Trip to UK for Photos

[Anjin San]

Yeah…I'm kind of coming around to the 'too much' theory but I think for this first trip to Scotland for us (and most of the trip will be up there) we're going to take more of a see a lot approach rather than a spend the day here looking for the perfect light and clouds over the mountains and I'll come back tomorrow if it isn't right approach. OTOH, we might just end up expanding the time period instead and/or cutting out some of the areas to visit. We're tacking this trip onto a choral tour my bride is doing in London…and are looking to get a little more bang for the airfare buck as it were…and while I did say Trip to UK for Photos in the thread title it's more of a non photo centric trip for her…and thus for me as well. I'll check out Keepgo…I asked a similar question over on the Tidbits Talk forum and several folks there suggested GiffGaff for data. Turns out they're relatively inexpensive and while the AT&T Day Pass would be excellent for emergency use only, a local data plan will give us a little more flexibility in googling things through the day…and we remembered Navmii was what we used for GPS in Ireland and it's offline maps for the rest of the UK are free as well so navigation won't be an issue (and we'll have a paper map anyway).

True story though…when we were in Ireland in 2014 the people that rented us the car gave us one of those place mat sort of maps with the very major roads and cities noted on it and icons for tourist sites…like where the eastern end of the first telegraph transmission was and where the first trans Atlantic flight landed in the peat bog on the west coast. We actually used that map to essentially direct us to the right general area and then just drove around until we spotted the little brown signs leading us to both of those sites.

 

[Anjin San]

I’m with those who’ve already mentioned that you’re trying to cover a lot of ground, even over 3-4 weeks. One of my favorite ways to travel is exploring backroads in an unstructured way, and England is a wonderful country to do it in - there’s a nice surprise around most corners and curves. A few years ago, we spent 6 days just exploring the Cotswolds - walking, driving, and biking - and discovered so many hidden gems, including a working sheep farm, where we ended up staying for two days (it doubled as a B&B). Similarly, we set off from the Cotswolds toward Oxford, and stumbled upon Braughton Castle (actually a manor house), which was closed to the public, but the owner happened to be by the gate, and invited us for a private tour and lunch. We would never have experienced this had we been in a rush to the next destination. My advice is to cut your itinerary in half, and spend more time in and around those places you do visit. Sometimes, less is more!

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time!

Yep, backroads exploring is the way to go for things we've learned…and I've asked our travel agent to essentially centrally locate us in each area we are going to for xx days and give us a list of things to do (in addition to the list of things I told her we wanted to do)…but not to schedule too much. She did the schedule everything on our Ireland trip in 2014 and we moved B&Bs at least every other day and sometimes daily…we would much rather have a list of things to do in an area that takes 3 days and we'll do our own daily scheduling based on rain and most importantly what the local folks in the pub tell us we need to do while we're there. We lived in an RV and traveled full time for 8 years after retiring early and found that going to a locals bar the first night of a week in a place and sitting at the bar…you meet a much better class of bum that way ya know…and by the time you chatted for a couple hours and had a couple pints they were all your friends now and would tell you about the out of the way things that tourists didn't know about…and those are the things we mostly like to see.

 

[Anjin San]

OK, back for another stab at this.

On further review we've decided to skip Scotland for this trip…we don't want to be gone more than about 4 weeks total and the first 10 days are for the choral tour thing in London so that leaves about 18 or so days to concentrate on Wales and Lakes/Yorkshire Dales areas. After thinking on it again…we did almost 4 weeks in Ireland back 9 years ago and were ready to go home after that long…and we're 10 years older now…but we are leaving Sundays the whole trip as do nothing days. That said…we've figured out what to do in each general area…in Wales we're going to stay near Snowdonia, Pembrokshire, and Bacon NPs for a few days each and visit places around each park. Up at Lakes District NP and Yorkshire Dales NP…we're going to spend 4-5 days in that area and again have figured out a list of places to drive around and see. Question is…where to stay up there. My original thought was to stay the entire time in Kendal which is in between the two parks and just go west a couple days and then east a couple days to cover both parks. Is that the best idea…or are there suggestions for 2 better places to stay each of which would be less wasted driving time for the park and just change hotels halfway through the period? Not necessarily looking for specific hotel/B&B recommendations but they're good if you have some, more looking at 'stay here and here' instead of 'stay in Kendal the whole time' ideas.

Thanks.

 

[pwaring]

OK, back for another stab at this.

On further review we've decided to skip Scotland for this trip…we don't want to be gone more than about 4 weeks total and the first 10 days are for the choral tour thing in London so that leaves about 18 or so days to concentrate on Wales and Lakes/Yorkshire Dales areas. After thinking on it again…we did almost 4 weeks in Ireland back 9 years ago and were ready to go home after that long…and we're 10 years older now…but we are leaving Sundays the whole trip as do nothing days. That said…we've figured out what to do in each general area…in Wales we're going to stay near Snowdonia, Pembrokshire, and Bacon NPs for a few days each and visit places around each park. Up at Lakes District NP and Yorkshire Dales NP…we're going to spend 4-5 days in that area and again have figured out a list of places to drive around and see. Question is…where to stay up there. My original thought was to stay the entire time in Kendal which is in between the two parks and just go west a couple days and then east a couple days to cover both parks. Is that the best idea…or are there suggestions for 2 better places to stay each of which would be less wasted driving time for the park and just change hotels halfway through the period? Not necessarily looking for specific hotel/B&B recommendations but they're good if you have some, more looking at 'stay here and here' instead of 'stay in Kendal the whole time' ideas.

Thanks.

I'd be inclined to have a few nights in the heart of each area or even just pick one of them. I'm not sure where that is for the Yorkshire dales but I'd go for Keswick in the lake district. You really feel like you're in the national park rather than on the edge of it and it has a nice small town vibe. Kendal, at least to me, is a functional place just off the motorway and it still takes quite a while to get up into the lakes from there. Keswick on the other hand is somewhere I feel like I'm on holiday.

 

[pomkiwi]

if I remember correctly one of the photographic aims is landscape photography. The days will be long and it makes sense to stay as close as possible to your preferred photographic subjects to allow dawn and dusk photography. There are several lakeside hotels around Keswick, Windermere and Ullswater that have those options from the garden if not the bedroom. I agree with @pwaring - Kendal is nice enough but unremarkable. In the Dales I would be looking for some country pubs/hotels in villages around Skipton, Ripon or Settle for similar reasons - other towns are available and will be the favourites of others. Happy to give specific recommendations if you send me a PM.

 

[BorderBirder]

Whilst it is clearly a major error to choose to omit Scotland (no bias here ) from your itinerary, I think the idea of basing yourself in Keswick would be an excellent point from which to explore the Lakes if that’s your choice. Should you continue on that line of planning, I’d suggest contacting Henry Turner at https://www.henryturnerphotography.co.uk/ He is a lovely guy and knows that landscape intimately and would probably be able to take you on an outing of two if you wished.

 

[Anthony]

Keswick would be a great place for the Lake District, but not for the Yorkshire Dales. You would be setting yourself up for a lot of tiring driving on narrow roads and, as has been pointed out, would find it not so convenient to shoot early and late in the day. Pomkiwi's recommendations for Yorkshire are good. I would incline towards staying part of the time in the Lakes and part in the Dales.

 

[Calson]

When I am starting to plan a trip in a country I have not visited I start by collecting information on group tours. I learn the routes and stop over points (where food and lodging is available). This provides a rough outline for a trip.

I also do not like to spend more than 4 hours in any one day on the road driving. The offset is that my wife and I can stay at places that lack the capacity for a tour group and so more options as to where to stay and where to eat.

Unlike the USA, the UK has trains and so it is practical to rent a car and travel around one area and then take a train to another city (like Edinborough for example) and rent a car there to explore a different area.

In terms of wildlife photography there are reseves and also private blinds. The private blinds are a good place to start if wildlife photography is important. With the blinds a 100-400mm lens is usually all that is needed.

An area where they have reintroduced osprey is at Kielder Water and Forest Park

Kielder Ospreys

Ospreys and other wildlife at Kielder Water and Forest Park

kielderospreys.wpcomstaging.com

Wildlife – Natural England

News and updates from Natural England

naturalengland.blog.gov.uk

I prefer to use the internet and its resources to book rooms myself. If I use a single service like travelocity or expedia or hotels.com, I can have my itinerary in the cloud and readily accessible with a PC or smartphone. This includes confirmation numbers for each reservation. I can make changes within 24 hours of an arrival date quickly and easily. Online I also see the discounted rate and can save 15% or more.

 

[agrumpyoldsod]

Ok, I know there's a bunch of UK folk on the forum so I'm looking for a general idea of how long I should plan for a trip to the UK next June for my bride and I…being retired we're rally not on much of a schedule. We'll be using a travel agent to do all the nitty gritty planning but giving them an idea of what you want helps get the itinerary settled in fewer back and forth emails. We'll be in London for a week in later June for a choral tour she is involved with and will plan on leaving London on Jul 2 or Jul 3. There's a symphony concert in Buxton on Jul 8 we want to go hear…the Saint Saens Organ Symphony which we've heard about 50 times in our lives…hey, it's an excuse to travel.

If you are interested in choral - then it is worth researching what events are playing during your trip (for example the Royal Albert Hall regularly has spectacular Choral events during the summer). There will be a Summer Schedule of events across the country AND you "should" see an Evensong at a large Church of England church/cathedral, even if you are not religious or CofE (Westminster Abbey, St Pauls, Southwark Cathedral, etc... and these are only a very few of the churches in London).
Unless you have a specific reason, I would avoid large festivals -- even the National Eisteddfod which is in Wales August.

Wife wants to visit Oxford so I figured we would pick up a car in Oxford the day we leave, do some touristy stuff in Oxford then round in Wales before arriving in Buxton on Friday Jul 7. Figured we would leave Braxton Monday Jul 10 and head up to the far north at John O' Groats to see Lands End and then head generally south back to Oxford. Loch Ness of course…and want to see a lot of castles because Scottish castles are proper castles and have a gosh darned moat…over to Isle of Islay to visit some of the scotch distilleries and some time in Loch Lomond/Glasgow/Edinburgh/Stirling/Falkirk seeing the tourist sites and again photos…then down to the Lake District/Yorkshire Dales/Hadrian's Wall area for mostly photo related things.

While the UK looks small on the map it is heavily populated and our historic transport system can easily become full -- so leave more time to get from A to B than you may initially think. We live on an island and as a result our weather is "changeable" - but not that cold - unless you are really unlucky - bring a good thin waterproof/rain proof layer and good boots for walking in the wet/wet ground.

Oxford to "Wales" is not a short trip (M40-M4 to get to the south/Cardiff) and obviously you could spend weeks or months there -- you will need to complete some research and be very specific about what you want to see -- Cardiff Castle is fairly high up many lists.
Your best option is to NOT have a vehicle in London, but to take a train from London to Cardiff, Oxford or Derby then pick up an Enterprise Rental (which you can drop off a another Enterprise Rental somewhere) -- then drive up to Buxton and explore the Peak District (the National Park in which Buxton sits).
You could travel by train London to Cardiff to Oxford or Oxford to Derby and most major cities but you would have to change trains. For example to go from Oxford to Derby you would change in Birmingham (not worth getting out of the station). Be aware that moving about on public transport with lots of gear can be difficult and do not expect to get much help.

Possible side trip to Isle of Man although we haven't really researched there enough yet to know if there's anything worth going to visit…then return to Oxford to drop the car and take the train to London for the flight home.

I lived on the Isle of Man -- outside of TT week it has its moments but not as spectacular as elsewhere -- fly from London and about 5 other cities across the UK and you can drive the island in a day. The Laxey Wheel, various castle and harbours and the Motorcycle Museum on Snaefell are all worth a visit.

Looking at all those places on a google map…it's about 500 miles from the far north back down to Oxford…and I know from our previous trip to Ireland that once you get north some the roads are a bit less efficient to travel on time wise than the freeways here in the US…so my first cocktail napkin guess was about 3-4 weeks for all of that with closer to 3 being better than closer to 4 since we will already have done 9 or 10 days in country for the choral tour.

Sounds great. But you could easily spend a lifetime - I have

Is that a reasonable estimate or am I going either way over or way under what is needed? Being retired we no longer travel in what we used to call vacation mode where you go go go and need a vacation from your vacation once you get back…in the US we try not to travel more than 2 or 3 days in a row max and keep our freeway mileage to about 450-500 a day which is about 7 hours or so.

You will find that 200+ miles is enough for most.

I might need a UK based travel agent depending on whether our previous one is still working or retired…she worked with a company in Ireland and we dealt mostly with her but the Irish company did the detailed planning since they know Ireland better than US based ones do…she had one for UK/Scotland as well but if she's no longer working maybe somebody can recommend a UK/Scotland based company with a US partnership…because it's so much easier to tell them what you want and let them figure out all the logistical details.

I use Expedia.co.uk to book my UK hotel stays -- it is easier to book using one tool.

Anyways…for now just looking for an idea whether that's a reasonable time frame one way or the other. And I guess while we're at it then suggestions of particular things to take pictures of in any of those places would also be good and keep us at least kinda sorta on topic for a photography.
Edited to add were wildlife and landscape shooters mostly. Some architecture, park, and other shots when in the cities but we generally don’t spend too much time there…our 3.5 weeks in Ireland we were really only in town 6 or 7 days and out in the countryside the rest of the time.

We have lots of Birds and bird sanctuaries: but few eagles (Central/North West Scotland) and the RSPB and Wetland Trust are two organisations to research,
Red and other deer can be found across the country -- the real experience is to go stalking in the Highlands of Scotland and this takes time and fitness to enjoy
Many National / Heritage properties have heritage events including Jousting events where the tradition of flying birds of prey still continues -- but Avian Flu has caused/is causing problems this year and I expect in 2023 as well.
You can try to shoot Kingfishers and Brown Rabbits - but you will need a local guide to find the best spots.
What the UK has is bucket loads of history and historical landscapes -- in the post WWII era to the 1990s we had an explosion of concrete and crud - but then we were broke and folk needed housing and places to work.
The Long Valley Books series "The Photographer's Guide to ....." is exceptionally helpful for photographers who are seeking the best shots in each region/location - I have a dozen or so of their titles and live in the UK. I recommend their book on the Peak District (the area around Buxton).
You can arrange photographic walking tours in many locations -- BUT take care not to get ripped off -- top of my list of good guys are the "events"/walks hosted by the UK Nikon School - other tours are available.
Having used this in many places -- I do take the Big Bus tours each time I go to a new capital city - London Big Bus and River Cruise is well worth the price of a ticket and not "just" because I can drop my guests off for the day -- but you have to see London from the water and understand the history.
I wish you and your partner well in your planning and reach out if I can help.

 

[Anjin San]

Whilst it is clearly a major error to choose to omit Scotland (no bias here ) from your itinerary, I think the idea of basing yourself in Keswick would be an excellent point from which to explore the Lakes if that’s your choice. Should you continue on that line of planning, I’d suggest contacting Henry Turner at https://www.henryturnerphotography.co.uk/ He is a lovely guy and knows that landscape intimately and would probably be able to take you on an outing of two if you wished.

Yeah…I would have preferred to keep Scotland as well…but the parks in Wales, spouse’s non negotiable Lakes and Yorkshire (she is a big fan of all the BBC series filmed in those areas), and the choral tour she is singing in for the first 10 days of the overall trip…plus not wanting to go over a month or so in total to help prevent burnout made doing a separate trip to Scotland later a more attractive option…my original plan only had about 2-1/2 weeks for the country and that just ain’t enough…we did almost 4 in Ireland and felt rushed. We will probably feel rushed even doing what we are now planning…but I did schedule Sundays as do-nothing days to give us some rest days.

 

[Anjin San]

If you are interested in choral - then it is worth researching what events are playing during your trip (for example the Royal Albert Hall regularly has spectacular Choral events during the summer). There will be a Summer Schedule of events across the country AND you "should" see an Evensong at a large Church of England church/cathedral, even if you are not religious or CofE (Westminster Abbey, St Pauls, Southwark Cathedral, etc... and these are only a very few of the churches in London).
Unless you have a specific reason, I would avoid large festivals -- even the National Eisteddfod which is in Wales August.


While the UK looks small on the map it is heavily populated and our historic transport system can easily become full -- so leave more time to get from A to B than you may initially think. We live on an island and as a result our weather is "changeable" - but not that cold - unless you are really unlucky - bring a good thin waterproof/rain proof layer and good boots for walking in the wet/wet ground.

Oxford to "Wales" is not a short trip (M40-M4 to get to the south/Cardiff) and obviously you could spend weeks or months there -- you will need to complete some research and be very specific about what you want to see -- Cardiff Castle is fairly high up many lists.
Your best option is to NOT have a vehicle in London, but to take a train from London to Cardiff, Oxford or Derby then pick up an Enterprise Rental (which you can drop off a another Enterprise Rental somewhere) -- then drive up to Buxton and explore the Peak District (the National Park in which Buxton sits).
You could travel by train London to Cardiff to Oxford or Oxford to Derby and most major cities but you would have to change trains. For example to go from Oxford to Derby you would change in Birmingham (not worth getting out of the station). Be aware that moving about on public transport with lots of gear can be difficult and do not expect to get much help.


I lived on the Isle of Man -- outside of TT week it has its moments but not as spectacular as elsewhere -- fly from London and about 5 other cities across the UK and you can drive the island in a day. The Laxey Wheel, various castle and harbours and the Motorcycle Museum on Snaefell are all worth a visit.

Sounds great. But you could easily spend a lifetime - I have

You will find that 200+ miles is enough for most.

I use Expedia.co.uk to book my UK hotel stays -- it is easier to book using one tool.

We have lots of Birds and bird sanctuaries: but few eagles (Central/North West Scotland) and the RSPB and Wetland Trust are two organisations to research,
Red and other deer can be found across the country -- the real experience is to go stalking in the Highlands of Scotland and this takes time and fitness to enjoy
Many National / Heritage properties have heritage events including Jousting events where the tradition of flying birds of prey still continues -- but Avian Flu has caused/is causing problems this year and I expect in 2023 as well.
You can try to shoot Kingfishers and Brown Rabbits - but you will need a local guide to find the best spots.
What the UK has is bucket loads of history and historical landscapes -- in the post WWII era to the 1990s we had an explosion of concrete and crud - but then we were broke and folk needed housing and places to work.
The Long Valley Books series "The Photographer's Guide to ....." is exceptionally helpful for photographers who are seeking the best shots in each region/location - I have a dozen or so of their titles and live in the UK. I recommend their book on the Peak District (the area around Buxton).
You can arrange photographic walking tours in many locations -- BUT take care not to get ripped off -- top of my list of good guys are the "events"/walks hosted by the UK Nikon School - other tours are available.
Having used this in many places -- I do take the Big Bus tours each time I go to a new capital city - London Big Bus and River Cruise is well worth the price of a ticket and not "just" because I can drop my guests off for the day -- but you have to see London from the water and understand the history.
I wish you and your partner well in your planning and reach out if I can help.

Yep…no car in London for us as she is singing or rehearsing most days and the choral tour has some outings as well. When we leave there our only long drive is the first day up to Lakes District and we’ll stay in Keswick as suggested…then move over to someplace in Yorkshire for the remainder of that week. Short trip to Buxton for a weekend Saint Saens Organ Symphony concert and then another short drive to Snowdonia area for a few days then Pembeokeshire and then a Brecon Beacons before returning to London for flight home. Sorry to miss Scotland this trip…but it is what it is, happy wife happy life.
We have tried bus tours before but always find them limiting because of the ‘we are here for an hour’ schedule so driving is our preference. In Ireland our travel agent still had us moving from place to much so we are being more proactive with instructions to her this time. The detailed daily schedules she did in Ireland aren’t getting done this time…we are using the method we used while doing the full time RV life for 8 years…I put the places of interest on a google map and she figures out each days Fun Stuff as we call it to minimize wasted driving time.

There is simply too much to see to do it all…but then that’s true everywhere and even in spectacular places in the RV in the US like Yellowstone and Yosemite we had days where we never left the campsite because it was life for us, not vacation and burnout is an issue if you don’t. We have been to London 4 or 5 times over the years for various things and have never visited the same places twice…and the choral tour company does have a free day in the schedule with one of the On/Off bus tours arranged so we will see what we want to do there based on that albeit most of the time she is rehearsing or performing.

 

[Anjin San]

When I am starting to plan a trip in a country I have not visited I start by collecting information on group tours. I learn the routes and stop over points (where food and lodging is available). This provides a rough outline for a trip.

I also do not like to spend more than 4 hours in any one day on the road driving. The offset is that my wife and I can stay at places that lack the capacity for a tour group and so more options as to where to stay and where to eat.

Unlike the USA, the UK has trains and so it is practical to rent a car and travel around one area and then take a train to another city (like Edinborough for example) and rent a car there to explore a different area.

In terms of wildlife photography there are reseves and also private blinds. The private blinds are a good place to start if wildlife photography is important. With the blinds a 100-400mm lens is usually all that is needed.

An area where they have reintroduced osprey is at Kielder Water and Forest Park

Kielder Ospreys

Ospreys and other wildlife at Kielder Water and Forest Park

kielderospreys.wpcomstaging.com

Wildlife – Natural England

News and updates from Natural England

naturalengland.blog.gov.uk

I prefer to use the internet and its resources to book rooms myself. If I use a single service like travelocity or expedia or hotels.com, I can have my itinerary in the cloud and readily accessible with a PC or smartphone. This includes confirmation numbers for each reservation. I can make changes within 24 hours of an arrival date quickly and easily. Online I also see the discounted rate and can save 15% or more.

Your method pretty much follows our own…although we use a travel agent for outside the US for hotels…she has a UK partner company with more detailed in country knowledge than we do…so we will give her towns/villages and let her do the legwork to find a B&B or small hotel as that’s the part my wife doesn’t like…but she’s pretty good at scheduling the detailed daily drives to minimize wasted miles and always finds good pubs for lunch and dinner…although lunch is usually a ‘that place looks good’ thing. Flights and rental cars we do ourselves.

 

[Anjin San]

Speaking of the National Trust…it appears that getting an annual membership will be a better idea than paying entry and parking at every site…we’ve got at least a dozen or more of their sites on our google map…or am I misinterpreting what I see on the web?

 

[agrumpyoldsod]

Yep…no car in London for us as she is singing or rehearsing most days and the choral tour has some outings as well. When we leave there our only long drive is the first day up to Lakes District and we’ll stay in Keswick as suggested…

Take the M40 from London and the M42 Toll Road then the M6 -- Jn 8/9 are know problems in the fog AND so is getting around Birmingham, but after that you should be OK.

then move over to someplace in Yorkshire for the remainder of that week. Short trip to Buxton for a weekend Saint Saens Organ Symphony concert

Sounds great -- lots to see and accents to bemuse you

and then another short drive to Snowdonia area for a few days then Pembrokeshire and then a Brecon Beacons before returning to London for flight home.

Not remotely a short - in -time-required drive -- If you take the coastal route down from Snowdonia to Brecon - do stop in at Aberystwyth and take a trip on the Historic Railway to Devil's Bridge. AND If you go to Pembrokeshire -- St David's, Tenby and Pendine Sands (where land speed records used to be held) are places as a very young fellow we used to holiday, while attending the Eisteddfod. Please do not get "suckered" into running the cliffs at low tide and do be careful the tides are large and the locals luv to recuse cars trapped on the sands when the tide comes in.

Sorry to miss Scotland this trip…but it is what it is, happy wife happy life.

Two of my friends from Northern VA were over this summer and they did Scotland in 10 days and then I took them to a few fun places and family on the North West coast

 

[pomkiwi]

Speaking of the National Trust…it appears that getting an annual membership will be a better idea than paying entry and parking at every site…we’ve got at least a dozen or more of their sites on our google map…or am I misinterpreting what I see on the web?

Definitely join (you will be encouraged to do so at the first property you visit) - it will pay for itself even if you are only going to 2 or 3 properties.

 

[Anjin San]

After some more thinking…and discovering we have something else to do in July that will cut the trip down to about 23 or 24 days max…and having the first 12 days in London for her choral trip…we are going to do just Lakes and Yorkshire Dales this trip and and save both Wales and Scotland for another time. Had a nice chat with Mark on lens selection…taking the 14-30 and 24-70 for landscapes and either the 70-200 or 100-400 for wildlife…one gives me f2.8 and the other more reach but with no coverage in 70-100 range but that’s a minor loss…but with the TC and possible DX mode even the shorter zoom gives me 500ish mm reach as he indicates the wildlife is mostly distant and skittery. Not sure if I will have room for both zooms but will try…if u have to pick one zoom any other opinions on which one? I will have both Z TCs along and 9 and 7II bodies.

 

[flashpixx]

Hope it's OK to hijack this thread, it appears to be done for the OP at least.
Some great info here - thanks to those who have contributed.
Partner and I are heading to Scotland for 16 days from 2nd week in May 2023.
We will be driving, with no planned itinerary but do have a route based on her desire (she is a Scot now living in Oz)
Landing at Heathrow, driving from Heathrow to Glasgow.
We will leave from Glasgow and take the A82 to Fort William over at least 2 days. Loch Lomond is of interest and West Highland Museum at Fort William
Then the loop around and down to Ardnamurcan and back to Fort William in an anti clockwise direction.
I guess we have about 10 days if needed for the loop.
Main interests other than the heritage buildings is wildlife, white tailed eagle would be nice.
I'll be taking the Z9 and 500 pf, plus probably 24-70 f4, 14-30 f4 and 70-200 f2.8.
I have 24-70 f2.8 but leaving it at home to save weight.
Questions:
- will we see a variety of wildlife in this route or should we include somewhere else (noting the 10 day limit)
- is there a must see / do on the planned route
- is there a must see / do outside this route but not too distant from it

We did consider the Lake district as well but think it may be trying to pack to much into the trip?

Appreciate any thoughts, comments, recommendations.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Alistair]

A few things come to mind; traveling in summer means sub optimal light for photography, crowds and heavy traffic. Except for a specific photographic assignment, I suggest a really good phone be your main camera. It will make your trip much more enjoyable.
UK is a small and crowded place. The last thing they need are tourists with no itinerary driving aimlessly about on the wrong side of the road. In London and destinations such as Oxford, a car is a liability. I strongly suggest the excellent train network be utilized between major centres and cars be hired to strike on into more remote destinations.
WRT wildlife photography, serendipitous encounters with noteworthy species on a fleeting road trip are unlikely. If wildlife photography is an objective of the trip I suggest suitable locations be researched and bookings made beforehand. There are a number of such venues available. Gigrin Farm in Wales comes to mind as an excellent facility to photograph Red Kites and the proprietors cater well to photographers.

 

[flashpixx]

A few things come to mind; traveling in summer means sub optimal light for photography, crowds and heavy traffic. Except for a specific photographic assignment, I suggest a really good phone be your main camera. It will make your trip much more enjoyable.
UK is a small and crowded place. The last thing they need are tourists with no itinerary driving aimlessly about on the wrong side of the road. In London and destinations such as Oxford, a car is a liability. I strongly suggest the excellent train network be utilized between major centres and cars be hired to strike on into more remote destinations.
WRT wildlife photography, serendipitous encounters with noteworthy species on a fleeting road trip are unlikely. If wildlife photography is an objective of the trip I suggest suitable locations be researched and bookings made beforehand. There are a number of such venues available. Gigrin Farm in Wales comes to mind as an excellent facility to photograph Red Kites and the proprietors cater well to photographers.

removed

 

[JP Onstwedder]

Hope it's OK to hijack this thread, it appears to be done for the OP at least.
Some great info here - thanks to those who have contributed.
Partner and I are heading to Scotland for 16 days from 2nd week in May 2023.
We will be driving, with no planned itinerary but do have a route based on her desire (she is a Scot now living in Oz)
Landing at Heathrow, driving from Heathrow to Glasgow.
We will leave from Glasgow and take the A82 to Fort William over at least 2 days. Loch Lomond is of interest and West Highland Museum at Fort William
Then the loop around and down to Ardnamurcan and back to Fort William in an anti clockwise direction.
I guess we have about 10 days if needed for the loop.
Main interests other than the heritage buildings is wildlife, white tailed eagle would be nice.
I'll be taking the Z9 and 500 pf, plus probably 24-70 f4, 14-30 f4 and 70-200 f2.8.
I have 24-70 f2.8 but leaving it at home to save weight.
Questions:
- will we see a variety of wildlife in this route or should we include somewhere else (noting the 10 day limit)
- is there a must see / do on the planned route
- is there a must see / do outside this route but not too distant from it

We did consider the Lake district as well but think it may be trying to pack to much into the trip?

Appreciate any thoughts, comments, recommendations.View attachment 55266

On the A82 you'll pass through Glencoe (it's just on the very bottom edge of your map). With the right light it's a great location to photograph, either just on the side of the road or by a modest hike on the east side. In general the coastal regions are more likely to give you some great photography opportunities. Visitscotland.com is a good resource, e.g., https://www.visitscotland.com/things-to-do/landscapes-nature/wildlife

Have fun!

 

[Pistnbroke]

Certainly cars in Oxford are a no no ,get one when you leave. Travel agent ? why bother ? just pick on a chain of hotels that suits your budget and book it all on line.
A week in london ?? too long would you spend a week in New York . Check out the location of all the wild life trusts for the birds.
check out some of these places like john of Groats on line ....30 min will be too much.

 

[Butlerkid]

WAY off topic.....let's get back to answering the original OP's questions. Thanks!

 

[Whiskeyman]

…and while I did say Trip to UK for Photos in the thread title it's more of a non photo centric trip for her…and thus for me as well.

It sounds as though you have it figured out; any photos you get are going to be "a little something extra."

Enjoy the trip!

 

[agrumpyoldsod]

Hope it's OK to hijack this thread, it appears to be done for the OP at least.
Some great info here - thanks to those who have contributed.
Partner and I are heading to Scotland for 16 days from 2nd week in May 2023.
We will be driving, with no planned itinerary but do have a route based on her desire (she is a Scot now living in Oz)
Landing at Heathrow, driving from Heathrow to Glasgow.
We will leave from Glasgow and take the A82 to Fort William over at least 2 days. Loch Lomond is of interest and West Highland Museum at Fort William
Then the loop around and down to Ardnamurcan and back to Fort William in an anti clockwise direction.
I guess we have about 10 days if needed for the loop.
Main interests other than the heritage buildings is wildlife, white tailed eagle would be nice.
I'll be taking the Z9 and 500 pf, plus probably 24-70 f4, 14-30 f4 and 70-200 f2.8.
I have 24-70 f2.8 but leaving it at home to save weight.
Questions:
- will we see a variety of wildlife in this route or should we include somewhere else (noting the 10 day limit)
- is there a must see / do on the planned route
- is there a must see / do outside this route but not too distant from it

We did consider the Lake district as well but think it may be trying to pack to much into the trip?

Appreciate any thoughts, comments, recommendations.View attachment 55266

My Niece is a Crofter (++) within the route you show and I go to visit couple of times a year
We take the Corran Ferry to cut across
Your Map ignores the Sound of Mull or the Isle. These are the 2 best places to see White Tail Eagles -- there is a trip (lochaline) where one can see them up close. But you need to book in advance. I take ferries whenever I can to cut the corner.

Fort William - take the Ben Nevis cable car to look out across the North West of Scotland

The Glenfinnan Viaduct and War Memorial - the Jacobian Train passess over the viaduct twice a day - the best shots are when the train is outbound from Fort William. Park in the visit centre car park and walk up the path to at least the level of the top of the viaduct -- this is a very popular spot.
Many castles, lighthouses and and.

I assume you will be heading to Sky, if you have not been there before.

Everything is weather and cloud level dependent

I would avoid Loch Lomond -- take the A84 not the A82 -- and if you are clever you can take a look at the Skyfall house. We stop at the Real Food Cafe

Attached are a few of my preferred shooting sites

 

[agrumpyoldsod]

Attached are a few of my preferred shooting sites

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