Scotland from Kent
hi all next year I am thinking of doing a tour of Scotland from Kent, I have driven to Edinburgh in one go and found It to much. I would like to take in Edinburgh once more plus fort William ,inverness , john of groats and back down again via Glasgow and home stopping again. how long would someone plan to take ? I was thinking of two weeks or is that rushing it. Dave
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Yep, that’s rushing it for such a huge area where motorways/dual carriageways don’t exist for the large part.
I’d say 2 weeks will let you do the places you mention but I’d add in several days between Kent and Edinburgh and the same on the return journey. You will likely need more stops in Scotland as well.
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I was thinking of stopping at Knaresborough on the way up then on to Edinburgh but after that I get lost . time wise 3 days in Knaresborough and Edinburgh perhaps I should be think of stopping the same sort of time in the places I want to visit,
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careful of the dreaded midges there (Fort William that is).
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I'd never give advice on sites for other folks, Magnet. I always book for myself 'cos I know where I want to be and want to see. The only things I will say are :--
Avoid the A82 past Loch Lomond while you are towing !! It can be rather hairy at times with the big tourist coaches & lorries.
Midgie time is mainly WEST COAST, Near Trees And Water -- the female midgie likes her meat BLOODY !!
Several deterents exist Jungle Formula, Smidge That Midge, Avon Skin So Soft ( Yes Really
) but prime midgie time is from mid/late may to September -- out side those times no problems. Some folks walk round in beach wear and never get nibbled, others could wear armoured space suits & still get eaten alive --- 'tis life in the north I'm afraid.Now thats the doom n gloom, so please remember Scotland is a big country an sparsley populated in comparison. Its for that reason many maps use a different scale watch out for that.
All things said I take approximately 3 to 3.5 weeks there annually so it aint all bad
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Good advice from ABM.
The NC500 has made the north of Scotland very popular and booking at peak times I would say is a must.
If time is limited, why not restrict yourself to one area and explore it in greater depth rather than trying to cram a lot into one holiday? Scotland is huge with much to offer.
Over the years we've covered most of it from The Borders and Dumfries & Galloway to Aberdeenshire, the Highlands, the far north and Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides. I’ll happily make suggestions and share my experiences, Magnet, but I think you need to come up with a prospective route and a few sites first otherwise it’s a bit "how long is a piece of string."
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A couple of years ago we went to Scotland in June from South Yorks. We broke the trip into Northumberland around Bamburgh/Lindisfarne for 4 nights, Edinburgh for a week, Trossachs for a couple of nights and then over to Oban on the west coast for another week (of rain!) before returning via the Lakes. There was plenty to see and do in that time. I would suggest you limit yourselves to set areas. Enjoy.
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Have to agree. Once you get up into Northumberland there are no motorways and the going gets slower but more beautiful. Why not take three weeks and do the East Coast, such a lot to see and do including Edinburgh, Kingdom of Fife, etc..... Depends on what you are interested in, but every road in Scotland goes around either a Loch or a Mountain, and it can take longer than you think between places.
Take the midges seriously, it's a place I never go at midge time!
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Easier in a MH HD, I think the OP is towing. You're crossing coasts in England as well. We have done Yellowcraig and across to Oban a few times. It can be a hell of a pull around all the lochs and mountains, lovely, but a long drive.
Yours sounds a nice tour. We have seen Bunree, but never stayed, preferred North Ledaig Site. Garlieston is nice, quiet. We are off to Hawes for first time in December, we know the village, but haven't stayed on site before.
We towed from North Ledaig down to Carradale one Autumn. A very long tow. We had to stop and move cows off road on Kintyre a couple of times, and dodge low flying deer! Carradale to home, without using ferries is a thirteen hour drive for us, with a couple of stops for dog walking and something to eat.
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Home to Moffat - about 500 miles - is doable for us in the MH with an overnight stop, that assumes we can do 70mph most of the way. Towing the caravan took much longer.
Inverness to Dunnet Bay has now become a much easier trip whereas when towing it was a long slow haul even though it’s not a huge distance. Berriedale Braes has much to answer for.😀
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Edinburgh first? Then straight up the A9 to Inverness, about three hours plus, another two and a half plus to John O Groats from Inverness (the plus is for holdups, rest breaks etc.) Quite a long haul down to Fort William depending on the route, maybe four hours, then a couple of hours or more to Glasgow.
A stop over from Kent, north and south leaves 12 days minus another four days travelling so that's eight days left to see the various areas, not much time but doable if you don't intend returning for a few years. But if you do intend to return I'd split the visit. Perhaps Edinburgh and the far north this time, then Glasgow and the west coast another?
People seem to take a "run" at Scotland as though they've got to do it in one go but I don't think they'd attempt the same in England or Wales or even Ireland considering how much they'd miss if they only allowed a couple of weeks. Anyway good luck with your plans and hope you have a great trip.
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Came back from a 5 week stay in Scotland, a couple of weeks ago. Holiday cut short because of OH being taken ill, but that's another story. We live west of London, and route wise we took the M40 onto the M42, stayed at Chapel Lane for one night, as we didn't leave home until late in the day. Then onto M5 to M6. Stayed the weekend at a site just outside Lancaster in Forest of Bowland. Very pretty round there. Up to Moffat C&CC site for 4 days. This is a favourite site for us. August Bank Holiday we were at the BCC rally at Kelso, were we met up with friends. After that, we went up to Glenmore, nr Aviemore, with friends who hadn't been to Scotland before, and this is a good base to travel around from, when you only have 10 days like they did. After they left for home, we stayed a few more days at Glenmore, then came to Perth to Scone C&CC site. A week later we moved down to Lauder. First we had Storm Ali, that put paid to the awning and then OH was taken ill and hospitalised, so we then came straight home when he was discharged, courtesy of the RAC. We will be back .
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thanks for all the advice, this is going to be harder than I thought . I got to do it by area that's for sure one thing the wife would like to see Emmerdale so that area will be first stop (which would be best club site) then Glasgow or Edinburgh . after that east or west side of Scotland. lots to think about .Dave
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The Emmerdale set is based at Harewood House, so you need to look up your closest site. Tours of the set are strictly limited, and I think you have to book in advance. Link here
https://www.emmerdalestudioexperience.co.uk/village-tour/
Not my scene, haven't been but if you do some research, you can visit the original villages where it was first set.
Knaresborough might be closest Club Site. Not too far from A1.
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Two weeks is pushing it especially given you want to stop overnight on the way. If you avoid the peak midge period, I would base myself in one site on the east - around Fort William would be fine, and at a site on the west coast - Brora is great. Stonehaven is OK if your want to tour around Aberdeen. Use the car to tour around. This is how we used to 'tour' Scotland with our caravan.
Unless the Scots has spent some money on their roads, expect rough surfaces which are tiring to drive - hence the better bet of leaving the caravan on site. Last year we gave up on our tour around Dumfries & Galloway because of the appalling road surfaces. I hear the NC500 is still bad in places.
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We toured Scotland for the first time this year from early May until the middle of June and took 6.5 weeks including a stopover on the way up from the midlands at Southport and stops at River Breamish and Durham Grange on the way back. We had wonderful weather and no midges! We chose to go up the west side and then back down the east partially because of the warnings about midges in the west as you come into the summer months. Edinburgh was a great place to visit and the site location is excellent so make sure you give yourself enough time there. We stopped at Strathclyde for one night to have a break in our journey as we didn't want to go into Glasgow and as the site is conveniently located just off the M74 it was perfect for what we wanted. We then moved on to Maragowan, Bunree, Morvic, (close for a visit to Skye), a stopover at Culloden, Brora, Dunnet Bay, back to Culloden for 5 days, Silverbank and lastly Edinburgh. All the sites were excellent and the roads between generally good with light traffic. We missed the upper parts of the west coast because we were towing a caravan and were unsure of the more minor roads. I agree with the previous warning about the A82 past Loch Lomond, we took a day trip there from Maragowan and wouldn't have liked the narrow road, solid rock walls and barriers with the heavy traffic, lorries and coaches in places. Try to get up to Dunnet Bay if you can, the site is right next to a wonderful beach which is largely deserted and in early June it was light until 11.00pm! By booking just Caravan and Motorhome sites we were able to slightly modify our trip when it became apparent we had booked either to few, or too many days at some of the places as the trip progressed.
Enjoy your holiday, we loved Scotland with it's diverse scenery, quiet roads and wonderful places to visit. We will be back soon!
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You can get all the way to Perth by motorway, yes really, they do now exist in Scotland. M1/M6/M74/M8/M9 and Bobs your auntie, Perth. They even have dual carriageways north of Perth too..... I tow our van from Hooderzfield to Inverness in a day (400 miles) including several p and t stops for passengers and dog. Personally I wouldn’t combine an Emmerdale visit with a Scotland trip. Why not plan a separate Yorkshire holiday? there really is more to the county than Emmerdale murders or whatever the writers portray. I worked on the very original Emmerdale Farm (at Leathley near Otley) set long before the Harewood built village set. As a half Scot/Yorkshireman I can vouch for both as being Gods own countries. I have holidayed in Scotland most years since 1959 - it is simply impossible to cover it all in 2weeks or so. Every part has its merits and probably needs half a dozen holidays to see the highlights.
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Scotland from Kent sounds a bit like Scotland from Cornwall. For me it's a 550 mile drive to get to Spain but 650 miles to inverness. Both are worth doing if you have the time.
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Magnet, I think you've got some ideas from here, your reply reflected that so why not consider combining your Emmerdale trip with a visit to the Scottish Borders, maybe head towards Berwick which is just on the border, then Melrose, Yellowcraigs etc and finish in Edinburgh. The Borders are a mini country of their own with hills and lochs to explore and when you get to Edinburgh you can see the sights at leisure. You'll get a taste of Scotland and hopefully want to go back for more.
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It's all down to what floats your boat.
I don't understand people who don't visit Melrose and the Borders but then again I don't get the attraction of Edinburgh, too many tourists and only 3 streets worth of looking at.
Balbirnie is actually a better site to visit Edinburgh from plus has all the attractions of Kingdom of Fife(Falkland if you are an Outlander fan is a must). You can get a train from there right into middle of Edinburgh whereas Edinburgh site you need buses.
Banchory, Brora all worth visiting.
Above Inverness I always suggest a week in Kinlochewe and a week in Brora - sight seeing from there you can cover the whole area easily - John O Groats is like Lands End, a tourist trap with only thing worth of doing getting your photo taken.
Garlieston is a must for me - true peace.
So decide what you want to see visit first then plan around it
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