[Closed] Scotland - A good base?

Scotland - A good base?

....for Nuclear submarines. Apparently so!

Aviemore.

The "Central Belt" is actually Glasgow - Edinburgh so talking of that will only confuse folk 🙂

The Laggan in the Great Glen is tiny. No facilities of any sort. If you don't mind not having a pub or anything nearby then you'll be fine. You get reasonable access to the west coast and can cut through to the Cairngorms fairly easily.

Not much off-road riding from the door (other than the GGW) and the A82 isn't the best place for road cycling, especially in June when there are tons of coaches around

You don't mention what the rest of your group will be doing and if you have kids.

No kids, 1 dog.

Will mostly be sight seeing and touring round. Me and my dad will get out and do some decent walks but the other two will be happy with just visiting nice villages/towns and enjoying the views.

Distillery tour might be on the agenda, oh and I might fancy a summit of Nevis, or another decent peak if not requiring anything more than walking gear.

What is the great glen way like for cycling?

Inverness

Close to lots of good stuff and you get to see Dolphins.

sorry quick brain dump
Kelpies, Falkirk Wheel, Antonine Wall (*small walk and it's a grassy bank)

Plockton is nice -

http://www.lochalsh.co.uk/glenelg_broch.shtml (*used to be an old showmans caravan bit further up road doing tea/cake)

and you should really do Applecross/Torridon drive

ditto Skye - Quiraing

Steam train to Mallaig from FW

Check out Waverly sailings

Loch Katrine - bike halfway round - steam boat back

iainc - Member
Aviemore.

+1

30 minutes from Inverness, loads of walking, biking etc on the doorstep

GGW is mainly fire road/canal path though the new High Level sections are harder work and will have you pushing a bit.

Iainc's suggestion of Aviemore isn't a bad one. You are a wee bit further from the West Coast but there's a plethora of other stuff on your doorstep. Some of the smaller villages nearby are more scenic and less busy. Lots of riding available straight out the door though which might be useful if you only have one car and the others need it and/or you want to squeeze in riding before/after a day out with everyone else.

Edit - towzers suggestions are all worthy but would have you criss-crossing the country. Savour an area and return to try another rather than trying to do everything.

I actually really liked Newtonmore as a base, might work out cheaper than Aviemore as well.

The Flour Cafe was far better than I expected and would happily go back.

[i]Quick background, going up to Scotland in June, looking at the central belt area of inverness to Fort William and will be driving around that area for a week. I have never been to Scotland and was hoping for suggestions on villages in which to base ourselves.[/i]

There is only really one road between the two places...

Suggest you take a look at a large scale map first - everywhere with the exception of FW and Inverness are tiny.

Aviemore or Pitlochry. But, Aviemore really.

As others have said, Aviemore really.

I would suggest do not get drawn into too much driving - Oban - Inverness as you mention is a huuuuge driving distance... Settle on the Aviemore/Laggan/Fort William and you have huuuuge amounts to do in a week, without driving all day...

Oi! I said that.

Cheers for the suggestions guys.

I read there is a pub on a barge in Laggan, no idea what it's like.

Aviemore area sounds good, I'll have a look tonight.

iainc - Member
Aviemore.

+1

except it's Aviemore. Tourist sh*thole surrounded by loads of awesomeness. Newtonmore or Kingussie would be better bets IMO. Inverness is a small city, but nice enough with more facilities than any of the villages and easier to get to Loch Ness and on to the west coast if that what tickles you. Also the Muir of Ord distillery is interesting, partly because they don't sell their whisky anywhere else in Europe, it all goes to the far East, so you'll get the chance to pick up a novelty.
Or you could go mental and head for the islands, Orkney's not far once you get to the Far North.
Or the road to the isles. I'd maybe give Mallaig itself a miss, butthe Arisaig aera is stunning.
Then again you could go proper remote to Knoydart. There's scenery, a pub, scenery and some more scenery. [url= http://www.theoldforge.co.uk/ ]Old Forge, Koydart[/url]
[url= https://westernislescruises.co.uk/category/gallery/ ]One of the ferry websites as some decent photos[/url] and getting there is part of the fun, past Loch lomoond, over Rannoch Moor, through Glencoe, via Fort William then onward by Arisaig.
Whatever, bear in mind the roads will not be what you're used to and what might be an hours easy drive south of the central belt expands a bit when you hit the distracting scenery and single track roads.

I seconded that....

For the Great Glen, I'd look at Fort Augustus - its halfway between Fort William and Inverness. Its a nice village, with a few shops, pubs, chip shop etc.
For cycling, very quiet roads on the south side of Loch Ness. Plus for off road, the Great Glen Way, South Loch Ness Trail, and Corrieyairack Pass.
For mountains, not too far to the Glen Shiel ridge, or Glen Affric. You could drive to Skye for a day out, or to Inverness and the Black Isle etc.

except it's Aviemore. Tourist sh*thole

really ?

given that OP is

Looking at cottages primarily and I will be the only one partaking in a spot of biking, I'm not sure if that will be mtb/road/gravel as of yet. Otherwise it will be walks, pubs, views, etc.

Looking for spots that have stunning views, good access to Cairngorms/Oban/lochs etc

I'd say that Aviemore fits the bill well. Yes, it gets busy with tourists, but sh*thole it is not, IMO. Good shops, decent pubs, wide variety of accommodation, lots to do as alternative to riding, most* locals are friendly 🙂

*scotroutes need not reply 🙂

Cheers,

How is the Glencoe area? Found what looks a nice place in North Ballachulish, pub/hotel nearby.

A couple of friends have some really nice self catering cottages about half an hour south of Aviemore near Killiecrankie. They are walkers and bikers, there are masses of trails straight from their door. May be booked up by now.

http://www.lettochcottages.com/

How is the Glencoe area? Found what looks a nice place in North Ballachulish, pub/hotel nearby.

Very nice, some really interesting riding on the doorstep too. It's a bit of a drive to get anywhere but there is loads nearby.

iainc - respectfully disagree. The Aviemore area is fantastic, loads to do - hire canoes/kayaks and mess about on Loch Morlich - the inflow is easily paddlable and well worth exploring, funicular up Cairngorm, climb Ben Macdhui (2nd highest mountain in Britain), some cracking trails, all good. But Aviemore itself is not someplace I'd want to spend time in, other than to go to the only decent sized supermarket in the area.
Been in a couple of the pubs and won't be rushing back. Newtonmore and Kingussie have a more traditional village feel which works better for me than Aviemore.
But that's only my opinion.

BTW - if the OP does decide to head to this area, Aviemore or not, check shinty.com to see if there's a game on when he's here. mental game not to be missed.

West coast is miles more interesting IMO. Glencoe and/or Skye would be my recommendation. Even just driving around is ace. Drive over Rannoch Moor down through Glencoe is absolutely stunning.

Less rain and more outdoor shops in Aviemore though I suppose.

I don't think Aviemore is a shitehole, but then I did once make the mistake of staying in Fort William for a whole weekend!

Aviemore is so popular because, err, it's so popular. That means there's much more to do, better infrastructure links, more going on and more leisure provision. It also means the pubs and restaurants are busier which can be a good thing or a bad thing. It does tend to mean that accommodation is a bit more expensive and it can be harder to find in peak season.

Kingussie/Newtonmore and Carrbridge/Boat are lovely in their own way. The former are particularly attractive if you've brought your wellies and take a liking to the local ovine population.

As grum says, the West Coast tends to have the more spectacular outlooks.

If you just want pottering about with food and drink and nice walks then I think it is hard to go wrong with the Dunkeld / Pitlochry area. Then if you want to do a Munro you've got Shiehallon or can drive up to the edge of the Cairngorms.

I live near Glencoe it's superb for views and things to do outdoors biking walking climbing canoeing. You will get wet and the midges can be ferocious. Oban and Fort William are near both have distilleries Oban is the ferry port for several islands. Any other town is a trek.

When in June? The DH is on at Fort William during the first weekend.

Tomintoul
Grantown on Spey
http://www.maltwhiskytrail.com

Needing somewhere dog friendly will narrow options a fair bit. We have used this house in Nairn. Right on the beach for off lead dog walks morning and night. 20 mins from Inverness. Plenty distilleries a few miles away on Speyside. Close enough to the Cairngorms for a day on the hills there. Local fire road riding from the door in Culbin Forest.

http://www.ahighlandholiday.co.uk/

Tomintoul is a good shout. We stayed [url= http://www.balnedensteading.co.uk/the-mill/ ]here[/url] a couple of years ago, for a week at Easter. Quite remote feel, but half an hour to Aviemore. Stunning views and very very comfy cottage.

Scotland is ace... All of it except Greenock.

Don't try and 'do' Scotland in a week. There's enough there for a lifetime of exploration. I'm almost jealous that you're just starting out on that journey 🙂

I've never understood the hate for Aviemore. Sure, there are nicer little villages to live (Nethy Bridge for me please), but it's a bustling wee town surrounded by a fantastic variety of trails and mountains.

It probably needs to be said that the Great Glen is really rather dull. Were it not for the monster malarkey then no one would go to Loch Ness. You are though within reach of fantastic spots: Glencoe, the Mamores, the Ben, Arisaig, Ardnamurchan, Beauly and Affric.
There sadly is nothing to see in Inverness at all. For history head out in the Elgin direction.

Very much depends what you're after. As you say, there are any number of wee hamlets around with nice houses, views and what have you. We looked at loads f them when we were looking to move north. At the end of the day though, we still wanted access to a bit of life and action and not be in such a small place we were tripping over our neighbours. Aviemore seemed to have the best compromise of access to outdoor activities, a reasonably vibrant community and a chance of some employment. We also knew pretty well what we were getting into because we'd holidayed here so often 😉

Doesn't the aviemore hate originate from the 70s east European ski resort area...since demolished. Loads of outdoor folk despised it and by extension the whole town.