[Couple of Frogs] 25th April to 5th of May to discover Scotland :)

yann

Hello !

Let me introduce myself : My name is Yann, and I am a french photographer
My wife and I would like to discover Scotland : landscapes, old castles, people and other treasures of Scotland ! ... I would like to take beautiful photos of all the moments of beauty

I imagine a boucle from Edimbourg to Edimbourg (indeed ^^)... but what could be places in between ?? 

Please help a funny froggy couple with all the best ideas you could share

Thank you in advance !


Yann & Laurence 

Ps : sorry for my English

fishypro

Hi @yann , How much time do you have for a loop? Do you have a hire car or do you wish to use public transport?
When I know more then I could maybe help you.
 

Samantha_Grant

Hi @yann your English is very good so no need to apologise. Where to start, there's so much to see and do.  You don't say how long your visit will be? 

I write a Scottish travel blog which features lots of castles, ruins and historical sites throughout Scotland.  You may find some inspiration there. http://theweewhitedug.com/ 

I'm an Edinburgher so you'll find a few blogs dedicated to my hometown as well as the region of East Lothian which is close and has wonderful beaches and castles (Hailes, Dirleton, Tantallon).

Aberdeenshire & Royal Deeside are great regions to visit for castles with the iconic Dunnottar Castle, Crathes Castle, Drum Castle & Balmoral to name but a few. 

Try to visit an island too if you can. Arran is easy to reach from Edinburgh and is often referred to as Scotland in miniature.  It's a fascinating island to visit and you'll get to meet some iconic and majestic stags at Lochranza.  The Isle of Mull is my favourite. You can get the ferry there from Oban which is a 3 hour pleasant and scenic drive from Edinburgh.  From Mull you can visit the gorgeous historic island of Iona and also take a boat trip to the spectacular island of Staffa to see Fingal's cave. 

Try not to neglect the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway too as the natural instinct when visiting Scotland is to head North. Portpatrick in D&G is a lovely harbour town. It had Dunskey Castle to visit and the spectacular Culzean in nearby Ayrshire.  Smailholm Tower and Hermitage Castle in the Borders have wow factor.  St Abbs Head has dramatic cliff walks and Cove Harbour is one of Scotland's best kept secret so shhhhh! 

Whatever you decide, I can guarantee it'll be amazing .

  

yann

WOW ! Thank you for your 1st replies !

For now, we just booked the flight : All the rest has to be decide  


- We can hire a car or we can travel by train ! (or anthing else)
- We'll arrive the 25th at 11h45pm from the airport, so I guess we can imagine leaving Edimbourg the 27th in order to visit another places ?

If you want to have an idea of photos I took with a visit of London for exemple , please be my guest : https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixom/albums/72157639016953004

We are very, very, very happy to discover Scotland !!! I'm reading your blog Samantha

Samantha_Grant

@yann You're welcome.  Your photos of London are beautiful. You'll be spoiled for choice as a photographer in Scotland.  There's so much to photograph. Enjoy. 

VisitScotlandJulie

Great photographs @yann

Looking at your photographs you might enjoy a walk around Dean Village in Edinburgh, the murals and street art around Leith and in Glasgow, Dunnotar Castle, Eilean Donan Castle and Skye landscapes, Edinburgh Old Town and Holyrood Park/Calton Hill, the architecture of Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee and Aberdeen...so many choices.

Horizons

Hey @yann, great London photos! I notice that you have taken a few street art pictures and if you'd like to see the best Scotland has to offer, you must go to Glasgow (examples here, it is pretty much the only Scottish city with a vibrant street art scene but well worth it).

For itinerary planning, I have a 1-week Scotland itinerary on my blog that takes a minimum of a week but could be stretched to 10 days to be enjoyed properly. It includes a good subset of places already mentioned above. VisitScotland also has an itineraries page that is super useful. My only recommendation would be to explore the variety of Scottish landscapes & landmarks on offer (Eilean Donan castle, Old man of storr & Luskentyre beach below are some of my favourite spots).







Do share your travel photos with us after your trip!!

YourScotlandTour

Hi @yann, I'm not sure if it's of interest but a friend of mine runs photography tours in Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire including a trip on the Dolphin boat and castles from angles not normally seen. Drop me a line if hooking up with a pro photographer sounds like fun :-)

yann

Hello everybody !

First of all thank you for all your comments  
Thank you YourScotlandTour for your proposal, but for the moment, we imagined a tour to the North and West of Scotland, something like that : 
- 2 Days : Edimbourg (wich Hotel ?)
- 2 Days : B&B Around aberfoyle : go to Stirling castle, Trossachs and loch lomonds ?
- 2 Days : B&B long the bay around carbost : go to Glencoe and/or Oban, applecross ?
- 2 Days : B&B arround Pitlochry in order to walk around Grampian Mountains and visit Glamis Castle ?

We would like to sleep also in a manoir or castle hotel for 1 or 2 nights  
We have to check all the booking and also manage the car ! 

Time is a bit running now, so maybe we'll ask to a professional tour to help us (?) 

Please what do you think about all of that  ?

Thank you in advance for your time 

yann

Hello everybody !

Thank  you for all your comments

I confess it's not so easy to choose regarding all the beauty that Scotland offers ... Maybe we'll ask to a professional tour to help us... Thank you "YourScotlandTour" for your proposal !  For the moment the tour could be more to the West and North : 

- 2 days / Edimbourg : we have to find an hotel
- 2 days / B&B around Aberfoyle : go to Stirling, Trossachs/Loch lomond ?
- 2 days / wich B&B or hotel ?... around fort William (Glencoe or Oban)
- 2 days / B&B long the bay around Carbost ? ... go to Plockton, Applecross
- 2 days / B&B around Pitlochry ... go arrounb Grampian mountains ?


Don't hesitate to contact me also by mail if it's easier (yann.savalle "arobase" yasa.fr) 

We have to book everyyyyything, time is running now hihi ^^ 

yann

Hello everybody !

First of all thank you for all your comments
Thank you YourScotlandTour for your proposal, but for the moment, we imagined a tour to the North and West of Scotland, something like that : 
- 2 Days : Edimbourg (wich Hotel ?)
- 2 Days : B&B Around aberfoyle : go to Stirling castle, Trossachs and loch lomonds ?
- 2 Days : B&B long the bay around carbost : go to Glencoe and/or Oban, applecross ?
- 2 Days : B&B arround Pitlochry in order to walk around Grampian Mountains and visit Glamis Castle ?

We would like to sleep also in a manoir or castle hotel for 1 or 2 nights  
We have to check all the booking and also manage the car ! 

Time is a bit running now, so maybe we'll ask to a professional tour to help us (?)

Please what do you think about all of that ?

Thank you in advance for your time 

yann

Hello everybody !

Thank  you for all your comments

I confess it's not so easy to choose regarding all the beauty that Scotland offers ... Maybe we'll ask to a professional tour to help us... Thank you "YourScotlandTour" for your proposal !  For the moment the tour could be more to the West and North : 

- 2 days / Edimbourg : we have to find an hotel
- 2 days / B&B around Aberfoyle : go to Stirling, Trossachs/Loch lomond ?
- 2 days / wich B&B or hotel ?... around fort William (Glencoe or Oban)
- 2 days / B&B long the bay around Carbost ? ... go to Plockton, Applecross
- 2 days / B&B around Pitlochry ... go arrounb Grampian mountains ?


Don't hesitate to contact me also by mail if it's easier (yann.savalle "arobase" yasa.fr) 

We have to book everyyyyything, time is running now hihi ^^ 

yann

omg sorry for the repetitions, it seemed to me that the post was deleted 

VisitScotlandMuriel

Hi @yann

Don't worry, your post hasn't been deleted! I guess other members haven't looked this far down the discussion maybe? For all your accommodation needs, please go to VisitScotland's accommodation search. You can put in dates as well by clicking "more options" next to the search button. You can also refine the results according to the type of accommodation you are looking for. 

I like your itinerary. Stirling has a magnificient castle and the Trossachs is a National Park. Oban, Glencoe and Fort William are lovely places too.
Once on Skye there is plenty to see, like the Cuillin, the Old Man of Storr, the Fairy Pools which are a joy for a photographer like yourself. Also  Dunvegan Castle, Kilt Rock and Talisker Distillery so you could spend a day at least on Skye. Accommodation on Skye is always busy so I would recommend booking somewhere before you go. Plockton is very picturesque and if you can manage, try to see Applecross but it's a bit of a detour. 

To go around the Cairngorm mountains it's probably a good idea to stop at Aviemore rather than Pitlochry, although Pitlochry is a lovely town in Perthshire. Perthshire is also worth exploring: Loch Tay, Aberfeldy, Killin, Glen Lyon are all worth a visit if you have time.

To be honest, as a photographer, you will be spoiled for choice!!! If you prefer, you can read about all the links I sent you in French - just change the language at the top of the page.

I hope you have a great time!! Please drop in to the iCentres around the country if you need more information or to book accommodation once in Scotland. Bon voyage!!! 

YourScotlandTour

East coast castle....