Scotland in 14 nights (1 Viewer)

Feb 24, 2013
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My in laws love the idea of motor homing but have enjoyed foreign holidays for too long, now cant afford one and are too old to hire one

We keep telling them how much they have missed what is so close to home, we really love Scotland, they now say 'we wish we had seen what you have'

So, we set out to plan a 14 night trip doing as much of Scotland as we could to show them what they have missed, thought it would be easy, but we now know we need more nights, but don't have them

It will be real whistle stop, but this is the route, as of few minutes ago, changing every time Bev looks at it :), we have decided to get to the top and islands for maximum effect and they can more easily get back to the lower bits

Day 1 leave home (Chesterfield) stop over borders area, free welcome to use town centres, probably Jedburgh first night, meal in local hotel

Day 2 Drive up to Findhorn valley, a beautiful place all nature lovers should try, leave A9 at Tomatin, head west up river, park up close to road end and enjoy

009.JPG
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those 2 days are the high milers, but still a lot of ground to cover

Day 3 drive back to Grantown on Spey CC site, best shower block in the UK, in laws not really used to camping, will be confused when water stops coming out of the taps!! o_O, empty and refill everything

Day 4 Inverness for food shopping, then Chanonry point, another must do, arriving just after low tide to catch dolphins fishing, also lunchtime for fish and chips from Fortrose :), then overnight at Falls of Shin, good chance of seeing salmon jumping, beautiful location, but really dead quiet and dark, might scare MIL

Day 4 drive to Durness via Altnaharra, possible stop there (midge dependent) probably drive on to Durness, must be better in August than January (y)

IMG_0102.JPG


Day 5, drive down towards Ullapool, stop at Ardmair site a few miles north, right on side of loch / sea

Day 6, drive to Poolewe CCC site near NT gardens,

Day 7, to Skye, via Torridon hills (had to miss out Applecross not enough days), stop at Sligachan site with hotel opposite

Day 8, ferry to Harris, overnight near Golden Eagle observatory

Day 9, drive to Lewis via the Butt of Lewis to a nice looking site (not been before)
http://www.eileanfraoich.co.uk/
looks good, stopping for an extra night, bit of recovery and the western isles shut on Sundays

Day 11, drive down to Harris, chose from one of these
http://www.westharristrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Map-of-West-Harris.jpg
:):)

Day 12 ferry to Uists, drive down to site used before at bottom of South Uist, Kilbride

Day 13 ferry back to Skye, stay at
http://www.portreecampsite.co.uk/

Day 14, should be home now but, on to Mallaig from Skye by ferry, Fort William then Conan ferry to overnight at Lochaline for ferry to Mull in morning, (saw our first ever otter here outside the pub)

Day 15, really running low on days now, do Tobermory, drive across Mull, then ferry back to Oban, stop at CC site North Ledaig, amazing site by walking down the back of the airfield, sea going into loch Etive at Connel bridge, has a waterfall (rapids) in and out in opposite directions according to the tide, weird sight

Day 16, drive up Glen Coe, back over to Edinburgh area, not sure where to stay yet?

Day 17 three days late, but bear in mind I have now had in laws for over 2 weeks, head home


So many more places we could have gone to, and we really should be doing 2 nights at every stop at least, but they say they will take themselves back up sometime, bizarrely looking forward to it really(y)

I will give you the 'real event' as it develops in August :)
 
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DavidG58
Feb 24, 2013
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Sounds great David have you got a pup tent for the outlaws !

think we have got that covered, hopefully going round in 2 motorhomes, Bev driving one, me the other (y), at least they can run out of their own water :)

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lorger

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sounds great if a little rushed, I am heading up to do the NC500 this July with my dad and will be taking it easy over the 14 days. We do have an advantage of living in Scotland so not as long to get there.
 

MattR

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Sorry, I'm a bit too pi**ed to read all of this but it seems that you are only suggesting one day on Skye. IMHO, you would need at least 7 days to do Skye any justice, maybe more. Is the plan for your PIL to drive themselves silly or to enjoy themselves?
 
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DavidG58
Feb 24, 2013
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sounds great if a little rushed, I am heading up to do the NC500 this July with my dad and will be taking it easy over the 14 days. We do have an advantage of living in Scotland so not as long to get there.

totally agree with the rush bit, but the in laws can drag me down pretty fast :):)

I hope to do most of the NC500 in May, cant be bothered with the north east bit though, prefer Tongue to Dornoch via Lairg, much prettier

I / we really love Scotland, including 'your' bit, Dumfries and Galloway much overlooked, we have spent many a week in a caravan at the CL Newton Farm, Gatehouse of Fleet, also under rated is Aberdeenshire, very impressed with how much sand the coast line has there, but for me you cant beat mountains, better still mountains coming down to sandy beaches (Harris) (y)

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DavidG58
Feb 24, 2013
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Sorry, I'm a bit too pi**ed to read all of this but it seems that you are only suggesting one day on Skye. IMHO, you would need at least 7 days to do Skye any justice, maybe more. Is the plan for your PIL to drive themselves silly or to enjoy themselves?

tough one, they are early 80's and probably will not do it again, Bev has to work so 17 nights is the limit, we either miss a load off or do a load in a rush, tough balance.

But IMO Skye is over rated, great route to get a ferry to the western isles, pretty place definitely, but midge heaven in summer
 

lorger

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totally agree with the rush bit, but the in laws can drag me down pretty fast :):)

I hope to do most of the NC500 in May, cant be bothered with the north east bit though, prefer Tongue to Dornoch via Lairg, much prettier

I / we really love Scotland, including 'your' bit, Dumfries and Galloway much overlooked, we have spent many a week in a caravan at the CL Newton Farm, Gatehouse of Fleet, also under rated is Aberdeenshire, very impressed with how much sand the coast line has there, but for me you cant beat mountains, better still mountains coming down to sandy beaches (Harris) (y)
your spot on about the mountains and beaches, we toured the Outer Hebrides a few years back and loved it.
 

MattR

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tough one, they are early 80's and probably will not do it again, Bev has to work so 17 nights is the limit, we either miss a load off or do a load in a rush, tough balance.

But IMO Skye is over rated, great route to get a ferry to the western isles, pretty place definitely, but midge heaven in summer

You may be right. We've not been there in the summer but we've spent 2 weeks there and 2 weeks in Mull and not been bored over Easters. I would guess that Harris would also cope with a week or so as a destination. Your trip does sound a little bit little hectic though.

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Sep 5, 2012
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Sounds great, you've probably seen more of Scotland than I have. We've been to Ledaig with a caravan but hope to visit with camper in a couple of weeks. Granton on Spey on list this year as well as Skye.
 

CWH

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You seem to be going for mostly 'views' which is fine; but you might want to vary your trip with some 'things' to see, such as Culloden battlefield or Newtonmore folk museum, both of which have good parking and cafes and depending on levels of fitness you can see a little or a lot as both also are 'on the flat'.

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Sep 5, 2012
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How about visiting The Highland Wildlife Park to see the Polar Bear sweethearts and Wolverine cubs but not sure about parking.
 

funflair

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David

Jen thinks you are trying to finish them off, she reminded me that when I drove her Mum and Dad down to Plymouth for a couple of days and then back to Birmingham, her Dad took to his bed for a day when we got home as instead of sitting back and being driven he tried to stay awake and concentrate so consequently he was more stressed than I was.

Martin
 

CWH

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How about visiting The Highland Wildlife Park to see the Polar Bear sweethearts and Wolverine cubs but not sure about parking.
Ha! took 2 buses and a long walk to get there from Loch Morlich, thinking it was a sort of RSPB-type reserve for Highland Wildlife - not a wildlife-of-the-world park in the highlands! Couldn't understand why there were camels and zebras in the same enclosure. Didn't go in. (In any case, you couldn't get in without a car!)

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Sep 5, 2012
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It was years ago when we went as we had sponsored the wolves for my daughter and she wanted to see her name on enclosure. We stayed in a log cabin in Kincraig next to park could hear the wolves howling at night but can't remember if we walked or drove.
 
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Carol

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What a lovely thing to do for them, just a thought but they are older and properly a lot nearer our age :rolleyes: With so much packed in could it be a bit hectic, maybe a slightly slower pace, they will need the loo more than you, they will maybe eat at different times and I would think slower at getting around than you so build a bit of lea way into the schedule, I know Eddie and I can't do what we did 10 years ago and we are used to it.:)

 
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DavidG58
Feb 24, 2013
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You are all right with the references to the hectic sound of it all, but it is not as bad as it sounds, have given some thought to daytime stop offs, only listed the sleeping places so far

Once we get the high miles of the first 2 days out of the way it is only about 100 - 150 miles a day, albeit on some small roads, but hopefully 4 hours driving, similar to stop and look at things as felt wanted on the days

We do all like 'views' and walks and thankfully they are both reasonably fit still :)

I suspect (fear) we will see a few too many touristy places and coffee shops for my liking and my wallet :)

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irnbru

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David, I thought I had seen a lot of Scotland but your travels seem to put me to shame.
Hopefuully going to rectify this in June so will be picking your brain at Falkirk. :)
 

denisejoe

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We "did" Scotland in 2 weeks when we were in our 20s and even at that age we felt it was just too much driving around (we had no choice we were with my sister & brother in law and he was driving). Certainly don't think I'd want to do it in my 80s!

Denise
 

MattR

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Fuzzy head has cleared now.

Qu 1: Can you go in September to avoid main midge season?
Qu 2: Do you really need to do the whole of this trip in one go? Could you do it over two holidays? You mentioned that they are 80 ish but if the route is chilled, they may cope with doing a second year.
Qu 3: Would the PIL really enjoy all of the travelling? I think that I would be disappointed with this amount of driving - not time to enjoy the views, relax, soak up the atmosphere - all go, rush rush rush. I still think that it would be exhausting and it will be a blur.

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DavidG58
Feb 24, 2013
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Now I am in trouble twice over (nothing overly new)

Firstly Bev, I should have found a photo where she had not just taken her bobble hat off (bad hair??) oops, so here another























017.JPG


so there you go, another without her this time :) was going to make a wise crack about not finding one with better hair, but would I, no I wouldn't dare (y)

Next, my in laws apparently are not 80 yet :LOL: my Mum is so I thought they were the same, 77 apparently, doesn't make a lot of difference to me, but it does to them so it seems :)
 
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DavidG58
Feb 24, 2013
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Fuzzy head has cleared now.

Qu 1: Can you go in September to avoid main midge season?
Qu 2: Do you really need to do the whole of this trip in one go? Could you do it over two holidays? You mentioned that they are 80 ish but if the route is chilled, they may cope with doing a second year.
Qu 3: Would the PIL really enjoy all of the travelling? I think that I would be disappointed with this amount of driving - not time to enjoy the views, relax, soak up the atmosphere - all go, rush rush rush. I still think that it would be exhausting and it will be a blur.

fair points, but all out trumped by the fact that I will not be doing it twice with them, we could do less places, but we have already dropped off loads of places we wanted to take them to

they are used to cruises and it always amazes me how often they are up at daft o'clock to go on a trip, this will be positively plodding by comparison (y)
 

MattR

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fair points, but all out trumped by the fact that I will not be doing it twice with them, we could do less places, but we have already dropped off loads of places we wanted to take them to

they are used to cruises and it always amazes me how often they are up at daft o'clock to go on a trip, this will be positively plodding by comparison (y)

If it were me, I'd spend 2 weeks getting and exploring the west coast and the Western Isles. I wouldn't go to further North.

Alternatively, just explore the mainland.

However, you know how capable they are and what they like. We travel in different ways and I was wondering if we could visit Harris and Lewis when we were thinking of our Summer hols this year when we would be spending one of the three weeks on Mull alone.

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hilldweller

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You are all right with the references to the hectic sound of it all,

Once we get the high miles of the first 2 days out of the way it is only about 100 - 150 miles a day

But every day ? 150 miles driving is nothing, 150 miles sat in the back listening to all the cutlery bouncing around is another matter.

Better to show them a bit and leave them wanting more than never wanting to go in a MH again, unless that is your subtle plan.

I've not noticed these mentioned: Britannia, Scone Palace, Balmoral, Dunvegan. To name but a few.
 

MattR

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But every day ? 150 miles driving is nothing, 150 miles sat in the back listening to all the cutlery bouncing around is another matter.

Better to show them a bit and leave them wanting more than never wanting to go in a MH again, unless that is your subtle plan.

I've not noticed these mentioned: Britannia, Scone Palace, Balmoral, Dunvegan. To name but a few.

150 miles in Scotland is tiring for me when the average speed that we achieve is around 40 mph on the larger roads and around 25/30 on the smaller ones. .
 
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DavidG58
Feb 24, 2013
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But every day ? 150 miles driving is nothing, 150 miles sat in the back listening to all the cutlery bouncing around is another matter.

Better to show them a bit and leave them wanting more than never wanting to go in a MH again, unless that is your subtle plan.

I've not noticed these mentioned: Britannia, Scone Palace, Balmoral, Dunvegan. To name but a few.

150 miles in Scotland is tiring for me when the average speed that we achieve is around 40 mph.

OK, so I guessed at the mileage, you actually got me thinking, Nice that you are so concerned about my MIL,

Brian we are going in 2 MH's so all sat up front, but our cutlery doesn't rattle :), being plastic might help :LOL:

Here are actual google verified daily mileages

Day 1 Chesterfield to Jedburgh 203 miles
Day 2 Jedburgh to Findhorn Valley 220 miles
Day 3 Findhorn to Grantown 50 miles
Day 4 Grantown to Falls of Shin via Chanonry 94 miles
Day 5 Lairg to Durness 70 miles
Day 6 Durness to Ardmair 63 miles
Day 7 Ardmair to Poolewe 53 miles
Day 8 Poolewe to Sligachan 97 miles
Day 9 Sligachan to Harris 63 miles (possibly includes ferry journey!) it does 33 miles driving
Day 10 Eagle Observatory to Lewis camp site via Butt of Lewis 86 miles
Day 11 walk to black house (and back)
Day 12 Eilean Fraoich to Harris beach via Stornoway 53 miles
Day 13 Harris to South Uist 75 miles
Day 14 South Uist to Portree 73 miles (not including sea crossing this time)
Day 15 Portree to Lochaline via Mallaig and Fort William 131 miles (includes some sea miles)
Day 16 Lochaline to North Ledaig inc Tobermory a run around Mull and some sea miles back to Oban 74 miles
Day 17 North Ledaig Glen Coe to possibly Peebles or another border town 163 miles
Day 18 Peebles to home 239 miles

I have just been cross referencing to original plan, gained an extra day, on plan A we had 2 day 4's :)

Hopefully doesn't read quite as badly now, I do agree it is not for everyone, but I really don't think they will do it again. although we might get them to Edinburgh for the festival next year then do some of the missing lower areas (y)

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Feb 22, 2011
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Firstly Bev, I should have found a photo where she had not just taken her bobble hat off (bad hair??) oops, so here another


Firstly, why does your dog wear a bobble hat ?

Secondly, Id just like to say how useful I have found this thread. I`m not very familiar with Scotland but I plan 8 nights there the last week in April. I want to go to Loch Rannoch having been there on business a few years ago and I read on Fun about someone going to Killin which sounded good so I`ll probably call there then probably head accross to the West coast.
I`ve been looking at some of the places on your list to visit and I`m sure I`ll be able to include some as I too like good scenery and walking, so thanks for the tips !
The trip is for me and the dog, which I`m looking forward to. OH is going to Majorca with her sister..... the weather will probably dictate who made the right choice !
 

CWH

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I read on Fun about someone going to Killin which sounded good
Killin's a nice little village. Don't know if you'll be using the Maragowan CC site - but if you are, and you want to leave the van there and just walk with your dog, you can go north on the road from the campsite, turn east past a couple of cottages then you have a fantastic walk by the River Lochay. Or, from the south side of the bridge at the Falls of Dochart, go up a little track opposite and you get a good long walk through the forest by the south bank of Loch Tay.
 

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