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Necro bump. Booked to go to Nairn near Inverness in May, and have decided to drive from Gloucestershire over the course of 2 days. Stopping overnight in Lancaster, and then thinking Stirling possible? Same on way home. Really looking forward to seeing a bit more of Scotland as I’ve only seen Glasgow and Edinburgh before. Any tips on must see places near Inverness- aside from Loch Ness? |
Good holiday spot in Scotland? • Page 4
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swede 583 posts
Seen 9 months ago
Registered 20 years ago -
Depends - what sort of things are you looking to do/see? Family stuff?
If it's walks/nature etc. then there's lots, Nairn has brilliant beach/coastal walks as does Findhorn, Roseisle & Culbin nearby for good forest walks. Ness Island walk is nice from Inverness itself. Can see the dolphins in the Moray firth from Channory point.
/lives in Nairn -
prettyvacant 389 posts
Seen 2 months ago
Registered 19 years agoA trip through Glen Coe if you can slot it in , great scenery and I think there are a few family type attractions . -
Rogueywon 12,387 posts
Seen 8 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoSome great tips over in the "Planning a Camping Trip" thread. -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agoswede wrote:
If you can manage to drive up the West Coast past Loch Lomond, Glencoe and are Oban the like you won’t regret it, it’s really beautiful.
Necro bump. Booked to go to Nairn near Inverness in May, and have decided to drive from Gloucestershire over the course of 2 days. Stopping overnight in Lancaster, and then thinking Stirling possible? Same on way home.
Really looking forward to seeing a bit more of Scotland as I’ve only seen Glasgow and Edinburgh before. Any tips on must see places near Inverness- aside from Loch Ness? -
swede 583 posts
Seen 9 months ago
Registered 20 years agoYes, family stuff rather than heavy hiking etc.
Thanks guys - great advice. Dolphin watching sounds great - definitely something my daughter would love, and coastal walks/drives.
I'll try to get up the west coast then - perhaps switching the Stirling stop off for Oban? I can visit the distillery then...
Need to start booking stop-off B&Bs soon so need to get planning ... -
Nexus_6 6,168 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 17 years agoOn the other hand, Dunottar Castle on the east coast is one of the finest in the country.
Don;t disagree about the west route though... -
wuntyate 17,493 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 8 years ago@swede As an addition to above, if you ARE around Inverness / Nairn and fancy it, look up Fort George and the Highlanders Museum which is between Inverness and Nairn. It's still an active barracks but it's easily a good afternoons worth. It's the opposite side of the firth from Chanonry Point so you can double it up as a dolphin watching trip from the north point of the fort.
Sticking to the battlefield theme, there's Culloden battlefield which now has a new visitors centre and is very much worth a visit.
For hills there's Craig Phadraig and Ord Hill which are ancient Iron Age Hill settlement sites (Craig Phadraig is in Inverness itself and is also an extinct volcano). Or further north west Strathpeffer is an old victorian spa town and there's another iron age fort site near there too.
There's also regular cruises on Loch Ness and halfway down you can visit Urquhart Castle. The bottom of Loch Ness has Fort Augustus and if you drive up the east side back to Inverness there's some great places to stop off for walks / views (as there is on the west side mind you at Abriachan, park at the Clansman Hotel and you can take the old "Coffin Walk" right up the side of the hill and you will over look the a big chunk of the loch). Or nearer to Inverness there's the town of Dores which has the location of a permanent full time Nessie Watcher and a nice beach that you can walk along looking down south across the loch, not too strenuous and lovely views etc.
I can echo Glencoe if you're driving up the west though, it's quite haunting. Very atmospheric. Or you can pop in by Pitlochry and Aberfeldy if you're heading up the A9, both of which are worth stopping over at (more so Pitlochry if you're going to stay the night as it's larger and there's more accomodation. It has one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland there too, Edradour). Stirling has both Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument mind you.
Really just depends on your time etc. There's stuff everywhere really.
Edited by wuntyate at 15:32:37 13-01-2020 -
Salaman 24,162 posts
Seen 6 days ago
Registered 17 years ago@swede Taking the steam boat on Loch Katrine might be fun with kids. -
mothercruncher 19,474 posts
Seen 12 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoWest coast north of Glasgow is genuinely stunning, Oban, Mull Of Kintyre etc, as said.
Only caveat I’d add is be aware how long driving can take on those roads- there’s no such thing as a quick trip from A to B, you’ve got to wind your way past X and around Loch K on the way too, adding about a third on to the usual time a drive of a certain distance might take. -
wuntyate 17,493 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 8 years agoPlus, and this is VERY important. You need Midgie protection. Especially on the west coast. They are brutal. If you're at all sensitive to the little fuckers they will really ruin your day. They'll start appearing around May, right when you're visiting. -
DUFFMAN5 26,890 posts
Seen 9 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoDon't wear espadrilles and shorts of you intend climbing Ben Nevis 
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swede 583 posts
Seen 9 months ago
Registered 20 years agoSo much great advice. Thanks guys - my daughter is a Harry Potter nut also, so looking to go on the Jacobite steam as well. -
Shareef 8 posts
Seen 1 year ago
Registered 17 years agoBrodie Castle has a great little garden and explore area and playground if you have little ones. If you are National Trust members it is free to get in.
We stopped at Dunkeld with our boys and did a little walk up at The Hermitage which is just down the road.
Also, don't get suckered into the Ben Nevis, four of the highest mountain peaks in Britain are in Scotland. So worth checking them out as well.
Edited by Shareef at 22:42:48 13-01-2020 -
swede 583 posts
Seen 9 months ago
Registered 20 years agoRight booked for a short 2 night stay in Oban - going to leave Gloucestershire early hours of the morning try to get up there in one 8+ hour drive. I'll be taking a couple of breaks though...
Going to definitely visit Glencoe and have managed to book tickets for the Jacobite from Fort William to Mallaig.
Then off to Nairn (via the great lochs) for a nice week by the sea...
Thanks for the advice everyone! -
Nexus_6 6,168 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 17 years agoLovely. What route to Oban? I can recommend the Lochgilphead way - you can drive through the Kilmartin area which is an outstanding area of standing stones and a whole ancient landscape. -
prettyvacant 389 posts
Seen 2 months ago
Registered 19 years agoFingers crossed for you that you get some good weather but the country looks stunning regardless , and rain keeps the midges away . -
wuntyate 17,493 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 8 years agoNexus_6 wrote:
Oooh yes kilmartins great.
Lovely. What route to Oban? I can recommend the Lochgilphead way - you can drive through the Kilmartin area which is an outstanding area of standing stones and a whole ancient landscape. -
Thanks for the Kilmartin tips, I've never been that way, always via Crianlarich.
Will hopefully have a look this summer.
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