Alright lads.
It's about a year since my last trip up to Scotland, I drove from Yorkshire to Glasgow, stopped on Loch Awe for a night, then drove through Glen Coe and Glen Shiel up to Skye and had a fantastic week or so hiking and biking, then drove via Glen Torridon across to Inverness for a night (and a football match) before a long trip home.
It was my first ever trip to Scotland and it was just really nice. Just me in my little car staying in a little hut, mostly undisturbed in a way that's hard to find elsewhere on this blasted island.
Feels like I was spoiled by Skye's variety, the moody craggy mountains and coral beaches with lovely views and all sorts basically within minutes of each other.
So where should I explore in Scotland next? I keep looking at the map and it doesn't feel quite so endless now. Wester Ross maybe? Mull? Maybe actually stop somewhere near Glen Coe?
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If you intend on visiting any islands plan that well in advance as CalMac is an absolute shambles right now. They're shuffling around their services and some islands this summer will be left without a ferry service.
First of April I'm headed to the UK for the first time. Going to London and Cardiff to start, but most of the trip will be spent in Scotland. TTaling the train from Cardiff to Edinburgh for 3 days. Going to do a side trip to Stirling and Falkirk. Then headed to Glasgow to catch a plane to the Isle of Barra in the Hebrides. 2 days there, then back to Glasgow for 2 more days. Then a train to Inverness for two days. I'm pretty excited, never having been to the UK before.
>Falkirk
God fricking lord why? The kelpies are not worth it.
Really? I have a friend in London, and a friend here in the States who is originally from the Isle of Man. Both of them have said I need to go see the Kelpies. Plus, there's a lot of history there. Is it really dreadful or something? Something I'm missing?
falkirk is a shithole.
get the train up to fort william.
please spend money in our pubs
kthx
And you can get taw frick n aw, virgin.
I mean, I planned to. Ummm....am I missing something here? Is the pub industry suffering?
As anon said calmac have shit the bed so any ferries need careful planning. Plus your plans will be shredded once one of the ships breaks again. Logan air is an alternative for some places if you can hire a car (£££)
You mentioned Mull after saying you enjoyed Skye. Compared to Skye:
> much lower population with reduced services to match, keep your tank topped up and have a few days of supplies on hand
> basically every road is single track except for a stretch. It takes ages to drive anywhere
> there’s only one Munro
> there are more rare species that are easy to see if you like wildlife
> the big ferry from Oban books up and is prone to breaking. The shitty wee ones (fishnish/Tobermory) are more dependable but are an arse to use if you’re in Glasgow
> Iona lies off the Ross of mull and is worth visiting
> other islands worth a visit are ulva and staffin (fingal’s cave, a c**t to get to)
> nowhere in Skye is really that remote and it’s crawling with walkers. Mull has a few places that are still almost untouched wilderness, eg laggan deer forest. Lots of land is forestry commission monoculture though
> on nice summer weekends the few sites that are better known get absolutely packed eg Calgary bay
> Tobermory is the big town and has like two pubs and a restaurant, makes Portree feel busy
If you liked Skye and want somewhere more rural mull is a great trip. I brought a wetsuit and spent a few days snorkelling looking at beasties
Other trips worth doing are the Hebridean way (go to Barra and then drive to the butt of Lewis - allow a fortnight - prepare to be cucked by calmac). NC500 is very popular and excellent. Area around fort William will be busy but well it’s gorgeous
Shetland is also very nice but it’s a pig to get to plus the ferry is from Aberdeen which sucks
I'd recommend the NC500 to anyone, it's an incredible experience and anyone visiting Scotland is an idiot to not do it. However. During the summer it is probably one of the worst experiences a tourist in this country can go through, with the state of the narrow roads, lack of passing places, virtually no parking and Americans in Camper vans. Avoid between April and September.
not op but ill be there in a camper van for most of june rip, i didn't even think about summer.
I did it during the pandemic and it was very nice - relatively quiet for the peak of summer and almost everyone else in Scotland was too afraid of the disease to do any touristy stuff. Only downside was all the pubs etc having rules around buying stuff. I can imagine the nc500 being hell on earth these days now that the normie’s only fear is FOMO
What sort of rules about "buying stuff" do the pubs have?
Back then they were very serious about covid precautions - having to phone the bar to place orders etc. hopefully they have gotten a grip now
they won’t care, unless you bring it up, which is a loser move
Wester Ross would be my suggestion if you like getting your arse kicked by terrain, midges and weather. I hiked across Fisherfield Forest (not a forest, but sublime) then hitchhiked up to fail to summit Suilven. Never seen anything like that before.
The magic thing about Scotland is if you ignore the obvious destinations and just ramble through the most random possible place you're going to find something unforgettable. The most magical experience I've had anywhere was exploring North Uist, which is a tiny, featureless peat bog with nothing to recommend it.
In truth the nicest area of Scotland is Perthshire, but nobody seems aware of this fact, which is fine with me.
Therns plague Ireland, but luckily Ulster solved the thern problem once and for all in the 1950s.
How about frickin nowhere? You English frickin prick. Frick off.
"a fewtboll match! Ooh, how wanderfullll! A fewtboll match! Daddy! Daddy! I saw a Scotch fewtboll match!"
Get. Take. Frick. Fricking wanker. Stay in England and open a bank or whatever the frick it is you micro dicked world conquering barbarians do.
I'm English and I live here along with hundreds of thousands of other English people. Thanks for the cheap housing,I've nearly paid my house off and I'm buying a buy to let soon as well. (^:
My family heritage is Scottish, so obviously I am Scottish myself. Will people be more friendly towards me?
From everything I've read, they don't want to hear about it. I'm in the same boat myself, and when I visit, I don't say anything about it at all. My name is blatantly Scottish with some Irish history as well. If you're an American tourist, I would recommend just not mentioning it. If you pay for something with a credit card or they look at your passport and you have a Scottish surname, it's going to be obvious to them anyway.
*EDIT: When I visit, I don't plan to say anything at all. I haven't been yet, but I'll be there next month.
Don't listen to people here. Scots are warm and outgoing people, and love it when stranges strike up conversation and have something in common with them.
A huge hobby for many is ancestry and heritage, and you'll find many who'll be more than happy to speak about clans, and compare coats of arms.
Never found a more friendly place than local bars in Glasgow for this kind of things, tbh.
lol exactly, I'm reminded why I stopped coming to SighSee, the advice here sucks.
The OP would also know the truth because his scottish relatives would always be talking about their acestory and heritage