Suggestions for Scotland/Ireland Trip

**denmcdough** · 24th May 13, 03:18 PM

Well, we're finally doing it: going to Ireland and Scotland; leaving Pittsburgh on July 6th; land in Dublin and spend two days there before flying to Edinburgh to meet up with my son, who is coming from California. My dilemma is, we only have four days there before returning to Ireland. Any suggestions for visits in both areas would be greatly appreciated.

Our itinerary for Ireland is somewhat set, but not carved in stone. Scotland, well, we have some ideas but would be willing to listen to helpful hints.

The plan is to see Edinburgh some, and have a car to travel to Loch Ness, over to Argyll and the Isle of Skye. Does that sound feasible in four days? Any other options?? I'm all ears.

Thanks!

**Jock Scot** · 24th May 13, 03:39 PM

I could do it as I know what to miss out, but the roads to the isles are not the fastest from A to B that you could find. So yes you could do it but in all honesty I would think again. Might I suggest from Edinburgh up the A9 road(a fast road) to Inverness, see Loch Ness, Culloden,Fort George, Cawdor Castle. Then Back down the A9 via Blair Atholl, House of Bruar, Pitlochcry and back to Edinburgh. Argyll and Skye may well overload the system and you will be covering the miles and actually seeing a lot of magnificent scenary , but little else. I think you may be advised to miss out either Argyll or skye or even both .

Another thought, go to Inverness, follow alongside Loch Ness to Fort William(see JS)-----take a modest detour and see Glencoe(go as far as the Bridge of Orchy and turn round)-----back track a tad and onto Oban, follow round see Argyll, onto Stirling and back to Edinburgh.

Hope this helps

**Cecil** · 24th May 13, 04:34 PM

I only have one thing to say. You. Will be sorry you are not taking more time for these places. We just returned from Scotland for the second time in two years. I still want to go back next year. Have a good trip.

**brewerpaul** · 24th May 13, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Then Back down the A9 via Blair Atholl, House of Bruar, Pitlochcry and back to Edinburgh. Argyll and Skye may well overload the system and you will be covering the miles and actually seeing a lot of magnificent scenary , but little else. I think you may be advised to miss out either Argyll or skye or even both .

Another thought, go to Inverness, follow alongside Loch Ness to Fort William(see JS)-----take a modest detour and see Glencoe(go as far as the Bridge of Orchy and turn round)-----back track a tad and onto Oban, follow round see Argyll, onto Stirling and back to Edinburgh.

Hope this helps

Well I will second the thoughts of going to Pitlochry as you will be quite happy you did. This was the start point of a Highlands bike tour I did with my girlfriend Jennifer. Besides the wonderful Indian restaurant in Pitlochry near the rail station there was also a nice mile walk or drive to Moulin that has a wonderful brewery and pub/Inn. A bit further down the road will find you at Edradour Distillery which is one of the best distillery tours you can take. Far from the high tech large distilleries Edradour is the oldest existing farm house distillery in Scotland and has the malt to show for it. You get to both the brewery and distillery on the A924 or you can take a lovely hike to the distillery over the fields and woodlands .. A trip worth the taking.

**Phil** · 25th May 13, 02:08 AM

I am always amazed at some of the proposed itineraries. Can I just say that the drive from Edinburgh to Inverness alone will take about 3 hours, non-stop. That is a 6 hour round trip at least. Similarly the trip from Inverness, say, to Skye is about 2 hours and from there to Edinburgh about 4.5 hours. So a long time on the road during which time the driver, unaccustomed to driving here, will see little, having to concentrate on the road.
For a quick overview of Edinburgh the open top bus tours will give you a good grounding and you can hop on and off at various points to view particular places of interest. As for seeing the rest of Scotland in a couple of days, well that is up to you, but you might be best following Jock's advice and concentrating on one or two "must-sees".

**Bluescelt** · 25th May 13, 05:30 AM

I agree Phil. I just spent a 2 weeks in Scotland and had a 4 days in Edinburgh and a lot of driving on the second week in the highlands. If you like cities, Edinburgh's got a lot to see in walking distance on the Royal Mile. You'll enjoy it. If you want to be in the country, you'll spend a lot of time getting to the sites but some of them are amazing. It short, it will be hard to do both and get a good flavor of either. I'd recommend Edinburgh first, there are a bunch of pubs with live music, free fantastic museums and I found folks to be friendly. The highlands for me is best when you can spend some time there and take it in. We rented a cottage on a farm in Laggan and did day trips. We were out by 8 am and home by tea time. It worked well. Saw a lot. Looking forward to the next trip there.

**madmacs** · 25th May 13, 05:52 AM

It would largely depend upon what you want from the trip...

To my mind there's a huge difference in the people, culture and history of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Time in both would perhaps give you a flavour of Scotland

You could easily spend 4 days in either.

I personally would try to avoid the time turning into just driving.

You'd only really be doing a whistlestop tour, with your curremt idea, which is fine if that's what you want.

A suggestion would be to write down everything you want to see in Scotland, prioitise it, and then put a time against each item for how long you want to spend at it. The driving time would then come into play.

I know that when I went to Skye it was a weekend, and finding anywhere to eat was a problem on the Sunday... Hours of operation of sights might curtail some of your enjoyment too.

**Bluescelt** · 25th May 13, 06:06 AM

One image keeps coming to mind. Clark Griswold walking up to the rim of the Grand Canyon, pausing to take it in and then it's off to WallyWorld. Funny, but it's a shame when you can't get enough time to do a place justice.

**cessna152towser** · 25th May 13, 01:54 PM

Well if you want to head north from Edinburgh, Jock Scot's suggestions are probably best.
Its a pity though that you cannot spend more time in Scotland as the west coast with its sea lochs (fiords) and islands is particularly beautiful and much of the colourful history of the border wars is to be found south of the Edinburgh-Glasgow central belt where there are still many castles and medieval towerhouses dotted around the countryside.

**denmcdough** · 25th May 13, 02:08 PM

Thanks to all for the pertinent information. I kind of assumed that I was biting off more than I could chew, and I'm disappointed that I won't get to do more in Scotland, but I can always return.

I think that Jock's assessment will be best for us. My wife agrees! Anyway, I'll get a feel for Scotland, and it will only make me more determined to return, hopefully, next year.