My trip to Scotland! - Aug 24th to 29th!
Discussion
Hola boys & girls!
I'm arranging a trip for me & a close girl friend of mine to go upto Scotland & having seen so many pictures from GetCarter & snaps from other people going on road trips it's about time I did the same!
Now...The dates currently scheduled are Aug 24th to the 29th. Unfortunately she works at a School so of course the only time off is during school summer holidays! I take it this little nuisance will blight availability of certain places to us & generally see more traffic up there than there normally would be right?
Budget is around 1.5-2k, maybe a bit less for the whole thing inc petrol.
In regards to places to stay, again having gone through previous threads I've found the Torridon Hotel to be IDEAL. However, way out of my budget! As for those dates they only have the "Master" option available for the type of room which despite looking gorgeous at a shade under 2k is of course unviable for us two!
There Boathouse is EXACTLY what I want from this trip! To the letter!! http://www.thetorridon.com/boathouse/ - Unfortunately it's unavailable during that period. Is there a good alternative to this anywhere else in Scotland that is reasonably priced & available? Any ideas?
Places to visit:
We LOVE castles/churches/quirky shops/historical places & locations where they look like they haven't changed for decades/centuries. To sum up, an idyllic location.
Places to eat:
Open to any ideas. Unfortunately we can only go down to the vegetarian/seafood route as much as it pains me to say. I'd love to murder some Steak or something while I'm up there, unless anyone by chance knows any places which serve "Halal" meat?
Roads:
Still sifting through all previous Scottish threads to nail down a good route.
As our first trip up to Scotland any advice is really really appreciated to make this a summer we will both remember.
Gracias!
I'm arranging a trip for me & a close girl friend of mine to go upto Scotland & having seen so many pictures from GetCarter & snaps from other people going on road trips it's about time I did the same!
Now...The dates currently scheduled are Aug 24th to the 29th. Unfortunately she works at a School so of course the only time off is during school summer holidays! I take it this little nuisance will blight availability of certain places to us & generally see more traffic up there than there normally would be right?
Budget is around 1.5-2k, maybe a bit less for the whole thing inc petrol.
In regards to places to stay, again having gone through previous threads I've found the Torridon Hotel to be IDEAL. However, way out of my budget! As for those dates they only have the "Master" option available for the type of room which despite looking gorgeous at a shade under 2k is of course unviable for us two!
There Boathouse is EXACTLY what I want from this trip! To the letter!! http://www.thetorridon.com/boathouse/ - Unfortunately it's unavailable during that period. Is there a good alternative to this anywhere else in Scotland that is reasonably priced & available? Any ideas?
Places to visit:
We LOVE castles/churches/quirky shops/historical places & locations where they look like they haven't changed for decades/centuries. To sum up, an idyllic location.
Places to eat:
Open to any ideas. Unfortunately we can only go down to the vegetarian/seafood route as much as it pains me to say. I'd love to murder some Steak or something while I'm up there, unless anyone by chance knows any places which serve "Halal" meat?
Roads:
Still sifting through all previous Scottish threads to nail down a good route.
As our first trip up to Scotland any advice is really really appreciated to make this a summer we will both remember.
Gracias!
Edited by ironictwist on Sunday 19th July 16:56
we stayed here a couple of years ago, http://inchhotel.com/ fantastic place and well located for exploring.
you have got to do this route as well, http://www.stevecarter.com/bestuk.htm
you have got to do this route as well, http://www.stevecarter.com/bestuk.htm
Timing wise it might not be too bad as the Scottish schools are back in by then but sorry to say the midgies can be at their worst!
Ullapool and Gairloch are both nice little villages as are Lochcarron or Plockton (and a day trip over to Skye or round the Applecross peninsula is easily do-able). Anywhere decent has been probably booked up by now I'm afraid so you might be better trying Bed and Breakfast type places and travelling around a bit.
Ullapool and Gairloch are both nice little villages as are Lochcarron or Plockton (and a day trip over to Skye or round the Applecross peninsula is easily do-able). Anywhere decent has been probably booked up by now I'm afraid so you might be better trying Bed and Breakfast type places and travelling around a bit.
clive f said:
we stayed here a couple of years ago, http://inchhotel.com/ fantastic place and well located for exploring.
you have got to do this route as well, http://www.stevecarter.com/bestuk.htm
Good stuff Clive, thanks!you have got to do this route as well, http://www.stevecarter.com/bestuk.htm
I've narrowed it down to a few places, Inch being one of them. Still hoping there are more options available as I'm smitten with Torridon's Boathouse
whirligig said:
Timing wise it might not be too bad as the Scottish schools are back in by then but sorry to say the midgies can be at their worst!
Ullapool and Gairloch are both nice little villages as are Lochcarron or Plockton (and a day trip over to Skye or round the Applecross peninsula is easily do-able). Anywhere decent has been probably booked up by now I'm afraid so you might be better trying Bed and Breakfast type places and travelling around a bit.
Midges? Forgive me but I'm a bit of a fairy Southerner...What are they & should I panic?Ullapool and Gairloch are both nice little villages as are Lochcarron or Plockton (and a day trip over to Skye or round the Applecross peninsula is easily do-able). Anywhere decent has been probably booked up by now I'm afraid so you might be better trying Bed and Breakfast type places and travelling around a bit.
Ullapool's penciled in as is Applecross & Skye, thanks! I'll look into Lochcarron & Plockton tonight. Cheers!
ironictwist said:
Midges? Forgive me but I'm a bit of a fairy Southerner...What are they & should I panic?
Midges are tiny, little blood-sucking insects. Much smaller than mosquitos but fly in huge numbers.Take along insect repellant. This will help in a minor way. If you plan on walking in the woods - get midge hoods and wear clothing that covers you up completely - no T-shirts or shorts. You will be bitten but most people don't react badly.
The best defence against midges is to be where they aren't.
They do not fly in wind. So if it's windy you won't notice 'em. They hide during rain. Like mossies they need still water to breed so shorelines, particularly freshwater lochs, at dusk and dawn tend to be quite bad...be somewhere else at that time. If you climb a decent hill you don't find them up high - so hill walking along a high ridge will be completely clear of them. Usually.
Horrible things - BUT DO NOT LET THEM PUT YOU OFF. All the jokes about stripping a man to the bones in thirty minutes are just that.
It takes them much longer than that.
Don said:
ironictwist said:
Midges? Forgive me but I'm a bit of a fairy Southerner...What are they & should I panic?
Midges are tiny, little blood-sucking insects. Much smaller than mosquitos but fly in huge numbers.Take along insect repellant. This will help in a minor way. If you plan on walking in the woods - get midge hoods and wear clothing that covers you up completely - no T-shirts or shorts. You will be bitten but most people don't react badly.
The best defence against midges is to be where they aren't.
They do not fly in wind. So if it's windy you won't notice 'em. They hide during rain. Like mossies they need still water to breed so shorelines, particularly freshwater lochs, at dusk and dawn tend to be quite bad...be somewhere else at that time. If you climb a decent hill you don't find them up high - so hill walking along a high ridge will be completely clear of them. Usually.
Horrible things - BUT DO NOT LET THEM PUT YOU OFF. All the jokes about stripping a man to the bones in thirty minutes are just that.
It takes them much longer than that.
ds with a passion so will make sure I buy plenty of the Avon product you mentioned. It'll be a good excuse for her to cuddle up close hopefully 
Graci!
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff