visitscotland
›

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register

Quick Links

Please take a moment to read the Community guidelines and learn how to use the Community. The personal details and information provided by you will be used by VisitScotland to create your iKnow community account. Any content you provide, such as a profile photo, username, comments and discussions will be publicly available.

By ticking the box and clicking submit you confirm that you have read and agreed to the terms of our privacy policy.

Love Scotland and want to share your stories – why not have a look at all the recent discussions and make a contribution or start a new discussion? Visiting Scotland and looking for some advice – why not ask a question or start a discussion or simply explore all the great content?

Join the conversation today and share your #scotspirit.

The magic day???

midnightmidnight Member ✭
in Touring and Road Trips
Okay, so my wife and I (both in our 60s) are coming in the third week of June.  We'll spend three nights in Edinburgh and then we have one day/night to plan, then we have two nights booked near Skye where we'll explore while in that region.  My request is for some suggestions for the day/night that we have yet to book in between.  I'm really looking forward to seeing some of that marvelous highland scenery, lochs etc that I have longed for, for so long.   If it makes a difference the day/night will be a Saturday.  I was thinking of maybe swinging north east from Edinburgh to St Andrews and taking a very quick pause for a pilgrimage to the Royal and Ancient then up to Inverness and down to Loch Ness.  Frankly, I find all the information available dizzying (all the itineraries here and all the other itineraries elsewhere) - go here, no go there, no go...   My eyes are rolling back in my head at this point.  Any ideas for the roads and places to stay the night?  
Many thanks for any response.

Comments

  • fishyprofishypro Member ✭✭✭
    edited April 2017
    Hi @midnight, why not stay in Pitlochry. The town is situated in Perthshire, the big tree country. This place is full of wonderful lochs & glens to be discovered. There is Queens View which is a stunning vista over Loch Tummel. Loch Rannoch is close by and so is Glen Lyon. All of which have stunning scenery. The town of Pitlochry is also a lovely place, full of history and it is the home of the Salmon. Loch Faskally with its dam & Fish Ladder is a great place to stop for a snapshot. There are some fantastic places to stay in the town and it is half way from Edinburgh to Skye.
    Best regards
    fishypro
  • Samantha_GrantSamantha_Grant VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭
    edited April 2017
    Hi @midnight St Andrews is beautiful and worth stopping a night to see.  If you're craving lochs and mountains you'll find them in Skye.  Also not too far from Edinburgh is the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.  It's got lochs and mountains galore.  Loch Katrine, Loch Chon and Loch Lubnaig are a few of the lochs in the region.  They're very beautiful and some of my favourite in Scotland.  It's a lush green region and a stark contrast to the harsh, bleak mountains of Skye.


    I'd also suggest looking around the Cairngorms National Park.  There are some lovely lochs there surrounded by lush woodland and mountains. It's an area with lots to see and do.  I can thoroughly recommend a short easy walk there which takes you to the most beautiful spot in the Glenmore Forest Park to see Lochan Uaine or the green loch. It's magical and makes for a memorable visit.   This area also put you in a good position for visiting Skye while not being a huge trek from Edinburgh. 




    I'm a Scottish travel blogger and freelance writer with an extensive knowledge of travelling in Scotland.  I'm always on the road exploring my wonderful country.  I love remote places, history and the great outdoors. 




  • YourScotlandTourYourScotlandTour Member ✭✭✭
    Itineraries are based on individuals likes and dislikes! St. Andrews is great, you could spend a day there, it's like the Rome of Scotland!! 
    Bespoke tours.
    Whisky, Castles and Food a speciality.
    yourscotlandtour.co.uk
  • FofomaFofoma Member ✭✭✭
    hi @midnight Another vote for Pitlochry and Perthshire...lots of accommodation to choose from and a good base to see a bit of Perthshire. It's easily reached from St Andrews and not out of the way for heading to Skye. Pitlochry - Dalwhinnie - Spean Bridge - Fort William and then on to Mallaig for the ferry to Skye is one option. Another is Spean Bridge - Invergarry - Kyle of Lochalsh for the Skye Bridge. Or...you could head for Inverness driving through the Cairngorm National Park then Achnasheen to Kyle of Lochalsh. Sorry not helping the dizziness  ;)
  • midnightmidnight Member ✭
    You guys are tremendous!  Such great advice!   Okay, so here's what I'm thinking.  From Edinburgh go to Stirling then on the St Andrews, then on the Pitlochry for the night.  The next day we would drive through the Cairngorm National Park up to Inverness then down along Loch Ness to Invermoriston (or Invergarry) then head up to Invershiel where we've got a B&B booked already.  Question: is it worth it to continue from Invermoriston to Invergarry and then head up to Invershiel or just turn off at Invermoriston and avoid Invergarry?    
  • VisitScotlandMurielVisitScotlandMuriel Member, Moderator, VisitScotland Staff ✩
    Hi @midnight
    If you go from Invermoriston to Invergarry, you will pass Fort Augustus at the Southern tip of Loch Ness. Its lock system is very impressive and worth taking a look at. Having said that, Fort Augustus is a very busy place with many tour buses stopping there to do a boat trip on Loch Ness around 1pm to 3pm. If you go the other way it might not be as busy although it's the main route from Inverness to Skye.
    Don't forget to stop at Dornie to see Eilean Donan Castle - I'm sure you know about it already. If you have the time, a visit to Plockton is worth the detour. Don't worry too much about planning an itinerary - everywhere you go you will see beautiful scenery and going on a bit of an adventure is sometimes the best way. Happy holidays!!  :)
Sign In or Register to comment.