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Please help...looking for some advice planning an itinerary for a 7 day tour around Scotland. Here is the plan so far...

Day 1-
Morning- Arrive in Edinburgh
Afternoon- Tour Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, etc.
Day 2- Continue seeing Edinburgh
Day 3- Depart Edinburgh
Morning- Phoenix Falconry "Meet the Birds" (Blackford)
Afternoon- SPLASH Canyoning (Archarn Canyon)
Evening- Inverness
Day 4-
Climbing/Abseiling w/ Scotch on the Rocks
(Location TBD...hopefully Old Man of Stoer)
Evening- Ullapool
Day 5-
Morning- Drive from Ullapool to Eilean Donan Castle
Afternoon- Tour Isle of Skye
Day 6-
Morning- Skye Boat Tour (Skyexplorer or Elgol Boat Trips)
Afternoon- Pony Trekking (Glenshiel Highland Ponies)
Evening- Fort William
Day 7-
Morning- Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument
Afternoon- Depart from Glasgow

I know this schedule is pretty ambitious so any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated. I have not secured lodging for any of the trip yet so any recommendations would be great.

Thanks!

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1

Ambitious isn't the word I'd use, exhausting is. :/

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2

I got tired just reading it !

Day 5, 6 and 7 no way eg FW to Stirling 2 hours. Monument and Castle 4 hours. Stirling to Glasgow 1 hour. Cut out Skye,slow down a bit and enjoy.

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3

Do the Wallace Monument on the way north, the building is interesting, as a sort of Vicrorian theme park with a statue of Mel Gibson in the carpark. I would do Stirling then as well. It is the edge of the industrialised central belt. Stirling may seem a bit flat and the views not as good as the Highlands so it might seem a bit of an anti-climax.
Glasgow airport is a fair way south of the city and I am not sure you will make it in time frankly on the time allocated.
I would leave Edinburgh on Day two and stay somewhere in Stilring/Dunblane or Callander. The last day is then free for the return, which could be via Lock Lomond or the sea loch to Glasgow.

Overall though I agree it looks too packed.

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4

The other question in whether departure from Glasgow International or Glasgow Prestwick airport. Glasgow Prestwick adds another 45-1 hour travel time to get there.
I definitly agree with Stirling on day 2 rather then the last day otherwise you'll be rushing everything on your final day rather then taking your time.

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5

Woah! Have you considered travel time in this at all? You seem to be doing three hour plus drives quite regularly, so part of me feels that you'll be spending most of your trip looking at roads rather than properly getting to see any of the towns or cities.

As much as I love Skye, I'd cut it out of this trip. You just are not giving it the time it deserves to fully appreciate the place.

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6

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Your honesty and candor is especially helpful. My hastily made itinerary did prove to be more than a bit off. I have dropped and reordered some activities and used google maps to get a better idea of drive times (you will see these in parentheses). Hopefully this go around is a bit more feasible, if still a bit "ambitious."

Day 1 & 2- Edinburgh

Day3-
0800-0830 Breakfast-Edinburgh
0830-1000 Drive Edinburgh to Stirling (1)
1000-1230 Stirling Castle
1230-1400 Wallace Monument
1400-1430 Lunch-Stirling
1430-1530 Drive Stirling to Gleneagles (.5)
1530-1730 Phoenix Falconry
1730-2000 Drive Gleneagles to Fort William (2.25)
2000-2015 Check in B&B
2030-2200 Dinner/Pub

Day 4-
0800-0900 Breakfast-Fort William
0900-1100 Drive Fort William to Glenshiel (1.5)
1100-1300 Highland Pony Trekking
1300-1400 Lunch
1400-1430 Drive Glenshiel to Eilean Donan (.25)
1430-1630 Eilean Donan Castle
1630-1800 Drive Eilean Donan to Portree (1)
1800-1815 Check in B&B
1830-2100 Dinner/Pub

Day 5-
0830-0930 Breakfast-Portree
0930-1015 Drive Portree to Kilt Rock (.5)
1015-1130 Kilt Rock
1130-1200 Drive Kilt Rock to Uig (.5)
1200-1245 Lunch-Uig
1245-1400 Faerie Glen
1400-1700 SkyeXplorer Boat Tour
1700-1900 Drive Uig to Plockton (1.5)
1900-1915 Check in B&B
1930-2100 Dinner/Pub

Day 6- (waiting for word from guide about location of canyoning/climbing)
0800-0900 Breakfast-Plockton
0900-1100 Drive Plockton to TBD location
1100-1300 Canyoning/Climbing
1300-1330 Lunch
1330-1700 Canyoning/Climbing
1700-1830 Drive TBD location to Inverness
1830-1845 Check in hostel
1845-2000 Dinner/Pub

Day 7- Flight INV to LON

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to help me. I look forward to hearing your suggestions and continuing to refine my schedule.

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7

The schedule still looks tight.Day three especially. Google maps gives travel times which are optimum! You may find even the apparently generous estimates you give may be tight. They seem to assume you can travel at maximum legal speeds without delays.
To get into Stirling town centre, park, get lunch and off after the Wallace momument is going to take much more than half an hour. I think you would be hard pushed to do it even stopping at a cafe in Dunblane in that time frankly.

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8

The time of year can alter stuff as well. I'm guessing its not a long time in the future as you seem to have done quite a good bit of research.
At certain times of the year those distances are much more manageable then others

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9

I got a chuckle with the comment re 'time of year' undertrousers. If the OP gets his wish and Scotch on the Rocks Guiding take him to climb The Old Man of Stoer, it better not be soon. You must swim across to the rock stack and even in the height of summer that is one cold son of a b*tch swim.

Hwkwrstir, it is indeed very ambitious. The idea of a timetable to the half hour is something that I would never contemplate. One accident or construction slow up and your plan is history.

But hey, it's your trip and so you are free to do it your way. Just remember if it all goes to h*ll in a hand basket, that's when the real adventure begins.

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