Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow are in the Scottish Lowlands. Todays route would bring us into the Highlands, where we would stay for most of the week.
It’s only about 3 hours of driving, but with a lot of photo stops along the way.
The map is here:
I have a few suggested stops which amount to more waypoints than Google allows. So I split the route into 2 maps below:
The road to Fort William follows the A82 the entire way. Road numbering in the UK is an interesting system and you can tell a bit about your route just by reading the name of the road. ‘M’ roads, or motorways, are the larger divided highways. ‘A’ roads are smaller, but also major roads, which may be divided highways when near a city. These are the older main highways before the ‘M’ roads were built to bypass. ‘B’ roads are smaller than ‘A’, and so on down the alphabet. The digits also have meaning. Fewer digits in the road name means it is larger, more direct and more heavily trafficked. So you can expect A1 to be larger than A82, but A82 would still be considered a primary connector between smaller cities.
Speed limits are another thing to learn. In the US, numbers are posted frequently on all main roads. This is not so in the UK. When there is no posted speed limit you just drive at the national speed limit, which is 70mph for divided roads and 60mph otherwise. A small 3 digit ‘B’ road winding through the countryside most likely has a speed limit of 60 if nothing is posted. But you’re expected to drive at a speed that you feel is safe for the condition of the road, and occasional signs reinforce this. When you do find a posted speed limit, for example in town, that is eventually followed by a sign with a white circle and black diagonal line, which means national speed limit.
We were off to an early start on Day 2 as we had finally caught up on our rest. Our first stop was a grocery store in the suburbs of Glasgow, where parking would be easier, to fill up on snacks. I searched the map and ended up marking a Sainsbury’s in the town of Drumchapel right off A82. Once loaded with snacks, we were on our way to our first real stop at Loch Lomond.
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is the largest lake in Great Britain and is part of one of the two national parks of Scotland. The A82 follows along its western shore from the southern to northern tip. I had marked two stops along Loch Lomond. The first, Firkin Point, was a campground with picnic tables with a small rocky beach and clean public restrooms. The second, Inveruglas, has a small Visitor Center, a pyramid installation for viewing or photos and a pier for the water bus.
Of the two stops, I preferred Firkin Point as it was quiet and scenic. The small rocky beaches allowed us to explore and dip our feet in the cool clear water, and the public restroom was clean. Inveruglas as busier, likely due to the number of people catching the ferry. Alternatively, the Village of Luss looked like a good place to stop and explore, and perhaps I would investigate that option if I were passing again.
Glencoe and Glen Etive
I had been looking forward to this section of the drive and was not disappointed. It is a stunningly beautiful part of the highlands with deep ties to Scottish history. It is also remote and, as such, there aren’t many options for food. There are a handful of options between Loch Lomond and Glencoe and I recommend figuring this out in advance. In order to make the most of daylight, we settled on a quick stop for sandwiches at a small general store in Crianlarich, which had a couple of picnic tables out front.
The road to Glen Etive is an out and back which starts shortly after you enter Glencoe. It is a one lane road with turnouts for passing and was the location for several movies including, most famously, in Skyfall. If you happen to have an Aston Martin DB5, then you too can recreate the famous Skyfall shot in Glen Etive, but we decided our rented Volvo would create the desired effect.
We took the road all the way to its terminus at Loch Etive, which was about 40 minutes each way plus stops. On the map above I set a turnaround point at the Skyfall photo spot, as I feel that’s probably a great point to head back. But feel free to continue on if you want to see the lake and more of the countryside.
The single lane road through Glen Etive can be intimidating. But if you plan to drive around the Isle of Skye then it’s a good idea to get used to it. The rules are straightforward, there are frequent turn-outs where you stop any time you see traffic coming toward you. But as you’re driving on the left, always remember to pull to the left. Even if the turnout is on the right you would still stop on the left and wait for the other car to go around you. It seems simple, but force of habit had me pulling off to the right a couple of times. Fortunately, the other drivers seemed to be patient.
Once back on A82 the scenery of Glencoe continues until you get close to Loch Level. From there it’s a relatively quick ride into Fort William for the evening.
Fort William
We unfortunately arrived too late to make the Ben Nevis distillery, this was the price of the extra time driving to Loch Etive. So we spent the early evening shopping and eating along the walking street in Fort William. Old Inverlochy Castle and Neptunes Staircase are two options to explore in town.
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