West of Scotland

Inforapennyinforapound

Nosht wrote: »

WORSE THAN THE MIDGE IS THE PREVALENCE OF MOSQUITOS FROM LATE MARCH ONWARDS.
They leave a nasty water blister but you do not feel the bite or the insect on your skin, just the itchy feeling after. They are small dark grey in colour with vary big wings for their size.

Regards,

N.

P.S. Also beware of ticks, they can crawl about your clothes & skin & appear hours after you have been out of doors. Washing does not kill them.

Well,i was looking forward to going but can easily change my mind!Sounds like an ideal way to keep the English out of Scotland:rotfl:

daveyjp

There is loads of choice - I'd recommend the Stirling Highland Hotel if you want to treat yourselves for one night.

Many years ago we stayed in a farmhouse near Uig on Skye - stunning. Fort William town is a let down, but there are plenty of B&Bs a short drive out - the Road to the Isles to Mallaig has some lovely beaches - get the weather and you could be on a Caribbean beach

The B&Bs in Scotland are known for their hospitality. The Skye owner used to have tea and homemade cakes ready for us when we returned after our day out!

There's a coral beach on Skye which takes some finding, but is something very different. You can buy silver and gold pieces of coral at the local siversmith's - Skye Silver.

Inforapennyinforapound

Nice post daveyjp,thanks

cazziebo

I think May/June is often the best time to visit Scotland. Don't let the midges put you off. You might be one of the lucky people they don't like! My OH and elder daughter are never bitten, my younger daughter and I attract midges like nothing else. Boots do some good stuff, and also do a little gadget that takes the sting out of any bites. (I know people swear by avon Skin so Soft, doesn't work for me).

I would always suggest B&B over hotels in Scotland - so much better value. As Nessie says, many B&Bs don't register on the Visitscotland site due to the extortionate fees and ridiculous categorisations. I usually just do a web search and have found some lovely gems.

Skip Fort William unless it's to pick up provisions (and get petrol at Morrison's -cheapest in an area where fuel is very expensive) carry on a few miles to Spean Bridge or out towards Morar and Arisaig. Morar has the most beautiful beaches on earth (imho!) and with not much walking you can have a lovely little cove to yourself. You could then pick up the ferry at Mallaig and drive through Skye to come back out over the bridge. (Recommend the scallops at the Plockton Inn!)

A lovely B&B I stayed at last year which is a bit further north at Applecross (very very scary road - highest in the UK although there is another route) is this one http://www.applecrossaccommodation.co.uk/eca1.html You can walk from here to the Applecross Inn which does great food and had lots of tables outside looking over the bay,

Stirling is a lovely city to visit - small enough to walk round in a day, much less frenetic than Glasgow or Edinburgh, interesting castle and other tourist sites, some nice cafes. Pretty standard for shopping - usual chains. As one of the other posters has recommended (despite what I've said about B&Bs!) the Stirling Highland is a lovely hotel and you can often get deals there.

Hope you have a lovely time!

(nosht - thank goodness you didn't mention the clegs - nobody would visit us at all!)

Inforapennyinforapound

:eek:Clegs??????

Inforapennyinforapound

Can someone please give me an idea why some people are not too impressed with Fort William? I have never ventured there and am curious as to what the downside is.
Thanks

jexygirl

Hi
1) my visit scotland comment was more about giving an idea of whats around to see, with one easy link which would lead you to explore. It wasnt so much about accomodation, simply a spring board.
2) Midges... They like damp and warmish and so generally, if its warm and raining, or alternatively, a hot day that cools, early evening can be bad! We are next to a loch, hence can suffer badly - like another poster, I get bitten whatever, although a bug band on each ankle and wrist worked! the Avon skin so soft works for most people I know but the beggars just love me!.
Remember they are mainly out during early evening and around water mostly but not exclusively!
Also the comment about less this year .. eggs lay in the ground until it gets warmer, severe frost CAN reduce numbers but obviously its not conclusive! We have had LOADs of frosts, colder than ever, in fact the loch even froze which made lots of headlines! (its 1 mile wide by 7 long!) so lets hope a few eggs died! I personally found the bug bands better than deet and no chemicals.
3) Tics... I havent got one in almost 3 years of being here, OH has had one, and dog has had 3 - and we walk every day up the mountains, in long grass etc. They are easy to remove, but a simple tic remover plastic thingy is about a pound and makes it even easier if you did happen to get one!
4) weather we have found is usually great outside school hols! May has always proved to be good for us, and midges are only just awake so not so many, but with weather who knows!
5) Fort william is lovely for walking. I also agree that stirling is a great spot to get some history, and its surrounding areas.

I can only speak from my own experience. I hope you still come up here, its truly worth it.
Jex

gordikin

Inforapennyinforapound wrote: »

Can someone please give me an idea why some people are not too impressed with Fort William? I have never ventured there and am curious as to what the downside is.
Thanks

It's just that it's so grey and dreich, (good Scots word!) compared to everything around it!

Inforapennyinforapound

Many thanks jexygirl.

Unfortunately only a week for this our 1st time so thats why we are concentrating on the West and then hoping to return home via Stirling.Ok back to the route planner!

daveyjp

In oder to improve transport links Fort William had a dual carriageway built to bypass the town centre. Parts of it were also rebuilt in the 70s with the accompanying architecture.

It wasn't the best piece of road planning ever - it is ugly, cuts the centre off from the loch and of course it makes it very easy to bypass the place and go somewhere else, as a result people don't stop and spend money so the shops don't thrive - they go to Morrisons or the 'tartan and haggis' shopping outlet nearer Ben Nevis.

Compare this to other town in Scotland towns such as Callendar, Castle Douglas or Pitlochry which kept the cars on the High Street - they are busy places.

For most the only draw of Fort William is Ben Nevis.