Is my itinerary too ambitious for October?

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Posted by howard.annie on 08/24/23 02:15 PM

Is my itinerary too ambitious (Oct 2023)?

Day 1: super early start, leave Kendal England, Loch Lomond, overnight around Glencoe

Day 2: Fort William to Skye overnight Portree or similar

Day 3: all day Skye, overnight Portree or similar

Day 4: Skye morning drive to Ullapool, overnight Inverness??

Day 5: Inverness/Cairngorms Reindeer Herd, overnight Pitlorchy??

Day 6: drive back to Kendal UK with quick stop in Sterling or Glasgow?

Notes: would love to go to Isle of Mull but it’s the car rally time so unlikely to be able to secure reservation

Have friend in Kendal so will be based out of there (Lake District)

Posted by Eatsrootsandleaves

Waikikamukau

08/24/23 02:43 PM

439 posts

We drove from the Lakes up to just a bit south of Ullapool over quite a bit more time but you could certainly get it done as per your plan. Some magnificent country so spending so much time on the road is no great hardship.
If you are intending to drive over Bealach Na Ba (a beautiful drive) to Applecross you might need to check road conditions in October.

Posted by isn31c

Lake District, England

08/24/23 03:21 PM

5763 posts

Yes, in October, the weather should not be a significant driving issue, even up in the Highlands, and not in the Lake District either.

I don't really see the need for a super early start on Day 1, if you're just doing it as a straight through journey Kendal to Fort William ish That should be about 6 hours with a couple of personal needs/coffee breaks. It may be unexciting but Abington M74 services is a useful 1st break- about 2 hours from Kendal. For me from Whitehaven it was always exactly 2 hours.

From Abington probably push on through to Tyndrum for Stop 2.

Inverness to Kendal should be around 7 hours with PNB's and being aware of the long stretches of average speed cameras on the A9, it depends how long you want to stay in Stirling.
I think Stirling is better than Glasgow in this case as it's on your route (Glasgow would be a divert). The nights are starting to close in by mid October, depending how late in the month.so watch it.

Posted by wasleys

Lincolnshire, UK

08/24/23 04:26 PM

1835 posts

Check on sunset times for the time you are in Scotland. By October, the evenings will be getting darker quite a bit earlier and if it has been a very dull day, it will seem even earlier.

It is a busy itinerary, involving a lot of driving. Ullapool is a bit of a detour and what are your expectations of this? You might make better use of your tiime and see more if you miss this out.

Posted by Lane

Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico

08/24/23 06:08 PM

1745 posts

If your objective is to see some pretty scenery out the car window, your itinerary is fine. But you have so little time to be out and about on the ground, I think you would enjoy your time in Scotland a lot more if you cut back to two stops.

You have five nights. I would skip Skye, as lovely as it is. You could do three nights around Glencoe or Fort William and two nights in Pitlochry (or 2+3) and get a really good feel of the beauty of Scotland. You can make some nice stops along the way, and there is some superb hiking, ranging from easy to challenging, in both of those vicinities.