Scotland B&Bs

[rosanielle]

Looking for input on Scotland B&Bs. We will travel the country by car. Looking specifically for places that offer laundry service. We're bypassing Glasgow but are tentatively planning on visiting Edinburgh, Oban, Isle of Skye, Isle of Mull, and the Speyside and Highlands regions. Interested in also visiting the Borders, Dumfries Galway, and North Highlands regions but would like more input on these areas before we decide. We're interested in staying at one castle during our travels and think Glengorm Castle on the Isle of Mull looks great without spending a lot. Any input is welcome!

[Ruby]

hi there,

I would suggest a tour as a great way to see Edinburgh, Oban, Isle of Skye, Isle of Mull, and the Speyside and Highlands regions but since you'll be driving your own car, I can suggest places to see in those areas as well as accommodation:

- Edinburgh you can visit the Edinburgh Castle or take a panoramic city tour by car.

- Loch Lomond - Oban you can stop off at Luss to visit the Thistle Bagpipe Works. Continue driving west and stop for lunch at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar to enjoy some of the fresh Scottish produce before heading through Inveraray visiting the castle and jail.

- Isles of Mull, you can enjoy a tour of the isles by boat as it is the best way to enjoy the beautiful island of Mull.

- Glencoe - Isle of Skye you can explore the lovely landscape and onto Fort William set in the shadow of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain. Take the road to Kyle and take the bridge to explore Skye, the largest and most scenic of the Hebridean Islands.

- Speyside - Perthshire you can visit the Battlefield of Culloden and Clava Cairns, which date back to the 3rd millennium BC. Taking the Speyside route explore some of the Malt Whisky Trail. The Speyside area is home to more than half of all the country's distilleries plus the coopers who repair the oak casks each year.

- Highlands - Sutherland, you can head for the Kessock Bridge and the Black Isle and explore the area. Continue north visiting Dunrobin Castle and Gardens where you can enjoy a display of the ancient sport of falconry in the gardens of the castle.

-Loch Ness - Inverness you can stroll by along the shores of Loch Lochy and Loch Ness via Urquhart Castle.

- Dumfries is the biggest town in south west Scotland and the capital of Dumfries and Galloway region and offers many attractions such as fine museums, cultural societies and events, cafes and bars, as well as the beauty of the surrounding countryside and the historic interest of such an ancient and significant settlement.

Glencairn Villa Bed and Beakfast is situated in the town centre location and has easy access to Dumfries museums. Prices start at £22 per person

Happy travels!

[alleppocity]

I can suggest two places:

- Dundee is a great place to visit also because of its ancient history, its castles, its museums and its natural beauty.

- Helensburgh, has many parks and fine architecture and it's the last major settlement going east into the Highlands and has excellent rail links with Oban, Fort William and Glasgow.

enjoy!

[rosanielle]

Thank you for the suggestions! It's daunting to figure out what to see and where to go when the country is so diverse and you are trying to "see it all" in 2 weeks. May I ask if you know about places that offer traditional and folk music? We love to rub elbows with locals and aren't looking for 'modern' Scotland.

[Ruby]

Hi again,

Everywhere in Scotland you’ll see proud traditions kept alive, from Highland Games to pipe bands to live Scottish music at festivals and in bars. Here are just a few places of interest on the Scottish music scene:

-Sandy Bells, Edinburgh
Edinburgh’s original ‘folky’ pub with regular sessions. 25 Forrest Road, Edinburgh.

-Edinburgh Folk Club
Old-established club with regular meetings. Pleasance Cabaret Bar. Tickets usually available at door.

-St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow
Converted church now café and music venue. Regular folk events with traditional slant and ceilidhs too. Tickets usually at door. 1 st Andrew’s Square.

-Hootananny, Inverness
Award-winning Scottish ceilidh café bar music venue featuring range of traditional musicians and ceilidh bands. Some events ticketed. 31 Church Street.

-Aberdeen Folk Club
Longest established folk club in Scotland, every Wednesday. Some free sessions, or admission depends on performer. The Blue Lamp, Gallowgate.

[rosanielle]

Terrific! That's great news about the music venues. We've seen pubs along our itinerary that feature music nights but we're not in a position to enjoy them (or drive back safely to where we're staying).

Would like some validation of a certain segment of our trip -- we need to travel from Tain to Edinburgh in one day and are going to miss huge areas of Scotland, depending on which route we take south. We are big scenery, and nature, lovers.

I will be shooting tons of photos, my husband will be be shooting miles of video. We make quality movies out of our combined efforts & share them with others.

We are by-passing Scotland's cities, except for Edinburgh. We love ocean, mountains, glens, huge vistas, interesting roads and towns, places where real people live and work -- not touristy places.

We're 8 days into our trip at this point, having stayed on the Kintyre peninsula, Oban, Isle of Mull, Isle of Skye, and Tain. We have but a few more days in this trip and figure it's best to complete our trip by staying in Edinburgh for several days to see the Royal Mile, Falkirk Wheel, St. Andrews, Crail, and Leith.

We figure we'll be getting into Edinburgh late in the day and are prepared for that.

Do we follow A9 as it winds south to Edinburgh, or dog-let it through Grantown-on-Spey-**** Bridge-Braemar-Edradour distillery-Pitlochry-Edinburgh, or swing over to Aberdeen and take the coast route?

Would love to hear the best of what these routes have to offer to help make our decision on how to travel from Tain to Edinburgh.

Thanks!

[Ruby]

Hello again,

Tain-Edinburgh is roughly around 130 miles and the A9, Scrabster route, will take between 4 and 5 hours depending on your speed.

As you point out you are big scenery and nature lovers, the route from Tain to Edinburgh through Aberdeen offer you beautiful landscapes.

When you reach Aberdeen and take in some more of the areas landscape follow both the A92 north from Dundee and the A93 from Perth towards Edinburgh.

Happy travels

[rosanielle]

Afraid you'd say that! Ha! It's what has been turning in my mind (going the Aberdeen route) and it's good to get validation of that. Probably best to try and add an additional day to the trip and stop off somewhere in between Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Any recommendations?

[Ruby]

Yes, an extra day to the trip it's a probably a good idea since you'll be taking plenty of pictures and soaking in the natural scenery.

There are many B&B's on the Aberdeen-Edinburgh route but you could probably stop off somewhere half way such as in Forfar.

A couple of guest houses in Forfar include:

- Newton Farmhouse B&B/Self Catering in Newton of Fothringham, Forfar. It is only 2 miles of the A90 and prices start from £52 for a double room.

- Glencoul House Justinhaugh, Forfar located also not far from the A90 and prices start at £48 for a double

Hope your having a good time and happy travels!

[rosanielle]

Thanks for the helpful hints, Travadvice360. Actually, our trip isn't till next May but I'm building an itinerary now so we can see how many miles we can travel to the places we want to see, thus governing where we stay.

I'm done building a 12-day trip around Scotland that should be both beautiful and fun. Your advice has been very helpful. I'm surprised there weren't more responses to my queries, to be honest. It's beyond me that interest in Scotland seems so low when the country and its people are so pleasant.

Although the dollar is not worth as much as the pound, we're still getting high value in accommodations in Scotland. You would pay MUCH more for like accommodations in America.

Now we sit and wait, and save our money, for the trip of a lifetime!