Suggestions for a week in scotland with aging father

As you are travelling with your 87 year old father, who I presume you have good intentions toward, don't take long drives to the middle of nowhere. Edinburgh, Glasgow and what's in between, as well as the coasts east and west, will provide plenty of interest for a week. Consider ditching the car and using public transport. Maybe a scotlrail pass? Less distance, more meaning.

To give your trip a special meaning, it would be good to build into your itinerary the exact place his mother and family lived. Do you know where that was.?

And yes, the driving can be a bit tiresome at times. There´s a lot of nothing on many routes in Scotland.!

The Orkneys.? An organized tour might be an option.

The Scottish Tourist Board and VistScotland have useful sites for trip planning :-
http://www.visitscotland.com/
http://www.scotland.org.uk/guide/Orkneys

(And it´s EDINBURGH by the way. But hey, who cares.? You´re amongst friends.! Have a great trip whatever you decide.)

One thing I would say - Edinburgh is hilly. My dad has difficulty walking and found that the tour bus was the best way to see the city. The bus and boat trip to the Forth Bridge is pretty cool too, especially if it's a nice day.

I would suggest that going to Orkney will mean you cramming too much into one week, even if your dad is quite sprightly. Edinburgh is indeed hilly (try practically mountainous), and you may want to enquire into a motability scooter for hire (I expect Google will come up with something on that front) if he is not very mobile himself.

Mason has directed you to two good sites, which will help you get a perspective of the distances you are talking in you OP, and why you may enjoy seeing fewer locations but getting to see them in more detail.

If you are a local, the driving routes seem very boring but they are often very beautiful! That said, it can be hours and hours of view and not a lot else, which is glorious to begin with but soon loses its attractions. Where is it you want to see in relation to your grandmother?

You have not provided enough info regarding interests to get meaningful replies.

The only consistent answer you are likely to get from the info supplied is to forget the Orkneys UNLESS that is where his Mother was from. It will require too much time unless you fly.

You mention 'this type of trip' but fail to say what type of trip this is intended to be. Are you planning to do a road trip for example where you drive every day from A to B with the drive being a desired use of your time? ie. to take in the scenery.

You could easily spend several days in Edinburgh itself and if you then flew to the Orkneys, a few days there (along with return to Edinburgh for flight home) would easily use up the rest of the week.

Nor do you mention whether your Dad has any special needs regarding this trip. I don't assume he needs a mobility scooter are there are 87 year olds who can outwalk some overweight 30 year olds but I can't assume that either.

If I were interested in seeing what life was like for his Mother in early 20th century Scotland I would be Googling for that and seeing what I could find. http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&rlz=1W1GPEA_en&q=life<i>in+early+20th+century</i>Scotland&meta=

One museum I would definitely want to visit is The People's Story on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/leisure/museums_and_galleries/services/the%20peoples%20story/CEC_the_peoples_story

As always, the more relevant information you provide the more relevant responses are likely to be.

Given the age of your father I'd go for seeing the sites in Edinburgh, maybe a trip up the coast to somewhere like St Andrews, then over to Stirling then on to Glasgow and a wee bit further to Loch Lomond.

Not too much travelling and you get to see the castles and some scenery (Loch Lomond gives you the picture postcard Highland experience 40 minutes from Glasgow).

http://edinburghlove.wordpress.com/edinburgh-things-to-do/ my list of things to do in Edinburgh.

Orkneys would be too much of an effort I think unless you were going to fly. It's a long drive up North, then a ferry ride.