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Wife & I have decided to holiday in Scotland in the summer, before we need to take our passports.
It will be a driving trip in essence so as well as nice places to stay, nice car journeys are a must. Any ideas or experience?
Edinburgh will be on the list of destinations though on the whole we're more interested in rural locations. Thanks for any suggestions.
Gleneagles. We’ve booked for mid July. And a Rolex shop in the hotel. Fantastic place with multitude of restaurants and 850 acres of grounds and activities
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My personal favourite stretch of road is between Loch Lomond and Inverness , then beyond into Skye.
After this there’s the North Coast 500 which deserves a thread to itself .
Per theGoat above, Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Mallaig, ferry to Skye, The Cuillin mountains, Skye bridge back and the A87 back down through Glen Garry and Loch Lomond. 4 leisurely days through the highlands full of the best scenery the UK has to offer.
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Originally Posted by thegoat
Agreed , we stayed in Ullapool on the West coast for a week 2 years ago and did several drives Noth of there and the scenery is just breathtaking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Halitosis
Arduaine Gardens, south of Oban is nice. Surprising flora so close to the Atlantic!
The North West 500, preferably starting at Inverness and making your way round anti clockwise ending in Skye which is the jewel in Scotlands crown. Absolutely breathtaking trip. Stay in Edinburgh on the way up/down.
For those that may have done this starting in the South East, where is a good place to stop and stay on the way up? Push through and get to Edinburgh as suggested previously or do something else?
I've done this once and I did South West London to Ambleside (Lake District) on day one, spent a day climbing with a friend on day two (insert activity to suit) and then continued on to Achnasheen on day 3 (via Inverness to pick up another friend). That's roughly two 7 hour halves. Pottered around climbing various places for a week, then on the way back I did Fort William to Tooting Broadway in one hit, stopping only to refuel my Suzuki Jimny and it was not pleasant.Quote:
Originally Posted by bambam
The always overlooked east coast is worth a look as well.
Plenty beautiful places to go including the East Neuk in Fife and into Dundee - both easily accessible from an Edinburgh base.
I did the south coast to Jedburgh two up on a motorbike in one day. Jedburgh is just across the Scottish border.Quote:
Originally Posted by bambam
Start with the Spey valley: The Macallan, Glenfiddich,
The Lowlands: Glenkinchie, Auchentoshan,
The Highland, Highland Park, Old Pulteney, and of course Skye (Talisker)
Then off to Islay where you may need to hire a dedicated driver: Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardberg, Bowmore...
I did Peterborough to (just north of) Inverness in one day. Took all day, but then lets you hit the NC500 in earnest. We stopped in Edinburgh on the way back. The trip was as follows:Quote:
Originally Posted by bambam
Peterbrough > Inverness, Inverness > Bower (John O Groats), Bower > Kinlochbervie, Kinlochbervie > Ullapool, Ullapool > Applecross, Applecross > Fortwilliam, Fortwilliam > Edinburgh, Edinburgh > Home.
We did a bit from the Grand Tours P.E.N.I.S. 287 route between Kinlochbervie and Ullapool but honestly preferred sticking on the main route. It was practically empty of traffic when we did it and the conditions were brilliant (got lucky I know). Was supposed to be going again next week, but that's now been moved to October. We're spending less time on the NC500 and doing a couple of nights on Skye this time, and then ditching the night in Edinburgh for another night around Glencoe.
Fuel was actually quite reasonable up there which surprised me, although the food was quite expensive (more so than the rooms in some places). I'd make a point of stopping in Applecross for some food (or the night), really lovely place and one of my highlights.
In terms of places to stop I enjoyed a walk to see the Falls of Measach, Smoo Cave was worth the stop, also found the Atlantic Convoy memorial pretty spectacular/bleak. Dunnet Head was also worth the slight deviation off the main route.
Happy to go into more detail over PM if anyone wants.
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If you plan to use any of the ferries for the islands (Mull etc) make sure to check whether you need to book in advance...we didn’t and one of them was full and it resulted in a long and slow detour to get to another crossing (that did not take bookings) to reach our booked accommodation!
And depending on when you are there and where you go beware the midges, I’d recommend one of those hats with a net and keeping arms, legs and hands covered, because if you react to their bites it is jolly uncomfortable.
Scotland will be very busy if still no flights out so make sure and book hotels,B&Bs and ferry's
Normally a lot of these routes are chocca with continental campervans and roads are a nightmare.
If you want brilliant scenery and much quieter head down to The Mull Of Kintyre-Tarbert,Campbeltown,Carradale and head across to Gigha and Islay by Ferry.
Great roads ,scenery,golf,surfing and whisky.
Start early and push through. I'm in Essex and have driven up to beyond Inverness on a few occasions, the last time I drove up into Scotland I stopped over in Tarbert on the Kintyre Peninsula ready to catch the ferry to Islay the next day. Plan your route beforehand, start early, don't clock watch, stop when you feel the need and treat it as part of the getaway.Quote:
Originally Posted by bambam
OP - If you're a whisky drinker then Islay is worth it, if you're not then there are plenty of other places to visit that don't require a ferry. I've never driven around the east however I have driven pretty much the rest of it, keep in mind that distances as the crow flies can be much shorter than many of the roads that wriggle their way across the landscape i.e. allow plenty of time to get around. Glencoe is glorious (drive from east to west on the A82 rather than west to east) Applecross via the Bealach Na Ba is stunning, Ullapool and further north the same.
Book in advance if you're going in the summer, take a camera and don't forget decent insect repellent if you're staying over on the shores of a loch! If you're on a single track road don't forget that the passing points (usually very frequent) aren't just there to allow opposite flows of traffic but for faster vehicles to overtake as well.
Really appreciate all the replies, thanks very much. Lots of useful info.
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobc
Inverness. John O’Groats. Ullapool. Skye all good places to stay.
Speyside, Tamdhu, Cardhu. As a pair.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint-Just
Highland Park a bit of a stretch from the Highlands, need another ferry for that, nice choice though. Mmmm.
I live in Epping and have the family croft on Skye so I do this trip a lot. I stay in the Premier Inn in Glasgow - Pacific Key.Quote:
Originally Posted by bambam
That first drive is simply to get to Glasgow as quick as possible, the next day we chill out going up Loch Lomond side and the A82 stopping off wherever we fancy.
Edinburgh is a nicer city that Glasgow if you want to do urban sightseeing, but if you want nature then west is best.
I mean this as nicely as possible - don't bring your bear pit persona, it won't go down well in the Highlands.Quote:
Originally Posted by monogroover
We drove from South of London up M1 the cut to A1 much less busy via Lake District (no stop over) then on to Edinburgh for couple nights. Then onto Fort William on the west coast. Stayed there as a base for a few nights and travelled out from there. When on steam train at Glenfinnan which was fun and also lots of hiking. Generally west coast is a super place to visit and see stunning scenery. Then back down - stopped at York to break the journey home. (There are some distilleries available if you like that sort of thing. We tried Isle of Mull but the weather was against us.)
Stop in the Lakes, anywhere but avoid the tourist traps, Windermere especially. Borrowdale is beautiful.Quote:
Originally Posted by bambam
Martyn at Lancaster.
Something I’ve always wanted to do, and now foreign travel isn’t looking so appealing I think I’m going to definitely look into it.
If only I didn’t have over 2k tied up with Easy Jet and so chance of a refund😡
Maybe use it for a couple of city breaks in the future.
Cheers,
Rob