Expert: Willie Wallace - 7/14/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Willie
We are planning on a 8 - 9 day trip to Scotland arriving on the morning of Aug 15 and leaving tentatively on Aug 23. We may spend the weekend in London, not decided as yet
We have a itinerary suggested to us. Would you please go through it and let me have your views.
We are 4 adults and a toddler (one a 5 month pregnant woman). We plan to do a road trip and do want to do a relaxed trip and try to soak in a city rather than dash from place to place.
DAY 1

Arrive Edinburgh, check into hotel

Shopping/free time

Overnight in Edinburgh
DAY 2

Edinburgh Castle/Royal Mile/Royal Yacht Britannia

Drive to St Andrews, via the picturesque Fife fishing villages of Pittenweem, Anstruther & Crail

Overnight in St Andrews

102 kms - about 2 hours 11 minutes

DAY 3

Morning in St Andrews – tour/golf/cathedral

Lunchtime drive to Aberdeen via Dundee and the coast road

Remainder of afternoon in Aberdeen – Aberdeen Maritime Museum/St Machar's Cathedral/Dean's of Huntly Shortbread Visitor Centre

Overnight in Aberdeen

129 km – about 2 hours 17 mins
DAY 4

Castle trail/Whisky trail & gardens

Drive the Speyside Way where all the distilleries are

Overnight in Inverness

198 km – about 3 hours 24 mins

DAY 5

Drive down the banks of Loch Ness

Cross Skye Bridge

Remainder of day on Isle of Skye – Dunvegan Castle/Talisker Distillery

Overnight on Skye

183 km – about 2 hours 40 mins
DAY 6

Morning on Skye –
Head to Armadale for ferry crossing to Mallaig

Possible cruise in afternoon

Overnight around Glenfinnan

117 km – about 2 hours 12 mins
DAY 7

Take the A830 'Road to the Isles', stopping for fantastic photo opportunities at the Glenfinnan Viaduct (made famous in the Harry Potter films as part of the Hogwart's Express route!) and Glenfinnan Tower.

Enjoy the scenery!

Just North of Loch Linnhe, stop at Neptune's Staircase, a staircase lock comprising eight locks on the Caledonian Canal. It is the longest staircase lock in the United Kingdom, and lifts boats 64 feet (19.5 metres).

Overnight around Fort William

27.3 km – about 24 mins
DAY 8 –

Drive south from Fort William to Edinburgh via Stirling.

214 km – about 3 hours 9 mins
My gut tells me that this seems too much of dashing around, so would appreciate your thoughts. Also how sensible is it to make a base out of say Inverness and Edinburgh and do day trips instead?
Thanks in advance
Regards

ANSWER: Hi Pallavi.

Sprry for the slow reply but away on a whisky tour in the islands and not many ways to access e-mail out here.

You are planning WAYYYYY too much.  Can I suggest you change to something like this.  I appreciate you want to see/do as much as possible, but this the complete oppoiste of relaxed.

Nights 1 an 2 in Edinburgh.  It is a beautiful city and so much to see.  Spend morning of day three doing thefishing villages of Fife and then the afternoon in St. Andrews, stay night three there.

Day Four, drive via Pitlochry, Braemar and Tomintoul to Grantown on Spey.  Either in Pitlochry, you can do a distillery tour and tasting at Edradour or Blair Atholl distilleries, or between Braemar and Ballater, next to Cawdor Castle, you can do one at Royal Lochnagar DIstillery.  These are the two smallest in Scotland.  Over the mountains from there to Grantown on spey and stay overnight. http://www.garthhotel.com is our favourite (tell them I recommended you, please.  Good for my brownie points) and if you didn't do a distillery this day,

.... on Day Five, in the morning, do one at Aberlour Distillery.  Probably the best in Scotland with an excellent tasting at the end (not for the driver, sadly), but if you are doing only one distillery tour, do this one.  Then drive north to Cawdor Castle and Culloden Battlefield.  Do not miss nearby Clava Cairns!!!!  Overnight Inverness

Day Six.  Do the Day five you have on your time table.  

Day Seven  Combine your day six and seven, but you could go down the coast to Oban, which is much nicer place to stay than Fort William.  

Day Eight.  It is also a pleasant drive from Oban with stops at Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument and back to Edinburgh.

It might not seem like much difference, but it becomes do-able and not so tiring, just with these slight changes.  You miss out on Dundee to Aberdeen which is quite a nice coast, but not a nice as the coastal villages of Fife which you will now have more time to do.

I hope that helps.  if you need a rental bvehicle, I am your man.  e are agents for the largest fleet of vehicles in Scotland

http://www.celticlegend.co.uk/car

You will find more information at this following site about EVERYTHING in Scotland, including all the places mentioned on your itinerary and the ones I stuck in on my itinerary.  Accomodation too - there are links to all sorts of places.  

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.com

It is usually best to book accommodation in advance, otherwise you will spend half the day looking and with pregnant women and small children, that is a rotten idea.

All the best and sorry for the spelling, no time to check.

Cheers,

Willie Wallace
http://www.celticlegend.co.uk


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Willie

Thanks a ton. Will tweak our trip accordingly. Will definitely need a car and will check out your website in a few days and book the same. Would you also be able to help us with maps?
I also read somewhere that some of the pubs are not child friendly. In the sense that only a few licensed pubs will serve you if you have a child and that too only between 11 am to 8 pm. Is that true?
Thanks

Answer
Hi Pallavi.

Managed to miss your follow-up, somehow, sorry.

Pubs are generally not child friendly.  Many won't allow children at all, if they don't sell food and if they do food, children will only be allowed up to 8 or even one I was in last night, 7.  Pubs are for drinking, to my old-fashioned mind.  Cafes and restaurants are for food :o)

We don't supply maps, but any service station will sell road atlasses which are comprehensive and will cost you between GBP2 and GBP7.

Cheers,

Willie