Road trip UK tour

[crookedspire]

Has anyone done a road trip from the most southernmost point in the country to the outer Scottish islands and everything in between. If so how did it work out?

[cgksheff]

Engine got flooded!

[tzijlstra]

Done Sheffield to the Outer Hebrides, great trip with plenty of interesting stops. Solway/Carlisle, Glasgow/Edinburgh, Perth/Aberfeldy, Inverness, Ullapool. To be fair, we didn't do it in one roadtrip, but we stayed in most places on that route and they are all wonderful for different reasons. If you are heading to the Orkneys/Shetlands than make sure to include Cromarty/Black Isle in your route, unless of course you are taking the ferry from Aberdeen in which case the Spittal of Glenshee/Braemar area is a nice stop over as well.

[zigzag]

If not already you need to read Bill Brysons books on travelling around the uk ...

[Bargepole23]

Done Sheffield to the Outer Hebrides, great trip with plenty of interesting stops. Solway/Carlisle, Glasgow/Edinburgh, Perth/Aberfeldy, Inverness, Ullapool. To be fair, we didn't do it in one roadtrip, but we stayed in most places on that route and they are all wonderful for different reasons. If you are heading to the Orkneys/Shetlands than make sure to include Cromarty/Black Isle in your route, unless of course you are taking the ferry from Aberdeen in which case the Spittal of Glenshee/Braemar area is a nice stop over as well.

 

Made quite a few work trips to Shetland, only once by ferry and it was so rough I was strapped into bed....never again...aeroplanes every time before and since. Its a nice place to visit though.

 

I've always wanted to go to Cape Wrath in the north west of Scotland so that would be my end point of a south to north trip although there is no road that reaches it I don't think.

[Flanker7]

Camper van essential. My tips are:-

For S & W - Sennan Cove and walk over the cliff tops to miss carpark charges and the obscene tourist village.

For N - Do Dunnet Head (N) and Duncansby Head (NE). O'Groats is only a roundabout junction.

For NW - Cape Wrath is only accessible by ferry. At Durness see John Lennons memorial garden for the worst, so bad its almost good.(Beatles song 'There are place I'll remember all my life' is Durness). For the best we visited Smoo Cave nearby after 18 hours of rain giving a 'white out' and thunderous noise conditions, good in calmer times too I suspect.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Flanker7

[tzijlstra]

Made quite a few work trips to Shetland, only once by ferry and it was so rough I was strapped into bed....never again...aeroplanes every time before and since. Its a nice place to visit though.

 

I've always wanted to go to Cape Wrath in the north west of Scotland so that would be my end point of a south to north trip although there is no road that reaches it I don't think.

 

You're right, Cape Wrath can only be reached by minibus (leaving from Durness) or on foot.

 

Camper van essential. My tips are:-

For S & W - Sennan Cove and walk over the cliff tops to miss carpark charges and the obscene tourist village.

For N - Do Dunnet Head (N) and Duncansby Head (NE). O'Groats is only a roundabout junction.

For NW - Cape Wrath is only accessible by ferry. At Durness see John Lennons memorial garden for the worst, so bad its almost good. Fir the best we visited Smoo Cave nearby after 18 hours of rain giving a 'white out' and thunderous noise conditions, good in calmer times too I suspect.

 

Dunnet head is definitely worth visiting, another beautiful and unexpected cliff-head is on Lewis at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse, particularly in the spring as the cliffs are full of breeding seabirds, from gannets to black-backed gulls.

 

John O'Groats was indeed a disappointment by the way, no point in going there imo.

[Kateykrunch]

I've always fancied a full UK road trip, dipping in and out of hotels along the way, but, now I'm thinking, Camper Van....can you hire a really top spec thing for not too much moola?

[Annie Bynnol]

It is possible to travel via the inner, outer Hebrides and the Northern isles from Ardrossan (SW of Glasgow) via Aran, Islay, Oban, Mull, Ardnamurchan (most Western point on mainland of GB) Skye, Barra/Uig, Stornoway, Ullapool, Durness, Thurso, Dunnet/Duncansby Head.

 

Cal-Mac

Special tour rates. All the ships are modern and some are ocean going. Some are no better than landing craft.

 

 

Islay-Oban Wednesday only

Also Thurso to Orkney, Shetland to Aberdeen.

Also Thurso, Orkney, John o Groats.

[ANGELFIRE1]

I've always fancied a full UK road trip, dipping in and out of hotels along the way, but, now I'm thinking, Camper Van....can you hire a really top spec thing for not too much moola?

 

In a nutshell, no you can't hire top spec for little money. They cost an arm and a leg, well the one we inquired about did. 60/80 grand motor means the owners want to get their brass back, asap.

 

Angel1.