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Trip to the Highlands - ideas

Murphybear
Posts: 7,760 Forumite


I am planning a trip to the Highlands next year and am wondering when the best time to go is. We are pensioners and want to miss the school holidays but other than that are fairly flexible. I know the midges can be bad but don’t know if some months are better than others. The last time I went to the Highlands was about 30 years ago, it was in July and hot. We didn’t see a single midge.
We stayed a few miles higher than Drumnadrochit on Loch Ness.
We are planning a 2 Centre holiday, one will be in the Inverness area and not sure yet where the other will be. We live 600 miles from Inverness so will be on the road a few days. We live in sheltered housing and most of the branches have hospitality suites where we can stay for about £10 a night. The main holiday will be self catering. We’ve never visited the Loch Lomond area so might go there as well.
So if anyone has any thoughts or ideas of what to do, especially if the weather is not so good I’d be interested. We both like scenery (it doesn’t get much better than the Highlands) and would like to visit some of the Islands depending on weather and time. We both like walking but not too much due to hip and knee problems. I understand the ferries can be expensive, don’t know if this is so but when we got the Isle of Wight ferry last year we were told it was the most expensive on the planet per km with some of the Scottish ferries coming a close second.

We are planning a 2 Centre holiday, one will be in the Inverness area and not sure yet where the other will be. We live 600 miles from Inverness so will be on the road a few days. We live in sheltered housing and most of the branches have hospitality suites where we can stay for about £10 a night. The main holiday will be self catering. We’ve never visited the Loch Lomond area so might go there as well.
So if anyone has any thoughts or ideas of what to do, especially if the weather is not so good I’d be interested. We both like scenery (it doesn’t get much better than the Highlands) and would like to visit some of the Islands depending on weather and time. We both like walking but not too much due to hip and knee problems. I understand the ferries can be expensive, don’t know if this is so but when we got the Isle of Wight ferry last year we were told it was the most expensive on the planet per km with some of the Scottish ferries coming a close second.
On my last trip we went to Skye. It was beautiful and the weather was sunshine and blue sky. They were building the bridge at the time. The only definite thing I would like to do is the Jacobite Railway (I am a closet Harry Potter fan). One of us is a castle fan, I understand there are some stunning ones to see and we are both members of the National Trust.
This post is longer than I planned.
I’d love to hear your ideas.
This post is longer than I planned.

Ps I can reciprocate if anyone is planning a trip to Dorset
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Comments
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One detail missing, how long are you going for? I've visited Scotland for over 30 years almost annually, so have seen plenty! Highlands are great, but its a huge area. As you say everything north west of a line from Loch Lomond to Aberdeen!
Scottish main summer school holidays are late June to mid August. I'd look at early June if you want to miss them - and have very light evenings - or early September when weather is still decent, the midgies have largely cleared off and schools are back in England and Europe.
If you want to do the Jacobite you need to be near Fort William, unfortunately in my opinion its not somewhere I'd actually want to stay. Far too busy thanks to Ben Nevis and the town is poor I much prefer Oban, but that's a longish drive to get to Fort William for Jacobite.
One bonus with Oban you can get ferries and they aren't expensive for day trips if you don't take the car. Mull is only 45 minutes and there's a local bus service around the island. Fares are subsidised to a 'road equivalent tarriff'.
A couple of years ago we had a day trip to Coll and it was about £18 each. A couple of hours on the ferry, a couple of hours on Coll which is long enough to stroll into the main village (whilst its only about a mile I'm sure someone will give you a lift if walking is a problem) and back again while the boat goes to Tiree, it then returns and you have a couple of hours on board back to Oban. It's an early start to do the trip, but for the money a bargain.
One area I've never really done is Inverness, we always head west to Torridon for the breathtaking scenery.
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Murphybear said:I am planning a trip to the Highlands next year and am wondering when the best time to go is. We are pensioners and want to miss the school holidays but other than that are fairly flexible. I know the midges can be bad but don’t know if some months are better than others. The last time I went to the Highlands was about 30 years ago, it was in July and hot. We didn’t see a single midge.
We stayed a few miles higher than Drumnadrochit on Loch Ness.
We are planning a 2 Centre holiday, one will be in the Inverness area and not sure yet where the other will be. We live 600 miles from Inverness so will be on the road a few days. We live in sheltered housing and most of the branches have hospitality suites where we can stay for about £10 a night. The main holiday will be self catering. We’ve never visited the Loch Lomond area so might go there as well.
So if anyone has any thoughts or ideas of what to do, especially if the weather is not so good I’d be interested. We both like scenery (it doesn’t get much better than the Highlands) and would like to visit some of the Islands depending on weather and time. We both like walking but not too much due to hip and knee problems. I understand the ferries can be expensive, don’t know if this is so but when we got the Isle of Wight ferry last year we were told it was the most expensive on the planet per km with some of the Scottish ferries coming a close second.On my last trip we went to Skye. It was beautiful and the weather was sunshine and blue sky. They were building the bridge at the time. The only definite thing I would like to do is the Jacobite Railway (I am a closet Harry Potter fan). One of us is a castle fan, I understand there are some stunning ones to see and we are both members of the National Trust.
This post is longer than I planned.I’d love to hear your ideas.
Ps I can reciprocate if anyone is planning a trip to Dorset
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Midge season is May to September.
Midges like damp weather so come out when it is damp. When it is hot and dry they won't be about. Nor will the be about if it is windy.
They are more likely over in the west where it tends to damper, , rather than the east where the air is drier.
Stock up with Smidge and apply it to all exposed areas before you go out. It is the best deterrent. ( experience of living in the Highlands )
https://www.smidgeup.com/
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sheramber said:Midge season is May to September.
Midges like damp weather so come out when it is damp. When it is hot and dry they won't be about. Nor will the be about if it is windy.
They are more likely over in the west where it tends to damper, , rather than the east where the air is drier.
Stock up with Smidge and apply it to all exposed areas before you go out. It is the best deterrent. ( experience of living in the Highlands )
https://www.smidgeup.com/0 -
Thanks for all the helpful comments0
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Murphybear, I suggest you join tripadviser where you can get brilliant advice from the experts in the Scotland forum.1
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Another vote for Oban. Combined it with Inverness on our highlands tour on our honeymoon.
But have you thought of Stirling? Got a weird lovely microclimate (miss out the eastern wind and the western rain) and you've got the castle, safari park, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and you can still buy Britain's most northerly Waitrose food.
While we're being MSE. if you're driving up from Dorset, you can save petrol money by avoiding motorway services and filling up at nearby supermarkets in Preston (BamberBridge) and Carlisle - make sure you've brought your nectar card and clubcard with you.There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker0 -
And while you're driving up don't forget to stop off at Tebay services on the M6. A revelation of how good motorway services can be.
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martindow said:And while you're driving up don't forget to stop off at Tebay services on the M6. A revelation of how good motorway services can be.
It's got nicer views than say Preston Bamber Bridge Sainsbury's or Carlisle Tesco but they're cheaper for petrol and the OPs visiting the highlands anyway.
You can (or at least could) get seaplanes from central Glasgow to Loch Lomond; mIght be worth checking them out.
If you're a fan of Peter Kay's Car Share, you might enjoy the safari park near Stirling.
There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker0 -
Cruachan Hydro Power Station tour (near Oban) if you're looking to kill a couple of hours on a rainy day.
If visiting Fort William, Glenfinnan monument isn't too far away, where you can also see the 'Harry Potter bridge' (Glenfinnan Viaduct) and possibly view the Jacobite steam train.
Keep following the A830 towards Arisaig and Mallaig for some stunning west coast beaches.1
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