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Calling all natives! Please review my road-trip plan to the Scottish Highlands.

Calling all natives! Please review my road-trip plan to the Scottish Highlands.

Old Jul 1, 2013, 12:11 am
  #1  
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THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP!!!! Road-trip plan to the Scottish Highlands.

Thank you everyone for your help and advice.

I just got back from an amazing trip. I could have done with a little less rain, but overall, it was like entering middle-earth.

Just a few random photos from my three days in the Highlands.










































__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ________________________

Hello all!

Going to visit my girl (after 7 months! This long-distance thing is killing me! ) who lives in U.K and we thought of taking a short 3-day trip through the highlands.

Based on suggestions and convenience, we've figured out an itinerary.

The only thing set in stone right now is the flight to Aberdeen which we've already booked. Everything else that you're going to read, can be tweaked based on your reviews/suggestions.

http://tinyurl.com/highlands-roadtrip


...
...

Day 1. September 21st.
Arrive in Aberdeen in the morning and drive to Loch Lomond.
Catch the sunset there and spend the night there.

Day 2. September 22nd.
Catch the sunrise at Loch Lomond and drive to Eilean Donan and catch the sunset there.
Spend the night there. ("There" being a relative term)

Day 3. September 23rd.
Catch the rest of the stuff.
Flight back to East Midlands in the evening.
__________________________________________________ ______________


Questions.

1. Only driving out of the way to Eilean Donan because a couple of people have told me that it's a nice place.
Just wanted to confirm it was really worth it?

2. Found a nice B&B for the first night at Balfron station in Drymen for about 50. Couldn't find anything closer to Loch Lomond around that price. Don't want to spend too much since we're really just looking for a place to rest out heads.
Any recommendations for something near Eilean Donan? Couldn't find anything around that price.

Looking at Google map zoomed in, I see PLENTY of B&B along the way...Should we just wing it? I'm afraid to not have anything pre-booked.
But I'd be willing to do it, if I knew an approximate cost.

3. Don't know how "touristy" everything on my list is...I'm assuming most of it is the more standard fare.
Any thing that I should cut out?

Any places that I should add in? Especially looking for areas with a good view for photographs.

4. Speaking of photographs, I'm assuming that I could get good photos of the night sky, but are there any locations that you'd recommend above all?

5. Are the lakes closed after a certain time?

6. Is it safe to roam around at night? (Had to ask. No offence meant)

7. How are the driving conditions? Also, do all the places in the list have some sort of parking arrangements?

8. How often will we see places to eat along the way? So that we can decide whether to stock up on stuff or not.

9. How is Aberdeen airport in terms of queues? Would 1.5 hours before the flight be enough time?

10. We love experimenting with food. Is there anything that you'd recommend we try?

11. My dad loves Glenfidditch so that's pretty much the only reason why I picked that. So as to pick up some souvenir for him.
Is there any other distillery that you'd recommend over this one?

12. How far apart are gas stations located in the highlands?
__________________________________________________ __________

Thank you.
I appreciate any help/suggestions that I could get.

Last edited by jatink129; Oct 1, 2013 at 11:43 am
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 1:38 am
  #2  
 
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Wow, that's quite a route!

A couple years ago I drove up to the Isle of Skye from Edinburgh and I found the Scottish Highlands to be absolutely beautiful. While I can't comment on all your questions, I can give the following advice based on my own experience:

1. You'll spend more time than you anticipate i.e. a driving route you expect to take 5 hours can easily turn into 8-10 hours. Driving distances take longer to cover in the Highlands and you'll definitely spend a lot of time frequently stopping here and there to take pictures. There are also many roads with single lanes so be patient and drive carefully especially at night when it gets foggy.

2. There are lots of rest and pullover areas but I recommend having ample food supply on hand and having an emergency gas canister/container in the trunk that's fully filled (in case you become low on fuel and can't find any gas stations for miles and miles).

3. Expect wet and windy conditions. It won't be pouring the whole day but from experience it will drizzle a little then become clear/sunny again and the same thing repeats a couple times a day.

4. I recommend reserving a B&B ahead of time since September is still considered peak tourist season in Scotland.

5. The best food in the Highlands are found in local pubs. Almost all will serve locally sourced produce, meats, seafood, etc. This is especially true the more north you get. If you want something really Scottish, try Haggis (a dish made from sheep organs) with neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes).

6. For photography, the higher north you get the better the photos!

Enjoy the Highlands!
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 1:42 am
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Personally, if you only have 3 days I wouldn't bother with East Coast.

Possibly flying in and out of Glasgow or Inverness. The route from Loch Lomand up to Fort William through Glencoe is great. Fort William is a convenient place to base yourself and to explore the area.

From Eilean Donan castle, accommodation can also be found on the Isle of Skye, from there you could get the ferry back to Mallaig and then drive back to Fort William. The roads from Fort William - Mallaig and Fort William - Kyle of Lochalsh - Eilean Donan Castle - Skye are both VERY scenic.
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 2:36 am
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Your first stop is Loch Lomond, which is about 15 miles from Glasgow airport. Why would you fly to Aberdeen if you want to be at Loch Lomond? The first day seems completely wasted?
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 5:54 am
  #5  
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Guys, if they say the flight to ABZ is booked, I love the way you're all ignoring that and saying 'fly to Glasgow'! Perhaps you might accept as a given for whatever reason they are into ABZ? Given they are flying EMA-ABZ, that's a low-cost so not changeable (Flybe?)

I looked at the map and thought 'Oh they are coming for a week' and then saw three days.

Like most other visitors to the forum, you are being very ambitious in terms of what you can see and do in 3 days. If all you really want to see of Scotland is the view from the windscreen, sure, go ahead and do this. You won't actually have time to do much (like visiting those castles you are driving past) but you'll certainly be able to say you've circumnavigated Scotland.

Other thoughts - you'll want to go down the west side of Loch Ness (the A road) not the east side (the B or C road which will take a lot longer to drive for no obvious gain).

In later September, you can probably wing it with B&Bs to some extent - but do check out your route for any areas where you may be dependent upon just one or two (i.e. pinch points). Also the better ones will book up more quickly. But especially if you are mid-week, taking a chance should be fine.

To answer some other questions
4. Speaking of photographs, I'm assuming that I could get good photos of the night sky, but are there any locations that you'd recommend above all?
No, most of the NW highlands have no light pollution so once you start north from Loch Lomond, the night skies will be open. Does depend on there being no clouds, which is actually the bigger issue. This is Scotland - land of the cloud and rain. The light on the west coast is different from that found anywhere else (except bizarrely East Lothian) so do take the time from relentless driving to actually enjoy that.

5. Are the lakes closed after a certain time?
From memory Loch Ness is about 30 miles long, and Loch Tay about 15 miles long, with communities living up and down the side of them. It is difficult to close a very large geographical feature which people live on and work on and live by BTW, in Scotland, we call them lochs, not lakes.
6. Is it safe to roam around at night? (Had to ask. No offence meant)
Generally yes, but midges are worse at night. That said, they should be dying down by then. If they are a problem buy Avon Skinsosoft. It doesn't stop them landing on you (which means the annoyance factor is still there) but it does stop them biting.

7. How are the driving conditions? Also, do all the places in the list have some sort of parking arrangements?
Expect to average 30-40 mph on everything that isn't dual carriageway, and you'll be realistic. It is out of season, so the roads will be quieter, nevertheless, you are generally restricted to the speed of the slowest vehicle you encounter - which is usually a guy in a beat up Peugeot or Micra doing 40.

Roads you've identified are variable - from the good quality dual carriage way A90/A9 between Aberdeen and Stirling to really quite narrow A roads in the Highlands and Morayshire (for example the Elgin-Glenfiddich road I drove last week, and that particular section I was lucky to get to 50 mph on - it was just to twisty to get any speed on. Oh, and I was stuck behind a guy in a Peugeot anyway on the way south again ).

Much as I love Loch Tay, I'd have to question going there. It's not a great road, and while the area is beautiful it might be better to push on and spend more time not driving at one of your other places.
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 6:06 am
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Originally Posted by Jenbel
BTW, in Scotland, we call them lochs, not lakes.
Ooh, can I be the pedant? Can I?

http://goo.gl/maps/6tbUZ
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 7:37 am
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Exception which proves the rule. Since there is only one lake, we can't call it 'lakes'
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 3:44 pm
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The traffic around ABZ (Dyce) is shocking between 7am to 9.30am and 4pm to 6pm Monday to Friday. Avoid these time periods if you've a flight to catch.

The A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen is a dreadful road - full of HGV's and limited passing opportunities and boring in terms of scenery.

Take the A9 south to Carrbridge, cut across to Grantown on Spey, then take the A939 over the Lecht to Balmoral and then onto Aberdeen via Dinnet, Tarland and the B9119
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 3:59 pm
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Fuel is expensive outside the main towns. Fill up at Asda supermarkets where possible as they are all same low rate where ever you are. Fuel in the Highlands will be over 1.60 per litre

Agreed about the Loch Ness route, go up the west side via Drumnadrochit and stop at Castle Urquhart and do some Nessy spotting. Best time to her is just before sunset.

Car hire at ABZ is now a five minute walk turning left out of the terminal doors. Check the car with meticulous scrutiny for dents and scratches. Get the guy in the outside cabin to alter the record to reflect the truth. Use auto-europe.co.uk to book the car and insuranceforcarhire.co.uk to buy an excess policy and decline the hire car company's excess waiver policy. Hire a compact at the very least - you'll be glad of the extra acceleration if nothing else
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 4:00 pm
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Originally Posted by jatink129
My dad loves Glenfidditch so that's pretty much the only reason why I picked that. So as to pick up some souvenir for him.
Is there any other distillery that you'd recommend over this one?
I had a great time at the distillery in Oban and would definitely recommend it to all. But have not visited Glenfidditch so cannot vouch for that. Provided the distillery is open for tours I am sure it will be great.
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 4:07 pm
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put an o2 or vodafone sim in your phone. Lesser networks will only work in the larger towns and cities - which is b*gger all use when you break down in the middle of nowhere
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 4:56 pm
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Wow! Thanks for all the tips.

I'll try and reply to each.
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 4:57 pm
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Originally Posted by ballogie
put an o2 or vodafone sim in your phone. Lesser networks will only work in the larger towns and cities - which is b*gger all use when you break down in the middle of nowhere
I think my girlfriend has O2. I'm not even going to bother with getting a sim-card for my phone.
Don't need one.
Any time I want to call home, I'll just skype it.
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 4:59 pm
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Originally Posted by Sixth Freedom
I had a great time at the distillery in Oban and would definitely recommend it to all. But have not visited Glenfidditch so cannot vouch for that. Provided the distillery is open for tours I am sure it will be great.
I believe the last tour is at 4pm at Glenfidditch (pronounced "glenfiddik", right?). And it's free.
There's another tour for 10 pounds but from what I've read, the free one is good enough.
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Old Jul 1, 2013, 5:09 pm
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Originally Posted by ballogie
Fuel is expensive outside the main towns. Fill up at Asda supermarkets where possible as they are all same low rate where ever you are. Fuel in the Highlands will be over 1.60 per litre

Agreed about the Loch Ness route, go up the west side via Drumnadrochit and stop at Castle Urquhart and do some Nessy spotting. Best time to her is just before sunset.

Car hire at ABZ is now a five minute walk turning left out of the terminal doors. Check the car with meticulous scrutiny for dents and scratches. Get the guy in the outside cabin to alter the record to reflect the truth. Use auto-europe.co.uk to book the car and insuranceforcarhire.co.uk to buy an excess policy and decline the hire car company's excess waiver policy. Hire a compact at the very least - you'll be glad of the extra acceleration if nothing else
I forgot to update the map actually.
We did want to check out Castle Urquhart, and just for convenience sake, I put in "Loch Ness" as the location, instead of Urquhart, and Google automatically chose the other route.

But thanks for the tip.

Do gas stations sell gas in bottles? Something that we can buy and take with us?

As for cars, we found an economy car (Renault Clio or similar) on holidayautos.co.uk for about 60 pounds which I thought was a fair price.
I was actually considering putting it on my Chase Explorer card, since it gives me zero foreign transaction fees and primary car insurance.

auto-europe.co.uk showed me similar prices. Whereas http://insuranceforcarhire.co.uk/ took me to a generic website
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