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Scottish Highlands


The Mantis

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Given all the staycations going on this year and the fact that the Islands topic was getting a bit sidetracked, here's a new topic. I'll start with a couple of pics from a week in Ullapool. The Ceilidh Place is about the best hotel but very pricy. The Arch Inn is not bad and the Ferry Boat Inn is basic but friendly. Most of the others are tour bus type hotels, cheap and cheerful. Any other recommendations welcome.
Let's see/hear your best from Assynt, Coigach, Argyll, Lochabernomore, etc.

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Edited by The Mantis
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For the purposes of this thread, is Dundee in the Highlands? And can Brechin decide which region they're in whenever it suits them?

 

Random tips from dozens of trips:

 

1. Always take the Corran Ferry and drive around to Arisaig that longer way.

 

2. Oban Seafood Hut is always worth a visit. Superb value Oysters.

 

3. Sipping a pint whilst sitting in the beer garden of the Glenuig Inn at sunset is about as relaxed a state of mind as you can possibly achieve.

 

4. The best cup of coffee in Scotland can be found at the Slaughterhouse Coffee cabin on the ferry slipway in Cromarty.

 

5. Calum tells the same jokes on every Calum's Seal Trip from Plockton, and I don't mind that one little bit.

 

6. Glen Affric is an overlooked gem of a place to visit. Excellent walking country.

 

7. Drive past Bruar and hold your pee until Ralia. The sandwiches are massive, and massively over priced, but you feel better for ignoring Bruar.

 

8. The venison pizza at Black Isle Bar is worthy of a trip on its own. The beer list is smashing.

 

9. Try not to get stuck in Fraserburgh without a car, a change of clothes but with an important meeting to attend the next day.

 

10. Scotrail Highland Rover. Four days unlimited travel for £95. A superb bargain.

 

 

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Cheers for all that.
I can recommend the Grand Platter at Oban Seafood Shack for sharing with the missus. Only wish I’d taken a photo before we started scoffing it.


Bruar’s for Brexity Daily Mail readers. I much prefer Ballinluig to Ralia but I have 2 grown-up kids who both stop at Ralia. Tbf, it lets their own toddlers run about.


Pie shop at Lochinver - a wee bit pricy but wonderful selection of pies, sweet and savoury.
Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum - unfortunately have swallowed their own hype. And yet the scran across the road at the Green Welly is pretty awful.


Actually intended watching the 2016 cup final in Glenuig then discovered about 2.40 that there was no telly 😂 Dashed along to Acharacle to watch history being made.


Similarly, a group of us were staying in the motel at Aberfoyle (amazing value for 3 nights dbb). Some went fishing, the rest of us cycled to Inversnaid to watch the final, but no tv there either. Think it was 2002, the year Lovenkranz won it for Rangers. The motel was taken over by a load of line dancers, which was...interesting. But at least they fed us in a side room.

Edited by The Mantis
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12 minutes ago, The Mantis said:

Cheers for all that.
I can recommend the Grand Platter at Oban Seafood Shack for sharing with the missus. Only wish I’d taken a photo.
Bruar’s for Brexity Daily Mail readers. I much prefer Ballinluig to Ralia but I have 2 grown-up kids who both stop at Ralia. Tbf, it lets their own toddlers run about.
Pie shop at Lochinver - a wee bit pricy but wonderful selection of pies.
Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum - unfortunately have swallowed their own hype. And yet the scran across the road at the Green Welly is pretty awful.
 

There’s a place called TJs Diner next door to the Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum as well now. Haven’t been in it though. You can sort of just tell from outside there’s a high probability it’ll be an extortionate disappointment.

Edited by 8MileBU
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2 minutes ago, 8MileBU said:

There’s a place called TJs Diner next door to the Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum. Haven’t been in it though. 

Forgot about that. Saw that last time we were up, need to hear what the craic is.

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2 hours ago, stevieKTID said:

I'm missing Scotland and in particular I miss seeing some landscape, as good as it is living in NL it's too f*ckin flat. 

Was over there with Mrs Mantis for Euro 2017 and made it our main holiday. Just enjoyed the contrast, wide wide skies. At least if it's flat you get the sun going down as a huge red ball which you don't often get here 🤣

We skipped Amsterdam as we'd been before and just travelled about. People kept telling us "Amshterdam ish not Holland!" The best bit was a couple of days up in Friesland. Over in Ameland, up in Groningen, and we loved Dokkum. We met a couple running a restaurant/b&b near Warfstermolen,  the guy was daft on Scotland and had an incredible selection of malts.

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3 hours ago, The Mantis said:

Was over there with Mrs Mantis for Euro 2017 and made it our main holiday. Just enjoyed the contrast, wide wide skies. At least if it's flat you get the sun going down as a huge red ball which you don't often get here 🤣

We skipped Amsterdam as we'd been before and just travelled about. People kept telling us "Amshterdam ish not Holland!" The best bit was a couple of days up in Friesland. Over in Ameland, up in Groningen, and we loved Dokkum. We met a couple running a restaurant/b&b near Warfstermolen,  the guy was daft on Scotland and had an incredible selection of malts.

My father in law is from Groningen but absolutely adores Scotland and loves walking in the Highlands, any time I've joined him I've struggled to keep up, he might be in his 60's but he's still super fit, he was stationed in Arbroath during his time in the marines and thats where he met my mother in law, he's a mad keen Arbroath fan as well, they're planning on moving back to Scotland after she retires. 

The Netherlands certainly has its charms but after a few months i get a kind of cabin fever where i crave mountains, i went to the Kennemerduinen the other week for a wander through the dunes so i experienced a bit of elevation😁

You're right about the sun over here, the summers are nice and sunny and i usually have a decent tan but right now I'd love a cool breeze its been in the 30's for a week and I'm melting. 

Hoping to get back to Scotland soon but I'm worried it'll be crazy busy. 

We've rented a house in Glen Clova over the festive period really looking forward to that, its lovely there, i suppose the best part of living abroad is that it makes any return to Scotland even more special, i took some friends from Texas over at the end of last year, we stayed in Torlundy and they were blown away by the scenery and i must admit i was too, Scotland always looks incredible. 

Anyway back to you guys in the p&b Scottish studio😁

Edited by stevieKTID
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On 10/08/2020 at 13:17, The Mantis said:

Given all the staycations going on this year and the fact that the Islands topic was getting a bit sidetracked, here's a new topic. I'll start with a couple of pics from a week in Ullapool. The Ceilidh Place is about the best hotel but very pricy. The Arch Inn is not bad and the Ferry Boat Inn is basic but friendly. Most of the others are tour bus type hotels, cheap and cheerful. Any other recommendations welcome.

I like the Argyll, sister hotel of the Ferry Boat and directly behind it on the next road up. Rooms too pricey for me but they have regular bands on and a great selection of draught cider. That reminds me, think I'll have a pint of Old Rosie next if the midges let up. :bag

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On 10/08/2020 at 17:15, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

For the purposes of this thread, is Dundee in the Highlands? And can Brechin decide which region they're in whenever it suits them?

 

Random tips from dozens of trips:

 

1. Always take the Corran Ferry and drive around to Arisaig that longer way.

 

2. Oban Seafood Hut is always worth a visit. Superb value Oysters.

 

3. Sipping a pint whilst sitting in the beer garden of the Glenuig Inn at sunset is about as relaxed a state of mind as you can possibly achieve.

 

4. The best cup of coffee in Scotland can be found at the Slaughterhouse Coffee cabin on the ferry slipway in Cromarty.

 

5. Calum tells the same jokes on every Calum's Seal Trip from Plockton, and I don't mind that one little bit.

 

6. Glen Affric is an overlooked gem of a place to visit. Excellent walking country.

 

7. Drive past Bruar and hold your pee until Ralia. The sandwiches are massive, and massively over priced, but you feel better for ignoring Bruar.

 

8. The venison pizza at Black Isle Bar is worthy of a trip on its own. The beer list is smashing.

 

9. Try not to get stuck in Fraserburgh without a car, a change of clothes but with an important meeting to attend the next day.

 

10. Scotrail Highland Rover. Four days unlimited travel for £95. A superb bargain.

 

 

8. At London prices.  It’s an absolute scandal.  The pizzas are very good though... it’s a real dilemma.  

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5 minutes ago, MONKMAN said:

When driving the A82, Quarriers chippy in Ballachulish is superb.

Been here several times. Their pizzas are very good.
However, always thought it a bit ‘chancery‘ that they have bog-standard chip shop offerings such as steak pie, chicken goujons or king rib suppers advertised as ‘specials’ for £1-or-so more than the other typical suppers i.e sausage, haggis etc. 

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It is expensive, but decent. I was away hiking myself the other week and stopped in on the way home. Got a sausage supper, portion of scampi, tub of curry, buttered roll and a can of juice. Wasn’t much change of £20 

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The Black isle Bar is a cracking pub with great beers, good food and decent craic. You need to remortage if you want to get leathered there.

Same for The Malt Room, kinda hidden away by the Market Bar, but it's small, intimate and has a great selection of whisky. The boy that runs it is sound as well, knows his whisky and played a bit for Clach when he was younger, though I don't remember him from my occasional Clach games.

Again, it's not cheap like most of the better pubs in Inverness.

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