Right, the me and the Mrs are heading up to Scotland for two weeks in August.

Looking for the Scotish must do’s having never been and generally been ignorant of Sctotish things

Would like to include at least three days of riding, possible some cannoing and lots other general outdoors things (walking climbing etc)

but also some non energetic stuff or I wont be very popular

We will do doing a mixture of wild camping and B&B depending upon location

Have van camping kit, walking kit,climbing kit, bikes of all verity and generouse fuel budget

Any suggestion very welcome, and yes I know I can pick up a rough guide, walk to the libary and look at visit scotland all of which I will be doing but I wanted to get the friendly STW advice as a starting point.

wild camp and canoe from kentra bay to arisaig, via sanna bay. You’re near fort William so take an uplift and do the red.
do glentress blue and red on the way up.
haggis and whisky in Edinburgh.

Probably should have said the three things I have done is Scotland is Edinburgh and Glen-tress/ Inners

But canoeing trip sounds excellent

Trek into the wild corners wild camping on the way – Loads of great places to go – Glen Affric might be a good one – you can walk in or cycle in and camp – and climb a couple of mountains from your camp spot. Knoydart is great as well

Or base yourself in Fort William – get the train to corrour and walk back to fort William – can be done in a long day if you phone a taxi to meet you at the road end at fort williuam or do it with one overnight camp and that gets you thru some fantastic scenery

[controversial] If you have never ridden in Scotland a day at Glentress would be well worth it – you can mix an match trails to suit any skill level[/controversial]

natural riding – rothiemurcus perhaps? – and don’t forget the inshrioch tea room if in the area

Laggan is a nice wee trailcentre with a more natural feel to it than some again in a really nice area

Don’t be tempted to spend too much time driving – Glentress could be done on the way north of back south and then pick one or two areas and base yourself around there.

If you want t drive that far the north west coast is stunning – From Lochinver up to durness – the wee mad road thru inverpolly is an interesting experience 🙂 and stac pollaidhis a nice climb with stunning views. Good cycling / walking in torridon area as well

Take midge repellent – smidge is the new one of choice. and midge hoods

or have a padhiar curry in the prince of India in peebles; they won’t come near you the day after

Scotland is 2/3rd the size of England in terms of land mass an some of it much harder to get to. You wouldn’t expect to see all the best that 2/3rd of England could offer in 2 weeks and Scotland is no exception. Some of it’s ace though. Enjoy one area and have enough time to chill as well as travel. West coast with maybe an island visit would be my suggestion at the moment?

I know its big but the more ideas the better and I agree most likely will pick two areas and then do a night or two on the way up a 5 nights somewhere then an couple of nights between the two and another 5 nights before a overnight stop on the way back down.

Most posters will send you north of the central belt, have a look here:
http://www.visitdumfriesandgalloway.co.uk/
5 of the 7Stanes + Drumlanrigg
Southern upland Way for walking
Various lochs and rivers for water sports
Climbing
Booktown
Food town and brewery
So rather than shooting up the motorway you could go up the west coats via D&G and back via the east coast and the Borders(GT & Inners)

Visit a Whisky distillary. Plenty to choose from. Even if you don’t like whisky it is still great to go and see one.

Well that gets me started at least

Stirling or Edinburgh castles are worth a look if you are nearby.

Depending on your experience/competency I would say Curved Ridge on Buchaille Etive Mor, the Aonach Eagach in Glencoe or Tower Ridge on the Ben should be on your list.

If you like long mountain days give the Four Tops of the Cairngorms a go.

There is a great chocolate shop/cafe called Cocoa Mountain in Aucherader, just off the A9, SW of Perth – a good place to stop on a long drive. If your wallet will cover it, pampering at Gleneagles nearby.

A nice road ride is the Glen Lyon/Loch Tay circuit. Cafes in Killin and Kenmore.

I heartily recommend the tour at Aberlour Distillery Just make sure your not driving 😉

Dolphin spotting on the Moray Firth for a day out? The midges aren’t quite so bad here either

we saw 7 basking sharks from smirisary point once.

Food
you’ll need to eat/drink whilst there, here’s some good ‘uns
the seafood restaurant on northern shore of Loch Leven is fantastic
Deli Ecosse, Callander
Mountain cafe, Gairloch
pie shop, Lochinver
Inchnadamph Hotel
Rhu Cafe, Arisaig
Real Food Cafe Tyndrum
Cafe Arriba, Portree
chippy by the port in Ullapool

Sea-kayaking; we’ve used a company called Rockhopper in Corpach, near Fort William. Nice people and good guides too

If the weather is good, NW Highlands are simply stunning e,g, Suilven, Stac Pollaidh, Quinag. Move south to An Teallach.
Hire a guide and climb Tower Ridge
the list is endless

You could pay homage to Edward III at Halidon hill.

Well would explore Skye, both the Cuillin and Totenash ridges

No1: park the van and camp on the beach at Applecross, wander down the beach and have a bowl of fresh mussels and langoustine in the Applecross hotel overlooking Skye (it’s a great place)

No2: then canoe from the beach and paddle along the coast.

No 3: second curved ridge (great route)

No 4: do a bothy trip in to bob Scott’s in from the Lin of dee

Things i’ve enjoyed in Scotland:

– dolphin spotting on the Moray Firth (as above out near Fortrose)
– Golspie Wildcat trail
– Massed pipe band displays (i love the sound of bagpipes – can be quite evocative)
– Vitamin T
– Laggan
– White pudding

ride up the lairig dubh and down to loch ericht.
get drunk on edradour…… 8)

Ahhh, such a brilliant place – just don’t tell the Scots! It’ll go to their heads.

We have done so many good things, but the one that stands out – and this is a bike forum – is Glen Kinglass from Victoria Bridge down to Taynuilt. Hard and you need good weather, but a brilliant ride. Many, many others though.

– Massed pipe band displays (i love the sound of bagpipes – can be quite evocative)

😯