Scotland - would any of you be able to help me?

[ChippingIn]

We are planning a trip to Scotland in July (YAY - but please ask the mossies to stay away!).

2 adults, no children.

The current plan is:

Start in Inverness (3N) - do the Kyle of Lockhalsh train trip (1N Plockton) and have a day in Inverness.

Hire a car.

Drive down to do Loch Ness (well you have to don't you ), Urqhart Castle down to Fort William (3N).

Train out to Malig.

Day around base of Ben Nevis (waterfall walk etc) and Loch Linnhe.

Down to Lochaline a couple of nights on Mull then out to Oban (2N)

Down to Mull of Kintyre (1N) (bit of retro tragic recorder playing )

Over to Loch Lomond (singing You take the High Road...bigger ) (1N)

Glasgow (1N)

Falkirk wheel

Edinburgh (2N)

Can you tell us anything we shouldn't miss on that route (or a little off of it).

How long you think we need (we have allowed 14 days not including the days we arrive or leave). I know we could spend a lot longer but we would actually like to condense it a bit, but not sure where/how?

We would like to stay in at least one, preferably more, proper castles (cheap not expensive) and probably B&B's, budget hotels other than that.

Both more interested in scenery/architecture not so much (or at all really unless completely unmissable) museums, nightclubs or huge hikes.

If anyone can help with planning any aspect of it I' be very grateful :) I'll be back mid morning to see if anyone's made it this far and answer any questions.

(Hope it all makes sense, haven't been to bed yet!)

Even for day trips I think it isn't that great, much better to stay where it is interesting, in small towns/villages... can't really recommend places as I live in Scotland, and usually camp/stay with family.

I would consider a trip to the Black Isle Brewery to sample the Yellowhammer, Blonde and Red Kite if you like beer/ale, those ones are quite light and very good. A good book might help?

Dementedma - Is the pottery still there in Uig? I know the Bakur is now the 'pub on the pier' (meh).

The nights in Inverness ...

We arrive after lunch - so that's one night
We were then going the next day on the train to Kyle (staying in Plockton)
Travelling back the next day after lunch so that's one more night - then the next day getting the rental car - so it was really only two nights in inverness for travelling reasons with the middle night of 3 in Plockton.

Having read all of the comments here I was considering booking one more night so we could go and see the dolphins at Fortrose.

Now it's all back up in the air as you've come up with some great sounding suggestions

I will go and have a look at the books you've linked to - we have read quite a few between us and googled researched quite a bit - but all of your comments are much more valuable!!

Thanks again - keep them coming

Chippingin,
Can I just second whoever suggested reading Scotland the Best by Pete Irvine. It really is THE best guide book for Scotland - it's opinionated, with really helpful descriptions, plus good lists such as 'ten things you must do/see in Scotland before you die' (I still haven't done them all, but helpful to keep them in mind, nonetheless!)

Mull is amazing; Kyle of Lochalsh train journey stunning; I'm quite jealous of your trip, even tho' I live in Scotland!

Thanks Solo - I think I'll be making a pest of myself in Waterstones this week :)

I'm doing some 'research' watching Three Men go to Scotland!

I'n hoping to win the Euromillions before we come!!

Anymore tried & tested accommodation?

... back to Dara....

Mull is my favourite place. We like going over to Ulva - tiny wee island and good tea shop!

Please remember though that most of the roads are single track so it takes a while to get anywhere, mobile signal is patchy and if another car catches you up you should pull over immediately in the next passing place and let them past. Have spent too many holidays going for miles behind stubborn visitors who don't know the roads and won't pull over. That's not too critical for us as tourists but the locals hate it - and locals of course includes doctors, midwives etc.

Loudlass- the pottery is still there.

Goodness this is a long thread I can help with the glasgow advice, will go make a cupa of tea and see what you have been told already!

I am biased as I have Falkirk connections, and if what you want is scenery then you are better sticking to the west coast for longer, but the Falkirk Wheel is a truly amazing piece of engineering, and the suggestion to take a canal trip to Linlithgow Palace is brilliant if you are going that way anyway. Callander House is lovely and Lemetti's fish & chip shop (338 Main St, Camelon) used to be the best chippy, though I haven't been there in 20 years! (make sure you try a scottish chippy pickled onion).

The venue I got married at is another castle come youth hostel which is amazing (all turrets and secret staircases) www.syha.org.uk/hostels/central/loch_lomond.aspx

I can also recommend the Lime Tree Hotel in Fort William - its not budget, but it is independent with a top notch chef and restaurant and when we went there last (2 yrs ago) we got a bargain dinner, B&B price (£70 for 2 of us in total or something like that). Overlooks the loch.

If you need a place to stay while you are going cross-country, you can try The Dunmore Pineapple!

bookings.landmarktrust.org.uk/BuildingDetails/Overview/230/The_Pineapple

Ok so you have already been told Kelvingrove. And the whole tour bus thing. In town you could go to Hamleys if you are interested in it?

You interested in Loch lomond? I can get there in half an hour ish from my house and I am 15min from town, so you could do it in under an hour if you were staying in town.

Would you want to hire a car? Or be trains/busses?

Try watching the Scottish episodes of 'Coast' for research/tips/ideas.

not interested in opera are you?

Do you know you can hire a boat to go up/down the caledonian canal?

Did that for 3 days 20 years ago and was fab!

The grosvenor is still in Ashton Lane, just smaller then it used to be.

If you are really into architecture then stay longer in Glasgow. Personally I prefer it's Victorian buildings to Edinburgh's dour, grey, dreech Georgian/Edwardian ones.

glasgow has some lovely parks, museums and architecture but i'm biased i live here lol. You can go to the cathedral, glasgows oldest house, glasgow green and the peoples palace are all relatively close. Have been to loch lomond loads, balloch is a nice wee town. I'd go for stirling rather than falkirk, the wheel is pretty boring lol. Have a great time, its a gorgeous country with far too much to see and do. Enjoy

Plotting & planning still :)

Giraffes - ~Opera....No thank you

If you are still thinking of going down through Argyll think about a day in Kilmartin Glen - very beautiful, some of the most spectacular archaeology you'll ever see, and a great wee museum to explain it all. And the walking's easy, if you're worried about fitness.

I'm getting all homesick reading this thread...I'm from Fortrose and would deffo recommend the dolphins. We went this year and went on this boat trip from Cromarty:
www.ecoventures.co.uk/
which was expensive but worth every penny. You can miss the dolphins if you're just watching from the beach (and only there for a short time), but the boat trip (it's a really fast Greenpeace type inflatable, the DS's were in their absolute element) offers a much better chance. We had some amazing close-up views and followed the dolphins around for ages.

If you're into boat trips in general there are also some lovely ones from Ullapool around the Summer Isles (lots of seals and possible whales)

And just to throw a spanner into your works: Orkney.

Oh spooktrain - I am from Cromarty.

OhBugger - that looks lovely - will definitely try to find the time to do that too!

Not really worried about fitness as such - but Ben Nevis is quite a hike that I think is probably a bit much - but it's mainly not wanting to book out 3-4 days to be sure to get a good enough day to do it and people have said it's good but not great and it's wiped them out for a day or two after as well...

GentleOtter - are you very far from Cromarty now? I am in Italy, too far....

I wish we had longer without jeopardising part two of the trip :( I want to see everything!!

Does anyone know if it's possible to see the 'hightlights' of Skye in a day if we do some kind of tour?

I'm thinking that we can maybe squeeze it in if we do it as a day trip from Kyle.

We have talked about it and I think we both really want to do both of the rail trips (Inverness to Kyle & Fort William to Mallaig) as both of them look great rail trips. We don't really have the time to drive back out to Skye - but I was thinking we could stay on Skye one night and return on the train from Kyle the next day?

I know it wont do Skye justice and we should spend longer there, but if we do that - what do we cut out?? :( or can we catch the highlights in a day??

Any thoughts?

Spooktrain - that all sounds great too! (Sorry I missed your message before - I'd started posting to OhBugger and got distracted so posted it much later than I started it and yours wasn't there at the time.) Orkney was one of the places we really wanted to go to, but it's a good distance from everywhere else so quite expensive... I do hope to get there another time though.

I can see myself coming back again quite soon! Sadly, I think for this trip we are going to have to pass on Fortrose and anything above Inverness - we just can't stretch any further :(

If you are on Mull go to Dervaig and Calgary.

Orm - OK will be sure to put those on the Mull itin :)

Re Skye - I was thinking it would be easiest to spend a little time there from Kyle which would mean doing a tour as we wouldn't have the car - but instead we could do it from Fort Augustus with the car - which would give us a bit more flexibility - what do you think??

Dervaig and Calgary are on the North-west of the island and Iona is right at the south. Don't try and do the whole lot in one day - it's just too much. If you can take your time you can take the Gruline road round the coast and then along past Ulva and Treshnish point. AMAZING views!