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Itinerary Tweaking Needed!

Posted by (Daytona Beach, FL) on

Hello. Traveling to beautiful Scotland in August, (I know--a very busy time), but the impetus for the trip is a college football game in Dublin on August 24th. We need to be in Dublin on August 22nd.

My hubby an I are late 60s, traveling with my son and girlfriend, who are 30. We will not be doing any long hikes, but of course wish to see some beautiful scenery. We also want to visit a distillery or two and the boys really want to play golf at one of the courses at St Andrews. We'd like to see a couple of castles, and ride the Jacobite Steam Train. We'd also like to see the Culloden battlefield and possibly Clava Cairn. The Isle of Skye is a must and I know we won't have much time there, but anything is better than nothing. We also love visiting pubs and hearing local music, which I think won't be a problem in Edinburgh or Glasgow. We enjoy smaller towns with charm and character when possible.

Here is the proposed itinerary that I have so far, but I could use some help from those in the know about how to tweak this so it makes more sense or advice on how to adjust. I know people might say we're doing too much, that we should cut something, but I may never get back to Scotland, so we wish to see all that is possible. I tried to keep driving at no more than 3 hours or so any day.

August 14--Arrive Edinburgh. Explore the beautiful town. SLEEP EDINBURGH
Augut 15--Explore more of Edinburgh. Whiskey tasting and Military Tattoo in the evening. SLEEP EDINBURGH
August 16--Pick up rental car. Drive to Stirling; visit Stirling castle. After, drive to St Andrews--OR skip Stirling and drive directly to St Andrews and boys play golf this day. SLEEP ST ANDREWS
August 17--Either boys play golf in am and we drive to Nairn after OR if they have already played, we drive to see Culloden and Clava Cairn, then to Nairn. SLEEP NAIRN OR SURROUNDING AREA
August 18--Either visit Culloden and Clava Cairn this day, then drive to Isle of Skye via Loch Ness and a peek at Eilean Donan Castle OR if we have already visited Culloden and Clava Cairn we do the drive to Skye. SLEEP ISLE OF SKYE
August 19--Explore Skye. SLEEP SKYE
August 20--Take the Jacobit Steam Train. Not sure how long it will take to get there from Skye--is this doable? The train leaves at 10:15 or 12:50.But since our time on Skye was short, this will give us the opportunity for some scenic highland views. SLEEP SOMEWHERE--FT WILLIAM? OBAN? Someone suggested driving to Oban via Mallaig ferry and Glencoe, but it might be getting dark by then, so would it be advisable?
August 21--Would love to take a boat trip out of Oban, but it seems the trips to Staffa to see puffins don't run past August 10th. So maybe spend a little time in Oban, see the distillery, then drive to Glasgow. OR?? SLEEP OBAN OR GLASGOW
August 22Fly to Dublin. Out of Glasgow? I don't suppose you can fly out of someplace else closer to Oban? Sorry if that is a stupid question!

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Posted by
5835 posts

There is a big problem with doing the Jacobite on 20 August in that the train departs from Fort William. That is a 3 hour drive from Portree, which is a 0630 start from Portree, for the first train, 0830 for the second. Then you are hostage to fortune of nothing happening (like an RTA) on the road.
The steam train used to offer one way rides from Mallaig to Fort William, but that has not yet restarted post Covid.
The other way to do it would be to use the Armada!e to Mallaig ferry, then 3 of the 4 take the mid morning diesel service train over the same tracks, while the 4th person drives the parallel road to Fort William.
You are then in Fort William by lunchtime which gives plenty of time for the drive to Oban via Glencoe, which is the long way round between the two towns.
The boat trips from Oban still run, but the puffins (only a part of the scenic trips) have gone by then.
Glasgow is the closest international airport to Oban, as Oban airport is only for inter island flights to the Inner Hebrides islands.

Posted by
1450 posts

I would check tourist access to golf courses in St. Andrews in August. www.visitscotland.com has a section on Golf Courses. Inveraray in Argyle is a good overnight stop between Skye and Glasgow. The Clan Campbell Castle is there and is worth a visit.

Posted by
1858 posts

isn31c - what is the current situation regarding the Jacobite train since the West Coast Railway Company who run the train lost their High Court challenge against the Office of Rail and Road when it refused to exempt the company from rules ruling banning the use of hinged doors without central locking earlier this year? (For those who don’t know, this refers to the old fashioned slam doors which can be opened while the train is moving and found on the old carriages used on the Jacobite train. )

I know the company running the train is still exempt until the end of February and they are taking bookings for 2024, however I have read West Coast Railways have said the cost of addressing this will run into millions of pounds and could destroy business....

Posted by
1858 posts

Check out playing golf in St Andrews and what expectations are. There are several different golf courses in St Andrews and the only one you don’t have to prebook is Balgove Course.

All other courses have to be prebooked and if they want to play on the Old Course, they will need to enter a ballot which closes two days before they want to play.

Posted by
1858 posts

Eilean Donan Castle - this is one of the iconic images of Scotland and the outside is well worth viewing. Don't bother going round the inside - it is disappointing and just doesn't live up to the outside!

Your itinerary is only allowing a full, day in Skye which isn't very long.

The puffins will have left Staffa by the beginning of August so you are very unlikely to see any.

What time is your flight from Glasgow on August 22nd? You may want to sleep around Glasgow the night before.

Posted by
5835 posts

At the end of the 2023 season West Coast Railways had to engage volunteer stewards (on a pittance of an allowance) to be able to conclude the season.
One steward per door.
The same as they used to on excursions down the Cumbrian coast with our restricted loading gauge (width of certain bridges).
The assumption would be that they will do so again in 2024 (maybe taking a bit more of a hit on their profits by paying more). It is not as if WCR are short of rolling stock. Maybe they will use other carriages with non-slam doors.
It is a mystery to me why WCR insist on running the oldest possible carriages in their fleet when the line is cleared for Mark 3 class 156's (up to 4 cars), so is presumably within gauge for Mark 3 loco hauled carriages.
I believe BR ran Mark 3 sleepers down to Mallaig on land cruise charters a handful of times, so it should theoretically be possible.
Idea for WCR- use the new Scotrail charter push-pull set for one of the trains (the set which ran The Polar Express tours out of Edinburgh Waverley at Christmas).

Posted by
1858 posts

Thanks for that update isn31c. Will wait and see what they do...

Posted by
49 posts

Thanks, everyone, for the information. I think we will skip the Jacobite Steam train considering all the issues pertaining to getting there on time as well as their difficulties in court. That's probably the safest decision.
Yes, we tried getting the boys onto the Old Course with the lottery, but they did not win the opportunity. Once all our dates are set, they will reserve a tee time at one of the other courses. That's a bucket list item.

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