Driving tour in Scotland - tips

[jollyhollyday]

Hi
We are flying to Glasgow next week, hiring a car and travelling through Loch Lomand to Oban, Fort William, Loch Ness, Inverness and Perth
I have Ds13 and DD6.
Any tips on what not to miss, landscapes, roads and days out, places to visit. Places to eat would be so greatly appreciated
Thank you

You must go and see The Kelpies.

Hi we literally just got back from doing the above today! Kayaking on Loch Lomond was a hit, the Jacobite railway is also good if you can get tickets (goes from fort William) but take stuff to do on the train. Loch Ness has a visitor centre but we didn’t bother-all these places are busy at mo-Lomond less than ness. Depends what kids are into-there is urquart castle on ness and Eilean Donan Castle near Kyle of lochalsh (bridge to Skye). Didn’t do much in Inverness other than explore Loch Ness but the centre looked nice. Enjoy and take midge nets and spray if you’re planning on leaving the car! Some areas are really bad with them at the moment. I heard some of the boat trips are worth it, to see puffins/seals etc.. but this was on Lewes and harris/Skye. Have fun!

I would be keeping an eye out for Jamie Fraser .

If you have the chance to go between Inverness and Perth along the coast via Forres/Elgin and Aviemore rather than straight down to Aviemore then I can thoroughly recommend enjoying some stunning natural coastline along that A96 route.
Firstly, between Nairn and Forres on the A96 is Brodie Countryfare. A hugely unexpected ‘posh’ department type store selling really lovely homeware, clothing, toys and deli food with a bright and airy (and very popular) cafe.
Further along and north of the main A96 main road Roseisle country park finds you at a beautiful long stretch of sandy beach, bordered by a pine forest with a playground and bbq’s for use. For a real adventure and to feel like you’ve found a secret beach cove (which does require about a twenty minute walk down a coastal track) zoom in on google maps on the coastline between Hopeman and just west of Lossiemouth and Elgin and look for Cove Bay. You park up a gravel track and walk up the rest of the track until you reach the coastal track leading down to the left. It is a truly stunning cove beach surrounded by cliffs and caves and if you’re lucky you can often get it all to yourself!

I also love nearby Duffus castle. It’s only worth a quick stop off but it’s free to walk up to and around and the view and open sky feeling from the top of the small hill it sits on makes me feel at peace with the world

Wow thank you. Some great suggestions, I'll look them up and make notes.
And I'll be buying midge spray too then!!!