Aberdeen to Inverness Scotland - a few day trip

[jpjr]

We will be driving from Aberdeen to Inverness and have an itinerary set for two days while in Inverness. We have a few days to spend meandering our way back to Aberdeen before we depart for home. We can stay near Inverness or drive back to check out any suggested stops you all might recommend. Our travel dates are late August.

Thanks, jpjr

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I have not been there yet because Covid has pushed my trip back 2x. I’m trying again this May.

On my list in that area are the Culloden Battlefield and possibly getting to see Balmoral Castle. Pitlochry isn’t exactly on your route, but wouldn’t be too far away to visit. Sounds like some nice whiskey joints to tour.

 

[Bamaman]

I always start my trip planning by checking out routes on Google Maps. I also magnify the search to get more detail on what's along the way.

You have the north route which is partially along the coast, and it appears to be a pretty crooked road.

Then you have the south road that goes through the mountains. Best news is that the trip's just a 100 mile, 2 hour trip.

 

[jcfradio]

I always start my trip planning by checking out routes on Google Maps. I also magnify the search to get more detail on what's along the way.

You have the north route which is partially along the coast, and it appears to be a pretty crooked road.

Then you have the south road that goes through the mountains. Best news is that the trip's just a 100 mile, 2 hour trip.

I have stayed in the Inverness area a couple of times on vacations. The north road along the coast is interesting and goes through a number of small towns. Elgin is a pretty little city that my wife enjoyed spending a few a few hours in doing some shopping. If you are into whisky, you can turn south at Elgin and spend a day or two in Dufftown, in the Speyside region, where there are something like 7 distilleries right in or near the town. You can then use Dufftown as a base for short drives through the local hills which are pretty. And of course, there are always golf courses in many of the towns in that region.

 

[braumeister]

Spend a day or two visiting the Orkneys.

 

[Souschef]

If you are in Inverness, take the Kyle tourist train out to the Kyle of Lochalsh. Then take a taxi to Eilean Donan castle. It was featured in the Highlander movie and is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland.
When we were there we stayed at the Glen Mohr hotel on the banks of the River Ness. Their restaurant also has one of the Taste of Scotland menus.

 

[RunningBum]

I really liked the hiking in the Anagach Woods. There was a 7 mile trail loop that started on the edge of Grantown-on-Spey. The town looked really nice too, though we didn't really spend any time in it.

Dufftown has a rich distillery history if you like that. We found (through a Rick Steves tourbook most likely) an independent woman who gave a tour of present and closed distilleries with a sample from each. About 2 hours or so in the late afternoon, covers 3 or 4 miles so it's active. I think it's called Dufftown Distilleries Walk. Of course you could just go to the Glenfiddich distillery if you want a more traditional single tour.

I really liked Ballindalloch Castle. It's been kept up to date so you get a good feel for what it'd be like to live in a castle, and in fact the family does still live there, but I'm sure we didn't see the part they use. Nice grounds too.

 

[HarveyS]

Decide if you want to go north or south.
+1 for Eilean Donan castle, and worth the loop southwest.
Also in that direction is Ft. William, with the nearby Ben Nevis (highest peak in the UK)
West of Ft. William is the Glenfinnan viaduct, a beautiful arched rail bridge of Harry Potter fame. You can hike right underneath it and along the rail line west. Or take a train from Ft. William and cross it via rail.
You can ride a chairlift and hike the ridge tops at Ballachulish-Glencoe (south of Ft. William)

North of Inverness is Dunrobin Castle. We saw a fantastic falcon show there. Also a castle that is beautiful to tour.
+1 on a visit to the Orkney Islands if you head north.

Bon voyage!

 

[luckydude]

We will be driving from Aberdeen to Inverness and have an itinerary set for two days while in Inverness. We have a few days to spend meandering our way back to Aberdeen before we depart for home. We can stay near Inverness or drive back to check out any suggested stops you all might recommend. Our travel dates are late August.

Thanks, jpjr

Traveled there in 2019. My recommendations:

East of Inverness:

Cullondon Battlefield where the Jacobite uprising was finally defeated. Excellent museum and a tour of battlefield with a guide. The burial mounds of the Jacobite battle dead are surreal.

Cawdor Castle, the seat of the earls of Cawdor with literary connection to MacBeth.

You can also venture north from Inverness and try the NC500. It stands for North Coast 500, a touring route first promoted by Scotland back in 2015 to encourage to visit the northeast coast, what was then a remote corner of Scotland bypassed by the tourist hordes. In short order it became a smashing success. In short order, too, it turned into a textbook case of over-tourism. Not sure how crowded it is now with the pandemic, but I did it on my trip in 2019 and it was slow going with a lot of tourist traffic on roads not built to handle them. Coastline was pretty but it wasn't worth fighting the traffic (at least for me).

 

[DrRoy]

Spend a day or two visiting the Orkneys.

I would recommend that too but it's not on the route. I suggest the Cairngorms.

 

[iloveyoga]

The first seasons of Outlander have so much scenery from this area in them. I'm thinking seasons 1, 2, and 3.

 

[f35phixer]

Driving yourselves? We did Edinburgh to Fort Augustus, longest 3.5 of my life, first time driving on wrong side ;-) Funny side story, check your cruise control to see if its locked out at XX speed!!! Passing a lorry, step on gas NOTHING, basically side by side with lorry, here here comes another lorry, slam on breaks. Everyone's yelling WTFO Dude.... Also turns seem to narrow to one lane etc etc.

We got there and loved it ~

 

[jpjr]

Thanks for your ideas

Thanks everyone for providing some thoughts on our trip. Provides us with some more things to research before we travel.
jpjr

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Please forgive my ignorance on this, when I first read the post. I live in fly over land in Minnesota and when I saw Aberdeen to Inverness I thought to myself "where in South Dakota is Inverness ?"

 

[matjung]

Is it your first trip in Scottland?

I guess Loch Ness and Urquohart Castle are already on your itinerary.

You could search for some highland games.
If you like prehistoric sites, to the north is Skara Brae.
You may consider something like Glen Moray Distillery
How come that Aberdeen is on your list?

 

[euro]

If you are in Inverness, take the Kyle tourist train out to the Kyle of Lochalsh. .

Yes! Not sure about that particular train (there are regular everyday trains running on that route too), but This stretch of the highlands so impressed me on my first trip to Scotland back in the late Seventies), that it will forever be my favorite train ride in the world. I grew up in Switzerland and have seen many beautiful vistas, but this one takes the cake as my personal favorite.
My DW and I retraced some of those steps a couple of years ago by car and she loved it too. We were also able to cover the far Northeast of Scotland and the inner and outer Hebrides Islands - all areas I was unable to reach previously when I was using trains as my mode of transportation. Absolutely gorgeous trip!

Incidentally, Kyle of Lochalsh is a dead-end for trains (and also the gateway to the isle of Skye). Back in the day, I hopped on a small passenger ferry to Mallaig (wonderful coastline) and then back on the train through the Southern Highlands.
As you can tell: lifelong fan of the area!

Definitely go see Culloden battlefield near Inverness. It is so very important to Scottish history and it is nicely set up with modern and informative visitor center.

 

[skyking1]

Following for our future trip. We drove as far northwest as Fort Williams and across to Arborath before heading down through St. Andrews and Edinburgh.

 

[cat4ever]

Oh my, glad I caught this thread. My dream family trip to Scotland got Covid'd in spring of 2020. Had two weeks planned including a Caledonian sleeper car from London to Edinburgh. Haven't had the courage to plan another yet, hope to someday make it a reality. I'll have this thread bookmarked when we do.

 

[Badger]

We love Scotland and enjoyed driving around for a couple of weeks. Part of the trip included the route you are planning because I wanted to visit Colloden battlefield. When we are more comfortable with flying and travel we plan to return.
Here are a few websites that address the route you are taking.
https://wanderlog.com/drive/between/9774/9871/aberdeen-to-inverness-drive

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop...ss-Inverness_Scottish_Highlands_Scotland.html

https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/tours/driving-road-trips/routes/planner/highland-tourist-route/
We are not drinkers except for Stout but if you like Single Malt you will have the opportunity to stop at Glenlivit Distillery for a dram.


Cheers!

 

[Sunset]

Oh my, glad I caught this thread. My dream family trip to Scotland got Covid'd in spring of 2020. Had two weeks planned including a Caledonian sleeper car from London to Edinburgh. Haven't had the courage to plan another yet, hope to someday make it a reality. I'll have this thread bookmarked when we do.

Same here, had planned a trip that got cancelled due to Covid.

Originally I had planned to fly into London, see some, then train up to Edinburgh, see some and train back through London to the cruise port and take a cruise to the Baltic.
After a month of thinking about it, I realized it was better to fly into Edinburgh, see some and take a train to London, see some, and then train the day prior to the cruise to the port for an overnight.

I didn't know there was a sleeper car option, it looks pretty nice. Now I have to wonder about the trade off: travel at night so 1 night less hotel vs miss seeing the countryside in daytime train ride ?

Why did you consider the sleeper car ? Maybe I'm missing some point ?

 

[euro]

Same here, had planned a trip that got cancelled due to Covid.

Originally I had planned to fly into London, see some, then train up to Edinburgh, see some and train back through London to the cruise port and take a cruise to the Baltic.
After a month of thinking about it, I realized it was better to fly into Edinburgh, see some and take a train to London, see some, and then train the day prior to the cruise to the port for an overnight.

I didn't know there was a sleeper car option, it looks pretty nice. Now I have to wonder about the trade off: travel at night so 1 night less hotel vs miss seeing the countryside in daytime train ride ?

Why did you consider the sleeper car ? Maybe I'm missing some point ?

We have done the train from London to Edinburgh - it is only a bit over 4 hours, so I'm not sure a sleeper car is worthwhile anyway. That said, the landscape, while perfectly pleasant, is not what I would call spectacular. It certainly is NOTHING like the train rides (discussed above) through the Scottish Highlands. London to Edinburgh is pretty much flat terrain.
While I don't really recommend it, it is feasible to visit Edinburgh from London as a (long) day trip, if you are pressed for time. Take the first train in the morning, hit Edinburgh at maybe 10AM. Take a bust tour or walk up to the castle. Take the castle tour and walk the main roads in front of the castle. Take the 7 or 8PM train back to London. As I said, it is a full day, but it is doable.
All that said, while Edinburgh is really really nice, to us (DW and myself), Scotland is so much more.

 

[braumeister]

We have done the train from London to Edinburgh - it is only a bit over 4 hours, so I'm not sure a sleeper car is worthwhile anyway.

I would agree. We took the train from Edinburgh to London a few years ago and it was an easy four hour ride. I can relax on the train more than I can when dealing with airports, so it's always preferable for me.

Before that ride, we used the train from Inverness to Edinburgh, and that was about three hours. Again, an easy decision for us.

 

[jpjr]

It has been a few weeks since I checked this thread. Thanks again for the additional info provided. We are starting in Aberdeen because our "formal" tour ends there. We only have 5 days to explore, so I have already reserved a car and an overnight near Urquhart castle. (Must make sure dear wife gets to visit her family's heritage.) We want to take the following few days exploring before we fly out of Aberdeen. We will review all the suggestions and try to map out our 'not too specific' itinerary and enjoy the countryside.

 

[jpjr]

Northern Scotland (Inverness / Aberdeen)

We will be spending five days in Inverness and are looking for ideas for our short visit. We will have a vehicle and plan on reaching out on one hour drives to different places to see and hike. Your input is appreciated.


jpjr

 

[iloveyoga]

See the Outlander sites, if you like that show. I would love to do that.