Scotland and Ireland

It won't be cold in August, but it can be cool. So, you just need to take layers. If you don't have enough, buy one of the wonderful sweaters. I've been living in one of my Scottish sweaters in NYC the past few weeks. ; ) I would not spend 3 nights in Oban. I would spend three nights on Mull. In fact, I did. For me, Oban is ferry town that connects you to the isles. It's not a place that I would stay in. But other may disagree. You can easily spend the three days on Skye. Skye is bigger than you think and it takes a fair bit of time to drive around the island. If you had three days, you would have time to check out the different "arms" of this island. What are you interested in seeing? On Skye, you can visit Talisker, check out the old Man of Storr and interesting rock formations and visit an old cemetery of ancient leaders and kings; you can visit Dunvegan Castle, or hike into the Cuilins; you can explore a Broch; You can watch a rain shower come over from the outer Hebrides toward a lighthouse that sits on the tip of a peninsula; you can buy locally designed jewelry. You can see painted houses. Pam

Thank you Pamela. I haven't considered staying in Mull, but now I will look into that. We mostly like to be outdoors and there seems to be a lot to see in the Isle of Skye, so I appreciate your thoughts. And I was just thinking I would probably buy a wool sweater!!!

Hi again Pamela, Where in Mull did you stay?

Marissa, I would definitely change the schedule. I don't know about the Isle of Mull. I have been to the Isle of Skye and one day, two nights is ample. It takes a day to drive around and see everything, including at least one distillery tour. Closer to Oban, the Glencoe area is lovely and a drive east through the pass and to the moors is intriguing. But, more importantly, I would spend at least two full days in Inverness, probably more. Cawdor Castle is well worth a visit. Perhaps the most livable castle of the dozens we have seen. There are distilleries in the area. Also, there are decent places to eat. There is NOWHERE decent to eat in Portree. In three weeks in London, northern England, and Scotland, the two worst meals we had were in Portree.

Thank you David. I will look into Inverness more closely.

Here's another monkey wrench: There's not much in Inverness except a place to start a drive along the lochs and the Caledoninan. You can do this in a day with a stop at the dragon museum, the Fort Augustus step locks, and Fort William, then sort of double back along the 890 and still get to Ullapool for supper. The morning ferry to Stornoway leaves around ten-thirty. Places to stay are within a few blocks of the terminal. Google Callanish (all three of them) and you'll wonder why anybody goes to Stonehenge. Skip the Inner Hebs. I've hiked every bit of Skye and owned a cottage on Mull for a few years. Neither come close to matching Lewis - - or any of the other Outers. Oban has never shown me anything except maybe a distillery and all of those suckers are just alike.

We stayed at a terrific B&B just outside of Inverness called the Pottery House last summer. Only three rooms available, two with a small view of Loch Ness, the best breakfast on our entire trip, huge bathroom, mini fridge with a bottle of milk, robes to wear, comfy beds. It was built as a B&B, not converted, so the place is very comfortable and really well-run.

Thank you very much.

For the advantage of the Inverness area as a base is that you can get to the west coast, or go east or south. This is an advantage when you're hiking as the weather varies greatly across the country. If you monitor the weather forecasts and have some flexibility you can can avoid a the serious rain. Inverness is not a real tourist town. It does have good music, good eating, good pubs and good b&B's. I really agree with Ed about Oban. ; ) Pam