Flights are booked for Scotland in May 2020!

[revdpatience]

So here are the bones of our itinerary:

Sun 3 May — Arrive LHR, train to Edinburgh for three nights; see the sights in Edinburgh; meet friend who is rector of St. John’s, Princes Street; day trips to Stirling/Peebles/Rosslyn?

Wed 6 May — Train Edinburgh to Inverness for three nights; visit Avoch, Black Isle, Culloden, and more

Sat 9 May — Buses Inverness to Fort William to Oban for three nights; day trip to Isle of Mull on Mon 11 May

Tue 12 May — Train from Oban to Glasgow for one night

Wed 13 May — Train Glasgow to London for one night.

Thu 14 May — Fly home

[neloon]

This is the usual site to explore rail bookings.
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Have a great trip - and then come back again.

Alan

[revdpatience]

Alan:

We haven't even been yet, and we definitely intend to come back again, which is why for this first trip we decided to focus on my family connection sites (Avoch and Mull).

And we know ourselves well enough to know we'd rather stay in a place for a few days and explore instead of racing from pillar to post.

Thanks for the helpful rail information!

Rodger

This is the usual site to explore rail bookings.
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Have a great trip - and then come back again.

Alan

[Jock Scot]

So here are the bones of our itinerary:

Sun 3 May — Arrive LHR, train to Edinburgh for three nights; see the sights in Edinburgh; meet friend who is rector of St. John’s, Princes Street; day trips to Stirling/Peebles/Rosslyn?

Wed 6 May — Train Edinburgh to Inverness for three nights; visit Avoch, Black Isle, Culloden, and more

Sat 9 May — Buses Inverness to Fort William to Oban for three nights; day trip to Isle of Mull on Mon 11 May

Tue 12 May — Train from Oban to Glasgow for one night

Wed 13 May — Train Glasgow to London for one night.

Thu 14 May — Fly home

Fort George just outside of Inverness(about opposite Avoch on the opposite side of the Moray Firth,) is almost a must see, superb views from the ramparts (keep an eye out for the dolphins), an interesting regimental museum within, along with being an almost intact materpiece of Georgian military defensive architecture.

At Fort William, right in the centre of town is the West Highland Museum. Its quite small, but is well worth a visit as it has some superb exhibits.

Have fun!

[revdpatience]

Jock:

Thanks for the suggestions! That's just the kind of input I was hoping for.

Looks like the CityLink bus service from Inverness through Fort William to Oban leaves either 85 minutes or the whole afternoon between connections. Sounds like it will be worthwhile to spend some time in Fort William.

Rodger

Fort George just outside of Inverness(about opposite Avoch on the opposite side of the Moray Firth,) is almost a must see, superb views from the ramparts (keep an eye out for the dolphins), an interesting regimental museum within, along with being an almost intact materpiece of Georgian military defensive architecture.

At Fort William, right in the centre of town is the West Highland Museum. Its quite small, but is well worth a visit as it has some superb exhibits.

Have fun!

[Bluescelt]

I would highly recommend a stop in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh if you to pick one church to visit. It is beautiful and the Thistle Chapel is stunning.

[Jock Scot]

I note the dates of your visit and normally I would suggest that we could have a wee dram while you are in FW and perhaps I could be of some assistance as a tour guide. Unfortunately I shall be at Mrs. Jock's Aunt's 100th birthday bash.

Just thinking about your bus trip from Inverness to FW you will, on balance, get a better view of things from the bus if you can get a seat on the left side of the bus(looking from the back to the front) and from FW to Oban you will get a better view of things if you can get seats on the right hand side of the bus(looking from the back to front). Castle Stalker is a view not to be missed.

[kilted scholar]

May I suggest the possibility of your hiring a car, particularly after you have reached Edinburgh?

A car will give you far greater flexibility and freedom. You will be able to stop at places that interest you - great views and so on - that will not be possible if you are on a bus or a train.

Using a car will deliver you from the trouble of carrying your luggage with you wherever you go.

The cost - especially from rental agencies located 'off airport' - will hardly be greater than travel by rail and bus. Rail fares in the UK are about the highest in Europe. 'Off airport' is often a misleading term - agencies like Sixt, while technically outside the airport, are usually very adjacent and have shuttle services to and from the terminal. Their rates are generally lower but we found their service to be excellent in the nearly thirty years in which we lived in north America and travelled here at least once each year.

Driving on the other side does not usually pose a problem providing you are concentrating. Within half an hour it becomes second nature. The main difficulty is when entering a road on which there is little or no traffic to orient one (you may have heard of a recent sad accident over here in which a young man was killed by a car driven on the wrong side of the road by the wife of a US diplomat, an event that is exceedingly rare).

Whatever your eventual decision it is an option well worth taking into account.

[Jock Scot]

May I suggest the possibility of your hiring a car, particularly after you have reached Edinburgh?

A car will give you far greater flexibility and freedom. You will be able to stop at places that interest you - great views and so on - that will not be possible if you are on a bus or a train.

Using a car will deliver you from the trouble of carrying your luggage with you wherever you go.

The cost - especially from rental agencies located 'off airport' - will hardly be greater than travel by rail and bus. Rail fares in the UK are about the highest in Europe. 'Off airport' is often a misleading term - agencies like Sixt, while technically outside the airport, are usually very adjacent and have shuttle services to and from the terminal. Their rates are generally lower but we found their service to be excellent in the nearly thirty years in which we lived in north America and travelled here at least once each year.

Driving on the other side does not usually pose a problem providing you are concentrating. Within half an hour it becomes second nature. The main difficulty is when entering a road on which there is little or no traffic to orient one (you may have heard of a recent sad accident over here in which a young man was killed by a car driven on the wrong side of the road by the wife of a US diplomat, an event that is exceedingly rare).

Whatever your eventual decision it is an option well worth taking into account.

Car hire would give you much better options .

Sadly, coming across people driving on the "wrong " side of the road is all too common in the UK and particularly in the Highlands, how more people are not injured is a miracle. We locals almost expect it and usually, quick thinking and luck gets every one safely out of a tricky situation, but not always! It certainly ups the blood pressure and heart rate for a minute or two after a near miss!

[revdpatience]

Unfortunately, Lovely Wife (who has some trouble with her peripheral vision) already flinches uncontrollably while I'm driving sedately and smoothly down the highway here at home. Neither of us would enjoy adding "wrong-side-of-the-road" terror into the mix.

That's why we're looking at three nights at a time in each place, rather than trying to move more frequently.

May I suggest the possibility of your hiring a car, particularly after you have reached Edinburgh?

A car will give you far greater flexibility and freedom. You will be able to stop at places that interest you - great views and so on - that will not be possible if you are on a bus or a train.