need place to picnic on the A9 in scotland going north to inverness and beyond please.

[cylon]

or eat in nice restaurants etc.
tia

that will be perfect for mom then. she loves cashmere. and lambswool. and cardigans

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the a9 was built specifically without services at the request of the wee towns it was by passing which means you do need some local knowledge.

there is a really tough bit just after dalwhinnie (i think) rannoch moor which is just bleak and there is nothing so make sure you stop before.

also alot of the road is single carriageway so watch out for seriously nutty driving.

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there's a FANTASTIC large playpark with picnic benches in Aviemore in the grounds of the MacDonald Highland Resort - you don't have to be a guest to go in and use it either. And yes there are toilets at Ralia. Have a great time.

thank you .
I'm writing all this down in a sort of pre travel journal. all this info will make the journey better.
any ideas on beyond inverness?

sherezade, th elack of services is actually a brilliant idea. i alwasy feel that the services are terrible for local economies in england. people just dont btoher visiting the towns thye are passin by.

you can defo wing it just ask in any cafe, shop, it is like another world, family are all sutherland, in fact was my maiden name, they were all from helmsdale and if you get the chance to go there climb helmsdale hill, apparently they have just put up statue to commemorate the higlnad clearances, timespan in the village ties the whole story together and the gold on display there was donated by my granny cos she owned the caravan site in helmsdale for years and the gold panners used to stay with her, hope you have a wonderful holiday am dead jealous, gonna stay in scotland for hols next year

calordan, we always go to scotland. its the most wonderful place in the world.
well, not always, this is the fourth summer. my parents love it. the kids love it. is fantastic.
but we have never been this far north.
i was really lookin gforward to it. but am quite daunted by the sheer distance.

dont be weve just got back from brittany with three kids, from aberdeenshire, 11 hours this side of france 9 hours on ferry and 3 hours other side, did scotland from hampshire to helmsdale in 5 hours chunks a few years ago and was lovely, i would, have you got somewhere to stay in bonar bridge??

Some nice spots around Dunkeld and Blair Atholl.

Pruners, are you from Aviemore? I am from about 45 mins away!

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Same here! Sad places.

We used to go to the dentist in Grantown

watch out for the speed cameras/traps on the A9, they can be very strict...

feel the same about inverness, beautiful from the outside, but god forbid.

I grew up further along the coast and it wasn't even nice on the outside . Makes me smile when people tell me how beautiful it is up there and how lucky I was to have lived there .

know what you mean, got out when I was seventeen and didnt look back, was gutted when dh wanted to move back to scotland, but loving it from an adult ex pat perspective.

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but then again it made us strive to look for something more, love other parts of scotland just inverness is the black hole to me

(ww - no plans to change back atm...too confusing to have a tassi and a tassis I think...i'd hoped she'd change but she doesn't want to...i'd wondered if she'd stay but it looks like she will...might rename myself at some point, but will stick with this for now)

If you travel over the Cromarty Firth, just after the roundabout is a place called Foulis on the RHS. They have a lovely cafe/restaurant. They also have picnic tables and you get a good view of all the seals bathing on the rocks.

Further along the A9 near Invergordon is Tomich Cafe, also very nice.

When you are in Bonar I've heard that Shin Falls is a great place to go www.fallsofshin.co.uk/falls_of_shin.html

Was planning going soon myself. We live 20 miles north of Inverness.

Have a good holiday, the weather is supposed to be improving

initially i was going t get tesco to deliver. but none of the supermarkets deliver there.
so i was going to buy groceries locally. but the woman who has the key to the house, told me to buy my groceries in inverness before i come.
surely everyone doesnt travel all the way to inverness to get groceries. where do the local people buy there food?

nah there are lots of wee coops and corner shops, but you might want to do a bulk buy at tescos in inverness,
folks do stock up on a monthly shop in inverness, you have to go to brora and have capaldis ice cream

and the la mirage in helmsdalse, UNIQUE restuarant, ex owner often there who is a barbara cartland lookalike (who lived nearby) called nancy sinclair

i have problem with space in the car already. now i havee to worry about groceries...
n=made the mistake of trying to pack this evening with kids around, and teach them about packing.
what an idiotic idea that was.

musst go and start getting ready now.....

i shall go up to her and say, 'my friend calordan.....'