Scotland

[hartley]

Myself and my girlfriend have booked time off to have a short break 17-19th November. The Visit Scotland ads worked and we decided to go to there. However, crazy few weeks at work have meant that I've not even decided where we're going, never mind where we're staying. It kinda feels like cheating to ask on here but I thought I'd pick the collective AB brain.

Our requirements are;

Rural rather than city break
Not too rural that we can't find a cosy boozer
Some decent walking nearby
I'm driving up from NW England and don't want to spend full day driving really far North (although something to break up the journey might be OK)
Hotel, B&B or cottage rather than Travel Lodge or camping.
Coast or loch would be bonus. She loves waterfalls - double bonus.
We could do a little (wee) tour and.....
The music from the Visit Scotland advert playing in the background at all times.

That's not too much to ask is it?
Thanks in advance

[bednobs]

lol i had my honeymoon in a remote cottage on the shores of lochcarron (cant remember how its spelt) it may suit some of your requirements, but it is rather a long way up (nearish to the kyle of lachalsh/skye), and there was no music there (however my honeymoon was 6 years ago, so who knows?)
you would just need to type something like "scottish holiday cottages" into a web search page. I would LOVE to go back, can i come too please? (maybe not in the same room as you and your girlfriend though)

[JoolsTwo]

You could try around the Trossochs area. Not too far to drive from NW England. It is quite scenic and not too rural if you don't want to be. There are lochs within an easy drive, not sure about the waterfalls though. Should be plenty of walking and there are towns and villages if the weather is too bad for you to walk. You could search on the Scotish tourist board site for accomadation. We were staying in a carvan (summer) when we were there.

http://www.visitscottishheartlands.com/

Hope that helps and that you have a good break.

[Gef]

Further to JimJools answer try Callander in the Trossachs - it even has waterfalls and if you stay there you will find some nice cozy boozers.

http://www.incallander.co.uk/walks/cragswalk.h tm

[CT]

Since no-one seems to have put the tune from the ad down, i'll give the answer. It's called 'North' and it's by Paul Mounsey.

[denisegordon]

What about Perthshire, maybe Pitlochry, it's about an hour north of Edinburgh. Not far from Falls of Bruar which has the House of Bruar visitor centre (classy Scottish tourist centre clothes and food shopping) and also beautiful Blair Castle is close by.

[nickmo]

How far i sto far for the couple of days? - Glasgow is 85 miles from Gretna - first stop in th ereal world. Loch Lomond and the National Park is north of Glasgow on A82 - take you 45 mins. Go left at Tarbert to follow road round to then at T-junction go north on A 816 to Oban for a circular route around to Crianlarich. Take you back to Loch Lomond and home. Easy route and lots to see.

O try a south on the A816 to Crinan and Campbeltown. All great sceneery and lots of B&B's all the way round on either route, and both would give a taste of the scenery and food and brilliant area....Loch Fyne Oyster bar comes to mind for a wee snackette......

Alternative - after Gretna, stay on A74M and then take A701 to Moffat (stop at the Moffat Toffee Shop and enjoy....) and tourist route through the Borders to Edinburgh. North then over bridge (�1 toll) to the East Neul of Fife and take in the coast and St Andrews. Tons of things to see - stop at choice of accommodation to suit - back to the VisitScotland website may be best - and not too trying on the driving if the weather closes in and covers the hills.

For a really great stay, go to: http://www.farmstayuk.co.uk and enter the region of Scotland you want and stay on a farm in the area - great value, location and food.....hope this helps..

[bex_205]

did you come to St Andrews then :D

[hartley]

No bex_205, didn't get to St Andrews.
We stayed 1 night in Callander; did some walking and saw several impressive waterfalls. The next day we had a lovely drive to Inverrary stopping several times on the way to do some walking and check out the amazing lochs, hills, rivers and birds . We found a great hotel in Inverrary which overlooked Loch Fyne, and had some incredible seafood in the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar. Next day we looked around the jail and had another lovely drive up to Oban and round in a big loop back through Callendar and home. It was a fab weekend, exactly what I'd hoped for and we both really enjoyed it. It was ages ago now though and I reckon I'm ready for another break!

Thanks to all for the suggestions.