British Travel Journal | Summer 2019

I T I N E R A R I E S
SOUTH WEST
COAST 300
Scotland
Jessica Way explores the magnificent beauty of the
south west coast of Scotland, discovering some of the
finest hotels to stay in and places to visit along the way
YOU'VE PROBABLY ALREADY heard of
Scotland’s North Coast 500, a circular route
around the northern top of Scotland from
and to Inverness, and now, more recently, the
South West Coastal 300 route has launched, a stunning
drive of just over 300 miles, firmly placed on the travel
itinerary wish-list for tourists looking to experience their
own slice of Scotland.
There is no one way to travel and explore either the
NC500 or SWC300, the choice of where you start,
and finish, is yours too. Both scenic driving routes cover
several hundred miles, and you could easily spend weeks
at a time exploring a single stretch of the coast, and still
feel you have only just scratched the surface.
The choice of spectacular white sandy beaches, pretty
coastal towns and villages, and landscapes filled with
soaring mountain views, makes discovering your own
coastal adventure as easy as the coastal breeze itself.
Much of the west coast, although sometimes exposed
to the whims of the North Atlantic weather, is shielded
by the inner isles, with easy access to island-hop across
to the likes of Arran, Islay, Jura, Mull, Iona and Skye
- making our only touring challenge avoiding island
temptation and sticking to our pre-planned route!
EDINBURGH TO DUMFRIES
Flying from Southampton to Edinburgh our SWC300
journey began with a pleasant two-hour drive south to
Dumfries, known as the ‘Queen of the South’.
Picking up our hire car from the airport (we used
enterprise.co.uk) was straightforward, and touring by car
is made easy in Scotland. In addition to the motorways
and good main roads, there is an excellent network of
lightly trafficked rural roads, as well as strong signposting
for the main tourist routes.
While driving look out too for the many brown ‘Thistle
Signs’ by the road that point the way to all kinds of walks,
trails, attractions and adventures.
About half way on this journey we stopped to see
Scotland’s Highest Village – Wanlockhead. Sitting at
an altitude of 467 metres, and home to The Museum of
Lead Mining, which tells the story of the local industry
and allows you to go down a former working mine.
There’s also a lovely tea room serving pasties, homemade
soup, scones, cakes and other light bites.
Once in Dumfries itself we really enjoyed visiting
the Robert Burns House (robertburns.org). Now a free
museum, with friendly volunteers and a donations box,
it was previously the house in which Robert Burns lived à
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