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Another Scottish itennerary

Posted by on

You have been great. Thank you so much. We've decided to jettison Skye. We'll plan better next time. We're flying into Glasgow. We've got 10 days.

As an FYI, one of my GFFs was a McKenzie, who came to the US around 1780. So, we're trying to find places relevant to our family history.

The plan is to spend 2 full days in Glasgow, and then rent a car, drive up A82 to the cut, stopping somewhere (?) along the way for the evening. Then on to Inverness to see Culloden Battlefield, then to Aberdeen, Dundee (which, according to Reddit, has some great gang fights), and then back to Glasgow. We'll go to Edinburgh.

At the end of the trip, we'll squeeze in a day or two at Hadrian's Wall.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again for all the help.

EDIT: My GGF was named McKenzie. In 1890, his son wrote that his father came to the US in 1780 from Scotland. Census records show that my GGF said he was from Scotland. My DNA tests show a high percentage of Scottish DNA. In addition, according to all accounts, my GGF was one tough SOB.

Posted by
1739 posts

If you want more on Clan Mackenzie and its areas, based on Google, the heartland is Ross-shire. Which is just to the north of Inverness and includes the Black Isle. Which means a chance to see the pretty harbour town of Cromarty. Ross and Cromarty is a historic county made of Ross-shire and Cromartyshire which was basically patches of the latter in the former.

In that case you are probably going to want to focus more days in Inverness.

Personally I'd say your plan is far too short for the places you want to see. Dundee is a good place to visit, as is Aberdeen, but if you want to see Hadrian's Wall, you might as well scrap both. It takes four hours for me to get to Inverness by the A9, and two hours to get to the Wall, so Inverness to the Wall is effectively a full day's driving.

Realistically you want pick three centres and work from there.

Posted by
9677 posts

As per your other thread the best way to do Hadrians Wall in a day from Glasgow IMO is by train. Most efficiently this would be on your second full day in Glasgow. It looks like the 0711 from Glasgow, getting back at 1800, gives you 2 hours at each of two of the major sites of Housesteads, Vindolanda and Chesters. In reality that should give you a bit of walking time as well.
What would worry me is you getting a bad weather day.
They are not unusual at any time of the year (like this morning)- it can get very wild and woolly up there, very fast.
The benefit is you experience real life for the troops stationed there.
Two other interesting sites with clan interest are Bannockburn (Stirling) and Inverurie (a bit North of Aberdeen)- both big battles.
Anywhere in the world you want to keep well out of gang fighting- you don't understand the local dynamics. Second worst case you get arrested, worst case injured. My guess is these fights are about drugs- a big no, no.
For my money cut out the A82, get straight to Inverness and concentrate time there.
Are you sure of the Ancestry? I ask as I was rock sure of mine on the Isle of Skye- years and years of research. Then a re-review of an obituary in a New York newspaper which had previously been dismissed as lies by genealogists on both sides of the Atlantic turned things heavily sideways. Same clan, but differ different history within the clan.

Posted by
1740 posts

I'm guessing the OP isn't actually up for a bit of a scrap lol

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