Scotland for Dummies (help needed)

Once again, I'm trying to plan a trip around Scotland and northern England for before and after this year's meet. And once again, I have no idea what's worth seeing. Lonely Planet, the LP BlueLists, and the Scotland tourism website are helping, but there's a lot to go through.

Can any local experts recommend good sights in South and West Scotland and the Isles?

My initial plan for week one is:
- arrive in Glasgow
- see the Borders... by train/bus??
- relax in the English Lake District National Park??
- get to Manchester for the meet
- take a Train back to Glasgow

My initial plan for week two is:
- depart Glasgow
- visit the Isle of Arran and Islay (and Colonsay?)
- rent a car and drive from Oban to the Isle of Skye
- visit the Isle of Skye for two days
- drive back to Glasgow to fly home

That's plenty of plane, train, bus, ferry, bike, walk, and car transport right there. Too busy, most likely. I just don't know how to plan a vacation other than to keep moving around. No wonder I avoid vacation, it's so much work.

Thanks for any tips!

You can't see the borders by train - I think there are coach tours, but really you want a hire car. There are a number of amazing castles or upland walks but they aren't near anything else so there will be a fair amount of travel between sites.

Lake district is very nice - get down to Windermere (although if the weather is crap you may wish to rethink this bit - you just won't see anything if the cloud is at ground level)

If you are heading to Arran, you may wish to visit Culzean Castle before you go across (it is in Ayrshire and looks out towards Arran) and the Robbie Burns museum, and then get a boat across to Arran from Troon or Irvine. Brodick Castle on Arran is worth a visit, as are the standing stones at Machrie Moor.

I'm not sure of connectivity between Arran and Islay, but you do need to get there to enjoy some of the finest peaty whiskies in Scotland.

Oban to Skye is a great drive - absolutely beautiful.

Sounds like a great plan - just remember the train in Scotland is fine between major centres, and okay if you aim to get to a town on one of the main lines, but away from that things get a bit sparse.

Reminds me of the ten days we spent on Skye/Harris/Lewis in 1998.

http://www.norman.cx/photos/?r=19980[89][^2].*

I am so looking forward to our 1000 mile "lap" of Scotland at the end of September this year, in one of these:

While at the subject of whisky: i visited MacAllan some years ago.
Very nice personal tour with a small group (we had the B&B lady arrange it, after hearing in the local pub we really should visit that one)
They even let us take a peek in the tasting/blending room.
And i used to think i didn't like whisky, but i loved the taste of theirs.
http://www.themacallan.com
What a difference that was to the tour and the taste of glenfidichchh.

Not visiting Edinburgh? Really nice city (the old centre that is)
We were there during the fringe: http://www.edfringe.com/
And we earned an 'i survived the eerie pub tour' shirt: http://www.fabuloustravel.com/ww/eeriescot/eerieccott.html

Photo's: (looking a bit weird, salvaged with gimp, camera had a light leak) http://www.xs4all.nl/~schido/fotos/schotland/index.html

Very nice, sir. I'm off up to Orkney tonight...the A9 from Edinburgh to John O'Groats is grand fun at night in the 'Preza!

For anyone doing a whisky tour of Scotland, Iain Bank's Raw Spirit would be a good read before going. I need to re-read it before our tour, as he has lots of tips for good driving roads.

That doesn't sound like a vacation at all. To me, it sounds more like an expedition. You will likely come home feeling like you need to take a vacation. At least I would

Good luck!

That plan was an expedition, with so much time spent moving, there was not enough time to see anything. I've simplified:

Border Abbeys for a day.
Lake District for a few days.
Attend the meet.
Islay for a few days (skipping Arran?).
Isle of Skye for a bunch of days.

Trains will get me to the locations, and I'm hoping local bus and shuttle service will get me around once I'm there. Hiring a car last year was great, but seems inefficient with ferries involved. Heck, maybe just hire a bike and ride around...

Thanks again for the tips and great pictures. The plan is shaping up.

Christine and I go for ten days every year, initially by motorhome, more recently in my Renault Convertible (As used by hairdressers everywhere). I'd say that you should:
Arrive Glasgow: Hire car, drift down through borders and lake district and hand car back in Manchester.
Take train from Manchester to Glasgow and hire car for trip round Highlands.
I know that it might be pricier, but I once mapped out doing the trip of the Highlands by public transport and it was only just doable and didn't leave any flexibility.
N.B. You can pick up and drop hire cars at main stations, as well as airports.
A few personal notes:
1. Glasgow is OK, but Edinburgh is so much more, it's our favourite place: we go about 3 times a year.
2. Each of those islands, I find disappoints: A long trip with not much at the end. We came back off Skye after half a day (Mind you it was sheeting down with rain). After all, you don't have to go to the Island to get the Whisky!
3. Oban to Skye, yes great: But Fort William to Mallaig by train: Much, Much greater (by steam, if you're lucky). If you are not driving it's better to look around.

Thanks for the additional tips. My plan is working out similar to your suggestion. However, the car hire prices seem very high. Two days, pickup in Glasgow, return in Carlisle, is 93 pounds. Last year, I did five day, pickup in Dundee and return in Glasgow for 150 pounds; and I overpaid, as I remember it. Both rentals were through Hertz for a small car.

I'm guessing the public transport in the western islands will be like that in the Borders; just barely possible to make it happen if timing is perfect. That hunch won't stop me from spending a day this week staring at time tables to prove that.

here's one timetable you'll need, I think that they have a monopoly of Island ferries.

Quote:
Two days, pickup in Glasgow, return in Carlisle, is 93 pounds.

£70 for a Ford Ka, £76 for a Focus:

http://www.holidayautos.co.uk

There are loads of rental companies in the UK, maybe cheaper than that. Worth looking at www.yell.com