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Oban, Glencoe or Inverness in early March.

Doing three weeks in G. Britain in early March and visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling. We have an extra two days and looking to visit on of the above locations. The weather may hinder some visits. Any suggestions?

Posted by
137 posts

If I'm reading this correctly, you're planning a trip to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling and trying to decide between Oban, Glencoe or Inverness for an additional trip.

If you go to Oban, you could do a tour of Mull. From previous threads and things I've been reading for our trip, Glencoe is beautiful, but I'm sure others who have been there will have even better perspectives. Weather may be a concern.

There are a lot of day tours out of Edinburgh, so you may be able to stay there and just take advantage of one or two of those.

Posted by
204 posts

Thanks. I realize that I wasn't very clear in my message. Just trying to decide between Oban, Glencoe and Inverness.

Posted by
1634 posts

As the scouts say 'Be Prepared'

In 2017 I was mowing the lawn in March here in Glasgow, in 2018 it was under 10 cm of snow. Outwith the central belt March is when things are opening. I would therefore be careful of more remote areas.

Posted by
1059 posts

It depends what you want to do/see. Inverness is a working town used mainly by tourists as a base for trips to Loch Ness. Glencoe has no amenities and is a wonderful place for hiking, though you'd want to keep an eye on the weather as I've seen snow there in late April. Oban is the gateway to Mull and quite pretty. You pays your money and you takes your chance!

Posted by
1376 posts

Hi, Jim,

A lot of where you plan to go will depend on the weather in early March. Best to keep an eye on the long term forecast. There probably won't be a lot to do in Oban at that time of the year. If you want to take a day trip to Mull, there's always the chance that the ferries would be cancelled because of the weather. If that were to happen, you'd be stuck either in Oban or on Mull, with not a lot to do. Mind you, there's nothing better on a cold late winter night than sitting in front of a (real) fire in a real pub, accompanied by a good single malt!

Glencoe would be good for some short hikes at that time of year, again weather permitting. If the snow is still up on the tops and in the corries, it should be particularly beautiful in early March. However, if it's pissing down rain, it could make for a pretty miserable time.

I'd say that Inverness would be your best bet out of the three. If the weather is half way decent, you could take a day trip out to Ullapool or somewhere along the west coast. There's decent live music in the evenings at The Gellions and even at Hootenanny or the Market Bar. Plus Inverness has some decent walks within the city boundaries.

You may want to take the A82 north from Glasgow, and through Glencoe, to decide if you want to stay there, and if the weather is really bad, continue on to Inverness (or Oban). At that time of year, you should have no trouble finding accommodation, unless the skiing is really good in Glencoe, in which case you may end up having to travel north to Fort William, or south to Oban.

Best wishes for your travels, and I hope that whichever choice you make, you have a great time!

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
204 posts

THANKS EVERYONE FOR SOUND ADVICE. JIM