Rds1983 Posted May 14, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted May 14, 2022 Looking for some recommendations for where to go in Scotland and what to do. Glasgow and Edinburgh have been done already so thinking Loch Ness and the Highlands maybe. We're wanting to see something new and also get a distillery trip in. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 A82 through glen coe, best road in the country, doesn't matter which way you drive through it either Personally for me the left hand side is better than the right, Loch lomond and glen coe are better than the cairngorns but the main thing for me is I don't think you need to go further north than Inverness I've done it twice first time I spent one night in Carlisle and went from the Midlands to the lake district, from Carlisle I went up past Glasgow along the A82, popped to the summer castle from downtown Abbey which I think is in invarary and then stayed at a great lakeside place at Loch lochy, then on to Loch Ness up to Inverness, then across to Aberdeen, then down through the cairngorns, stopped at Pitlochry and then to Edinburgh, drove from Edinburgh to hadrians wall and spent a night in the countryside that way, second time I did it the other way round, flew in to Edinburgh rented a car drove over the bridge in to Dundee to see the canal boat thing (which is cool to be fair) then to a few little villages in the cairngorns, Pitlochry again and then stayed in an air bnb near aviemore, then drove from there to skye and spent a night there, then down to Loch lomond and stayed in a caravan park there, drove from there back across country to Edinburgh Airport via sterling castle Inverness itself is OK but not essential, skye I'm glad I did it but again wouldn't say its essential imo but if you do go that way then go to Eilean Donan, don't get out the car in Fort William there's nothing there apart from Ben Nevis, the cairngorns are still good to drive through and worth seeing but the villages I'd Google first to find what you want, I like Pitlochry obviously! But the castle hotel there was a rip off and don't do it, I'm sure they've got a salmon ladder there, I also like Fort Augustus where they've got a canal lock system that will kill 20 mins Distilleries are everywhere, like every 15 mins driving around you'll see the brown sign for one, I did one many moons ago but that was a day trip from Glasgow, it was brilliant too but I haven't got a clue which one it was, there's so many that I'd recommend seeing where you are when you have the most time and finding a distillery to fill your day rather than go out of your way for a certain one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomav84 Posted May 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted May 16, 2022 On 14/05/2022 at 12:45, Rds1983 said: Looking for some recommendations for where to go in Scotland and what to do. Glasgow and Edinburgh have been done already so thinking Loch Ness and the Highlands maybe. We're wanting to see something new and also get a distillery trip in. Any ideas? as mentioned above you definitely want to take a look around loch lomond. some nice little towns scattered around it too like luss if you have instagram, check out the tour guide that i had once - whiskytourguidekeith. he's got loads of photos of places he's taken people on tours, plus distilleries etc that might give you some inspiration 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted May 16, 2022 Author VT Supporter Share Posted May 16, 2022 We've driven past Loch Lomond before but never stopped there so might be a good option. We'd be going with an American couple who haven't really seen much of Scotland and are adamant that there isn't any real wilderness in the UK so wanted to get the Highlands in. I've heard good things about Inverness but it's an awful long way away as it's 7 odd hours drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 NC500 route I did the same 3 years ago and planning to do the same this year with my wife 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 we made Invergarry our base camp when we went the other year , we stayed on a farm so our view was pigs , cows , chickens and cloud covered hills ... very peaceful and very fresh eggs for breakfast if your coming from inverness then , Loch ness is kinda on the way ....The loch ness museum is interesting , spoiler alert , even though the monster isn't real Invergarry is about 30 mins drive to Ben Nevis for the obligatory climb to the summit , or if you aren't that energetic the cable car is on the route and you can take that and get some good views of the surrounds its full of muggles but you can do the Jacobite Steam train from Fort William to Mallaig , lots of scenery including the famous and picturesque viaduct ... with the schedule you only get a couple of hours in Mallaig , but its a small fishing harbour so enough time for fish and chips , wave at a few seals and then back on the train once we'd done the highlands , we did the scenic drive back to Edinburgh .... You have the amazing Falkirk Wheel and Stirling castle on your route 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 It's a very long time since I've been - it would have been a duke of edinburgh trek round the highlands, but Fort William was a lovely place to be, in a rural spot near to the highlands, cracking whisky store too. But also, another thumbs up for Loch Lomond. We did our big scottish road trip last year ( the city version ) and will do the more rural version in a future year. Stirling Castle is a reasonable place to visit, though I'm sure you can get loads of castles elsewhere too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 We stayed in a really nice cabin in a place called Auchterarder near Gleneagles. It seemed a really good location with Perth, Dundee, St Andrews, Loch Lomond, Stirling not far away and a distillery called Glenturret nearby. I'm no whisky drinker but it was awesome stuff and has a Michelin star restaurant there if you're posh. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 (edited) Perthshire is really nice and a good base to travel around as its in the centre of Scotland. And in regards to whiskey Bells distillery is in Blair Atholl. My dad used to get his yearly supply of whiskey in a shop in Pitlochry called Roberston's which sold local blends. Edited May 18, 2022 by The Fun Factory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 9 hours ago, sharkyvilla said: We stayed in a really nice cabin in a place called Auchterarder near Gleneagles. It seemed a really good location with Perth, Dundee, St Andrews, Loch Lomond, Stirling not far away and a distillery called Glenturret nearby. I'm no whisky drinker but it was awesome stuff and has a Michelin star restaurant there if you're posh. That looks a lot like where I went to on a day trip from glasgow 15 years ago now but the tour was excellent, probably the best tour guide I've ever had apart from the guy at VP obviously 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted May 19, 2022 Author VT Supporter Share Posted May 19, 2022 On 17/05/2022 at 14:41, Rodders said: It's a very long time since I've been - it would have been a duke of edinburgh trek round the highlands, but Fort William was a lovely place to be, in a rural spot near to the highlands, cracking whisky store too. But also, another thumbs up for Loch Lomond. We did our big scottish road trip last year ( the city version ) and will do the more rural version in a future year. Stirling Castle is a reasonable place to visit, though I'm sure you can get loads of castles elsewhere too. Duke of Edinburgh has changed a bit since I did it then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 On 19/05/2022 at 07:19, Rds1983 said: Duke of Edinburgh has changed a bit since I did it then. This was the preliminary warm up day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colhint Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 Buy avon skin so soft shower gel, body lotion. Its the best thing for midges. Contains DEET. Troops use it a lot in midge country. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted May 30, 2022 Moderator Share Posted May 30, 2022 58 minutes ago, colhint said: Buy avon skin so soft shower gel, body lotion. Its the best thing for midges. Contains DEET. Troops use it a lot in midge country. The dry oil spray is good - Avon So Soft dry oil spray. And sort of related, for flies then Nature's Botanical Rosemary & Cedarwood creme is brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted May 31, 2022 Author VT Supporter Share Posted May 31, 2022 On 30/05/2022 at 13:24, blandy said: The dry oil spray is good - Avon So Soft dry oil spray. And sort of related, for flies then Nature's Botanical Rosemary & Cedarwood creme is brilliant. Already got some of this as the wife's planning ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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