Help me plan our Scottish road trip!!

[susannahmoodie]

Thinking already about next years holiday.

We are thinking of hiring a motor home and doing a Scottish road trip but need some help planning.

Travelling from NE England.


Initial plan is for 2 weeks. Want to include:

Edinburgh festival -prob only one day.

Kelpies

Falkirk wheel

Blair Drummond safari park

Gordon castle in Fochabers

Trip to see my bro in Rogart

Possibly stay with friends in Oban.

Are there Scottish gems we shouldn't Miss out on on the way?

We have already done:

Dumfries and Galloway
Shetland
Uist
Skye
Mull

So not fussed about islands, although I do like the sound of Arran and Tiree.

Also very familiar with most of the cities so don't mind missing them out either.

Have 2boys aged 5 and 3 by then.

Can anyone suggest must see locations/ possible itinerary and also possible sites??

[ginmakesitallok]

East neuk of Fife is beautiful, Anstruther for fish and chips, Crail for fresh lobster at the harbour.

[DonkeyOaty]

Green Welly for Cullen Skink at Tyndrum

[harrasseddotcom]

what about the north coast 500 route? its be named in the top 6 scenic routes in the world. article about it here with a map showing the route. sorry its daily mail but thats where i remember reading about it.

[harrasseddotcom]

Scotland's answer to America's Route 66 has been named among the top six road coastal road trips in the world - after only being officially launched two months ago.
North Coast 500 - to be known as NC500 - aims to open up a fresh tourist market in the far north in a journey along the region's coastlines.
The venture is the brainchild of the North Highland Initiative (NHI), set up by Prince Charles to showcase the area, and is targeting car and motorbike enthusiasts, as well as cyclists and walkers wanting to take in some of the most scenic parts of the country.
The 500-mile Scottish route - whose website only went live in June - links natural heritage and scenery, celebrates local food and drink and highlights accommodation, retail, arts, crafts and attractions of the region.
The stunning route runs from Inverness, to the Kyle of Lochalsh on the West Coast, via the rugged north coast to John O'Groats, before heading down the east coast, completing the loop in Inverness.
Unmissable sights along the road include mountain ranges, Ben Hope and Suilven, the fairytale grand castle, Dunrobin, the Ardvreck castle ruins and the breathtaking Achmelvich and Dornoch beaches.
The route can be completed in a long weekend, or over several weeks on a more leisurely schedule and can be explored as a loop or in part

thats the blurb if you dont wanna click on a dm article.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Blair Drummond is grim - give it a miss. Highland Wildlife Park is far nicer if you like that sort of thing (though might be a bit out of the way)

[susannahmoodie]

Oh really? My friend recommended it. Where is highland one?

[SenecaFalls]

I highly recommend the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore.

[AtiaoftheJulii]

Rosemarkie for dolphins?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Between Aviemore and Kingussie so very far north (although it is awesome up there with lots to do).

I'm a vegan BTW so have a particularly low tolerance for places like Blair Drummond.

[AtiaoftheJulii]

Well, Chanonry Point; Rosemarkie is the campsite location.

[harrasseddotcom]

muddy boots in fife is also fun for small (and large) children and has a lovely farm shop and cafe.

[TondelayaDellaVentamiglia]

I always say this, and I presume you are familiar with the roads, but pretty much north of Aberdeen and west of the A9 the roads are shot to shit

so, what looks like it will take a leisurely afternoon driving, arriving in time for a fish supper in a cute coastal village actually results in you arriving 11 .35 AT NIGHT starving hungry since you passed up the chance to buy a sticky bun twelve hours before, and it's half day closing.

Kelpies are amazing, Falkirk wheel... glad I've seen it, but wouldn't go again, with a 3 and 5 year old I'd give Edin festival the widest berth

East coast is full of gorgeous beaches, from fife upwards

We recently went to Gigha, just so beautiful and great fun to get the ferry

When the children were small we had a few holidays round and about The Black Isle and Inverness, always seemed to be loads to do

[Highlandbird]

Someone suggested green welly above, I live near there and it really is just a service station.....I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to visit!
If you're going Rogart to Oban I would break it up with a stay in aviemore area. Highland wildlife park much nicer than blair Drummond, and highland folk museum in Newtonmore is fab (and free!) and landmark in carrbridge isn't too far away either. Loads to do with kids in that area, then aviemore to Oban is do-able in one drive.
I know this area fairly well if you have any questions by the way!

[Highlandbird]

Oh yes and agree that the kelpies are fantastic, I have two DC similar age and they loved it, there's also an enormous play park there.

[PacificDogwood]

You MUST see the northwest coast - spectacular.

Gigha is lovely, albeit very small.
Islay provided us with the best camping some summers ago, ever
Loch Ness and the Nessie Experience might be something for your boys?
Or a boat on the Great Glen or Crinan Canal (my favourite bit in Scotland).

I loved the Kelpies, my boys were totally underwhelmed btw.

[BikeRunSki]

The Silver Sands of Morrah on the West coast N of Fort William is one of our favorite beaches, and well worth a visit if you are in that direction.

[gregthepeg]

If you go to Gordon Castle you could pop to the Dolphin centre in Spey Bay, it's 5 minutes along the road.
Also go to Baxters Visitors Centre for Pancakes.
You would only be about 1 hr away from the Highland Wildlife Park from there too

[DonkeyOaty]

Yes Green Welly is a glorified service station but their Cullen Skink is lush. And they are proposing a Road Trip so a stop at a service station not an outlandish suggestion.

Ho hum.

[susannahmoodie]

So many great suggestions!! Thank you!

[Highlandbird]

Fair enough DonkeyOaty, I concur the Cullen skink is worth stopping for if you're going past sorry am having a grouchy day didn't mean to dismiss other's suggestions.

[BoGrainger]

On the way to Arran, near Ayr I think, drive through Electric Brae. Minutes of fun! My family loved it, we turned round and did it a few times laughing hysterically. (We don't get out much )
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Brae

[SenecaFalls]

OP, we have twice used these folks for planning driving trips in Scotland. They charge a fee, but it is reasonable and well worth it.

www.secret-scotland.com/

[Northernlurker]

We were in the East Neuk today - gorgeous.

I second the Green Welly stop if you're passing anyway. Excellent breakfast stop. We stop every year on our way to Mull. Fab bacon rolls!

[susannahmoodie]

Do you think we could also incorporate the Harry Potter train?

[BlueThursday]

Is ballamoray still on? A ferry trip over to Mull maybe from Oban?

It's been a long time since I've been at the Sea Life Centre, is it worth visiting?