My original plan was a week in Edinburgh and day trips but that won't work anymore. I plan on using Delta miles and I can get more free tickets by flying in and out of Glasgow instead of Edinburgh. I have 7 nights so I'm thinking 3 in Edinburgh, 3 in the Highlands and 1 around Glasgow before flying out. What Highland base does everyone recommend? I want to see Culloden, my father in law wants to see Loch Ness and my husband wants to play golf. I keep coming back to Inverness as the base but wanted to reach out to see if I am missing something better. Also, anyone have a favorite course that will rent clubs?
Posted by
3122 posts
Nairn is just east of Inverness, Culloden, and Cawdor Castle, and it has 4 golf courses. I can recommend Tali Ayer bed & breakfast. The town has its charms, including a walk along the river and the beach. Nairn is much smaller than Inverness, thus has more of a village feel, yet it is near enough to Loch Ness that you could easily make a day trip to Urquhart Castle and/or the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition.
For golf info, see http://www.golfhighland.com/Nairn/HomePage I don't know offhand if any of these courses have clubs available for rent, but it's worth asking.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
You could stay in Inverness or near Inverness--Nairn to the East, Strathpeffer to the northwest; Fortrose to the north on the Black Isle. Look into Dornoch and the Royal Dornoch as it is one of the oldest golf courses. The town of Dornoch is nice, but you can also get there easily from Inverness or Strathpeffer.
Pam
Posted by
OP
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
101 posts
Does anyone have any experience with Fort Augustus or Aviemore? I found some cute air B&Bs in those areas. Apparently, golf is not a make or break now during our trip.
Posted by
3122 posts
Stopped in Aviemore to ask some questions at the TI office and it was huge -- an indication that Aviemore helps lots of visitors! We found the town attractive and felt it seemed oriented to people going camping, hiking, & other outdoor pursuits.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
I'm not a huge fan of Aviemore as a place to stay. It's not a "cute village" in my mind. It does have lots of things to do and there is one long-time poster here who adores the town. I've been through it a number of times headed for the Cairngorms to walk. Here's the Undiscovered Scotland feature page, which may help.
Fort Augustus scores a higher on the cute village scale. I've driven through it once, pausing briefly to check out the Caledonian Canal. It's probably an 45-90 minutes from everywhere. :) It will be scenic drive to everywhere. You can get to Kyle of Lochalsh and Eilean Donan Castle. You can get to Inverness. It's easy to get to Loch Ness. Fort William is 45 minutes away, but that's a very tourist town.
Pam
Posted by
Glasgow, Scotland
1644 posts
The area around Inverness, you might consider Dornoch or places on the Black Isle, has the advantage of being fairly central. to the Highland area. Which helps when you consider that Highland Council is only slightly smaller than Belgium by square km.