2 days/2 nights in Scotland - wwyd?

[Eli_6]

We will be in Scotland for 5 nights/4 days.  I am spending 3 nights/2 days in Edinburgh for prior commitments.  I have been to Stirling, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews before...and some of the Northern Isles.  What should I do with the remaining time?  I thought about going to Loch Ness and Inverness and trying to see some of the highlands as I have never been up that way.  I am just a little concerned that it isn't enough time. 

[Cotswold Eagle]

I’d go West and I’d go by rail on the sensationally scenic West Highland Line. You could end up in Mallaig (having done the ‘Harry Potter’ steam train, the Jacobean) or Oban or Fort William and on to Skye. 
 

https://www.scotrail.co.uk/inspiration-hub/great-scenic-rail-journeys/west-highland-line-glasgow-oban-and-fort-williammallaig

[Cotswold Eagle]

Sorry, the steam train is the Jacobite, not the Jacobean. I’m blaming autocorrect 😀

 

https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/steam-train-trip

Edited November 11, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[fruitmachine]

13 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

We will be in Scotland for 5 nights/4 days.  I am spending 3 nights/2 days in Edinburgh for prior commitments.  I have been to Stirling, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews before...and some of the Northern Isles.  What should I do with the remaining time?  I thought about going to Loch Ness and Inverness and trying to see some of the highlands as I have never been up that way.  I am just a little concerned that it isn't enough time. 

In Edinburgh, if you've not already seen:

• The Georgian House
• Gladstone's Land
• Holyrood Palace
• The Real Mark King's Close
• St Giles Cathedral
• Royal Yacht Britannia

From Edinburgh, but not in Edinburgh:

• The Falkirk Wheel
• The Kelpies
• Rosslyn Chapel
• Culross
• New Lanark

Further afield:

• Glen Coe
• Loch Ness (but you see very little from the road, get on the water)
• Inverness

I'd concentrate on Edinburgh & Edinburgh area, but consider dray trips, either driving yourself or on organised tours for anything outside the city unless it's so far you'd have to overnight elsewhere.

Edited November 11, 2023 by fruitmachine

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, fruitmachine said:

The Real Mark King's Close

Should be The Real Mary King's Close.

[fruitmachine]

4 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

Should be The Real Mary King's Close.

Ooops!!  

I must improve my proofreading.  I can't even blame auto-correct!

Edited November 11, 2023 by fruitmachine

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

I am spending 3 nights/2 days in Edinburgh for prior commitments. 

Have you visited the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, or even S Queensferry or Cramond Village? Or Dean Village? All are interesting to explore on foot, no tour necessary. And the historic area of S Queensferry has the added bonus of  wonderful views of all three bridges.

 

I would spend the extra days in Edinburgh and as already suggested,  look at day trips as there is a good selection to choose from, easily found if you google something like "day trips from Edinburgh".  I think you might be surprised and pleased with some of the options which will appear in the results.

[John Bull]

If you are prepared to rent a car and spend one of your nights away from Edinburgh you would dramatically broaden the sights that you could see.

 

For example this route

https://maps.app.goo.gl/d6uxDf8FeQNGghhVA

includes a waterside drive along Loch Lomond (take a boat ride on the loch from Balloch ?), the Pass thro Glencoe (scene of a massacre),  Fort William (perhaps a return ride from there on the Jacobite steam train ride mentioned by @Cotswold Eagle if the timing is suitable), past Ben Nevis, a lochside drive the length of Loch Ness (include a stop at Urquhart Castle) to Inverness, self-styled capital of the Highlands. Perhaps overnite here, then return to Edinburgh on the fast A9 through the foothills of the Grampians and the ski-ing resort of Aviemore.. Total of about 9 hours driving over two days, almost all of it scenic.

If you're more adventurous and have the time, peel off the A9  and take to the B roads thro the Grampians - the Speyside towns & villages famous for whiskey, Balmoral (Queen's favourite palace, though you can see precious little of it) and Braemar (home of the Braemar Gathering). That would add something under an hour to your journey.

Then the M90 over the Firth of Forth on the Queensferry Crossing

 

If renting a car doesn't appeal, try the railway's West Highland line

It means a long day - train from Edinburgh at 07.15 to join the West Highland train at Glasgow.

A scenic 5-hour train ride to Mallaig - the last part, from Fort William, the same route as the Jacobite steam train but massively cheaper. Return same-way , back in Edinburgh at 10.30pm.. Total cost just under £80 per person (one of the vagaries of UK train fares s that on this route buying one-way tickets in advance is cheaper than return tickets  🙄) 

https://www.scotrail.co.uk/inspiration-hub/great-scenic-rail-journeys/west-highland-line-glasgow-oban-and-fort-williammallaig#:~:text=Loch Nan Ceall-,The route,or Fort William and Mallaig.

 

JB 🙂

[Globaliser]

On 11/11/2023 at 4:43 PM, edinburgher said:

I would spend the extra days in Edinburgh and as already suggested,  look at day trips as there is a good selection to choose from, easily found if you google something like "day trips from Edinburgh".  I think you might be surprised and pleased with some of the options which will appear in the results.

 

The National Museum of Flight at East Fortune: https://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-flight/ - including a chance to visit the most beautiful airliner ever made (or ever likely to be made).

[Harters]

On our last week-long trip to Scotland, we went north along the Western route - Loch Lomond, through Glencoe to Fort William (stopping for lunch at a pub at the Bridge of Orchy), then along Loch Ness to Inverness. We came back along an eastern route - through  through Braemar to Pitlochy (a lovely large village, where my partner spent a holiday when she  was a child, staying with her uncle who worked there for the Forestry Commission). and then through Stirling back to Cumbria. Fantastic scenery all the way. 

[edinburgher]

On 11/10/2023 at 9:28 PM, Eli_6 said:

What should I do with the remaining time?

Eli_6 you have been given some excellent suggestions so hoping at least a few of them might tempt you. Is  there anything standing out for you at the moment? Or do you need a few more suggestions?

Edited November 13, 2023 by edinburgher

[Eli_6]

On 11/11/2023 at 1:56 AM, Cotswold Eagle said:

Sorry, the steam train is the Jacobite, not the Jacobean. I’m blaming autocorrect 😀

 

https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/steam-train-trip

That looks amazing, but is it still running?

[Cotswold Eagle]

3 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

That looks amazing, but is it still running?

It’s seasonal, so not running at the moment. You didn’t say when you are travelling. As JB mentioned you can take an “ordinary’ train service along the same route. 
 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[Eli_6]

9 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

It’s seasonal, so not running at the moment. You didn’t say when you are travelling. As JB mentioned you can take an “ordinary’ train service along the same route. 
 

Sorry. I apologize. I am traveling at the end of November...leaving the US next Tuesday and coming back the following Monday.   

[JennyLynnP]

We had a few days in Scotland on a cruise at various ports, but we found the company Scottish Terrier Tours that offers multiple day trips to various places.They have a wide array of choices, and we liked the company. Didn't know about the direct booking discounts or the multi option for the day tours.

[fruitmachine]

10 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Sorry. I apologize. I am traveling at the end of November...leaving the US next Tuesday and coming back the following Monday.   

Don't forget that the days are short, and a lot shorter if you head north of here.  Edinburgh next week has sunrise at 8am and sunset at 4pm, getting worse by the day.  Inverness will be 20-30 minutes less daylight.  That would make me suggest even more that you should concentrate on locations in or near Edinburgh.

Edited November 14, 2023 by fruitmachine

[CatalinaUK]

I would not stay on the East Coast. Two days/two nights are more than enough to enjoy the Isle of Arran which is a short drive from Glasgow. Arran is known as "mini-Scotland" because you get all different kinds of scenery and landscape in one place. There's a whisky distillery at the north tip of the island, Highland-style glen and mountains, a picturesque fishing village on the west of the island, and standing stones at the southern tip of the island. Highly recommended - even this time of year when you don't get many hours of sunlight.