Scotland trip

[RLD4ISU]

I'm planning trip to Scotland next year in September. We'll be there 14 days. So far we have reservations at a B&B in Pitlochry and plan to get tickets to the Braemar Gathering. We also have reservations for a one day group tour of a few Outlander filming locations. Edinburgh and Inverness are two areas we will definitely travel to and stay in or near.

Any other suggestions for where to stay, what to go see or what is not worth it? Experiences you've had? Suggested coats/shoes? For some reason people seem to really focus on that, but IMO it seems like a good waterproof jacket is needed.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I've never been there, but if I was going, it would be castles, castles and more castles.

 

[RLD4ISU]

I've never been there, but if I was going, it would be castles, castles and more castles.

LOL. We've got quite a few of those on the "want to see" list. Along with pubs and whisky.

It started out as a trip to England-Scotland-Ireland, then I realized how insane it would be to visit all three in 14 days. We cut out England and then realized it would still be a crazy always-on-the-go trip. Now it's just Scotland and I already know we won't be able to see it all.

 

[mdk2isu]

Golf St. Andrews.

 

[Cyismymonkey]

Have friends who rave about Edinburgh. On my list.

 

[CycloneWanderer]

I did some work in a facility right outside Edinburgh. If you are looking for a place within easy reach of the city and like bridges, my suggestion would be staying in South Queensferry. You'll be there shortly after the fringe festival and military tattoo wrap up so it should be a little less crowded in terms of tourists. I definitely recommend spending some time walking the city and seeing some of the old cathedrals and monuments (not to mention Edinburgh castle).

If you like a bit of hiking, you can get up to Callander pretty easily for a day trip from Edinburgh. I did the Bracklinn Falls Circuit which was about 3.5 miles and while it had a decently challenging section or two it was pretty accessible. I can post some pictures if you'd like.

 

[Clonefan94]

I've never been there, but if I was going, it would be castles, castles and more castles.

And distilleries.

 

[cowgirl836]

You're talking my type of trip - I have SO MANY recs! I need to hop on a meeting but share interests (history? hiking? art? food? golf? whisky?), food likes - 14 days may be enough to do a bit in the north of England like the Lake District which we drove through and is amazing. Glencoe is a must, IMO.

We were there in mid-May (twice for me) and I've done everything from shorts and t-shirts to sweaters and two coats.

 

[cowgirl836]

and do you already have flights in and out booked, and where.

 

[Cfinnerty16]

When I was in Edinburgh I felt like I could've spent 4 days in that city and not even see everything I wanted to. (Only spent 2 days there as most of my vacation was in Ireland.)

If its nice out, hiking Arthur's Seat is a must. (Big Hill that overlooks all of Edinburgh).

Cafe Milk is a great place to grab breakfast at too.

 

[inCyteful]

Scotland is our favorite place to travel, going back again this July/August. Lots of ideas here - check out what you think might work

If you are into Scotch, hit Aberfeldy distillery. Not my favorite scotch, it is good - most of their scotch goes to the Dewars blends - but the distillery tour is outstanding and close to Pitlochry - which you are gong to love.

Also, on the way to Aberfeldy is one of the worlds best chocolate makers - Ian Burnett - I don't seek out chocolate but it is incredible stuff.

If you are into it, pretty nice rafting on the Riv er Tay (runs through Pitlochry) that time of year- Splash Whitewater Rafting out of Aberfeldy.

Scotch tasting is everywhere - it is a religious experience for me. If you want another unique one - one of the last independent scotch distillers - checkout Edradour just outside Pitlochry - Scotch is good, maybe very good but the tour/tasting is much more personal and intimate than the other distillers that are owned by the conglomerates.

Highland Safaris and Red Deer Center - they have these old military vehicles you take up into the highland for viewing wildlife - red deer and grouse are the main targets - but the best part is the drivers. Last time we went it was a nasty day - 50 degrees, horizontal rain. So he took us to this little hunting cabin and we drank whiskey and hot chocolate most of the morning listening to his tall tales.

Edinburgh - MUST do the castle and allow the entire day. War memorial there is amazing. If you want good eats, get to Rose Street. A yacht formerly belonging to the royals is docked at the harbor - Britannia - great tour and good food in that area. You'll hit Royal Mile - it is good, eats and drinks and shops everywhere. Really good city to use Hop On/Hop Off bus pass for a day or two, don't have to wait long and gets to all the major spots.

Have fun, hope you enjoy it half as much as we do!

 

[dmclone]

Heading to Scotland tomorrow. Here is a high level of what we have planned

Fly to Inverness-After a little research, it made most sense to fly into Inverness and home from Edinburgh.

1. Day 2 Inverness-Pick up car and spend morning driving around area. Afternoon check out Inverness
2. Day 3 Drive to Isle of Skye-About a 3 hour drive. Have a few places to stop along the way. Fairy Pools, Neist Point, Denvegan Castle, etc. Drive to BNB
3. Day 4 Isle of Skye-Typical stuff. Quiraing walk, storr, portree, etc.
4. Day 5 -Drive to Fort Williams/Glencoe(2 hours)-Explore things on the way like Eilean Donan castle. Drive to BNB
5. Day 6 -A82 drive. Spend the day making this loop. If you've seen the 007 movie skyfall, there were a bunch of shots from there.
6. Day 7-Drive to Edinburgh(2 hours) and drop off car. Have a few places along the way like Stirling castle and the William Wallace monument
7. Day 8 Edinburgh -We have few planned things like Royal Yacht Britannica, Edinburgh Castle, etc
8. Day 9 Edinburgh-We have a lot of old bars on our list to visit

 

[cowgirl836]

Recs are from our trip in 2017 and we went in mid-May to early June. It was split between Scotland and England. Weather in September might be a touch cooler. Could be new restaurants/places to stay but did try to do a quick peruse and see if they look roughly same quality.



In general, the tripadvisor forums were very helpful to us along with Fodor. I’d bet Reddit could be helpful now as well.

Internet also told us to stay at a place 3 nights at a time which in general is good advice. We were there for 17 nights and most stays were 3 nights. Snuck a couple of two nights in there.

Our interests were history, hiking, nature, and food.

We tended to stay at B&Bs because it got us breakfast right away and Scottish breakfast is so delicious and the owners are all amazing and give you so many tips, help, just fun to chat with.

Edinburgh - recommend you take bus/walk. Having a car will be $$ and difficult. Honestly it’s so fun to walk because everything is so old and beautiful. Try not to overschedule but plan maybe 1 big thing per day or two medium things. For us, about every 3rd day needed to be lower activity or easier travel to get a bit of recoup in there. Trains are also popular and we used that more in London but definitely an option between major cities in Scotland.

We flew into Edinburgh. Have to stay awake when you get there so we explored near the Castle. My spreadsheet says it was Walkway of Lieth and Dean Village. So peaceful and beautiful underneath the castle. Again, late spring so we had lots of stuff blooming.

The next day was all the Castle and then walking down the Royal Mile. Both times there I’ve bought this Edinburgh sweater from a souvenir shop and they just last so long and are so comfy! Much of the Castle tour is outdoors so keep in mind for weather purposes.

Third day we went up to the Observatory and then over to hike Salisbury Craig/King Arthur’s Seat to Holyrood. Even if you aren’t a hiker, the Craig is worth it. View is just amazing. As we were coming down, we could hear bagpipes and it was the most Scottish feeling, lol. Turns out Holyrood was having an event with Royals a day or two later so we actually got to watch their band – Idk what they are actually called – do a practice performance in full regalia. That isn’t really something you can plan but damn if that wasn’t a highlight for me.

Food – everywhere we ate was fine but nothing super memorable 6 years out so I’d just look at what’s popular now. You’ll want to check if they are open on the day you want to go and try to get reservations.

We stayed at the Froach House and really liked it. We generally took the bus into town.

We rented a car on our way out of town – the cars are tiny so keep that in mind. We headed to Glencoe next and stopped at Stirling Castle on the way. It was a good stopping point but I’d not probably go back. Edinburgh is kinda peak castle and I found I just wasn’t as interested in Stirling. So I wouldn’t make it a point to stop there but it was on our route to Glencoe.

Glencoe – on our way in we drove down this little gravel road to a loch – I’ll find the name of the mountain there where you turn in - Buachaille Etive Mòr – it’s part of where Skyfall (James Bond) was filmed and we saw deer, not many people – single lane road and so pretty. The whole A82 drive is amazing.

We stayed at Craiglinnhe Guest House and if I could move there I would. I adored that little place so much. Best breakfast, views of Loch Leven and the Pap. They had a beautiful lounge area with an honor system bunch of whisky bottles for you to try.

2nd day was hiking at the Three sisters – loved it so much! Think ours was the Lost Valley hike – pretty popular. We stopped at the top of the valley but some people go down in to camp. And they told us during whatever feud that clans would drive cattle up into that valley to hide them. I’ve no earthly idea how they got cattle up there. Because I did find that their hikes felt very dangerous to what I was used to but so beautiful. It was drizzling/raining for most of that hike but we loved it. The fog and clouds felt very moody Scottish. We had plans to explore the town after but we ended up going back to the B&B to nap. Next day we visited the Glencoe historical building or something, kinda meh. Explored the town a bit because it was drizzly. Then later in the afternoon hiked most of the Pap but had to get back for reservations.

The best food of the entire trip was our meal at Lochleven Seafood Café. They had these shrimp type things called langoustines. So good. You definitely need to book in advance if you go for dinner. They actually lost our reservation and tried to turn us away but I had the email confirmation from an actual employee, not a system so we got a kind janky seating spot but they comped most of the meal so it worked out, lol. Definitely get the langoustines, spouse got some kind of mussels and an amazing sticky toffee pudding.

Try Cullen skink somewhere too, very tasty.

Our last day there we went into Oban to sight see and then back up to the Ben Nevis/Glen Nevis area. We didn’t have time for hiking but it was another gorgeous area. If we went back I’d want to do more hiking in that area. In Oban we did tour the Distillery and that was cool.

We went down to Loch Lomond area for two days – hiked to an overlook of Loch Katrine (very lovely), did boat tours of that one and Loch Lomond (I’d do just one probably). And hiked Beinn Dubh were we started with our coats stripped off in sunshine and getting sweaty and ended at the top in a gusty snowstorm. Actually have very few pics from the summit because it got so nasty and I thought we’d turn into those dumb tourists who die on hikes so I was booking it back down. Lodging and food were fine but forgettable, no recs there. This area was fun to see but a bit underwhelming after Glencoe. I’d skip if we went back because I want to get to Skye.

Next day we drove down through Glasgow, stopped at Greenwich Green and drove through the Lake District. I’d love to spend more time there, it was gorgeous. Glasgow is big on art if that's your thing!


Because I’m impatient and not waiting for your response – looking at your map I think I’d try to make a circle. Fly into Edinburgh and make your way up through Pitlochry to Inverness, then come down the west side and go to Skye for several days, Glencoe, and then either back to Edinburgh to fly out – could fly out of Glasgow as well. If you have enough time, I’d try to get down to the Lake District, fly out of Manchester. Or reverse your circle pending where the Games fit within your 14 days.

 

[cowgirl836]

Gear - you really will see everything and going all the way to Inverness you'll want to be covered. We got Merrell waterproof hiking shoes for this trip and A+ recommend if you are going out hiking. We actually used a ton afterward as well. Mine finally have holes so I need to find replacements.

Layers are your friend as with most outdoor stuff. Wool socks, windproof/water resistant pants - I had a Prana pair I still love and then if it were going to be extra cold I'd put leggings underneath. Wicking baselayer, quarter zips, hoodies and then an outerlayer that is water resistant/rain coat. Umbrellas are kinda pointless imo because it was often windy. We had Osprey backpacks we took on hikes with us and then a lightweight packable one - Outlander brand actually - for stuff like the castle. Had collapsible water bottles too to help save on weight.

 

[inCyteful]

Heading to Scotland tomorrow. Here is a high level of what we have planned

Fly to Inverness-After a little research, it made most sense to fly into Inverness and home from Edinburgh.

1. Day 2 Inverness-Pick up car and spend morning driving around area. Afternoon check out Inverness
2. Day 3 Drive to Isle of Skye-About a 3 hour drive. Have a few places to stop along the way. Fairy Pools, Neist Point, Denvegan Castle, etc. Drive to BNB
3. Day 4 Isle of Skye-Typical stuff. Quiraing walk, storr, portree, etc.
4. Day 5 -Drive to Fort Williams/Glencoe(2 hours)-Explore things on the way like Eilean Donan castle. Drive to BNB
5. Day 6 -A82 drive. Spend the day making this loop. If you've seen the 007 movie skyfall, there were a bunch of shots from there.
6. Day 7-Drive to Edinburgh(2 hours) and drop off car. Have a few places along the way like Stirling castle and the William Wallace monument
7. Day 8 Edinburgh -We have few planned things like Royal Yacht Britannica, Edinburgh Castle, etc
8. Day 9 Edinburgh-We have a lot of old bars on our list to visit

If you have time and want to drop the $$$ - Three Chimney's restaurant on Isle of Skye is incredible. Maybe the best food I have ever had.

 

[Bader]

We traveled from Edinburgh to Inverness, much preferred the area around Inverness but it's all incredible. Edinburgh highlights:

• Edinburgh Castle. The park at the base of the hill also hosts a lot of festivals and gatherings, the fountain was being repaired when we were there but it's quite the sight when running.
• Holyroodhouse. The monarch's official residence in Scotland, long history of Kings and Queens living here
• Greyfriar's Kirkyard (and Greyfriar's Bobby!). Graveyard where Tom Riddle is buried.

Inverness:

• Colluden Battlefield
• Loch Ness - Urquhart Castle
• Bike route along canals in Inverness
• Distilleries if you like scotch

All the fish and chips. Enjoy your trip!

 

[RLD4ISU]

@cowgirl836

History, maybe check out areas our ancestors came from, food, whisky, some hiking - though just the easier stuff for now & hopefully by then we'll be able to do more.

Planning to leave from MSP on August 31, 2024, arrive in Edinburgh September 1. Returning September 15th. Unable to book flights yet since we're more than a year out.

Right now I've got our schedule:
Day 1 (arrival day) - Day 4, Edinburgh - planning to stay on the Royal Mile
Day 5 - travel to Pitlochry, stay at a B&B (already booked)
Day 6 & 7 - Pitlochry, Day 7 attend Braemar Gathering
Day 8 - travel to Inverness
Day 9 -11 Inverness and unsure where
Day 12 - Outlander group tour
Day 13 - near Glasgow or Stirling
Day 14 - travel back to Edinburgh
Day 15 - Leave for US

Definitely planning to go to:
Braemar Gathering
Culloden
Clava Cairns
Old Pack Horse Bridge
Tulloch Castle
Dingwall
Loch Ness
too many things in Edinburgh to add to the list.

 

[NickTheGreat]

This is a bucket list trip for me. My surname comes from Scottish/Northern Ireland roots, and it's been traced back to the mid 1600's, so I'd like to see that area at least once.

I think once I sell my $100MM idea (that I've yet to come up with) I may just spend a couple months/years checking out all the Islay Distilleries. I have bought many bottles of Laphroig, so I have a few square meters of land with my name on them that I also want to see

 

[dmclone]

If you have time and want to drop the $$$ - Three Chimney's restaurant on Isle of Skye is incredible. Maybe the best food I have ever had.

Dang, I should have asked a few months ago. We have reservations at a couple of places nearby. The amount of top notch restaurants is impressive.

 

[dmclone]

@cowgirl836

History, maybe check out areas our ancestors came from, food, whisky, some hiking - though just the easier stuff for now & hopefully by then we'll be able to do more.

Planning to leave from MSP on August 31, 2024, arrive in Edinburgh September 1. Returning September 15th. Unable to book flights yet since we're more than a year out.

Right now I've got our schedule:
Day 1 (arrival day) - Day 4, Edinburgh - planning to stay on the Royal Mile
Day 5 - travel to Pitlochry, stay at a B&B (already booked)
Day 6 & 7 - Pitlochry, Day 7 attend Braemar Gathering
Day 8 - travel to Inverness
Day 9 -11 Inverness and unsure where
Day 12 - Outlander group tour
Day 13 - near Glasgow or Stirling
Day 14 - travel back to Edinburgh
Day 15 - Leave for US

Definitely planning to go to:
Braemar Gathering
Culloden
Clava Cairns
Old Pack Horse Bridge
Tulloch Castle
Dingwall
Loch Ness
too many things in Edinburgh to add to the list.

Consider flying into Inverness. We looked at all the options and they all went through LHR and the flight to Inverness was similar in price and allowed us to not backtrack.