Scotland Itinerary Suggestions

We did a 13 day Scotland road trip June, 2010. Have you considered reversing your itinerary? Get the rental car at the Glasgow airport, then loop Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Fort William, Maillaig, Portree, Kyle-Plockton-Eileen Donan-Fort Augustus (close to Urquhart Castle)-south side of Loch Ness for Culloden/Clava Cairns if interested-down past Pitlochry-Stirling-St.Andrews-turn in car at Edinburgh Airport and visit Edinburgh. The Borders abbeys are lovely (I prefer Dryburgh to Melrose), maybe those are available as a daytrip from Edinburgh. We liked all of our B and Bs. Let me know if you would like a list of them. Remember there's a big festival in Edinburgh part of August--room rates are much higher then.

Thanks for the suggestion! Our reason for touring Edinburgh first is that's where we'll probably do most of our walking. We think it might be best to do this early while we were still "fresh". Plus we timed it so that we would be able to hit the Tattoo before the Festival (and all the crowds) really get going. We were also thinking about Dryburgh Abbey too. Can you tell us why you preferred that over Melrose?

I think that this is doable, but it is a lot of driving. You might want to think about doing Stirling as a day trip from Edinburgh. It's an easy train ride and a not a bad walk up to the castle. (Which BTW should have the new renovations of the Renaissance Palace open this summer.) If you do decide to see Stirling separate from St Andrews, you'll have time to see the fishing villages on the Fife Coast. I agree that Abbey's are very nice. I liked Jedburgh best myself. It had the best museum if I remember right in addition to looking wonderful. Of course, Melrose is supposedly where Robert the Bruce's heart is buried. Sir Walter Scott is buried at Dryburgh Abbey. I thought Floors Castle in Kelso was very good. Pam

Pamela is right that this is a tremendous amount of driving. It will all be on the "wrong" side of the road, of course, requiring quite a bit of concentration, especially when you go through the innumerable "roundabouts" (traffic circles). We also found that many roads are two-lane, narrow, and have no shoulders, requiring more intense driver concentration for long periods without any opportunity to stop and admire the scenery. Unless you are like a relative of mine who counts a sheep seen out the car window as a great travel experience, schedule more days in the countryside where you can walk, enjoy the landscape, talk to people.

We've done almost the exact same trip, but in the reverse direction. We started in Prestwick and ended in Edinburgh. We didn't think the driving was bad at all, and you'll certainly see plenty of countryside with this itinerary. If you're planning to overnight near the Armadale ferry port, be sure to find and book your accomodations as soon as you can. There aren't many places to stay around there, and you're going at the height of the season. Another tip: buy your ferry tickets ahead of time. We didn't know that we could, and we got put in the "standby" lanes, which load only after the pre-ticketed passengers. We wound up being the last car onto the last ferry of the day. You can buy your tickets online at: www.calmac.co.uk

I like your itinerary. I'm not that fond of lots of driving on vacation, but in the highlands of Scotland it's worth it. As long as you don't mind driving and being in the car for long stretches, you will love this trip.