Half day/day trip from Edinburgh

It may be my substandard reading comprehension, but I'm having trouble following your route day by day. It might help if you could edit your post with a separate paragraph for each day's list of destinations.

In answer to your St. Andrews question, yes I think it would be too much if you are talking about combining it with Stirling, Doune, and Culross. If you went to St. Andrews from Culross and back, I would make that in itself a day trip. That would give you time to drive along the North Sea coast toward Anstruther, and/or to spend some time playing the Himalayas or taking the Old Course walking tour, or visiting the British Golf Museum.

Kilmartin via Glencoe seems like the way, way, way long way around. You are talking about Kilmartin in Argyll, near Lochgilphead? Why not drive via Inveraray (turn off the A82 at Tarbet on Loch Lomond)? Or at least via Dalmally, Loch Awe, and Oban? You would turn off the A82 at Tyndrum in that case.

Hi, Marna,

That really does sound like precision chaos! Will you have your hired car prior to staying in Lasswade? I'm assuming that you're going to be spending more than four days in Great Britain, so will you be driving up from South Britain, as Scots refer to England, or will you be flying in to Edinburgh and hiring the car there?

As you're visiting both Blackness Castle and Culross, it sounds as though you're on the "Outlander" trail. Good for you! If that's the case, you don't want to miss Blackness. You can head south on the A1 to Lindisfarne, then hit Tantallon and Blackness on the way back to Lasswade. Please be aware of the tides if you're going out to the island at Lindisfarne. The causeway gets covered twice a day, so you definitely want to go out there at low tide, and give yourself enough time to get back to the mainland.

This is a bit of a convoluted suggestion, but if you're going to be in Kilmartin, and you haven't already spent a day in the Borders, you could conceivably head south from Kilmartin to Claonig, catch the ferry to Lochranza, drive across Arran, and then take the Brodick to Ardrossan ferry back to the mainland. You can then head east to the Borders. Moffat, Yarrow, and Selkirk are particularly nice, as are Galashiels and Jedburgh. Most are within an easy drive back to Edinburgh. Dumfries is quite nice as well, and has connections with Robert Burns, as well as the pleasant River Nith. Dumfries is a bit more out of the way, however.

If you're going from Glencoe to Kilmartin, your best bet would be to take the A828 directly south from Ballachulish to North Connel, the A85 to Oban, then the A816 directly south, along the coast to Kilmartin. Although the standing stones there are impressive, they don't hold a candle to the standing stones at Callanish, which you'll need to save for your next trip. Oban is a busy town, especially if you get there as the ferry from Mull is discharging its passengers, but you can get through it in about 10 minutes if traffic is good. Other than Oban, the nicest towns on the A85 are Crieff (birthplace of Ewan MacGregor), Lochearnhead, and Crainlarich. Crainlarich is my personal favorite. Check out the Falls of Dochart if you do end up in Killin.

I wish you the best of luck on what appears to be the "Outlander" trail. Scotland is an amazingly beautiful country. Don't try to stretch too much in to each day. (Easy for me to say - on my first trip to Scotland, I drove 4,000 miles in four weeks!) Enjoy!

edtid: Thankyou. I was pretty sure heading to St Andrews would be too much. Is there another charming town we should see in the area of Culross? "Charming".....hmmm...does not have to be a cutesy tourist area with souvenir shops and attractions, and preferably not, but just a nice, Scottish town.

Lasswade to Kilmartin. Yes, I realize it IS a long circuitous route I posted and that is what I am worrying about. But we would really like to drive through Glencoe. On another forum, someone mentioned to actually allow 3 hours from Lasswade to Killin !!! Then 3 hours from Finlarig to Glencoe !! Well, if that is the case, I don't see how we could then make it the same day to Kilmartin. The 3 route planners I am using state between 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours for each "leg".. Of course, one must consider possible traffic delays.

My alternate is to go to Killin (unless I can talk myself out of seeing Finlarig Castle) then taking A85 to B840 down to Kilmartin? One of the routes you suggested? Est time 2 hours.

Then of the 3 days we are in Kilmartin, driving up to Castle Stalker, then to Glencoe? Est time to Glencoe 1 1/2 to 2 hours?

We will be leaving Kilmartin to Balloch for an overnight before catching plane in Glasgow...so will be driving A83 to see that area.

Any more input? Thanks so very much.

auchterless: Thank you for your input. I will check out the towns you recommended. I already have in my "travel notebook" the tides at Lindisfarne!!! ;) I know we will have a great time. Less than a month before we leave!!!

Hi, Marna,

Sounds as though you're getting it together for your trip. There aren't many (if any) cute or charming towns between Culross and Stirling, or between Culross and the Forth Bridge, but if you have an appreciation for magnificent engineering, it would be worthwhile to drop down in to South Queensferry on your way back to Edinburgh. The Forth Rail Bridge can be best viewed from the shore there.

If you're going to Killin from Lasswade, it could take up to three hours, depending on traffic on the Edinburgh Ring Road (A720). That can be a nightmare, if there are roadworks going on. I'm assuming that you're heading north on the M90 to Perth, then cutting over on the A85. You could actually save some time by taking the M9 to Stirling, then the A84 through Callander (another nice town) to Lochearnhead, where you'll meet up with the A85. Then you can take the A827 for the 2 miles in to Killin and Finlarig, then back out again.

The A85 meets the A82 at Crainlarich, then you can head on to Glencoe. It shouldn't take much more than an hour to get from Killin to Glencoe.

"Oh cruel is the snow, that sweeps Glencoe,
And covers the grave o' Donald
And cruel was the foe that raped Glencoe
And murdered the house o' MacDonald"

Getting from Kilmartin to Balloch should take 2 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on traffic. Take the A816 to Lochgilphead, then the A83 to Tarbet on Loch Lomond. Turn south on the A82, and you'll be in Balloch before you know it.

If you're flying out from Scotland, give yourself at least two hours to Glasgow Airport from Balloch, via the Erskine Bridge, or four hours to Edinburgh.

As always, have a wonderful time. How could you not?

Mike (auchterless)

If you're worried about missing out on beautiful scenery by not going through Glencoe, I don't think there's anything to worry about. The scenery all along the A82 and A85 is quite awesome.

I second the advice "If you're flying out from Scotland, give yourself at least two hours to Glasgow Airport from Balloch, via the Erskine Bridge, or four hours to Edinburgh." Looking at the mileage and the maps, you may say it should not take that long, but you never know about traffic delays or (god forbid) taking a wrong turn.

Mike..thank you again for more info. Silly question: commute times around Edinburgh? Like 6 to 8 am? So we can avoid ;) And...I KNOW we will have the most marvelous, breathtaking adventure!

epitd: and thank you again too! I am thinking passing up Glencoe en route to Kilmartin, to minimize time and appreciate you saying there are just as beautiful wonders all along..everywhere. When we settle in Kilmartin we can rethink our energy whether we must do the drive from there.

Taking the wrong turn......well, then I get to stay longer!!!!!

Marna

Hi, Marna,

If you're heading down to Lindisfarne from Lasswade, you shouldn't have any problem on the part of the A720 from where it meets the A7 until you meet up with the A1, assuming that you'll be getting on the A7 from Lasswade. You could conceivably take the A6094 from Lasswade, and meet up with the A1 further along.

heading west on the A720 is a whole other ball of wax. It could be clear sailing, or you could run in to a long tailback. It's only about 10 miles from the A7 entrance to the M8 exit, but if conditions are bad, it'll feel like a lifetime. Most commuters take the train in, and office workers start later in Scotland than they do in the U.S., so if you leave Lasswade by no later than 7:30 a.m., you should be fine.

Once you get on the M8, if you're going that way, take the first exit for the M9, toward Stirling. Since you're skipping Glencoe, take the A84 west from Stirling toward Callander. Once you get to Lochearnhead, you can take the A85 straight in to Oban, once you've visited Killin, and then down the A816 to Kilmartin.

As a shortcut to Kilmartin, you could head south on the A819 at the north end of Loch Awe, which will give you a glimpse of Kilchurn Castle. The A819 dead ends at Inverary, where you can check out Inverary Castle (which was used as the Crawley family's Scottish retreat in "Downton Abbey"), and follow the A83 to Lochgilphead, then back up to Kilmartin. This would bypass Oban, and save you some time.

BTW, I missed seeing "Outlander" when it originally ran on Starz, and I just picked up the season 3 Blu-ray today. I'm looking forward to binge watching!

Again, have a blast!

Mike (auchterless)

Thank you again. I am going through and checking all your suggestions. I had read the first 2 or 3 "Outlander" books about 13 years ago and have enjoyed the series... for the feel of history, scenery, costumes and accents. (Could listen to Scots all day). Countdown: 3 1/2 weeks!!!!!!!!

Okay, I can tell you that Blackness is fun to visit. The location, right on the Firth of Forth is terrific. The castle has an interest shape and personally, I enjoyed my visit. That said, it will be a long day to visit Blackness, Stirling, and Doune. They are all great castles and worth of a visit, but doing all in one day is very ambitious.

Pam