Scotland in 14 nights

[Debs]

@DavidG58 I love that pencil sketch! Is that for sale in the shop David?

 

[DavidG58]

@DavidG58 I love that pencil sketch! Is that for sale in the shop David?

I didn't go in Debs but cant imagine that it isn't

 

[Figaro]

I'm sure everyone else knows but where are those horses ?
I've seen the picture but never known where they are

 

[peterc10]

They are called the Kelpies and are in Grangemouth, Scotland. If you go to see them make sure you visit the Falkirk wheel as well, which is only 3 or 4 miles from them.

 

[Anthea M]

Love the kelpies and yes Debs the sketch is on lots of things like mugs etc So impressive and I hadn't expected them to be so large!
David enjoyed your holiday very much thanks for sharing ,even the not so good bits!! Bet they want to do another next year!!!

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[Allan & Loren]

Safe journey home got you all today. I've really enjoyed your holiday blog and will definitely visit some of these places when we go to Scotland.

 

[Debs]

Love the kelpies and yes Debs the sketch is on lots of things like mugs etc So impressive and I hadn't expected them to be so large!
David enjoyed your holiday very much thanks for sharing ,even the not so good bits!! Bet they want to do another next year!!!

.............how come I never noticed any when we did the Falkirk meet ???? ah well, there's next year if @irnbru runs it again & it doesn't clash with Hoylake - don't think we'd walk both ways next time though

 

[Wendo55]

I went away with a group of friends once and one did nothing but moan and complain the whole time. When we got back she put on Facebook that it was the best holiday that she'd ever had! Looking forward to your summary David, (with pics) and please give us your route with yay or nay recommendations.

 

[DavidG58]

The journey with stop points

so just short of 2000 miles in 16 days / nights, 2 long days getting up there, 2 long days getting back, then fairly relaxed while where we wanted to be, I / we and now all 4 of us (I think) truly love north west Scotland and even more so the Western Isles

High points for me in order seen

leaping salmon at Falls of Shin near Lairg

the first decent sunset, Ardmair nr Ullapool

possibly one of the better sunsets we have ever seen, although we arrived slightly late to catch the best, overlooking the beach at Luskintyre on the isle of Harris, truly stunning

My beautiful wife and my bestest mate and Lola

The lowest point of the trip, the morning we wake to this

and travel 10 miles to this

and my FIL says 'seriously' what do you see in this island?????? it wouldn't do for us all to be the same, but

Seriously now, I owe so much to @Terry without what we came to call the Terryvan the trip would have been over after Jedburgh (night 1), Terry we owe you in so many ways, a true friend and hopefully still so after we have fully negotiated the 'graze'

We have just been out for a meal and the Laws have declared the whole trip a total success, I have a different take on it, but am pleased they have had a decent trip

Would I do it again, would I bo11ocks

 

[Wendo55]

I knew they'd like it! 2,000 miles! DON'T work out the fuel cost. We don't have to know! Got to do a trip like this next year. Thanks so much for your very informative and entertaining blog. The pics are lovely too!

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[laird of Dunstan]

Thank you very much for the blog david ,we are heading up to Scotland next week,im hoping to get to Harris before having to be back in Rutland for a familly bash.
there will always be people you are blind to the raw beauty of nature , personally i think its a spiritual thing

 

[Anthea M]

Thank you for sharing have laughed all the way! Have a good rest and next time don't tell them your plans!

 

[Debs]

@DavidG58 thanks again as usual you've made me want to go & explore.

I know you've found it more than frustrating at times but it's been entertaining for the rest of us

Hope all is as well as can be hoped for with regard to plans for your mum & that you, Bev & Lola manage to get a relaxing break soon x

 

[Cal54]

@Wendo, you picking David's brain for our trip next May!!! Lol. I really would like to use the wild camping places that David has stayed at - rather spend the money on the diesel than site fees. I really want to get to Harris as does Veronica, but not sure about the others. We need a pow wow to get plans in place.

Thanks David for your blog it has been very entertaining for those of us following, and as usual your photos have been fantastic. Hope you now get some chilling time. BtW I would have given your FIL a train ticket home after day 1 !!!

 

[CWH]

Thank you @DavidG58 , it's been entertaining and informative - in more ways than one!
A trip like this is all about storing up memories for Bev but also for your in-laws, the bad bits have already been forgotten by them, they have so much to tell their friends and to talk about together, now and in the future ("do you remember when..."), and so do you.
You've done a really lovely thing.

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[Stagman]

@Wendo, you picking David's brain for our trip next May!!! Lol. I really would like to use the wild camping places that David has stayed at - rather spend the money on the diesel than site fees. I really want to get to Harris as does Veronica, but not sure about the others. We need a pow wow to get plans in place.

Thanks David for your blog it has been very entertaining for those of us following, and as usual your photos have been fantastic. Hope you now get some chilling time. BtW I would have given your FIL a train ticket home after day 1 !!!

We will be touring around that time too.... We will look out for you three.
Not sure what route we will be taking as we want to do dumfries and galloway and the west and Harris. Also gotmto pop to Inverness as my aunt is not so well and lives there. Mostly in hospital these days.
Nelson would be very pleased to see Dylan
Catherine (Stagmans girl)

 

[Cal54]

Thanks Catherine, there will be a number of us hopefully doing this trip, we just have to sort out the details. Definitely want to incorporate Harris/Lewis.

 

[Steve]

Thank-you @DavidG58 for sharing your trials and tribulations it’s been a good laugh and a lesson learnt about taking in-laws touring or in fact anywhere. you & bev deserve a medal

 

[Carol]

@DavidG58 so enjoyed your trip sounds as if your in-laws have made some memories to talk about for a long time
for sharing.

 

[Jasz]

Thanks @DavidG58 and @Debs for putting me on to this thread. I am pleased that I met both of you and Bev before reading it. was such an entertaining read that it really doesn't matter if we don't make it to the places you have been, although I think we will make some
Sharon found me laughing so many times that I told her she would have to read it for herself. As such I thought it was reasonable to resurrect this thread for people to read who missed it first time.

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[Oldchappers]

My in laws love the idea of motor homing but have enjoyed foreign holidays for too long, now cant afford one and are too old to hire one

We keep telling them how much they have missed what is so close to home, we really love Scotland, they now say 'we wish we had seen what you have'

So, we set out to plan a 14 night trip doing as much of Scotland as we could to show them what they have missed, thought it would be easy, but we now know we need more nights, but don't have them

It will be real whistle stop, but this is the route, as of few minutes ago, changing every time Bev looks at it , we have decided to get to the top and islands for maximum effect and they can more easily get back to the lower bits

Day 1 leave home (Chesterfield) stop over borders area, free welcome to use town centres, probably Jedburgh first night, meal in local hotel

Day 2 Drive up to Findhorn valley, a beautiful place all nature lovers should try, leave A9 at Tomatin, head west up river, park up close to road end and enjoy

View attachment 99889 View attachment 99890

those 2 days are the high milers, but still a lot of ground to cover

Day 3 drive back to Grantown on Spey CC site, best shower block in the UK, in laws not really used to camping, will be confused when water stops coming out of the taps!! , empty and refill everything

Day 4 Inverness for food shopping, then Chanonry point, another must do, arriving just after low tide to catch dolphins fishing, also lunchtime for fish and chips from Fortrose , then overnight at Falls of Shin, good chance of seeing salmon jumping, beautiful location, but really dead quiet and dark, might scare MIL

Day 4 drive to Durness via Altnaharra, possible stop there (midge dependent) probably drive on to Durness, must be better in August than January

View attachment 99891

Day 5, drive down towards Ullapool, stop at Ardmair site a few miles north, right on side of loch / sea

Day 6, drive to Poolewe CCC site near NT gardens,

Day 7, to Skye, via Torridon hills (had to miss out Applecross not enough days), stop at Sligachan site with hotel opposite

Day 8, ferry to Harris, overnight near Golden Eagle observatory

Day 9, drive to Lewis via the Butt of Lewis to a nice looking site (not been before)
http://www.eileanfraoich.co.uk/
looks good, stopping for an extra night, bit of recovery and the western isles shut on Sundays

Day 11, drive down to Harris, chose from one of these
http://www.westharristrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Map-of-West-Harris.jpg


Day 12 ferry to Uists, drive down to site used before at bottom of South Uist, Kilbride

Day 13 ferry back to Skye, stay at
http://www.portreecampsite.co.uk/

Day 14, should be home now but, on to Mallaig from Skye by ferry, Fort William then Conan ferry to overnight at Lochaline for ferry to Mull in morning, (saw our first ever otter here outside the pub)

Day 15, really running low on days now, do Tobermory, drive across Mull, then ferry back to Oban, stop at CC site North Ledaig, amazing site by walking down the back of the airfield, sea going into loch Etive at Connel bridge, has a waterfall (rapids) in and out in opposite directions according to the tide, weird sight

Day 16, drive up Glen Coe, back over to Edinburgh area, not sure where to stay yet?

Day 17 three days late, but bear in mind I have now had in laws for over 2 weeks, head home


So many more places we could have gone to, and we really should be doing 2 nights at every stop at least, but they say they will take themselves back up sometime, bizarrely looking forward to it really

I will give you the 'real event' as it develops in August

Sounds perfect however get the fish n chips from Avoch. Local recommendation.