I’ll be touring Scotland at the end of July. Any recommendations of Do’s and Don’t Do’s would be appreciated.
Some stipulations:
–I’ll be traveling with a 12 year-old and an 80 year-old. Both hale and game for their respective ages, but also have their inherent limits.
–We’re heading home just as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is starting. We will miss it. That’s just the way it has to be.
–We’ll be renting a car and driving.
–I’d really like to see some Highland Games.
–We all like off-the-map kind of places, hidden gems, if you will.
–I like prehistoric and early history sites.
–I’d like to do an unimposing Scotch tasting and/or distillery tour.
You can do a great whisky tasting tour simply by doing a regular trip and hitting the occasional pub, and by ordering whisky at dinner…acceptable both as an aperitif and a digestif. Trust me, Scottish barkeeps and restauranteurs LOVE to talk about the local booze. I hate Scotch and I got a graduate course in it despite myself.
We loved Skye, the Highlands, and the Orkneys. The Orkneys are great for standing stones and unique prehistoric sites. Skara Brae should not be missed. And if you read about the scuttling of the German Fleet in the Scapa Flow after WWI, you might be tempted to take up wreck diving.
I prefer bourbon and Irish, and dislike the smokier Scotches. While I tasted some that were like licking out an ashtray, I enjoyed many from the south and east that were far easier and more pleasant to my palate.
The western whiskies tend to be smokier, although I enjoyed Talisker on Skye. And the local whiskies of the Orkneys are delightful.
Please note that I am spelling whisky properly, by Scots standards.
Maybe we’ll bump into each other! We are also travelling to Scotland the last two weeks of July.
We’ll be taking the night ferry to Hull, then to Glasgow, further up north and returning more to the west. Can’t remember the exact locations for the moment, our notes are at home.
Get yourselves some Smidge, especially if you’re travelling the west coast.
For standing stones and stone circles, start here.
Scotland has castles aplenty. Crathes is visitor-friendly. The Culloden battlefield is an interesting and sombre visit, though when I visited the history had been hijacked by the SNP. And wear trousers!
If you like to be out and about in Nature, the Trossachs are awesomely beautiful to drive through. With Glencoe, site of the famous massacre, at the end of them
A few of my favourite spots in Scotland, off the top of my head;
Urqhart Castle, is one of my favourite castles in the entire U.K. plus it’s on the shores of Loch Ness. If you’ve ever been down on the shore of Loch Ness on a quiet, foggy morning. I can understand how someone could buy the monster myth.
Mallaig is a quaint little port on the West Coast. The drive from Fort William s spectucular, and goes by the Glenfinnan viaduct (of Harry Potter fame) and the Glenfinnan Monument to Bonny Prince Charles. Also the supposed birthplace of Connor McLeod Also if you’d rather a train, the Jacobite Steam train runs from Fort William to Mallaig and back for a day trip. (Again a strong HP connection)
If you drive to/through Glenfinnan, keep your eye out for Glenfinnan church. (Church of St Mary and St Finnan) It’s a gorgeous old church perched on a hillside overlooking a Loch Shiel. Last time we stopped in, we had two massive red deer bucks just out of the tree line, massive racks of antlers. Very impressive.
-If you’re in Fort William anyway, on the outskirts is Old Inverlochy Castle, seems to be a hidden gem. I’ve stopped in twice, and it’s been deserted both times. It’s easily accessible too.
If you have any interest in military history, the Commando Memorial is near Spean Bridge. It’s a nice monument, and in clear weather has fantastic views of Ben Nevis. (The tallest mountain in the British Isles)
Glencoe is a must, and take in the Three Sisters, there’s a couple of view points by the roadside.
Isle of Skye is beautiful, plus of you drive there you can stop in at Eileen Donan. Not at the top of my Castle list, but it’s nice. The causeway was a filming location for Highlander.
Both The Cairngorms and The Trossachs offer some great nature drives. Loch Lomond in the Trossachs has a quite gentle shore-side walk suitable for all ages.
On the distillery front, a nice one was Edradour, near Pitlochry. It’s a small boutique distillery, so I found it a reasonably casual tour.
Culloden Battlefield was interesting, the visitor centre has a heap of info on the background, events, timeline, and repercussions of the battle. My wife swears black and blue, a ghost grabbed at her at one point in walking around the battlefield.:dubious:
If you can handle more castles, both Stirling and Edinburgh castles are well worth a visit, and Scone palace near Perth. The historic centre of Scottish royalty.
Falkirk is worth a stop, the Falkirk Wheel is an impressive piece of engineering, and a short boat trip up and back is pretty cool. Stop in at the Kelpies, I would particularly recommend a sunset time, to see them light up.
Oddly despite numerous trips, we haven’t seen much Neolithic stuff in Scotland. We haven’t been much furthe4 North than Inverness, virtually all the really good Neolithic sites are in the islands, The Hebrides, Orknies, etc.
Sorry I dragged on a bit :o Both my wife and I love Scotland.
Scotland can be quite slow to get around by car - a lot of the A-roads are single carriageway and are the only route from A to B, so can be slower than you think. Just mentioning this as if you want to pack as much in as possible it’s worth paying close attention to journey times when you’re planning routes.
The midgies are absolutely fierce in the highlands in July - that is what the smidge is for that Quartz mentions above. They can destroy a camping holiday but you’ll be alright if staying in guesthouses etc, just something to be aware of if you take to the hills.
Orkney is the place of neolithic tombs but it depends if your itinerary accommodates driving that far north - they are only a short hop from the mainland on the ferry though. Personally I got a bit of tomb fatigue after seeing the fourth or fifth hole in the ground, but no question there’s some impressive sites to see. Also huge amount of military history if you’re into that - Scapa flow was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the WW1 and 2. No mountains in Orkney but some massive sea cliffs and an impressive stack - the Old Man of Hoy.
I’ll be visiting Orkney at the end of May on an archaeological tour. I can pop back in and tell you what was most interesting or worthwhile after I have a look around.
I’ll be in Edinburgh for a couple of days before the tour and am going to do one of the underground city, walking “ghost” tours. That might be too much for the 80-year-old, but the 12-year-old might enjoy it. At that time of year, though, it’s still light out even for the late evening walks.
You mean the one on Mousa? That’s not an easy place to get to. There are lots of surviving brochs that are easier get to, though their walls aren’t as high any more.
If you’re near Edinburgh, there’s an ancient hill fort just to the south called Castlelaw.
Some of it dates from about 500 BCE although the most impresive part is the stone souterrain at the centre which is probably Roman era.
There’s a small carpark a couple of hundred yards from it (at the end of a steep, narrow road) and the site itself is very exposed and likely to be at least breezy when you visit.
There’s a good pub/restaurant maybe 1/2 mile further south on the main road called the Flotterstone Inn in case it’s a cold day!
It’s also only a few minutes drive from Roslin Chapel if you want to visit that.
If any Dopers are visiting Edinburgh, I work in the Old Town near Greyfriars Kirk and can usually spare a few minutes to say hello and chat. Drop me a DM if you want to meet, or would like some local advice, etc…
Also if you’d rather a train, the Jacobite Steam train runs from Fort William to Mallaig and back for a day trip. (Again a strong HP connection)