Coming in 2019

Comments

• Horizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭

  March 1

  Hello Ian,
  
  I'll write some quick thoughts to start based on my opinions, feel free to follow up with specifics.
  
  Snow in Mar/Apr is a hit and miss but the probability is higher early Mar vs late Apr of course. The current cold spell is not normal, it's pretty ridiculous. Spots like Glencoe, Cairngorms and other ski centres give you the best chance of snow.
  
  WalkHighlands is a website that lists most of the marked trails across Scotland and each trail has a grade rating. Stick to the lowest rating of 1 boot, for my average fitness even 2 boots is sometimes intense in parts. Skye's walks generally do have elevation changes or rocky bits BUT cannot recommend taking the ferry to Raasay from Sconser enough. Very flat, magical walks, a new distillery setup and just look at this view over to Skye (one of my personal faves among the shots I've taken)
  
  

  
  
  Absolutely rent a car and do not miss going to the Outer Hebrides. Make sure you book accomodation and ferries 3-4 months before your trip. You will love the pristine beaches on Harris + Uists and the magic of Lewis.
  
  

  
  
  Fire away on followup questions. Will give my easy and rewarding walk recs tomorrow.

  I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram
  
  Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
  
  My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside)
  
  

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• lushnpops Member ✭✭

  March 3

  Thanks Horizons,
  
  The beaches do look awesome, however as we live on the Gold Coast, they wont be high on our list... However, saying that we would like to have a look at the Hebrides.
  
  The snow isn't as in having a ski, more like seeing a dusting falling, we will appreciate the weather which ever way it is.
  
  On that, how will it be.. We wont be arriving in London till the mid to late March, and go directly on the 16 day bus tour.... So our driving will be in April...
  
  We were just going to travel and fly by the seat of our pants... But may have to rethink that lol
  
  

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• Horizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭

  March 3

  Hello again @lushnpops, I am dying to visit Australia in general and the Gold Coast in particular, what a beautiful part of the world. The Hebrides was my suggestion for you also because it is quite flat (and so is Orkney) which lends well into gentle yet scenic walks. Similarly, the locales of the few ski spots Scotland has generally have a higher chance of snowfall than other parts of the country. Having a ski is generally rare actually compared to say the Alps.
  
  The Hermitage (my pictures and notes) in Perthshire near Dunkeld is one of my favourite gentle walks across Scotland. Puck's Glen in Argyll Forest Park (along with the Benmore Gardens next door, my pictures and notes) is another favourite. Use the WalkHighlands search-a-walk page to find Grade 1/2 walks in the areas that you plan on visiting

  I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram
  
  Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
  
  My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside)
  
  

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• lushnpops Member ✭✭

  March 3 edited March 9

  Thanks again @Horizons...Will definitely take your suggestions into consideration
  
   Yeah Australia is a big place... Autumn on the Gold Coast is the perfect time to visit. The waters are generally very calm, and the temperature is 26c just about everyday...And it hardly never rains in Autumn.
  
  Also within a 2 hour drive you can go from beach to beach, see tropical rain forests and mountains, also see rural areas of farmland. Drive 5 hours and you can hit an almost luna type arid desert scene.
  
  If you ever get over here, let us know and we would be more than happy to show you around, and if the weather is right, i may even be able to take you 4 wheel driving in a very old rain forest, where the photography spots are amazing...
   
  
  
  

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• lushnpops Member ✭✭

  March 8 edited March 9

  @Horizons Is 4 weeks enough to see a fair bit of Scotland, or would you suggest adding another 2 weeks.....
  
  

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• Horizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭

  March 9

  My personal longest (solo) trip was 4 weeks long and it was not comprehensive by any means so I could have extended it to 6 weeks if I knew how to drive (to see the North Coast and the Outer Hebrides) and I had my lovely significant other for company (I began to unbearably miss her by the end of 4 weeks).
  
  The biggest advantage of doing my long trip while camping and backpacking was that I had no fixed itinerary and was chasing the weather to cover the places I wanted to see. Hence, my personal recommendation would be to have a motorhome to avoid the logistical nightmare of booking B&Bs and hotels for 4+ weeks and changing plans as the weather reports change. Attaching a map of most of the routes I covered on my 4 week trip for reference, happy to share information / anecdotes that I found helpful on my long-term travel trip.
  
  
  

  I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram
  
  Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
  
  My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside)
  
  

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• lushnpops Member ✭✭

  March 10

  Maybe we need to come back in 2020 and spend another 6 weeks travelling..... Even the wife is thinking that..... Who knows, we may want to stay once we arrive... I wouldnt mind lol

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• Horizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭

  March 14

  @lushnpops Filled out a lot of context around my 4 week trip in this new thread https://community.visitscotland.com/discussion/1410/backpacking-around-scotland-without-a-car-a-firsthand-experience
  
  Hope it gives you some insights. I have a lot of info not documented in that post as I broke the word limit so feel free to follow up with any questions on long-term travel in that thread.
  

  I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram
  
  Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
  
  My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside)
  
  

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