Hey there.
I’ve read in several threads about being careful with driving times as the roads are narrow and you’ll not be able to go that fast. My question is — on average — about how many miles per hour should I plan for?
The longest drive I have planned for our trip is from Glasgow to Kyle of Lochalsh, which according to Google Maps is about 4 1/2 hours. All of our other drives are less than 2 hours so I feel like there’s more flexibility there.
Thanks!
https://www.viamichelin.com says 4h23 for 282Km. Which I make average 64 Km/Hr (40 mph).
That is single-carriageway "A" roads all the way, NOT the single track roads which are slow and where you have to keep stopping if a vehicle comes the other way. Very few towns to slow you down, so that sounds like a good average.
I find that google underestimates the time by 25 - 35% for the U.K. journeys that I make, as you always get stuck in traffic somewhere! Plus you may want to stop along the way.
There are some slower parts to the earlier part your journey, so I would allow 6+ hours plus stops.
Hi, Ian,
To add to what Jennifer said, I never trust Google maps. Ever. Six plus hours sounds about right, as you'll definitely be stopping somewhere along the way for food, photographs, toilet breaks, and just to get out of the car to enjoy the magnificent scenery. Your average speed will be about 35 mph., as some sections of the A82 and A87 have a speed limit of 70 mph (!), but most of the time you'll be driving more slowly.
Have a safe trip!
Mike (Auchterless)
I take the view that Google maps is increasingly accurate. It takes data from tracking users’ location on their phones as they take car journeys
Of course if you stop en-route, or if there are unforeseen hold ups then it will take longer than predicted.
For good or ill, Google knows where you are...
Thanks everyone.
I usually use Google Maps as “an idea” of what kind of times, distances, and terrain I’ll be dealing with, but don’t bank too much on it. That’s why I like to ask people who have been on the ground where I’m going. This strategy has served me well in England, France, and Switzerland so I figured it would work well for Scotland, too. We’ll be going in late May / early June so I’m hoping we’ll arrive and leave before the real crowds become an issue.
Just to give you an idea on Glasgow to Kyle of Lochalsh. I drive this journey often as I live on Skye. I am driving at the speed limits whenever traffic conditions and safety allows and I am not stopping to look at scenery, sheep, deer, mountains, etc, etc. It takes me around 5.5 hours. Google maps is always way under on its time estimations!
Are you taking the route via Loch Lomond and Fort William? If so, there are so many interesting places to stop! (There undoubtedly are too if you go the other way, via Stirling and Pitlochry, but I haven't been that route.) The tone of your question kind of sounds like you're doing a road rally rather than a vacation drive. Could you possibly make it in 4.5 hours? Maybe, but why would you want to?
One tip, coming out of Glasgow the motorway may not have really clear signage that you're headed for the Erskine Bridge. You should be going past Paisley and the airport (Glasgow airport is located in Paisley, not Glasgow proper). Once over the bridge, signs for Loch Lomond and the Trossachs are pretty clear. There's a big roundabout at Balloch, north of Dumbarton. That's the last chance to turn off to the east toward Stirling, vs. continuing north along the western shore of Loch Lomond.
Not a road rally, no. We’ll very much be on vacation. What I’m trying to do is establish an approximate amount of time the journeys between our hotels will take so I know how many stops we can realistically make along the way. My main purpose is to avoid thinking we can do more than we can and ending up being late to our stays. We love to sit and listen to live music and have purposely booked stays where there are good pubs and such to sit and relax in after a good day’s sightseeing.
We’ll be taking the Loch Lomond route north and are planning to stop in Glencoe and Glenfinnan along the way. And we want to leave ourselves plenty of flexibility in case we see anywhere else along the way we’d like to stop, which I’m sure we will.
If you are heading for Kyle of Lochalsh but planning to detour to Glenfinnan you will need to add at least 1.5 hours just for the driving from Fort William to Glenfinnan and back again. Assuming you plan to stop and see the monument and/or the viaduct you will obviously need longer.
Glen Etive (near the top of Glencoe) is beautiful and well worth the detour. You will likely see lots of red deer.
Are you lodging in Kyle or on Skye? If on Skye, then you might want to think about taking the ferry across to the island from Mallaig. This would avoid the 'out and back' to see Glenfinnan as you would pass it on the way.
We’re staying in Kyle at a place called Balmacara Hotel. Most things are still tentative at this point. The only thing I’ve booked that can’t be changed is the airfare and the hotel we’re staying in on the night before we leave. A ferry to Skye sounds like a cool thing to do.
Hi, Ian,
It would definitely be more fun. Not only that, it could end up taking you less time than driving all the way round by Invergarry. You can pick up the A830 coming out of Fort William, visit Glenfinnan, which is about 18 miles west of Fort William, catch the ferry from Mallaig to Armadale (be sure to make a reservation), take the A851 to Skulamus, turn right on the A87, and you're just a few miles from Kyle. By going that way, you avoid backtracking, unless you're traveling onwards to Lochcarron, Gairloch, and Ullapool.
Hope that helps. The ferry trip is only 35 minutes, not including your loading and unloading time. Plus if you get to Mallaig early, you can investigate Western Scotland's best used book shop.
Slainte!
Mike (Auchterless)
Sounds great, Mike. Thanks. My only concern with the ferry is locking ourselves into a certain time and not making it for some reason. But it’s definitely the better way around now that I’m looking closer at the map.
Hi again Ian
The Balmacara Hotel isn't actually in Kyle, despite the address, but is actually about 10 minutes south east on the main road. It has nice views out across the water, but there isn't anything in the way of amenities there except for a very small shop (like a 7-11). The road can get pretty busy (by our remote, country standards!). If you are now thinking of getting the ferry, you might want to think about whether you can switch your accommodation to something on Skye?
You also need to reserve the ferry in advance, but there are several sailings a day and you can find all the details on www.calmac.co.uk
Good luck!
Jacqui (Skyegirl)
Hi again, Ian,
To add to Jacqui's post, if you stay at the Balmacara, and you have an hour or so to spare on your way to your next destination, check out the Lochalsh Woodland Gardens, which are about a mile west of the hotel on the A87. There's a really nice walk of about a mile from the car park, through the gardens, and along the shore of Loch Alsh. Lots of lovely flowering shrubs and ornamentals. Best of all, it's free (or at least it was in 2016). Best to go counterclockwise, as Loch Alsh will open up to you near the end of your walk.
You may want to check out some of the reviews of the Balmacara on Trip Advisor.
Slainte!
Mike (Auchterless)
Thanks Jacqui and Mike!
Our accommodations are very fluid at this point. I’ve made advanced bookings for our “preliminary itinerary”, but the only one set in stone is our hotel at the airport the night before we leave. All of the others are free to cancel for several months yet. If you know of some place that’s really something to see and has good amenities such as a pub and / or restaurant on site I’d love to hear about it. Thanks again!
Hello again Ian
Difficult for me to recommend hotels on Skye, as I live here and don't stay overnight elsewhere on the island very often - usually only when we can't agree on who should be the designated driver on a night out! Having said that I have stayed at the Kinloch Lodge, which is a wonderful, restaurant with rooms overlooking the water on the Sleat peninsula not that far from the the ferry on the south end of Skye. It has a fairly eye watering price tag though.
I also hear very good things about this place, which is close to Kinloch Lodge. It's called the Eilean Iarmain Hotel [Eilean Iarmain1 It has a restaurant and bar and sometimes live music. I certainly intend to plan a stay there at some point myself! I'm not sure of the price tag, but it will be less than the Kinloch Lodge.
If you want to venture further north on Skye, then it's probably best to check out reviews on Trip Advisor, booking.com or airbnb as there's plenty of good places around. They just get booked up quickly.
Thanks to Mike for the reminder about the woodland walks. I drove past today and must stop and actually walk there one day.
Jacqui (Skyegirl)
Oops the link didn't work.
http://eileaniarmain.co.uk
Hi once again, Ian,
It all depends on your itinerary, which as you said is flexible, but in the past five visits to Scotland we've enjoyed th Kilchoan Hotel in Kilchoan; the West Highland Hotel in Mallaig; the Chlachain Inn in Mallaig; the Park Lodge in Tobermory; the Edinbane Hotel in Edinbane (Skye); the Harris Hotel in Tarbert; many Premier Inns, all of which have pubs/restaurants attached; as well as countless B&Bs, guest houses, and hostels. The Dunollie Hotel in Broadford isn't bad in a pinch; the rooms are adequate, and they have live music most nights for the tourists (usually an accordion player). The Skyewalker Hostel in Portnalong (private en-suite twins available) often has impromptu music sessions in the evenings.
Hope these suggestions help. Stay warm tomorrow!
Slainte!
Mike (Auchterless)
Hi again Ian
Just to make a small correction to MIke's last post, in that I think he means the Edinbane Inn. The Inn is a great place and frequented by locals (us!) and visitors alike. As far as I know there's no Edinbane Hotel. The other (really good) place in Edinbane is the Edinbane Lodge - recently refurbished and reopened as a restaurant and they are hoping to have rooms later this year.
Jacqui
As you are flexible about lodging by Kyle of Lochalsh, you might look at the Dornie Hotel. It is a stone's throw from Eilean Donan Castle and about 10 min from the bridge. It's affordable, clean, nothing fancy but we found it very convenient, and they have a good pub/restaurant that is popular with locals.
Thanks again!
I’ll take a look at these places and see what I can come up with. As all of you who have planned these trips probably know looking at accommodations on some of these websites can be like drinking from a fire hose — the sheer volume of options just makes your head spin.
Thanks for the warm wishes, Mike, it is indeed going to be quite cold here tomorrow. Thankfully the rest of the week should feel like a heatwave afterwards. Ha!
