[Travel] Scotland Touring Holidays, Advice Sought . . .

[Cowfold Seagull]

Although l have visited Glasgow and Edinburgh many times now, principally on business, & like both cities, neither of them are exactly sympomatic of Scotland as a whole, and l have always longed to get out into the countryside and see something of the "real" country.

Mrs. CS & I have plans to do just that in a few months time, the idea, very loosely, is to fly to one of the aforementioned cities, hire a car, then meander our way north over a week of so, following no pre planned route, and end up in the Highlands, before flying back from Inverness.

My question to you good people is this, is it possible to just rock up at a B & B and find a room on spec without prebooking these days, and do B & B's even exist now in the way that they used to? Yes we could preplan it all way in advance, select our route, and book specific hotels, but that for us takes away something of the romance about the whole thing, plus we have this notion of staying in small remote old fashioned farmhouses or homesteads, rather than Travelodges or Premier Inns!

Has anyone else attempted the same? and if so, how did you get on?

 

[Seagull58]

I did it back in the late 80's. Drove up to Peebles then across to Dumfries, through Glasgow and up the west coast to Oban, Fort William, then through Glencoe, Perth, Stirling, Edinburgh and home. I didn't book any place in advance and easily found somewhere each night. This was well before the internet so we simply called in at the local tourist office in each town and got local accommodation lists from them. Some of them were families renting out a spare room. I guess they're all on airbnb now.

 

[Superphil]

We did something similar last October. It really doesn't take long to drive to the highlands from Glasgow or Edinburgh. We drove all the way, first stop Powfoot in Dumfries, stayed in a small hotel, castles and walking in abundance around there. Then on through Glencoe to Fort William, had an Air BNB for a couple of nights, took the Hogworts railway for a scenic train trip. Then up along Loch Ness to Inverness, Air BnB again, watched ICT v Greenock Morton, had a great meal out. Then out to Elgin, a hotel there, I wouldn't bother with Elgin again, we should have stopped in Forres, much nicer. Then a leisurely drive back down the A9 through Aviemore, Pitlochry down to Perth and across to Glasgow and then home.

There is loads to see, hope for half decent weather, and if you want to see some culture I'd probably say Edinburgh rather than Glasgow. That's just a personal opinion, and not a slight on Glasgow, although if you do go to Glasgow, avoid Sauchiehall Street

Air BnB and Booking.com are great for finding places last minute in our experience.

*if you want to go further north than Inverness, be aware, it is very sparse, stunningly beautiful, but it really does get remote.

 

[boik]

Be aware that the NC500 is now a thing. It gets very busy on that route now, especially since lockdown. It's stunningly beautiful but is now full of a lot of people who don't know how to behave in such places. So glad we did loads of trips before it got too busy. We've been doing 5-6 week Scottish tours for a good few years now, but that is in our campervan rather than B&B. 40 years ago I did an impromptu fishing trip with a mate and paid for a night in a B&B with 4 trout!

There are loads of other really beautiful places though, and the NC500 areas should be fine out of season. Have fun!

 

[Brovion]

We got married in the West Highlands, the Ardnamurchan peninsula, a little village called Acharacle at the foot of Lock Shiel. (Bonnie Prince Charlie landed at the other end - and no it wasn't the same year). I absolutely love the Scottish Highlands, go anywhere, it's all great. And the Scots are a welcoming and generous people, even though a combination of some ignorant English and some noisy Nationalists may have convinced you otherwise. We still go there a lot and we still love it.

 

[bhafc99]

Be aware that the NC500 is now a thing. It gets very busy on that route now, especially since lockdown. It's stunningly beautiful but is now full of a lot of people who don't know how to behave in such places. So glad we did loads of trips before it got too busy. We've been doing 5-6 week Scottish tours for a good few years now, but that is in our campervan rather than B&B. 40 years ago I did an impromptu fishing trip with a mate and paid for a night in a B&B with 4 trout!

There are loads of other really beautiful places though, and the NC500 areas should be fine out of season. Have fun!

Second that. I’d go anywhere but the NC500 if I was you, while it covers some stunning spots it’s generated a huge conveyor belt of people doing the one route, making it the total opposite of ‘remote and unspoilt’ Scotland that you can still find bits of elsewhere.

 

[East Staffs Gull]

Despite the increasing popularity of the NC500, hotels and guest houses in the Western Highlands have suffered in recent years due partly to staff shortages, but more due to the massive influx of camper vans to the area. The result of the latter has been a substantial reduction in demand for hotel and guest house rooms. As an example, the owners of the quite decent Lochcarron Hotel recently sold the 11 bed, lochside hotel for a reported £450,000, due to the downturn in trade. Accommodation in the region is therefore not as busy as people might envisage and is reasonably priced, but standards do vary. I’d say that pre-booking, if only by a day or two, is advisable, but not essential.

The NC500 route is absolutely stunning, bar some of the east coast section. I definitely wouldn’t avoid it, but be prepared for slow progress in a motor vehicle. Also, look for accommodation just off the route.

 

[bhafc99]

We got married in the West Highlands, the Ardnamurchan peninsula, a little village called Acharacle at the foot of Lock Shiel.

Nice. Congratulations. We got married in Roslin, near Edinburgh, and I also proposed to my wife here in Scotland, overlooking the ‘Isle of Ewe’. Can’t beat a good pun!

 

[Live by the sea]

My advice - go in the summer as there’s less chance of rain and eat well before you go as the food isn’t great .

 

[Reddleman]

So. My suggestion.

Start in Glasgow and head up past Loch Lomond and drive through Glen Coe. It’s an absolutely stunning drive. You could stay in Glencoe itself or push on to Oban. From Oban you could head to Mull which is beautiful (need to book Ferry well in advance). If you do go to Mull then day a day trip to the Isle of Iona. Stunning. Alternatively you could take a Ferry to do a day trip to the island of Lismore. Lovely for a day and cracking wee cafe there!

If you don’t fancy Mull you could head for Mallaig. It’s a beautiful drive and places such as Morar have some of the best beaches you will see anywhere in the world. Morar and Arisaig on the way to Mallaig have hotels with incredible walking nearby.

You should also then head up to Fortwilliam. Options from there include Skye (no ferry needed) or keep heading north.

If you go up past Ullapool the most beautiful place I have even stayed is called Inverkirkaig. It’s just south of Lochinver which has plenty of restaurants and a hotel or two. Up that far is the most beautiful place I have seen anyway, it’s almost otherworldly.
You could also do a day trip from there up to Durness which is right at North West tip.

Alternatively you could head inland to Aviemore. Loads to do there though so really good for few days. From there you could head up to Inverness as it’s not too far.

I live in Scotland and I believe the west coast is simply amazing, and despite what others say the food is fantastic, especially if you like sea food

Good luck planning I hope you have a ball.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

We were thinking the same sort of thing, like loads of others! Having read the above now possibly staying in three hotels, East, West, Central? and driving out each day from there.

 

[East Staffs Gull]

One of the better NC500 route hotels that we stayed one night at was the Gairloch Hotel on the west coast, with views across to the Isle of Skye.

Inland, the Altnaharra Hotel was extremely good, albeit the village is tiny and rather remote.

We found Thurso, Wick and JOG quite underwhelming. The west and north-west sections of the NC500 route were the most spectacular. We started and finished our trip in Inverness, which is definitely worth visiting.

 

[Mr Banana]

Glasgow – GOMA, CCA, Kelvingrove, Mausoleum, West End
Ferry to Arran, bike and b&b (or can do it in a day)
Also really like Arbroath for abbey, ruins and nautical heritage. Their ground is like nowhere else to watch football but guess it'll be the wrong time of year
Stonehaven and countryside/coast around Aberdeen are also good

 

[Mr Putdown]

My advice - go in the summer as there’s less chance of rain and eat well before you go as the food isn’t great .

Maybe less rain but way more midges & clegs.

Food wise I’ve had plenty of great meals all over Scotland.

 

[goldstone]

The midges are hellish in the summer.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

So. My suggestion.

Start in Glasgow and head up past Loch Lomond and drive through Glen Coe. It’s an absolutely stunning drive. You could stay in Glencoe itself or push on to Oban. From Oban you could head to Mull which is beautiful (need to book Ferry well in advance). If you do go to Mull then day a day trip to the Isle of Iona. Stunning. Alternatively you could take a Ferry to do a day trip to the island of Lismore. Lovely for a day and cracking wee cafe there!

If you don’t fancy Mull you could head for Mallaig. It’s a beautiful drive and places such as Morar have some of the best beaches you will see anywhere in the world. Morar and Arisaig on the way to Mallaig have hotels with incredible walking nearby.

You should also then head up to Fortwilliam. Options from there include Skye (no ferry needed) or keep heading north.

If you go up past Ullapool the most beautiful place I have even stayed is called Inverkirkaig. It’s just south of Lochinver which has plenty of restaurants and a hotel or two. Up that far is the most beautiful place I have seen anyway, it’s almost otherworldly.
You could also do a day trip from there up to Durness which is right at North West tip.

Alternatively you could head inland to Aviemore. Loads to do there though so really good for few days. From there you could head up to Inverness as it’s not too far.

I live in Scotland and I believe the west coast is simply amazing, and despite what others say the food is fantastic, especially if you like sea food

Good luck planning I hope you have a ball.

Many thanks for that, so much food for thought. Beginning to think that a week isn't nearly long enough!

You live in Scotland, so are B & B's simple enough to find, and generally have vacancies if we arrive on spec?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

One of the better NC500 route hotels that we stayed one night at was the Gairloch Hotel on the west coast, with views across to the Isle of Skye.

Inland, the Altnaharra Hotel was extremely good, albeit the village is tiny and rather remote.

We found Thurso, Wick and JOG quite underwhelming. The west and north-west sections of the NC500 route were the most spectacular. We started and finished our trip in Inverness, which is definitely worth visiting.

We drove up to Thurso but that was to visit a friend who lived there. We took in Dunnet Head (the most northerly mainand point) and JOG. As you say, underwhelming but we could say we'd been there, and could see Orkney. We did like our visit to Caithness Glass.

We went up to Glasgow, across to Edinburgh, up the east coast, and then returned via the west coast.


Ps, the food in Scotland is delicious, so I don't know what the previous poster was talking about.
I've stayed in Ayr, Alloway and St Andrews on other visits.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

What is the actual "midgy" season, am I OK in Late May?

 

[LamieRobertson]

We drove up to Thurso but that was to visit a friend who lived there. We took in Dunnet Head (the most northerly mainand point) and JOG. As you say, underwhelming but we could say we'd been there, and could see Orkney. We did like our visit to Caithness Glass.

We went up to Glasgow, across to Edinburgh, up the east coast, and then returned via the west coast.


Ps, the food in Scotland is delicious, so I don't know what the previous poster was talking about.
I've stayed in Ayr, Alloway and St Andrews on other visits.

Maybe he thought he was tasting the local cuisine by only going to McDonald’s

 

[Brovion]

What is the actual "midgy" season, am I OK in Late May?

No! In fact you'll just be there for the start of it when they're all hungry and raring to go! (Lasts between May and September roughly).