The trip north was a long one. The plus points were that we could relax, catch up with each other an

When my sister outlined hotels in downtown dallas texas her plans for my mum s secret *****-ith birthday (censored information) trip, a David Urquhart Travel coach trip around the Scottish Highlands with a three night stay in Mackay s Hotel in Strathpeffer, my first thoughts were this is not my idea of a holiday . However, sharing our pain was my mother, sister, her boyfriend, his mother and three nephews in their 20s (one with his German girlfriend who is a fan of all things hotels in downtown dallas texas Scottish).
After a night in the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow we meet up with the extended family to join the coach at Buchanan Street Bus Station at 9.30am. The coach had three more pick up points, Hamilton, Paisley and east Kilbride, before we headed north. It was full and whilst most of the passengers were in the 60+ age bracket, there were also a few slightly younger people including a couple in their 20s. We were allocated the whole of the back seats area – it felt like being the rowdy party on the school bus.
The trip north was a long one. The plus points were that we could relax, catch up with each other and enjoy scenery that grew ever more dramatic and breathtaking by the mile. The downside was that the tape of an Irish comedian played by the driver was appalling – but had my mum in stitches of laughter. By her own admission, she s easily pleased.
We stopped off, bizarrely, at a garden centre for lunch at 11.30. Too early for us but it allowed me to stock up on haggis pie, scotch hotels in downtown dallas texas pie and a pork pie from the centre s pile-on-the-pounds inducing Scottish deli whilst my nephew took the opportunity to bag his first tablet bar .
Somewhere after 4pm we reached Strathpeffer and Mackay s Hotel . Andy and I had an attic room. It was decent enough with tea and coffee making facilities and a great view of Strathpeffer s main street. The only downside was that the shower needed some fine adjustments before we could find the right mix of power and temperature – this was only achieved on the last day.
There were two sittings for dinner (6.30 and 7.00pm). hotels in downtown dallas texas The waitresses in the restaurant were mainly young Eastern Europeans and were smart, hotels in downtown dallas texas efficient hotels in downtown dallas texas and friendly (having two, young attractive single men in our company did no harm whatsoever). Wine was a reasonable £7 a bottle and we had a bottle of red and a bottle of white with each meal. You re never going to get gourmet food on a trip like this, but what was served was freshly cooked and decent enough. What was particularly impressive was that the menu (which changed on each of the three nights) always had meat, fish, salad and vegetarian options – it was clearly well planned out so that it had something for everyone.
You can t argue with different live entertainment each night. But boy does the quality vary. The first night was an appalling guitarist who didn t do requests, couldn t play the guitar and stuck mainly to a mix of C W type music that s been popular in parts of Scotland for decades – Patsy Cline and (OMG was I really subjected to this) Daniel O Donnell. My mother loved it and the cheap bar prices £1.50 for any drink – helped numb the pain for the rest of us. As a complete alternative there was a Rush tribute band playing in the village s spa pavilion a few yards along the road.
The second night involved a disco featuring music from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s (one song). The DJ looked hotels in downtown dallas texas as though he been let out of the local rest home for the night and his opener to a couple in their early 60s that they might be too young for his music and that they d be better off at the JLS concert in Dingwall down the road didn t bode well. Neither did his opening song Patsy Cline again.
The arrival of the waitresses livened things up, especially where my nephews were concerned. After the disco ended (we all ended up on the dance floor to a bit of Robbie Williams and probably the liveliest Gay Gordons witnessed at Mackay s) they carried on partying with the waitresses until 5am and arrived down for breakfast later that morning happy, but a bit the worse for wear.
As well as half board accommodation and transport the package hotels in downtown dallas texas included excursions to Inverness , Ullapool and Pitlochry where we were dropped off and allowed to spend a couple of hours or so exploring each. I much preferred this approach than being herded around. There was also plenty of free time to spend in Strathpeffer itself, a village that boasts a lot of things to do and see, including wonderful little walks, for its diminutive size.
The David Urquhart Coach Tour of the Scottish Highlands was not at all what I d expected. Being part of a big group of mixed ages clearly upped the fun factor but the whole operation was professional and far more interesting and enjoyable than I had imagined. It was a very relaxing way of getting hotels in downtown dallas texas to see some stunning parts of the Scottish Highlands and overall represented incredible value for money.
Buzz Trips Fact File: David Urquhart Travel offer a choice of tours. The Highlands Leisure weekend that we opted for cost £125 per person for 3 nights/4 days including half board accommodation www.davidurquhart.com
Tagged with: coach tours David Urquhart Travel Highlands Inverness Mackay's Hotel Pitlochry review of Mackay's Hotel Strathpeffer Scotland Scottish Highlands Strathpeffer Things to do Strathpeffer Ullapool weekend breaks in the highlands
That was surprising, and when you think about the price it s really good value, isn t it. I love driving in Scotland, but you can t see everything when you the one doing the driving, so a coach is a possible alternative ..so long as you have your iPod from the sound of it!
It surprised the hell out of me. I m not a fan of coach trips I hate the idea of being herded around but it didn t feel like that. It just felt like it was an easy way to travel from A to B and, like you say, enjoy the scenery en route.
Whilst we visit our youngest son quite often in Wrington North Somerset from South Africa, we dicided in 2008 to go on a trip to the Scottish Highlands hotels in downtown dallas texas also staying over at the McKays Hotel and going on excursions to Inverness where we did a boat trip on Lochness and visited Portree on the Island of Skye thereafter travelled right up to John O Groates. The dinners and breakfasts at the Hotel was really something to look forward to every day. The company on the tour was a very friendly crowd where we have made some very good friends There was lots of entertainment in the evenings which we very much enjoyed with a tot of real Scotch whisky. Scotland has sone of the most beautiful sceneries we have enjoyed on a coach tour and we will definitely do it again . We can commend this tour any time to all who would like to do a coach tour to the Scottish Highlands.and at such reasonable fares.
Please do not use this travel company! They obviously do not train their staff in customer service at all and their Coach drivers do not obey the Highway Code. Travel with this company at your own peril. hotels in downtown dallas texas For example, they nearly ran over a woman pushing her baby in a Pram on the promenade. The woman was walking on the path when a David Urquhart Coach mounted the pavement and forced this woman to take drastic avoidance action otherwise the Coach would have hit her and her baby. The Coach was using the promenade and the road to turn round rather than use common sense and driving a little bit down the road to turn around. The Coach driver didn t even apologise to this woman nor did his fellow coach driver who just shouted after the woman when she confronted him about his fellow coach drives driving. On the coach it said Britannia Mystery tour, well does that also include a tour to the local hospital too! We are all absolutely disgusted with what we saw from this company. I will definitely not be travelling with it.