The FastDay Forum

[Tracieknits]

And yes, Bracken, Silverdarling and Wildmissus have all been *very* helpful! I really appreciate them taking the time to help me

Another advocate for the Glenelg ferry.
Two things to take into consideration:
1) the weather. I have driven through snow blizzards in August, through storms and floods in July and blazing hot sunshine a week later. Scotland is quite amazing!
2) The midges. Do not underestimate the little blighters.

I saw my one and only wild otter near Ullapool, deer by stac pollaid, dolphins by the Summer Isles. It is a long time since I was there, so I am most envious of your trip. However, I look forward to you visiting Wales!

My advice would be don't try and do too much. Think about it like packing-lay it all out and put half of it away. Scotland will still be there next year, and the year after...........

Dear @Tracieknits,

I think that Merlin has got something there. If you are staying in Fort Augustus for two days why not spend more time around Loch Ness and walking along the Great Glen / Caledonian canal? I think it would entail too much driving to and from Fort Augustus if you were to go across to Skye and Localsh, beautiful and interesting as it is. Driving around the Highlands can be quite taxing and very slow, and it is good to spend as much time as possible walking, gazing and sighing at the beauty as you can.

We spent a week on Orkney and felt that it wasn't long enough to see everything that we wanted to see! We also spent a week not too far from Castle Stalker and hardly covered any miles by car at all.

[Tracieknits]

Thanks everyone! It's a lot to think about. If I can scrape up the cash we might do flight for Inverness to Orkney, which relaxes us a bit. I don't know if we can cut eilean donan without considerable protesting from the offspring, so we will see. (In car with tiny horrid keyboard). I guess we will have to do the rest when BruceE eventually takes me to stay at the witchery

And I'm very much looking forward to wales sometime!

[Tracieknits]

My advice would be don't try and do too much. Think about it like packing-lay it all out and put half of it away. Scotland will still be there next year, and the year after...........

Yes, but airfare is so very expensive!!

@Tracieknits it seems we are travelling in the opposite direction. We will be in that area just before you then heading toward Aberdeen. We can wave as we pass by each other
After reading all the info here we have now decided to do the Harry Potter train. Then we are going to stay in Skye for a couple of days. We were going to drive straight to Aberdeen but thought we might stay somewhere else like Elgin. Any other suggestions from our Scottish friends???

[Tracieknits]

I've read a lot of stuff discouraging the Harry Potter train on Trip Advisor. I guess it's a long ride, and the cool part is over in minutes. There's no Harry Potter theme, it's just an old train that goes over a cool old viaduct. Many people recommend just driving past instead.

We've got a tough decision to make, between Orkney and Skye. But I really want to see the standing stones at Stennis, the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae and stuff like that. http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/standingstones/

But I really love that sort of thing, a lot. So I can't skip Orkney. There are standing stones on the Hebrides (Callanish) but Bracken strongly encouraged Orkney instead. I asked for an expert opinion, so I really out to take it

Thats weird about the train as nearly all the reviews I read on trip advisor raved about it. Well I have booked 2 places for our 5 week trip, only lots to go so back to it!!

[janeg]

*homesick*

Oh@Tracieknits,

Please don't regard my views as expert opinions! I am as partial as anyone else. I simply think that there's much more to see on Orkney and that Orkney is more attrative than Lewis.

About the train from Fort William to Mallaig.....for me the Harry Potter link is insignificant. I first went on that journey about twenty years ago when we were atually on holiday in Arisaig. The scenery is magnificent and, now that they've improved the road, you see more of the scenery from the train; it feels much closer somehow. So, if you have time, I think it is worth doing, especially for the person who usually drives, but there are many things which you would like to see. If your only interest in the train journey is the Harry Potter link, it is probably not worth it. It is all about prioritising.

Lots of the Harry Potter stuff was filmed around Glencoe. Some of the film crew stayed at the Clachaig Inn when my daughter worked there. It is not always easy to recognise the sites they used though, because of all the computer generated bits in the film, and some places are a little out of the way. I think that the landsape speaks for itself, although, having said that, I realise that part of the pull of Glencoe for me is it's history!

I can imagine how difficult it is for you in planning such a short trip, as there is so much to see. Perhaps a potential danger for you is in skimming the surface and not really experiencing anything at all. The main thing I'd suggest is to spend as much time out of the car as possible.

Good luck with it

Bracken

[Tracieknits]

Oh@Tracieknits,

Please don't regard my views as expert opinions! I am as partial as anyone else. I simply think that there's much more to see on Orkney and that Orkney is more attrative than Lewis.

About the train from Fort William to Mallaig.....for me the Harry Potter link is insignificant. I first went on that journey about twenty years ago when we were atually on holiday in Arisaig. The scenery is magnificent and, now that they've improved the road, you see more of the scenery from the train; it feels much closer somehow. So, if you have time, I think it is worth doing, especially for the person who usually drives, but there are many things which you would like to see. If your only interest in the train journey is the Harry Potter link, it is probably not worth it. It is all about prioritising.

Lots of the Harry Potter stuff was filmed around Glencoe. Some of the film crew stayed at the Clachaig Inn when my daughter worked there. It is not always easy to recognise the sites they used though, because of all the computer generated bits in the film, and some places are a little out of the way. I think that the landsape speaks for itself, although, having said that, I realise that part of the pull of Glencoe for me is it's history!

I can imagine how difficult it is for you in planning such a short trip, as there is so much to see. Perhaps a potential danger for you is in skimming the surface and not really experiencing anything at all. The main thing I'd suggest is to spend as much time out of the car as possible.

Good luck with it

Bracken

Yes, that's going to be the hard part - skimming the surface and spending a lot of time in the car. But it seems not matter what plan I choose, it's cutting something fantastic and important. Oh well, I will just have to plan another trip. Or push Bruce to get a job with Scottish Power