 minutes of our time. But I love that ancient stuff, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it at least enough to justify the stop

I know we're missing many, many things. But my husband really loves Scotland. And he's trying to get a job in Europe, so we're thinking it won't be hard to get back. We've also said we want an adult only trip to Scotland after our 14 year old is grown, so we can stay at The Witchery

Thanks so much!

Hi @Tracieknits.
The really scary drive is if you go across on the car ferry from Glenelg and travel from Kylerhea towards Kyleakin on Skye. I understand what you mean about the Clava Cairns, and you might be lucky enough to get them to yoursleves. I did when I visited. I think that a drive through Kilmartin would be too much for you to fit in. Driving can be pretty slow in the Highlands. That is part of the beauty of it.

I've been thinking about your itinery and I'm wondering about spending 2 days in Fort Augustus. If you just stayed one night it could give you a little more time to spend in Glenelg or Localsh. A drive through Glen Garry and Glen Shiel takes you to Shiel Bridge where you pick up the Mam Ratagan pass to Glenelg, where there is a good small hotel. Staying in this area would mean that you could have a good look at the sites and also take in the area where Gavin Maxwell was based. It is worth travelling across to Skye on the small - 5 or 6 car ferry. On leaving the ferry you could take in the wildlife hide. You'll certainly see seals and might be lucky enough to see otters. The drive from here towards Kyleakin is the really scary one. You can take the Skye Bridge back to the mainland from just outside Kyleakin.

Kyle of Localsh is not that great, but......there's a little shed near the main car park which sells good sea food and cheese. The public toilets are amazing!

From Kyle of Localsh an easy drive takes you to Eilean Donan castle. It's a short detour to Plockton, which is really pretty. There are some nice places to stay here and some good places to eat, including a little hut which sells great fish and chips, but you could also stay at Dornie near Eilean Donan. There are some beautiful woodland gardens near here too and a viewpoint on a little road above Dornie. A night spent here would give you more time to take in the scenery, or to potter about in Plockton.

I'm sorry to complicate things, but I was just thinking that driving to and from Fort Augustus would mean that you wouldn't have as much time for stopping to stare, and that is something which you simply must do in the Highlands! You would have the benefit of very long days though. But, of course...ignore me if you like!

Bracken

P.S. A stay at The Witchery would be something special. I've never been, as I can't afford it. I have a daughter who works for a travel company which is based in Edinburgh; perhaps I should ask her about possible discounts!
PPS. Have you tried Islay whisky?
PPS. Fort William is not a very attractive place in itself, but the drive up Glen Nevis is beautiful and there are lovely walks However, you don't have much time, so I'm not sure if you could fit it in. You certainly wouldn't have time to climb Ben Nevis.

@Tracieknits we have just booked our flights to the UK for our June/July trip. We will be in Scotland at a similar time. We're just working out our itinery now. I'm reading this on my phone but tomorrow Ill get on the computer and have a good look as there is lots of good travel advice here.

[Tracieknits]

Just a quick reply because we are heading out the door in a few minutes. My husband has a "two-nights" rule. He wants to spend two nights in a single location unless it's just unavoidable. Since we're spending our last night by the airport in Glasgow for an early morning flight, and our trip is 8 days, that means we have one other loose single night somewhere. He's said that's the max for this trip. We chose Fort Augustus because the location was central enough that it reduced a bit of driving. We have a five hour bus/ferry/bus slog from the Orkneys on the day we head down south. So 25 minutes to Urquart and 35 on to Fort Augustus was about as much car time as I felt we could reasonably handle that day.

We are going to be in the car a *lot* and I'm a little nervous about that. But the highlands are so spread out and there's so much to see that I think it's somewhat unavoidable. I'm glad the driving will be relaxed though, and not highways. highway driving is a lot more tiring for me.

The Witchery's suites in winter are GBP249, which isn't completely out of reach, I think, for a one-night splurge. It's certainly no EU1000 at one of many fancy hotels in Paris, and to be honest, it looks nicer. We try to do one splurge dinner on every vacation and we've chosen the Witchery for this vacation

Wineoclock, if there's any way you can get to Inverness on that Sunday or Monday, we can make it a meetup party that night at a restaurant or pub! That would be fun That would be the 4th or 5th of July We will be in Edinburgh the two nights before that. Our trip is almost completely focused on the highlands, as my husband has been to Scotland three times already and spent all of that time in the lowlands. He's building two big power transmission things he designed in southern Scotland. I keep telling him he's welcome to get a job with Scottish Power (he has unique skills and any country in the world would welcome him) but he wants us to see Scotland before he makes that kind of plunge! LOL