Driving Tour in Scotland - must sees and does

[Charles Morgan]

I am visiting Glasgow for a weekend wine event in the middle of May (for those who watch STV's The Hour, it is being organised by Tom Cannavan, the wine presenter, who is a friend of mine) and I am planning then to visit a friend in Arbroath the following weekend.

I have always wanted to tour the Highlands so I am thinking of doing a four day tour between the two scheduled stops and would very much appreciate input from people who know the region as to places to see, things to do and recommended pitstops.

Seeing ***'s and Del320's photos, it is clearly a stunning backdrop to take photos of the Mercedes!

 

[wemorgan]

There are lots of palces worth visiting, more than you can see in a single visit, but to begin with there's:

Aberfeldy and the Loch Tay area (my recent photos)
Grantown-on-spey

 

[GordonTarling]

IMHO, you could do a lot worse than to follow ***'s route and extend it North as you felt appropriate. However, it's ALL beautiful!

 

[renault12ts]

I agree with Gordon, I did that route with my wife 2 years ago. We also went across the sea to Skye. All round there is beautiful.

 

[Ted]

Stay near the west coast - this has the best scenery.
Right.
Glencoe. Beautiful and enigmatic, but a little touristy
Loch Lomond. Very nice but Very touristy. Stop at Luss.
Glen/Loch Etive. A wonderdful drive into the wilderness.
Glen Nevis. Drive to the end of the road, and a simple walk to tke falls of Steall. Magnificent and magical.
Five sisters of Kintail,and the road to Glenelg. A road so beautiful it will bring tears to your eyes.
The Applecross Pass (Bealach na Ba) Drives just don't get better than this.
Isle of Mull. Drive the length of the Island and then take a boat to Iona. You can even go to Staffa andFingals cave from there. Breathtaking and again, magnificent.
Spean Bridge. Stop awhile at the commando memorial, and look around at the Nevis Range, and think what a wonderful job these heroes did.
Glen Roy/Glen Gloy. Wonderful drive. And see the shorelines of a lake 300 metres up the side of a hill.
Glen Affric. Someone once said to me "Scotland is the most beautiful country in the world, and Glen Affric is the most beautiful place in Scotland. If you go there you can say you have been to the most beautiful place in the world". He was right.
The road to the isles to Mallaig, and Glenfinnan, Morar, and Arisaig. Probably the second most beautiful place in the world, if a little touristy.
Glen Garry. Thirty miles to nowhere. Easily bypassed, but stunning and peaceful.
Skye. Not my cup of tea, but the Cuillins are stark and broody. Besst seen on the way back, when they open up in a magnificent vista.
Plockton. Because there are palm trees in the main street.
A drive through Strontian is nice.

I have many, many, more. just ask.

 

[bennesspipers]

There's usually a pipe band playing every sunday afternoon during the summer at Braemar,the drive up there along the A93 is very picturesque, & while in that area Ballater's a nice place too,they've got their own pipe band which plays quite often, led by Pipe Major Ian Smith.

 

[Lugy]

Ted's pretty much summed it up in one.

You need to visit John O'Groats, the place itself is crap but it's vital for that photo...

The roads on the tourist route to (from) Ullapool aren't bad either.

 

[del320]

Start off by looking through this thread started by culpano as well as the link to my tour in Sutherland last August in post #38.

Points to remember:

1. Never underestimate distance/journey times. If you want to concentrate on the road as well as see the scenery, average speeds could drop as low as 25 mph.

2. Don't think you'll do the whole of Scotland justice in a week; pick an area and explore.

3. Scenery-wise, it's all north and west of the Great Glen and all the coast and islands west of a line drawn from Fort William to Loch Lomond, right down the west side of the Firth of Clyde to the Mull of Galloway.

4. Accomodation can still be hugely variable in quality and price; some superb B & Bs yet still some really lousy hotels. Let TripAdvisor be your guide.

5. Avoid Fort William!

6. There are, of course, other isolated areas of beauty including Perthshire - centred on Aberfeldy and the Borders - centred on Peebles or Kelso.

7. The east coast (including Arbroath) is largely pleasant but featureless agricultural land.

8. High summer in the west means midges!

9. Have a plan B! If the weather is crap and low swirling cloud obscures the scenery, ensure there is a reasonable tourist attraction nearby - eg castle. (easier said than achieved).

10. In the far north-west, never let your tank drop to less than a half - especially on a Sunday.

 

[Ted]

5. Avoid Fort William!

This should be rule 1, 2, 3, and 4 also.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Thank you very much indeed, all very helpful. I have particularly noted the advice on average speed, thank you Del320, and on fuelling. Given the time I have planned, I think it best to stick to the West Coast and avoid covering too much.

I shall avoid Fort William!

 

[bennesspipers]

8. High summer in the west means midges!

Aaaargh, make sure you take repellant with you, the ones that contain lemon seem to work the best. A Scottish midge bite can bring a lump up on you the size of a bantams egg !! & they itch like hell.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Are the midges bad in May? I am used to travelling in India with mozzies and similar, although average temperatures are a little higher there...

Thank you Bennesspipers for the pipe band suggestions. I fear on the first Sunday I shall have a hangover from hades, and suspect a long drive plus pipes isn't really going to work, but I love pipe music.

 

[Lugy]

10. In the far north-west, never let your tank drop to less than a half - especially on a Sunday.

On the drive above we nearly failed miserably on this! Ended up sleeping in the car, on the 2nd of January, in Tongue in the hope that the local shop would open to sell us some petrol the next day. He did though and saved the day .

 

[del320]

There's usually a pipe band playing every sunday afternoon during the summer at Braemar,the drive up there along the A93 is very picturesque, & while in that area Ballater's a nice place too,they've got their own pipe band which plays quite often, led by Pipe Major Ian Smith.

... just for you ... xxx

Saturday evening in Dornoch.

 

[Lugy]

Are the midges bad in May? I am used to travelling in India with mozzies and similar, although average temperatures are a little higher there...

Thank you Bennesspipers for the pipe band suggestions. I fear on the first Sunday I shall have a hangover from hades, and suspect a long drive plus pipes isn't really going to work, but I love pipe music.

Mosquitos are nothing compared to the Mutant Midges, commonly seen in vast swarms around dusk......

I'd advise you bring some midge repellent that has a large DET (!??!) content, it works best. Skin-so-soft doesn't really work anymore

 

[Ted]

May is the best time in Scotland.
Longer days, less bloody tourists, and the midges are still learning how to bite.

Also, I have always had better weather early in the year.

Also be aware that the sese of urgency is rather different to other parts of the UK....
(although this hapenned quite a few years ago when there were many more ferries on the road north),

"Weel, if there isnae another ferry today, there should be one tomorrow"

 

[wemorgan]

Are the midges bad in May?

Stay further east in the higher hills is best in my experience (cairngorm mountains)

 

[grober]

Mosquitos are nothing compared to the Mutant Midges, commonly seen in vast swarms around dusk......

I'd advise you bring some midge repellent that has a large DET (!??!) content, it works best. Skin-so-soft doesn't really work anymore

You mean DEET N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, DEET - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia not advised for children and best to try any repellent on a skin test patch before massive application. Think you should just miss the worst Midge Season in early May especially with this years late spring.

 

[Lugy]

You mean DEET N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, DEET - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia not advised for children and best to try any repellent on a skin test patch before massive application.

That's the stuff.

When we did our off roading in the forests around Lochgilphead DEET was the only stuff that had an effect. I suspect this year they'll be immune to it, they evolve so quickly.....

 

[Charles Morgan]

Deet based stuff is what I use in India, no problems with it apart from the initial smell. Rather that than being peppered with Bantam egg sized bites.

Spending a lot of time in Cornwall I am used to a slower pace (although I take a couple of days to unwind) where as some wag put it - Drekly is a Cornish term which has the same meaning as Manana but without conveying the same sense of urgency.....