I'm working on a car itinerary that takes us from London to Bath and Conwy, and the next stop would be Isle of Skye. That is quite a drive between Conwy and Skye. I'm looking for recommendations for an interesting place in between to break up our drive, One night for pure convenience or two nights for interesting. We are not particularly interested in Glasgow, but still open-minded.
Posted by
Freedonia
16315 posts
The Lake District. Two nights minimum. Most popular overnight destinations are either Keswick or Windemere. But with a car you can really explore the area.
Second choice....Oban/Mull/Glencoe in Scotland.
Posted by
Lake District, England
7976 posts
You ask for South West Scotland and are given the Lake District, which is only about 3 hours into your drive.
Apart from being predictable you could do with being further north to break the journey up more evenly.
But if you did decide on "Cumbria" then Penrith or Carlisle (Penrith especially, due to it's very close proximity to the Lake District by car) are far better places to stay in and are both on the M6. The fact that they barely get mentioned on here is due to ignorance, not worthiness.
In South West Scotland Lockerbie or Moffat would do you very nicely either overnight, or both would do very nicely as two night stop-overs. Both are are on the M74. I was sorely tempted to suggest Dumfries but that is 45 minutes off the motorway.
Lockerbie is about 4 hours and Moffat 4 1/2 hours from Conwy. For a personal needs break on the way do Tebay Services or, even better, the Rheged Centre just off junction 40 at Penrith. Tebay is the best motorway services in the UK by a country mile.
If you stay in Lockerbie/Moffat I suggest you even have time to come off at junction 40 and take the short drive down to Ullswater for a Lake Cruise. That way you achieve the best of both worlds.
For a short walk think about Aira Force.
Lockerbie is known in the US for all the wrong reasons, but was and still is an interesting place regardless of the Pan Am tragedy. However you should at least pay your respects at at least one of the memorial sites if you do call in, in the same way as you would at the 9/11 memorial in New York.
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1296 posts
I agree that Moffat would be a great choice for a stop. A really nice town and not too far off the M74 motorway, which makes it easy to get on the road again for what will be an approximately 7 or 8 hour drive to Skye.
Posted by
Glasgow, Scotland
1692 posts
Lockerbie, like Dunblane, is a handsome, prosperous market town. Lockerbie very much a border market town and worth the visit. In the case of both the recent history hangs over them, but do not let that put you off. The memorial garden at Lockerbie is well maintained, peaceful, respectful, and also worth a visit for a prayer or reflection depending on views.
They are both some of those events whose strands still fell their way through Scottish society.
In Dumfries and Galloway, Drumlanrig Castle is worth looking at as a place to visit.