North Scotland : Is it worth the extra "push" ??

g4fne

Hi Folks

To tour Scotland has always been an ambition of ours, & I'm aware that we are are not going to see it all but would like to see as much as i can.

Can anyone tell me if the far North of Scotland (further North than Ullapool in the West & Inverness in the East) is worth the extra "push" ... If i go that far then i will have to miss out on the East area (Cairgorns, Aberdeenshire etc), which i'm told is well worth a look.

sturll

g4fne wrote: »

Hi Folks

To tour Scotland has always been an ambition of ours, & I'm aware that we are are not going to see it all but would like to see as much as i can.

Can anyone tell me if the far North of Scotland (further North than Ullapool in the West & Inverness in the East) is worth the extra "push" ... If i go that far then i will have to miss out on the East area (Cairgorns, Aberdeenshire etc), which i'm told is well worth a look.

Imo Scotland is good for only 2 things.

Heritage and Countryside.

If these are two things that don't interest you then venture South into England.

Now England is good for 2 things.

Lake District and Well connected Airports.

So either go walking or get a flight out of this s*** hole.

omelette451

g4fne wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if the far North of Scotland (further North than Ullapool in the West & Inverness in the East) is worth the extra "push" ... If i go that far then i will have to miss out on the East area (Cairgorns, Aberdeenshire etc), which i'm told is well worth a look.

Definitely go the extra way to the top. I'd give anything to be able to plan that right now. There's plenty around Aberdeen to make a second trip another day worthwhile.

g4fne

Thanks for the reponses ... difficult decision as this is probably only chance i will get to do this & being nearly 700miles away from Cairgorms/Aberdeenshire, unlikely i can pop back unfortunately.

So its really a straight decision between the far North of Scotland or the Cairgorms/Aberdeenshire

bigbullyweedave

I've done the whole circuit (from Arran to Skye to Ullapool, then up via Dunnet Head to John O Groats, Wick, Inverness etc) and thought that was amazing - wouldn't hesitate to do that again! Absolutely breathtaking... but be prepared for LOTS of driving...

Mrs. BBWD

omelette451

g4fne wrote: »

So its really a straight decision between the far North of Scotland or the Cairgorms/Aberdeenshire

In that case go for the far north. At least you'll be able to look at a map and say you did it! And you can hope that one day you'll get lucky and can go back.

g4fne

So would you say following the West side from Arran, has the slight edge over the East ??

Engadine

The West Coast is much nicer than the East, Glen Coe is stunning

g4fne

If i were based near Inverness for a period of time & ventured out for the day up the coast road to John O Groats, then Thurso, across to Durness & then back down to Inverness (a big circle), the Routefinder is telling me this is a 350mile (round trip) & will take approx 8hours .... normally i wouldnt drive that kind of distance for a "day out" but it would give me the taste of the far North i'm looking without having to relocate again with the caravan

Has anyone tried something similar ??

Irishorangutan

I live in Aberdeenshire and I would say that the Braemar, Ballater, Banchory, Aboyne side is worth a look if you come this way.

torbrex

g4fne wrote: »

If i were based near Inverness for a period of time & ventured out for the day up the coast road to John O Groats, then Thurso, across to Durness & then back down to Inverness (a big circle), the Routefinder is telling me this is a 350mile (round trip) & will take approx 8hours .... normally i wouldnt drive that kind of distance for a "day out" but it would give me the taste of the far North i'm looking without having to relocate again with the caravan

Has anyone tried something similar ??

Yes you could do that trip in a day but as a driver you would see very little because you would be concentrating on the driving too much, especially on the single track roads where you might meet a caravan on tow.:rolleyes:

You could leave the caravan and plan a hotel stop on the route so that you could take a bit more time doing it and be able to see just that much more. There is just so much scenery to see from costal cliffs, outcrops and beaches to mountains, rivers, valleys and all the towns and villages along the route. The same stunning view can look totaly different from the other side of the valley and also between full sun and partly cloudy.

Have a safe trip whatever you decide to do and remember you can always go back so dont rush it just to say that you have been.