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Scotlands West coast

Stoo Batchelor

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Hi Everyone

I followed the thread of Bill Schwab's trip to Scotlands West coast with great interest and am about to book a flight to have a four day break in and around that area, Hopfully the first week in March. I just have a few questions.
What is the best airport to fly to, Glasgow or Edinburgh? And how long can I expect the journey from the airport to be? Also, would I be better off booking a place to stay before I leave home or stay as I find?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Regards

Stoo
 
Stoo, fly into Glasgow if you are visiting the west coast. It is north of the city so you don't have to drive through it when you leave the airport. Some B&B accomodation will be closed for the winter but id you look at visitscotland.com website you will find accomodation. If you need any more help and info please PM me
 
Stoo, depending on exactly where you intend to go on the west coast, you might also consider flying Easyjet from Luton to Inverness.
 
Stoo Batchelor said:
What is the best airport to fly to, Glasgow or Edinburgh?
Click to expand...
Stoo,

I'm not a local so I'm not sure if it can be done but, if I were doing it again, I would try to fly into Inverness. It is only 1 hour from Ullapool by car. From Glasgow, it took me nearly 3 hours to get to Inverness. It may seem strange to consider the east coast as an easy route to the west, but the way the roads up there run, it was a shorter trip this way. Starting in the north and staying there most of the time, it would have been better for me to fly to Inverness over Glasgow. Especially if I had only 4 days.

Have a great time!!!

Bill
 
Inverness is more central and it's also a very nice drive from there to the west coast, I forgot about Inverness airport when I answered Stoo's first post
 
Inverness is very convenient, and also very cheap to travel to with easyJet. I always fly to Inverness from Luton when I go to Scotland (mostly to the Isle of Skye). The drive to the coast is beautiful, especially the Lochcarron way.

There are several car hire firms at Inverness Airport. easyJet has a deal with Europcar. You can book a car cheaper when you have booked your flight with easyJet.

Anne Marieke
 
Another vote for Inverness if you can fly into there. It may not be on the west coast, but it's close enough and a wonderful drive from 'hither to yon'. I'm jealous of your trip. I'd love to be going back!

Cheers, Richard
 
Fantastic. Thank you so much everyone.

I did'nt even know there was an Airport at Inverness! Looking at the map it is the obvious choice. I have taken all your advice and fortunately for me, Luton is my local Airport, so I have booked with EasyJet, along with the car from Europcar.

The only downside to it is that there is only one flight a day and it is an afternoon flight, so I would lose a whole day. It's swings and roundabouts though, as I don't have that long drive. I have managed to get an extra day off work, so a five day trip it is. Roll on the 6th March.

Once again, thanks to you all.

Kind Regards

Stoo
 
If where you're going is north of Skye, then I agree that Inverness is the closest airport. You can fly there from Heathrow too(with BMI) depending on where you live. But bear in mind that the number of flights offered by each carrier each day is low and their timings aren't always convenient given that I guess most of us would prefer to photograph most of the day then travel back rather than waste the last day with an early departure. Depending on where you're going its entirely possible to get more photography time on your first or last days by travelling via Glasgow.

Having travelled in this part of the world a few times in late autumn, I can say that there's hotels/pubs with accommodation in Ullapool and Gairloch year round, but if you want to go north of Ullapool, hotels staying open all winter are scarce. So if you're not booking in advance don't assume that every village will have somewhere to stay in winter- they won't. Also I personally find I photograph better if I have my accommodation sorted out beforehand because it means not having to let anything else interfere. On a short trip in uncertain weather it would be unfortunate to waste a couple of hours of your best days finding somewhere to stay.
 

Wise words David, and thank you for reminding me of the importance of this. I always like a base to work from. I think I will follow Les's advice and take a look at VisitScotland.com.

Regards

Stoo
 
Hope you have a great trip, Stoo.
Please show us some images when you are back.
Anne Marieke
 
Stoo, if you have the time drive up to Durness and go to Sango Beach it's my favourite place up there. If you do make please say hello to the place for me, I haven't been there in years
 
Glad you got sorted out so quickly with your travel arrangements, and fingers crossed that the weather is kind to you. Only other thing to add is that you should make sure you are fully equipped gear-wise. While there is a Jessops in Inverness, beyond there you may not even be able to get any kind of photo battery if you need anything special for your camera or lightmeter.
 
We went to Isle of Skye and Ullapool in 2001, and flew into Inverness. As others have pointed out, it is a beautiful drive over to the west coast, and even better from Skye up to Ullapool! Don't miss it.

It's been 4 years, but there were certainly more than 1 flight a day when we went. Oh, I should point out that we went through Gatwick. Maybe that's the difference. The morning flight from Inverness back to Gatwick was a delight, with breakfast served!
 
Always makes me chuckle when someone mentions Jessops. I can't imagine I would find alot there either! Thanks Peter. I'm stocking up the fridge.

Looking at the map as I write, Les. Boy thats North! I hope I make it up there. I must say that I'm really looking forward to this trip now. Have got some great viewpoints to check out.

Regards

Stoo
 
And thanks for the recommendations Eddym.

Much appreciated.
 
Scotlands West coast...

... is beautiful!!

If you still have no ideas where to go see the thread Scotland bound by Bill Schwab!

Wish I could accompany you there ;-)
Good light and good luck with the weather!
 
Joe Cornish has a new book on the Scottish coast, 'Scotland's Coast: A photographer's journey'. It is worth having before you leave; might give you a few idea. Warning: the pictures in this book exhibit an unusual characteristic, they are all in color.
 
Thanks all

I am the owner of the Joe Cornish book you mentioned Robert. I do love the glow of a Velvia Image, only other peoples! There is always a few rolls in my kit bag although they are probably out of date now.

I've just been going through the Bill Schwab thread and will definately be printing it out before I leave. Some great info in there, especially the detail that Struan Gray went in to. The map he mentions is on ebay right now.

Funny how you connected the word 'Jessops' to 'Arseholes' Dave.!!! I think they call it a fanny in the U.S. Just as appropriate.

All the Best

Stoo
 
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Have a great time Stoo, and don't forget to share some of your images when you get back. Scotland is one place I've always wanted to visit, along with a return visit to England (I've only been to Cambridge, London and Dover).
 
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