Short Trip to Scotland - Input?
Mar 7th, 2024, 06:05 AM
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Short Trip to Scotland - Input?
Hi everyone,
My wife and I will be taking a trip to England and Scotland with our 3 1/2 month old son at the end of April (trying to make the most of the end of our parental/maternity leave!) While we know this is a short “only scratch the surface” kind of trip, we were hoping for some input on our early draft itinerary for Scotland to see the most and not get too overly ambitious. We would love to see castles, picturesque landscapes, dramatic cliffs, highland cows… and scotch! Below is what we’re thinking. Thank you in advance for any input of where to stop along our journey!
Day 1 -
Train London > Edinburgh
Explore Edinburgh
Day 2 -
Edinburgh Castle
Whisky Museum
Day 3 -
Rent a car and drive Edinburgh > Oban (Distillery) > Glencoe
Day 4 -
Scenic A82 drive
Glen Etive
Rannoch Moor Viewpoint
Hike
Day 5 -
Drive Glencoe > Queens View Visitor Center Blair Athol > Blair Athol Distillery > Dinner in Pitlochry > Edinburgh
Day 6 -
Train Edinburgh > London
My wife and I will be taking a trip to England and Scotland with our 3 1/2 month old son at the end of April (trying to make the most of the end of our parental/maternity leave!) While we know this is a short “only scratch the surface” kind of trip, we were hoping for some input on our early draft itinerary for Scotland to see the most and not get too overly ambitious. We would love to see castles, picturesque landscapes, dramatic cliffs, highland cows… and scotch! Below is what we’re thinking. Thank you in advance for any input of where to stop along our journey!
Day 1 -
Train London > Edinburgh
Explore Edinburgh
Day 2 -
Edinburgh Castle
Whisky Museum
Day 3 -
Rent a car and drive Edinburgh > Oban (Distillery) > Glencoe
Day 4 -
Scenic A82 drive
Glen Etive
Rannoch Moor Viewpoint
Hike
Day 5 -
Drive Glencoe > Queens View Visitor Center Blair Athol > Blair Athol Distillery > Dinner in Pitlochry > Edinburgh
Day 6 -
Train Edinburgh > London
Last edited by Schmitty23; Mar 7th, 2024 at 06:39 AM.
Mar 7th, 2024, 06:54 AM
#2
Welcome to Fodors.
Your road trip seems totally reasonable. It is really just a drive bu/through some places but It looks like you plan on staying overnight in Oban - 1 night, and Glencoe - 2 nights.
The only change I might consider myself . . . to save an extra hotel stay, would be something like train to Edinburgh, collect car and head straight to Oban. This only works if you take a train arriving before maybe 1 PM. Stay the night in Oban, visit the distillery the next morning. In the mid to late afternoon drive up to Glencoe/stay 2 nights. Drive your day 5 route and end up in Edinburgh -- placing all your Edinburgh nights together.
But if you don't want to do the 3.5+ hour drive to Oban after arriving in Edinburgh, your original plan is totally OK.
Your road trip seems totally reasonable. It is really just a drive bu/through some places but It looks like you plan on staying overnight in Oban - 1 night, and Glencoe - 2 nights.
The only change I might consider myself . . . to save an extra hotel stay, would be something like train to Edinburgh, collect car and head straight to Oban. This only works if you take a train arriving before maybe 1 PM. Stay the night in Oban, visit the distillery the next morning. In the mid to late afternoon drive up to Glencoe/stay 2 nights. Drive your day 5 route and end up in Edinburgh -- placing all your Edinburgh nights together.
But if you don't want to do the 3.5+ hour drive to Oban after arriving in Edinburgh, your original plan is totally OK.
Mar 7th, 2024, 07:33 AM
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This is really helpful, thank you! I wish we could group all of our Edinburgh nights together but think a 3+ hour drive after a 4+ hour train ride will feel like a little too much - although I do like the suggestion.
Instead of staying 1 night in Oban and 2 in Glencoe, we planned on just driving through Oban and staying the 2 nights in Glencoe before driving back to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh - 2 nights
Glencoe - 2 nights
Edinburgh - 1 night
Are there any stops along the way from Edinburgh to Oban you’d recommend and/or any other sites or places to visit around Glencoe to explore?
Thanks again!
Instead of staying 1 night in Oban and 2 in Glencoe, we planned on just driving through Oban and staying the 2 nights in Glencoe before driving back to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh - 2 nights
Glencoe - 2 nights
Edinburgh - 1 night
Are there any stops along the way from Edinburgh to Oban you’d recommend and/or any other sites or places to visit around Glencoe to explore?
Thanks again!
Mar 7th, 2024, 07:35 AM
#4
First time parents?
JMO, but I wouldn't be moving around so much. (It would help if you flew into/out of Edinburgh.) Will the baby be sleeping through the night? Depending on the degree of time zone change, the baby may not ever adjust in six days and could be awake when you'd expect him to be sleeping, and vice versa. The driving days could exacerbate the problem if your son tends to fall asleep in a moving car... sleep a big chunk of the day, then awake most of the night.
The hike on Day 4 would obviously be weather dependent.
JMO, but I wouldn't be moving around so much. (It would help if you flew into/out of Edinburgh.) Will the baby be sleeping through the night? Depending on the degree of time zone change, the baby may not ever adjust in six days and could be awake when you'd expect him to be sleeping, and vice versa. The driving days could exacerbate the problem if your son tends to fall asleep in a moving car... sleep a big chunk of the day, then awake most of the night.
The hike on Day 4 would obviously be weather dependent.
Mar 7th, 2024, 07:55 AM
#5
This is really helpful, thank you! I wish we could group all of our Edinburgh nights together but think a 3+ hour drive after a 4+ hour train ride will feel like a little too much - although I do like the suggestion.
Instead of staying 1 night in Oban and 2 in Glencoe, we planned on just driving through Oban and staying the 2 nights in Glencoe before driving back to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh - 2 nights
Glencoe - 2 nights
Edinburgh - 1 night
Are there any stops along the way from Edinburgh to Oban you’d recommend and/or any other sites or places to visit around Glencoe to explore?
Thanks again!
Instead of staying 1 night in Oban and 2 in Glencoe, we planned on just driving through Oban and staying the 2 nights in Glencoe before driving back to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh - 2 nights
Glencoe - 2 nights
Edinburgh - 1 night
Are there any stops along the way from Edinburgh to Oban you’d recommend and/or any other sites or places to visit around Glencoe to explore?
Thanks again!
First time parents?
JMO, but I wouldn't be moving around so much. (It would help if you flew into/out of Edinburgh.) Will the baby be sleeping through the night? Depending on the degree of time zone change, the baby may not ever adjust in six days and could be awake when you'd expect him to be sleeping, and vice versa. The driving days could exacerbate the problem if your son tends to fall asleep in a moving car... sleep a big chunk of the day, then awake most of the night.
The hike on Day 4 would obviously be weather dependent.
JMO, but I wouldn't be moving around so much. (It would help if you flew into/out of Edinburgh.) Will the baby be sleeping through the night? Depending on the degree of time zone change, the baby may not ever adjust in six days and could be awake when you'd expect him to be sleeping, and vice versa. The driving days could exacerbate the problem if your son tends to fall asleep in a moving car... sleep a big chunk of the day, then awake most of the night.
The hike on Day 4 would obviously be weather dependent.
Actually - since they will be in London, taking the train makes a lot more sense than flying. Not only faster, much easier with the luggage associated with an infant.
Last edited by janisj; Mar 7th, 2024 at 07:56 AM. Reason: typos
Mar 7th, 2024, 08:38 AM
#6
I too think your plan is fine as it is. But if it were me, I'd probably cut out the Pitlochry return - lots of driving - and instead spend more time in Argyll, staying in Oban for all three nights away from Edinburgh.
Why Oban and not Glencoe village? Well, my thinking goes like this. With a decent morning departure from Edinburgh, the drive to the top of Glen Etive on the Rannoch Moor takes around 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Driving down the glen to Gualachulain at the top of Loch Etive, then back, is another 90 minutes or so, after which the drive to Glencoe village is another 20-30 minutes or thereabouts (not counting stops.)
The thing about Glen Coe (to me) is that it's spectacular but not very big. There are a number of viewpoints alongside the most dramatic stretches of the A82 as it passes through the narrowest and most scenically famous parts of the glen, but once those relatively short distances are covered, the road down the glen becomes less dramatic (still pretty, but nothing like the upper reaches of the glen) until you arrive at the village. On the video below, the Glen Etive turnoff occurs at 12:09 on the time marker, and the video ends close to the village at 25:02, roughly 13 minutes later. Obviously roadside stops and picture-taking (hopefully in dry conditions) will extend that time, but I trust you see what I mean.
If you were to carry on down to Ballachulish, then continue south on the A828 to Oban, that would add roughly an hour to the drive time. Google says that the total drive from Edinburgh airport (where I'd collect the car) to Oban, including a drive all the way down Glen Etive and back, comes to 4 1/2 hours. As usual, Google is wildly optimistic, but I daresay you could easily do the whole drive in 6 hours wheels turning. Given that sunset in late April is around 9 PM, that ought to give you plenty of time for stops, meals, picture taking, whatever. Map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/Rj5V3uDAECrr25t58
Oban would provide a much wider range of accommodation and food options (which might be important as you'll be there before the main tourist season) and more importantly it could set you up for a choice of activities for the next day that might be worthwhile.
These could include a day trip to the Isle of Mull - maybe to picturesque Tobermory (another historic distillery) or you could join a ferry/bus tour that includes the historic island of Iona and maybe Staffa with its puffins and incredible Fingal's Cave. (I'd be mindful of the weather - the Iona/Staffa tours can be on rough-ish water.)
Or you could do a marvelous loop on the mainland that includes Kilmartin Glen, which contains hundreds of prehistoric sites like standing stones, stone circles and the like, then to lovely Inveraray with its whitewashed buildings and pompous Inveraray Castle, home of the Campbells (and of Cousin Shrimpy in Downton Abbey.) Return to Oban with a view of Kilchurn Castle, one of the scenic highlights of this region. Map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/qQCk1KQk9GrHtp9S9
These are just a couple of ideas to consider (or mull, ha ha.) Like I said, your current plans ought to be fine, but this might be an alternative that involves less uprooting yourselves.
Why Oban and not Glencoe village? Well, my thinking goes like this. With a decent morning departure from Edinburgh, the drive to the top of Glen Etive on the Rannoch Moor takes around 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Driving down the glen to Gualachulain at the top of Loch Etive, then back, is another 90 minutes or so, after which the drive to Glencoe village is another 20-30 minutes or thereabouts (not counting stops.)
The thing about Glen Coe (to me) is that it's spectacular but not very big. There are a number of viewpoints alongside the most dramatic stretches of the A82 as it passes through the narrowest and most scenically famous parts of the glen, but once those relatively short distances are covered, the road down the glen becomes less dramatic (still pretty, but nothing like the upper reaches of the glen) until you arrive at the village. On the video below, the Glen Etive turnoff occurs at 12:09 on the time marker, and the video ends close to the village at 25:02, roughly 13 minutes later. Obviously roadside stops and picture-taking (hopefully in dry conditions) will extend that time, but I trust you see what I mean.
If you were to carry on down to Ballachulish, then continue south on the A828 to Oban, that would add roughly an hour to the drive time. Google says that the total drive from Edinburgh airport (where I'd collect the car) to Oban, including a drive all the way down Glen Etive and back, comes to 4 1/2 hours. As usual, Google is wildly optimistic, but I daresay you could easily do the whole drive in 6 hours wheels turning. Given that sunset in late April is around 9 PM, that ought to give you plenty of time for stops, meals, picture taking, whatever. Map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/Rj5V3uDAECrr25t58
Oban would provide a much wider range of accommodation and food options (which might be important as you'll be there before the main tourist season) and more importantly it could set you up for a choice of activities for the next day that might be worthwhile.
These could include a day trip to the Isle of Mull - maybe to picturesque Tobermory (another historic distillery) or you could join a ferry/bus tour that includes the historic island of Iona and maybe Staffa with its puffins and incredible Fingal's Cave. (I'd be mindful of the weather - the Iona/Staffa tours can be on rough-ish water.)
Or you could do a marvelous loop on the mainland that includes Kilmartin Glen, which contains hundreds of prehistoric sites like standing stones, stone circles and the like, then to lovely Inveraray with its whitewashed buildings and pompous Inveraray Castle, home of the Campbells (and of Cousin Shrimpy in Downton Abbey.) Return to Oban with a view of Kilchurn Castle, one of the scenic highlights of this region. Map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/qQCk1KQk9GrHtp9S9
These are just a couple of ideas to consider (or mull, ha ha.) Like I said, your current plans ought to be fine, but this might be an alternative that involves less uprooting yourselves.
Mar 7th, 2024, 01:06 PM
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I too think your plan is fine as it is. But if it were me, I'd probably cut out the Pitlochry return - lots of driving - and instead spend more time in Argyll, staying in Oban for all three nights away from Edinburgh.
Why Oban and not Glencoe village? Well, my thinking goes like this. With a decent morning departure from Edinburgh, the drive to the top of Glen Etive on the Rannoch Moor takes around 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Driving down the glen to Gualachulain at the top of Loch Etive, then back, is another 90 minutes or so, after which the drive to Glencoe village is another 20-30 minutes or thereabouts (not counting stops.)
The thing about Glen Coe (to me) is that it's spectacular but not very big. There are a number of viewpoints alongside the most dramatic stretches of the A82 as it passes through the narrowest and most scenically famous parts of the glen, but once those relatively short distances are covered, the road down the glen becomes less dramatic (still pretty, but nothing like the upper reaches of the glen) until you arrive at the village. On the video below, the Glen Etive turnoff occurs at 12:09 on the time marker, and the video ends close to the village at 25:02, roughly 13 minutes later. Obviously roadside stops and picture-taking (hopefully in dry conditions) will extend that time, but I trust you see what I mean.
If you were to carry on down to Ballachulish, then continue south on the A828 to Oban, that would add roughly an hour to the drive time. Google says that the total drive from Edinburgh airport (where I'd collect the car) to Oban, including a drive all the way down Glen Etive and back, comes to 4 1/2 hours. As usual, Google is wildly optimistic, but I daresay you could easily do the whole drive in 6 hours wheels turning. Given that sunset in late April is around 9 PM, that ought to give you plenty of time for stops, meals, picture taking, whatever.
Oban would provide a much wider range of accommodation and food options (which might be important as you'll be there before the main tourist season) and more importantly it could set you up for a choice of activities for the next day that might be worthwhile.
These could include a day trip to the Isle of Mull - maybe to picturesque Tobermory (another historic distillery) or you could join a ferry/bus tour that includes the historic island of Iona and maybe Staffa with its puffins and incredible Fingal's Cave. (I'd be mindful of the weather - the Iona/Staffa tours can be on rough-ish water.)
Or you could do a marvelous loop on the mainland that includes Kilmartin Glen, which contains hundreds of prehistoric sites like standing stones, stone circles and the like, then to lovely Inveraray with its whitewashed buildings and pompous Inveraray Castle, home of the Campbells (and of Cousin Shrimpy in Downton Abbey.) Return to Oban with a view of Kilchurn Castle, one of the scenic highlights of this region. Map -
These are just a couple of ideas to consider (or mull, ha ha.) Like I said, your current plans ought to be fine, but this might be an alternative that involves less uprooting yourselves.
Why Oban and not Glencoe village? Well, my thinking goes like this. With a decent morning departure from Edinburgh, the drive to the top of Glen Etive on the Rannoch Moor takes around 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Driving down the glen to Gualachulain at the top of Loch Etive, then back, is another 90 minutes or so, after which the drive to Glencoe village is another 20-30 minutes or thereabouts (not counting stops.)
The thing about Glen Coe (to me) is that it's spectacular but not very big. There are a number of viewpoints alongside the most dramatic stretches of the A82 as it passes through the narrowest and most scenically famous parts of the glen, but once those relatively short distances are covered, the road down the glen becomes less dramatic (still pretty, but nothing like the upper reaches of the glen) until you arrive at the village. On the video below, the Glen Etive turnoff occurs at 12:09 on the time marker, and the video ends close to the village at 25:02, roughly 13 minutes later. Obviously roadside stops and picture-taking (hopefully in dry conditions) will extend that time, but I trust you see what I mean.
If you were to carry on down to Ballachulish, then continue south on the A828 to Oban, that would add roughly an hour to the drive time. Google says that the total drive from Edinburgh airport (where I'd collect the car) to Oban, including a drive all the way down Glen Etive and back, comes to 4 1/2 hours. As usual, Google is wildly optimistic, but I daresay you could easily do the whole drive in 6 hours wheels turning. Given that sunset in late April is around 9 PM, that ought to give you plenty of time for stops, meals, picture taking, whatever.
Oban would provide a much wider range of accommodation and food options (which might be important as you'll be there before the main tourist season) and more importantly it could set you up for a choice of activities for the next day that might be worthwhile.
These could include a day trip to the Isle of Mull - maybe to picturesque Tobermory (another historic distillery) or you could join a ferry/bus tour that includes the historic island of Iona and maybe Staffa with its puffins and incredible Fingal's Cave. (I'd be mindful of the weather - the Iona/Staffa tours can be on rough-ish water.)
Or you could do a marvelous loop on the mainland that includes Kilmartin Glen, which contains hundreds of prehistoric sites like standing stones, stone circles and the like, then to lovely Inveraray with its whitewashed buildings and pompous Inveraray Castle, home of the Campbells (and of Cousin Shrimpy in Downton Abbey.) Return to Oban with a view of Kilchurn Castle, one of the scenic highlights of this region. Map -
These are just a couple of ideas to consider (or mull, ha ha.) Like I said, your current plans ought to be fine, but this might be an alternative that involves less uprooting yourselves.
Do you think a day trip to Mull/Tobermory is doable? I’d love to be able to visit an Isle as we were originally wanting to go to Skye but scraped that because of timing. If not, the mainland loop you included also seems spot-on to what we’d be looking for. A ferry/bus tour sounds great. Unfortunately, none of the tour companies we’ve seen accept infants nor do many of the distillery tours. Hoping we can find some distilleries that at least have a tasting room/bar of sorts to still experience and have a flight of scotch straight from the source.
Would it make more sense to leave out of Glasgow instead of Edinburgh when heading back to London? This could *potentially* allow us to drive from Oban straight to Glasgow, return the car, and take the train back to London in the same day and, ultimately, give us an extra night in Oban. The caveat here is that it’ll be much more expensive to rent a car in Edinburgh and return it in Glasgow so weighing whether or not it would be worth that cost and long travel day.
Really appreciate the help!
Mar 7th, 2024, 01:07 PM
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We will be landing in London (day 1), spending one full day in London (day 2), and then taking the train to Edinburgh the following day (day 3).
Mar 7th, 2024, 01:12 PM
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Oh - now I see you did indicate driving on to Glencoe the same day in your OP. That will be a pretty long car day. Say you collect the car at EDI (the easiest place in Edinburgh) . . . Central Edinburgh to EDI about 1/2 an hour, collect car, EDI > Oban, meal/Distillery tour > Glencoe will be about a 7 hour day. But still doable. How important is the Oban distillery - if you were to remove Oban it would be an easier trip (one distillery tour is very much like every other distillery tour since the process is essentially identical_
Actually - since they will be in London, taking the train makes a lot more sense than flying. Not only faster, much easier with the luggage associated with an infant.
Actually - since they will be in London, taking the train makes a lot more sense than flying. Not only faster, much easier with the luggage associated with an infant.
Mar 7th, 2024, 01:32 PM
#11
Would it make more sense to leave out of Glasgow instead of Edinburgh when heading back to London? This could *potentially* allow us to drive from Oban straight to Glasgow, return the car, and take the train back to London in the same day and, ultimately, give us an extra night in Oban. The caveat here is that it’ll be much more expensive to rent a car in Edinburgh and return it in Glasgow so weighing whether or not it would be worth that cost and long travel day.
If you dropped the car at Glasgow airport, you'd still have to get to central Glasgow for the train. (There's a frequent bus but it's still a hassle.)
Alternatively, for around £80 (don't know how that compares to the train) you could fly from GLA to London City airport (LCY) which is just east of Canary Wharf and an easy tram and tube ride (or car service) to central London. With a baby this would be the quickest, and probably the easiest way to get to London.
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