Glencoe Itinerary Feedback

I forgot to add Pitlochry. Should I consider this location as well?
thanks!

Hello Maureen
Did you know Balmoral Castle closes mid-August the when the royal family is in residence so you'll not be able to visit in September? Scroll down the page for their calendar.
https://balmoralcastle.com/visiting/opening-times

We've not stayed at any of the places you listed but I'm sure other forum members will be able to share their experiences.

Also, Undiscovered Scotland is a brilliant resource for planning a visit to Scotland.
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

You'll love Scotland!

Where to base really depends on how you plan to spend your days. Are you more into hiking or just enjoying the "sights"?

3 nts Glencoe area would give you an opportunity to drive to Glencoe via the ancient stones of Kilmartin Glen, a day to explore the Glencoe area and another day to see Invarary and Kilchurn Castles as well as the spectacular scenery crossing the Rannoch Moor back to Glencoe.

3 nts Grantown (or further east in Aberdeenshire depending on your interests) going via Glenfinnan on the morning, then drive across the northern Cairngorms, another day for Grantown area and the last day to visit Craigievar Castle with another castle or ruin or the Speyside Cooperage on your way back to Grantown.

1 nt St. Andrews possibly making a stop at the interesting Glamis Castle with its royal connection since Balmoral will be closed. You should have time to do a walking tour of town including the cathedral and Clcastle and checking out the Old Course.

A side note on Glenfinnan: Are you planning to go to the Monument or are you're wanting to see the train go over the viaduct? you need to arrive fairly early before the train is scheduled to pass. Parking at Glenfinnan can be a nightmare. So it could eat up a good chunk of time.

Thanks for the info. No, I didn't realize Balmoral is closed for September so that is helpful and also disappointing to know.
This is the information I need to make sound decisions for our route. Thanks for the suggestion to visit Glamis Castle.
I was thinking of taking the ScotRail for the experience. Any feedback on that idea?

Jeanm's suggestion of visiting Glamis castle is a great one. We visited and took the offered inside tour which was outstanding. The gentleman giving the tour was well versed in the history of the castle and encouraged questions. The tour is about 45 minutes if I recall, quite a few stairs to be aware of. There is a nice, very busy, cafe on site and the grounds are lovely. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Glencoe certainly gives you easy access if you want to do the train journey out to Mallaig.Inveraray would not be good for that at all.`Glencoe area makes for a good base for exploring the spectacular wider area too.

Grantown on Spey is not such a good base if Craigievar is a priority (or Balmoral area and other castles like Drum and Crathes) You’d be better off staying in Ballater which is also a much prettier base than GoS and has far more life about it and places to eat.

Glencoe was one of our favorite areas during our trip to Scotland. We stayed at the Glencoe Inn, located across the street from Loch Leven. Their restaurant, The Gathering, is excellent!

While in Glencoe, I highly recommend driving along the Glen Etive Road to Loch Etive. The scenery is spectacular! The road is 12 miles long and ends at Loch Etive. There is the lush green valley, majestic mountains, the river, the loch, and in June there were probably thousands of blooming rhododendrons. A scene from the Bond movie, Skyfall, was filmed along the Etive Road.