Scotland weekend away
Discussion
Looking for the advice of the more well travelled PH's
I want to go to scotland for the weekend and do a bit of hill walking. I just want to be able to bimble off on my own and check out the far northern countryside and stuff.
Minus point of that is that I will need to fly from Exeter airport for it to be viable (cant be arsed to drive as it would ruin it for me).
So whats the best way of doing this and the best places to go and see, assuming even better that I dont have to rent a car at the other end.
Cheers all in advance :)
Gh0st
I want to go to scotland for the weekend and do a bit of hill walking. I just want to be able to bimble off on my own and check out the far northern countryside and stuff.
Minus point of that is that I will need to fly from Exeter airport for it to be viable (cant be arsed to drive as it would ruin it for me).
So whats the best way of doing this and the best places to go and see, assuming even better that I dont have to rent a car at the other end.
Cheers all in advance :)
Gh0st
Your best bet I would have thought would be to head to Fort William; you have lots of Munros you can climb there, and the town is at the foot of Ben Nevis.
Fly to Glasgow International (Easyjet?), and take train/bus to Fort William.
There's a good nightlife there too for all the hill walkers.
Robbie
Fly to Glasgow International (Easyjet?), and take train/bus to Fort William.
There's a good nightlife there too for all the hill walkers.
Robbie
gh0st said:Walk the hills of Scotland without renting a car?
Looking for the advice of the more well travelled PH's
I want to go to scotland for the weekend and do a bit of hill walking. I just want to be able to bimble off on my own and check out the far northern countryside and stuff.
Minus point of that is that I will need to fly from Exeter airport for it to be viable (cant be arsed to drive as it would ruin it for me).
So whats the best way of doing this and the best places to go and see, assuming even better that I dont have to rent a car at the other end.
Cheers all in advance
Gh0st
Do you know how big Scotland is? I have been to Edinburgh and somewhere over near Lomond and Fort William, both gorgeous places.
Don't know about the flights as I usually drive to Scotland (well worth it, you'll need a Road Angel or similar but there are some lovely roads).
In terms of scenery and places to be Glencoe is one of the most beautiful areas of Scotland and I understand there is some good walking to be done.
Fort William is a nice place to base yourself, good scenery and again some good walking.
HTH,
Mark
In terms of scenery and places to be Glencoe is one of the most beautiful areas of Scotland and I understand there is some good walking to be done.
Fort William is a nice place to base yourself, good scenery and again some good walking.
HTH,
Mark
If you are only going for a weekend and don't want to rent a car you will struggle to see much. Unfortunately most of the big hills aren't just outside Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen.
If you just want some nice walking though, you can do the east side of Loch Lomond in a couple of days. You'll probably need a tent though.
If you want big hills get a train from Glasgow to Fort William. You can walk up Ben Nevis pretty much from the town centre (although Ben Nevis isn't that exciting). You can also get buses from there down into Glencoe (like the Postbus) to do some good walking.
Just one question. Do you know what you are doing? If so don't go out into those hills alone. And if you do know what you are doing, always leave details of your route and expected return times with the Youth Hostel/Hotel. If you are a couple of hours late they will call the mountain rescue and quite possibly save your life.
Always tell them if you change plans though, as not doing so is almost as bad as making hoax calls to the emergency services.
Sorry if this last part is stuff you know already, but I see a lot of idiots on the hills.
If you just want some nice walking though, you can do the east side of Loch Lomond in a couple of days. You'll probably need a tent though.
If you want big hills get a train from Glasgow to Fort William. You can walk up Ben Nevis pretty much from the town centre (although Ben Nevis isn't that exciting). You can also get buses from there down into Glencoe (like the Postbus) to do some good walking.
Just one question. Do you know what you are doing? If so don't go out into those hills alone. And if you do know what you are doing, always leave details of your route and expected return times with the Youth Hostel/Hotel. If you are a couple of hours late they will call the mountain rescue and quite possibly save your life.
Always tell them if you change plans though, as not doing so is almost as bad as making hoax calls to the emergency services.
Sorry if this last part is stuff you know already, but I see a lot of idiots on the hills.
your on this forum and your planning to go to the north of this place without a car, whats that about then? 
seriously, take the best car you can get a hold of, drive through Glencoe region early morning, do a short walk, Lost valley for example, sit down eat sandwhich's and just enjoy the views. Go to the calchaig inn in the evening enjoy some of the best cask ale in the country and plan tomorrows sporting drive! a grand day out.
seriously, take the best car you can get a hold of, drive through Glencoe region early morning, do a short walk, Lost valley for example, sit down eat sandwhich's and just enjoy the views. Go to the calchaig inn in the evening enjoy some of the best cask ale in the country and plan tomorrows sporting drive! a grand day out.
Inverness is the "capital' of the Highlands and therefore the hub for nightlife etc. Go east from there and you get to Culloden- scene of the last pitched battle on British soil- and then Elgin, where I was born
To the south you have Loch Ness, Fort William and Glenfinnan- where the clans rose a year before the aforementioned battle.
But, to the west is the best. Eilean Donan Castle sits out in a sea loch and, other than Edinburgh, is probably the most photographed castle in Scotland. It was Connor MacLeod's castle in Highlander (yet, despite it's appearance, it was only [re]buillt in 1936!).
Then you have the Seven Sisters hill range and this area is peppered with brochs- ancient stoneage circular buildings with hollow walls. Followed by Skye- a different world and home to the real MacLeod family castle of Dunvegan.
I could go on g0hst, but that weekend should really be a week. Check this out:
www.scotland-calling.com/touring/west-highlands/west_highlands.htm
To the south you have Loch Ness, Fort William and Glenfinnan- where the clans rose a year before the aforementioned battle.
But, to the west is the best. Eilean Donan Castle sits out in a sea loch and, other than Edinburgh, is probably the most photographed castle in Scotland. It was Connor MacLeod's castle in Highlander (yet, despite it's appearance, it was only [re]buillt in 1936!).
Then you have the Seven Sisters hill range and this area is peppered with brochs- ancient stoneage circular buildings with hollow walls. Followed by Skye- a different world and home to the real MacLeod family castle of Dunvegan.
I could go on g0hst, but that weekend should really be a week. Check this out:
www.scotland-calling.com/touring/west-highlands/west_highlands.htm
kenny chim 4 said:
Inverness is the "capital' of the Highlands and therefore the hub for nightlife etc. Go east from there and you get to Culloden- scene of the last pitched battle on British soil- and then Elgin, where I was born
To the south you have Loch Ness, Fort William and Glenfinnan- where the clans rose a year before the aforementioned battle.
But, to the west is the best. Eilean Donan Castle sits out in a sea loch and, other than Edinburgh, is probably the most photographed castle in Scotland. It was Connor MacLeod's castle in Highlander (yet, despite it's appearance, it was only [re]buillt in 1936!).
Then you have the Seven Sisters hill range and this area is peppered with brochs- ancient stoneage circular buildings with hollow walls. Followed by Skye- a different world and home to the real MacLeod family castle of Dunvegan.
I could go on g0hst, but that weekend should really be a week. Check this out:
www.scotland-calling.com/touring/west-highlands/west_highlands.htm
All true, but not the best place to start off from if you want spectacular walking. Its a good drive from Inverness to the best hills.
As for SbH's query re campervans, there are tons of places you can stop without booking. There are laybys and things you can stop in as well where you are very unlikely to be bothered and where you will wake up to phenomenal views.
I was there last week for my honeymoon!! Got married last Saturday (25th) and flew up to Scotland.
Flew into Galsgow but spent the next few days at Aviemore. Situated in one of the National parks and just a 10 min drive (or taxi) to the Cairgorms itself - absolutely stunning. You can walk up the Cairngorms if you like or take the new electric train - the views are amazing, however if you take the train you can not wander around at the top - thre are viewwing stages ina and outside at the restaurant, but you can't actually leave the boundry of it for conservation reasons. You can walk around up there if you walk up the mountain yourself - obviously it discourages a mojority of tourists. - they have a web cam somewhere - just gooole for it.
People are great too. I'd agree with a previous post Inverness has an aairport and you can get flight from Glasgow to there. There appears to be a good bus service from Aviemore to Inverness too. We had an amazing time...(when we left the bedroom in the local bars too, very down to earth and good food aswell. There is also a steam train service from there which is great way to to get up the road a bit too.
From Inverness you are only a stone through from Loch ness too.
We took the Scenic route from Glasgow up through Aberfoyle and it was HEAVENLY. We walked through the hills there and the noisest thing we could hear was a bird chirping - not even road noise. I love a screaming wife, I mean V8, as much as the next person, but it was just bliss and a complete brreak from it all.
Obviously we hired a car, which to be honest I'd recommend, it's so much easier to get around, however not impossible without. We didn't spend much time in it, being based in Aviemore we were central to lots of things.
Cheers,
JC (Married for 10 days now...)
Flew into Galsgow but spent the next few days at Aviemore. Situated in one of the National parks and just a 10 min drive (or taxi) to the Cairgorms itself - absolutely stunning. You can walk up the Cairngorms if you like or take the new electric train - the views are amazing, however if you take the train you can not wander around at the top - thre are viewwing stages ina and outside at the restaurant, but you can't actually leave the boundry of it for conservation reasons. You can walk around up there if you walk up the mountain yourself - obviously it discourages a mojority of tourists. - they have a web cam somewhere - just gooole for it.
People are great too. I'd agree with a previous post Inverness has an aairport and you can get flight from Glasgow to there. There appears to be a good bus service from Aviemore to Inverness too. We had an amazing time...(when we left the bedroom
in the local bars too, very down to earth and good food aswell. There is also a steam train service from there which is great way to to get up the road a bit too. From Inverness you are only a stone through from Loch ness too.
We took the Scenic route from Glasgow up through Aberfoyle and it was HEAVENLY. We walked through the hills there and the noisest thing we could hear was a bird chirping - not even road noise. I love a screaming wife, I mean V8, as much as the next person, but it was just bliss and a complete brreak from it all.
Obviously we hired a car, which to be honest I'd recommend, it's so much easier to get around, however not impossible without. We didn't spend much time in it, being based in Aviemore we were central to lots of things.
Cheers,
JC (Married for 10 days now...)
Inverness is a bit too tourist-y for my liking. Go further West to Oban or come East towards Aberdeen if you want to see proper scenery.
I also strongly suggest you rent a car.
If you can get yourself to Braemar, then you have a lot of options with regard to walking, accomodation etc.
You are not too far away from Tomintoul (highest town above sea level in UK but otherwise a bit poor), the Lecht (road, needs to be seen to be believed - petrolhead's dream), and Aberdeen is not far away either.
I'd recommend Braemar if you want to see the real side of Scotland - not so affected by tourism as the likes of Inverness and the scenery is tremendous.
I also strongly suggest you rent a car.
If you can get yourself to Braemar, then you have a lot of options with regard to walking, accomodation etc.
You are not too far away from Tomintoul (highest town above sea level in UK but otherwise a bit poor), the Lecht (road, needs to be seen to be believed - petrolhead's dream), and Aberdeen is not far away either.
I'd recommend Braemar if you want to see the real side of Scotland - not so affected by tourism as the likes of Inverness and the scenery is tremendous.
tuscan_thunder said:
Inverness is a bit too tourist-y for my liking. Go further West to Oban or come East towards Aberdeen if you want to see proper scenery.
I also strongly suggest you rent a car.
If you can get yourself to Braemar, then you have a lot of options with regard to walking, accomodation etc.
You are not too far away from Tomintoul (highest town above sea level in UK but otherwise a bit poor), the Lecht (road, needs to be seen to be believed - petrolhead's dream), and Aberdeen is not far away either.
I'd recommend Braemar if you want to see the real side of Scotland - not so affected by tourism as the likes of Inverness and the scenery is tremendous.
Agree with all of the above. Most Scottish towns (e.g. Oban, Inverness) north of Aberdeen are not that impressive in and of themselves, it is what they give you access to. Oban is on the coast and great for coastal walks etc. Also not too hard to get to.
I have so many great memories of Braemar (which is a village rather than a town) that I think it is one of my favourite places on Scotland not on the coast. A nightmare for getting to and around without a car though.
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