A journey to Scotland in Mid-September

[albert]

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We will be fish out of water, being from Minnesota, US. & 75 years young. Please, if you want to save me, send along a few tips regarding everything. We are planning on at least two weeks. 

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[pgk]

What do you enjoy doing/seeing? If you like remoter areas then the west coast and the islands are fabulous, but there is something on offer for everyone. 

[TomB_tx]

I'm also 75, but it's been about 40 years since my Scotland trip, but it was a very easy country to tour. We flew (Braniff!) in to Glasgow with my tandem bike, bringing only what we could carry on it. They stored my bike box behind the airline counter, and we rode off North passed Loch Lomand. It took a while to get used to riding on the Left and negotiating all the Roundabouts. We had made no reservations except for the return flight in 2 weeks. We would simply stop at a British Tourist Information Office, and decide how far we wanted to ride that day, and they would make reservations for us at a bed-and-breakfast or hotel. Never had a problem getting a nice place to stay. We cycled to the NW and caught a ferry to Isle of Skye for a couple of days, then rode East to the center of the country and down to Edinburgh where Festival was starting. After a few days there loaded the Tandem on a train back to Glasgow and the plane back to Texas. Took along my Leica (film) CL in the handlebar bag, and it faithfully recorded the trip. My riding partner at the time had Multiple Sclerosis , and had no endurance to handle a single bike, so I built the Tandem for this trip. She ended up with the Kodachromes from the CL, so my keepsake is just the Tandem, rusting away behind the garage...

Edited July 11, 2021 by TomB_tx

[NigelG]

Albert - couple of initial questions if ok.

a) Which airport are you flying into?

b) Will you be driving?

c) How physically active are you/do you want your trip to be? (Some beautiful areas require a bit of hiking...)

 

 

[dsj]

i can only wholeheartedly recommend a spending a few days on one of the smaller islands. we spent three days on Islay when we did a road trip there three years ago and it was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. 
If I was to go again i would definitely take the time to drive the north coast 500. 

Best,
Dominique

[LocalHero1953]

Here's hoping you won't have to quarantine for two weeks.........

Once you're out of quarantine.........

Edinburgh (several days; it needs a week really) - Stirling - St Andrews - Perth - Inverness (via Cairngorms) - (possible diversion to Speyside distilleries) - Lairg - Tongue (unforgettable dinner at the Cote du Nord near Bettyhill) - Durness - Scourie - Inchnadamph - Ullapool - Kyle of Lochalsh - Skye (there's a bridge now over the sea to Skye) - Fort William - Glencoe - Oban (Mull and Iona if you can make it - Iona is not of this world) - Loch Lomond - Glasgow.

This misses out Aberdeen, the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, the Borders, Fife, Galloway, a lot of history and a lot of golf courses.

Edited July 12, 2021 by LocalHero1953

[allanmcleodroney]

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As someone born & bred in the Highlands of Scotland (Lochinver), can I just advise you that the further north you go, the more to keep west - the north-east is relatively flat & featureless, but the west is where the mountains & islands meet. There is still plenty to do in the east, but the west is where the Scotland that begs to have its photo taken. If you’re driving from the central belt, go via Glencoe, and weave your way up to Assynt (Sutherland) - you should have a great time.

this might help; 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by allanmcleodroney

[LocalHero1953]

7 hours ago, allanmcleodroney said:

As someone born & bred in the Highlands of Scotland (Lochinver), can I just advise you that the further north you go, the more to keep west - the north-east is relatively flat & featureless, but the west is where the mountains & islands meet. There is still plenty to do in the east, but the west is where the Scotland that begs to have its photo taken. If you’re driving from the central belt, go via Glencoe, and weave your way up to Assynt (Sutherland) - you should have a great time.

this might help; 

 

As an undergraduate geology student at Edinbugh I spent a summer camping and surveying in Assynt, on the shore at the eastern end of the loch. I also camped there the previous winter. (And ate the best apple pie, ever, in Lochinver). I agree with all you say.

[allanmcleodroney]

7 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

As an undergraduate geology student at Edinbugh I spent a summer camping and surveying in Assynt, on the shore at the eastern end of the loch. I also camped there the previous winter. (And ate the best apple pie, ever, in Lochinver). I agree with all you say.

I suspect your pie was from the Lochinver Larder - they’ve been doing mail order for a couple of decades now (though been operating for even longer; since the mid-80’s) - the Apple Pies are still there… https://www.piesbypost.co.uk

I'm in Glasgow these days, but back up north in a couple of weeks; as well as seeing family, I’m going up Suilven again, from last time;

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by allanmcleodroney

[pippy]

On 7/11/2021 at 9:43 PM, albert said:

We will be fish out of water, being from Minnesota, US. & 75 years young. Please, if you want to save me, send along a few tips regarding everything. We are planning on at least two weeks. 

Excellent suggestions from both Paul and Allen and I (Central-Scotland born and bred) agree with everything they say. Paul's inventory is superb...but it does cover a lot of ground! Allen's observation about keeping more westward as you head north is right on the money.

The only real 'advice' I will offer is to check out the most effective insect repellent you can find; midges might be extremely small but their annoyance factor is inversely proportionate to their size...

I wish you a wonderful trip; it's a lovely old place to discover.

Philip.

Edited July 19, 2021 by pippy

[Ouroboros]

On 7/11/2021 at 9:43 PM, albert said:

We will be fish out of water, being from Minnesota, US. & 75 years young. Please, if you want to save me, send along a few tips regarding everything. We are planning on at least two weeks. 

Coming from Minnesota, you'll be very experienced with biting insects and how to deal with them.  That said, you might find a couple of cans of Smidge would be a good idea! 

If you have time to get out to the Western Isles you're welcome to pm me for accommodation options and guiding.   

[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, allanmcleodroney said:

I suspect your pie was from the Lochinver Larder - they’ve been doing mail order for a couple of decades now (though been operating for even longer; since the mid-80’s) - the Apple Pies are still there… https://www.piesbypost.co.uk

I'm in Glasgow these days, but back up north in a couple of weeks; as well as seeing family, I’m going up Suilven again, from last time;

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Instantly recognisable!

And this is me near Inchnadamph, 1973 vintage (Voigtlander Vito C, I think), followed by a much more recent view of Quinag and Loch Assynt from the approach to Ben More Assynt (Leica M240, Elmarit-M 28 Asph)

.

 

[Gibbo]

Are those midges in the sky there, Paul? 😮

[LocalHero1953]

9 hours ago, Gibbo said:

Are those midges in the sky there, Paul? 😮

Yes - they were larger then. Nowadays, though, I just use photoshop as a digital alternative to insect repellent.

[andybarton]

Avon “ Skin So Soft “ is excellent against the midge, especially if used with Smidge. The SAS are alleged to use it, although I’ve never actually seen any evidence of that.

We first came across Smidge in the Post Office on Jura and, since it’s what the locals used, we bought a can. Now we buy it before we go. It doesn’t rot your glasses like Deet products do.