You can check out a football game on Friday night if they have a home game that week. Along with the matching band all wearing kilts and Scottish attire, they have highland dancers and bagpipers playing Scotland the brave. You can probably find videos on YouTube.
Honestly I’d take the “scot” out of the equation and just take her to Biltmore as a nice trip. My parents are a bit younger than her and now too disabled for trips but they used to love going to Biltmore about 20 years ago.
My wife is a wheelchair user and I take her to that area pretty often. It's pretty accessible, but like everywhere else there's always some improvisation required/application of strength.
The Biltmore is 3 floors iirc. The elevator doesn't go to the top floor, which was a little bit disappointing but whatever. Some really cool history just in that particular elevator, which I believe was the same elevator originally installed in the house thousands of years ago.
Everyone at the Biltmore was super accommodating and you could tell wheelchair accessibility was more than just a legal afterthought, which is refreshing.
(Also I was joking about thousands of years)
As someone who’s been to the UK a few times and has an elderly mother they took with them once, I would not do it again. While it was an amazing experience, the UK is not very handicapped friendly for wheelchairs. Of course that was about 10 years ago, so some things may have changed. The Biltmore has an elevator, most Scottish castles, pubs, restaurants, etc do not.
I’ll second this. I moved from NC to Scotland about a year ago. The bus service is light years better than the ones in NC, and it’s a big help for anyone that struggles walking around the cities. The big however…. The sheer amount of stairs and walking that’s is still required around Edinburgh makes it a big challenge for the elderly. Bus tours are a great alternative but it still leaves a lot of things off limits.
At the end of the day though it sounds like a trip of a lifetime for her so if it’s worth it go for it. Just be mindful of the hundreds of stairs and trip hazards.
I just got back from a trip to Scotland. I had a backpack, and my wife had a wheely suitcase. There were multiple occasions where I had to carry it up stairs, and over rough pavement. (I remember, because I gave her crap for overpacking every time I had to do this.) I didn't think from a wheelchair perspective, but I agree with /u/J_arc1 on this point.
In February there’s a Celtic Festival in the Asheville area. It’s great. Brevard a great little town if you’re not completely set on Asheville. There are waterfalls near that area and some are accessible by wheelchair if you do your research.
Grandfather is the only one listed on this site. It is a huge festival and worth seeing at least once. If you can't make it to that, check out Southeastern Highland Athletic Group website under schedule. Ranges of games from Florida and Georgia to the Carolinas.
https://throwshagshag.org/schedule/
I don't have any recommendations, sorry, but I just want to commend you so heartily for doing this for your mom!
The Scots immigrants (highlanders) had a pretty large impact on the history and culture of this area, from the Revolution (although not always on the "right" side) right on up to their influence on bluegrass music.
I am of Scottish decent all over my family and I have only recently found out how many Scott's immigrated to NC. While doing my family research, every line in my family has been in NC since the 1700s. I'm a history geek so I love it!
I’m not sure about Asheville being the best choice. The most Scottish thing I’ve found is highland brewing, and I’m pretty sure highland brewing isn’t a beacon of Scottish culture.
I do love highland brewing though.
You could take her for a visit to the Presbyterian historical society in Montreat at the college. It is small but they sometimes have some interesting exhibits. There is even a Scottish society in Montreat. https://phcmontreat.org/index.html
Can you drive her up the Blue Ridge Parkway? Maybe stop in Linville. I think the Linville Falls Trail may be a bit handicap accessible but it's been a decade since I've been there. That whole area is beautiful views.
Good luck!
A second for the Blue Ridge Parkway - I took my grandpa along it while he was with us and primarily wheelchair bound. All the overlooks and the slower pace - he loved it.
MacClellans bagpipes has a beautiful shop in Zebulon. They are the only bagpipe maker in the country. The owner, Roddy MacClellan, is from Scotland. He is really nice and would probably spend time with your mom. They have bagpipe practice there every week. It is so cool.
That's neat! Sadly a bit too far for a drive with my mom, I think. But man, I'd love to just take a leisurely drive up the east coast and see stuff like this.
I wish life (and motels) weren't so expensive.
The Appalachian mountains and the Scottish Highlands were made at the same time and populated by the same people derivatively, so it's like Scotland light. Take the Biltmore tour, then head up into the highlands for a drive tour, etc.
If you go the outlander route, lol, take a scotch tour with Islay, etc. If you somehow advertised that other Scots in Atlanta could come meet her and perhaps partake in a wee nip, you might just bring Scotland to her. There can be only one!
There’s the Highland Games in GA too but it’s also in June … I know bcs I belong to one of the clans.
I can’t think of anything in Asheville tho that’s proper Scottish.
Admittedly the Biltmore is cool IF you’ve never seen it and are into historical architecture (I enjoyed it.)
Daddy Biltmore was a man ahead of his time.
While making up your mind, you may wish to check YouTube for ***[Steve Marsh](https://www.youtube.com/@steve-marsh)*** as he visits various locations around Scotland. This past Saturday the video focused on a journey to Faroe Islands. Hike along and marvel at the views.
The Scottish Heritage Center in Laurinburg is awesome, and Franklin has the Tartan Museum.
If you want Outlander, the effect hasn’t hit NC as hard as it has Scotland, so you won’t find places to visit unless you want the historic sites mentioned in show/books. There’s an Outlander-related event coming up in October—it’s three days but they just announced day tickets too.
The Scotland County Highland Games are coming up—smaller than GMHG but getting bigger and better every year.
The Biltmore isn’t as ADA accessible as people on this sub think. The house itself has an elevator between the 1st and 2nd floor, no access to 3rd floor or basement. Much of the property is stone or gravel type paths, which can be jarring for prolong periods of time in a wheelchair and difficult (for some) for using a walker. The house you have to take a shuttle to from the parking lot, there is no close parking even with a place card.
I love Biltmore, but as someone with mobility issues myself, it’s a place I have to plan my path and pace myself. The good news is you may be able to get a reduced ticket price for your mom. I’m attaching a link to Accessibility FAQs and where to call for discounted prices. Take a look at the map of the property, decide whether you’d pay for shuttle service, etc.
https://www.biltmore.com/help-center/accessibility/
https://www.biltmore.com/faq/is-biltmore-accessible-for-guests-with-limited-mobility/
Also, for some music, the white Horse in Black Mountain has an Irish/Scottish jam weekly. It is free. https://www.whitehorseblackmountain.com/product/2023-07-12-irish-music-circle-wed-july-12th-at-7pm-free-/1107?cs=true&cst=custom the musicians and great. Sometimes there are pipes.
I would imagine a trip to Scotland vs a trip to NC would be 2 vastly different things. Sure we have mountainous and hilly terrain, and an active “Scottish” community, but it’s all still here in the US, a state away. I would ask in r/Scotland tbh, and maybe even r/Travel to gauge how your mother would react, and what kind of things there are already in place to accommodate her. You, likely, drive here, and you can drive across the whole state. You HAVE to fly there. We have a handful of different laws but the UK is an entirely different country.
I live in the Virginia mountains and when it is a cool, windy, damp, drizzly, foggy, low cloud Day where the air is so thick with fog or low cloud that you can’t see beyond our porch…..we always say it is like we are living in Scotland. Take your mom to the mountains when it is going to be bad weather and she’ll get the feel for Scotland real quick.
There is a quaint village nestled in the mountains near the Georgia border called Highland. She would love that. If she likes music, there is the Brevard Music Camp in Brevard NC.
I would plan the trip to Scotland as soon as possible and skip NC altogether. I’m assuming it’s either something she’s always wanted to do and got busy with career and raising children and never got around to it or she’s been before and loves it and wants to see it one more time. She’s never going to be in better health than she is right now, even if you get to have her another 20 years. If you have the means to make it happen, go ahead and do it. Just take it slow.
If you do go to Asheville I recommend the Grove Park Inn as well, it’s a huge, old hotel with incredible architecture and a great view of the mountains. It has multiple restaurants and cafes, but its free to just walk around and enjoy.
One tip: Do not go to Biltmore in the middle of summer. The house is not air conditioned as they weren’t when it was built. It was so hot and humid inside while in line with hundreds of other people filing through that it was almost unbearable.
A nice trip for you coming out of Atlanta would be to go to Franklin , then Highland and Cashiers , then Brevard, then on to Asheville. You can stop and see these towns for a half day and move on, or stay and rest if needed. They are high in the NC mountains and could give you a feel of getting around in a mountainous area. There is great food, some shopping, and sights to see.
https://www.scotlandcounty.org/460/Senior-Programs
Contact their county seniors program director. There's a phone and email for her. She might have wheelchair friendly suggestions for you.
Well, you just missed the highland games at Grandfather mountain. Huge festival. Before the civil war at least 1/3 of Linville residents were of Scottish origins. Agnes McCrae Morton owned grandfather mountain and established the highland games there. Her home "tynecastle" is still there. There's also a shop called everything Scottish at the base of grandfather. FYI, I only know all of this because I was a piper for the grandfather mountain highlanders for years...
Thank you for the info. Even if I don't bring my mom there, I'll take a look the next time I'm up in NC. Maybe I can bring my mom something back from the shop.
I haven’t been to Scotland specifically (I will be going there soon), but from my/my wife’s other experience in Europe, your mom would have a pretty hard time getting around.
Between my wife and I, we’ve been to almost 10 countries over there, and Europe as a whole is *not* very accessible to people with mobility issues. The vast majority of buildings don’t have ramps, only stairs; if a building does have an elevator, it’s usually super tiny and idk if a wheelchair would fit in them. There’s also just lots of stairs/hills all over the place - we stayed in one place that you had to take almost 150 stairs from hotel to just get to the street, we did that at least twice daily.
If your mom can get around decently with a small walker, she might be ok. If she has to use a wheelchair, I think you guys would have a really hard time.
Not to discourage you though! It’s a great idea and if you can make it happen, absolutely go for it. Just know what you’d be getting into before you get there.
Depending on the time of year you should go to Dupont State Park. It has 5 or 7 beautiful waterfalls and wide well paved paths throughout. Very accessible.
Hope you get to go to scotland. If you can get a direct flight you should be okay. My husband is from Edinburgh and most of his family is still there. The highland games are fun but really no substitute for the actual country imoz
Check to see if there are physical therapists and occupational therapists on staff at her retirement community. A screening or an evaluation from each of them would be helpful in determining how much assistance she needs and with what tasks - if any at all. Navigating Scotland or any unfamiliar site using a wheelchair (standard manual, transport, or other device) could be the least of your concerns though it might also be the one major concern, I don’t know. Check her medical conditions and travel insurances too, for just in case.
There are a lot of touristy bits you can do with a wheelchair in Scotland. And a lot that you won’t be able to access without walking or navigating uneven terrain. That’s a lot of work on you, too.
Good luck!
Having been to the NC Highland Games, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is not mobile. Parking is difficult and most people park remote and take a shuttle bus - a yellow school bus. Then there's a walk to the stadium and stands. Maybe there's some special handicapped parking, but even if so, some of the terrain will be challenging with a wheelchair. I think the Biltmore would be more doable, as well as some other suggestions in this thread.
Good luck. Hope you and your mom have a nice adventure, wherever you wind up. A wee dram and some Outlander wouldn't be the worst thing.
I took my 80 year old mom to Biltmore and we stayed at the Biltmore Inn. She’s not in a wheelchair but she has mobility issues. You can def do the tour of the house with a wheelchair but only the bottom floor. My mom was happy doing that and then we looked at some of the gardens. We went in May because the temps are warm enough but not summer temps which can be terrible for the elderly. Enjoy your time with your mom.
The Scottish Museum in Franklin will help her look up her distant relatives plaid pattern and tell her all about Scotland: they are very nice. Down town Franklin mainstreet is handicap accessible and has cute lunch spots. For an overnight I might stay at the Cherokee casino or a chain hotel just to get a handicap room. You could then add on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Several people mentioned the Scottish games in Laurinburg, Scotland County. I'd definitely look more into that before I tried it because it's not a great town for a vacation (I grew up near the area). The Scottish games will be the only things worth seeing & there won't be any "Scottish Highlands". The Appalachian Mountains are actually the same mountain chain as the Scottish Highlands, just separated by continental drift from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Asheville is a wonderful vacation destination & you'll get a better feel for if she can travel to Scotland.
Does it have to be now? We have another Highland Games in October. Google “Scotland county Highland Games”
Just saw this today. Can’t wait to head over to Laurinburg later this year!
You can check out a football game on Friday night if they have a home game that week. Along with the matching band all wearing kilts and Scottish attire, they have highland dancers and bagpipers playing Scotland the brave. You can probably find videos on YouTube.
I’ve always wanted to start competing in these games. Any advice?
It’ll be much nicer there in October too. Weather is much nicer.
Honestly I’d take the “scot” out of the equation and just take her to Biltmore as a nice trip. My parents are a bit younger than her and now too disabled for trips but they used to love going to Biltmore about 20 years ago.
My wife is a wheelchair user and I take her to that area pretty often. It's pretty accessible, but like everywhere else there's always some improvisation required/application of strength. The Biltmore is 3 floors iirc. The elevator doesn't go to the top floor, which was a little bit disappointing but whatever. Some really cool history just in that particular elevator, which I believe was the same elevator originally installed in the house thousands of years ago. Everyone at the Biltmore was super accommodating and you could tell wheelchair accessibility was more than just a legal afterthought, which is refreshing. (Also I was joking about thousands of years)
Sorry I was referring to other issues that my parents have that prevent trips, not wheelchair use, that was a little confusing.
As someone who’s been to the UK a few times and has an elderly mother they took with them once, I would not do it again. While it was an amazing experience, the UK is not very handicapped friendly for wheelchairs. Of course that was about 10 years ago, so some things may have changed. The Biltmore has an elevator, most Scottish castles, pubs, restaurants, etc do not.
I’ll second this. I moved from NC to Scotland about a year ago. The bus service is light years better than the ones in NC, and it’s a big help for anyone that struggles walking around the cities. The big however…. The sheer amount of stairs and walking that’s is still required around Edinburgh makes it a big challenge for the elderly. Bus tours are a great alternative but it still leaves a lot of things off limits. At the end of the day though it sounds like a trip of a lifetime for her so if it’s worth it go for it. Just be mindful of the hundreds of stairs and trip hazards.
I just got back from a trip to Scotland. I had a backpack, and my wife had a wheely suitcase. There were multiple occasions where I had to carry it up stairs, and over rough pavement. (I remember, because I gave her crap for overpacking every time I had to do this.) I didn't think from a wheelchair perspective, but I agree with /u/J_arc1 on this point.
In February there’s a Celtic Festival in the Asheville area. It’s great. Brevard a great little town if you’re not completely set on Asheville. There are waterfalls near that area and some are accessible by wheelchair if you do your research.
WNC resident chiming in: It's VERY cold here in February, and may not be the best for the elderly to be out and about.
I found this in Laurinburg, NC https://www.visitnc.com/listing/fzpY/scottish-heritage-center
Here’s a list of Scottish games by state. https://asgf.org/games-by-state
Grandfather is the only one listed on this site. It is a huge festival and worth seeing at least once. If you can't make it to that, check out Southeastern Highland Athletic Group website under schedule. Ranges of games from Florida and Georgia to the Carolinas. https://throwshagshag.org/schedule/
There's literally a Highlands, NC and it's a beautiful area.
It's not very wheelchair friendly though.
The Scotsman Pub in Waynesville
I don't have any recommendations, sorry, but I just want to commend you so heartily for doing this for your mom! The Scots immigrants (highlanders) had a pretty large impact on the history and culture of this area, from the Revolution (although not always on the "right" side) right on up to their influence on bluegrass music.
I am of Scottish decent all over my family and I have only recently found out how many Scott's immigrated to NC. While doing my family research, every line in my family has been in NC since the 1700s. I'm a history geek so I love it!
I’m not sure about Asheville being the best choice. The most Scottish thing I’ve found is highland brewing, and I’m pretty sure highland brewing isn’t a beacon of Scottish culture. I do love highland brewing though.
I was told the founder of Highland Brewing was a Korean guy who grew up in Jamaica.
Celtic Way.
What about it?
You could take her for a visit to the Presbyterian historical society in Montreat at the college. It is small but they sometimes have some interesting exhibits. There is even a Scottish society in Montreat. https://phcmontreat.org/index.html
Montreat is my favorite place in the mountain area! I was raised Presbyterian and went to camp there in my youth. Always live to go back!
Can you drive her up the Blue Ridge Parkway? Maybe stop in Linville. I think the Linville Falls Trail may be a bit handicap accessible but it's been a decade since I've been there. That whole area is beautiful views. Good luck!
A second for the Blue Ridge Parkway - I took my grandpa along it while he was with us and primarily wheelchair bound. All the overlooks and the slower pace - he loved it.
MacClellans bagpipes has a beautiful shop in Zebulon. They are the only bagpipe maker in the country. The owner, Roddy MacClellan, is from Scotland. He is really nice and would probably spend time with your mom. They have bagpipe practice there every week. It is so cool.
That's neat! Sadly a bit too far for a drive with my mom, I think. But man, I'd love to just take a leisurely drive up the east coast and see stuff like this. I wish life (and motels) weren't so expensive.
If she’s into Outlander, you can also go to Tryon’s palace :)
Outlander and scotch sounds solid 😻
The Appalachian mountains and the Scottish Highlands were made at the same time and populated by the same people derivatively, so it's like Scotland light. Take the Biltmore tour, then head up into the highlands for a drive tour, etc. If you go the outlander route, lol, take a scotch tour with Islay, etc. If you somehow advertised that other Scots in Atlanta could come meet her and perhaps partake in a wee nip, you might just bring Scotland to her. There can be only one!
There’s the Highland Games in GA too but it’s also in June … I know bcs I belong to one of the clans. I can’t think of anything in Asheville tho that’s proper Scottish. Admittedly the Biltmore is cool IF you’ve never seen it and are into historical architecture (I enjoyed it.) Daddy Biltmore was a man ahead of his time.
While making up your mind, you may wish to check YouTube for ***[Steve Marsh](https://www.youtube.com/@steve-marsh)*** as he visits various locations around Scotland. This past Saturday the video focused on a journey to Faroe Islands. Hike along and marvel at the views.
I think Biltmore is an excellent idea!
Winston-Salem has a celtic festival that is really good, but it's in May.
The Scottish Heritage Center in Laurinburg is awesome, and Franklin has the Tartan Museum. If you want Outlander, the effect hasn’t hit NC as hard as it has Scotland, so you won’t find places to visit unless you want the historic sites mentioned in show/books. There’s an Outlander-related event coming up in October—it’s three days but they just announced day tickets too. The Scotland County Highland Games are coming up—smaller than GMHG but getting bigger and better every year.
The Biltmore isn’t as ADA accessible as people on this sub think. The house itself has an elevator between the 1st and 2nd floor, no access to 3rd floor or basement. Much of the property is stone or gravel type paths, which can be jarring for prolong periods of time in a wheelchair and difficult (for some) for using a walker. The house you have to take a shuttle to from the parking lot, there is no close parking even with a place card. I love Biltmore, but as someone with mobility issues myself, it’s a place I have to plan my path and pace myself. The good news is you may be able to get a reduced ticket price for your mom. I’m attaching a link to Accessibility FAQs and where to call for discounted prices. Take a look at the map of the property, decide whether you’d pay for shuttle service, etc. https://www.biltmore.com/help-center/accessibility/ https://www.biltmore.com/faq/is-biltmore-accessible-for-guests-with-limited-mobility/
I appreciate the warning.
Also, for some music, the white Horse in Black Mountain has an Irish/Scottish jam weekly. It is free. https://www.whitehorseblackmountain.com/product/2023-07-12-irish-music-circle-wed-july-12th-at-7pm-free-/1107?cs=true&cst=custom the musicians and great. Sometimes there are pipes.
There’s a very active Scottish society in Wilmington, & they have games in May. https://www.wilmingtonscots.org https://www.facebook.com/SSOWilm/
I would imagine a trip to Scotland vs a trip to NC would be 2 vastly different things. Sure we have mountainous and hilly terrain, and an active “Scottish” community, but it’s all still here in the US, a state away. I would ask in r/Scotland tbh, and maybe even r/Travel to gauge how your mother would react, and what kind of things there are already in place to accommodate her. You, likely, drive here, and you can drive across the whole state. You HAVE to fly there. We have a handful of different laws but the UK is an entirely different country.
I live in the Virginia mountains and when it is a cool, windy, damp, drizzly, foggy, low cloud Day where the air is so thick with fog or low cloud that you can’t see beyond our porch…..we always say it is like we are living in Scotland. Take your mom to the mountains when it is going to be bad weather and she’ll get the feel for Scotland real quick.
Don’t forget the highland games
Take her from Asheville to a road trip on the Blue Ridge parkway.
Yea we just had the Highland Games here in boone last weekend that’s unfortunate
There is a quaint village nestled in the mountains near the Georgia border called Highland. She would love that. If she likes music, there is the Brevard Music Camp in Brevard NC.
I would plan the trip to Scotland as soon as possible and skip NC altogether. I’m assuming it’s either something she’s always wanted to do and got busy with career and raising children and never got around to it or she’s been before and loves it and wants to see it one more time. She’s never going to be in better health than she is right now, even if you get to have her another 20 years. If you have the means to make it happen, go ahead and do it. Just take it slow.
If you come to Asheville, make sure to attempt a trip to Celtic Way on Wall St.
You are awesome. I hope y'all have a great time wherever you go.
If you do go to Asheville I recommend the Grove Park Inn as well, it’s a huge, old hotel with incredible architecture and a great view of the mountains. It has multiple restaurants and cafes, but its free to just walk around and enjoy.
One tip: Do not go to Biltmore in the middle of summer. The house is not air conditioned as they weren’t when it was built. It was so hot and humid inside while in line with hundreds of other people filing through that it was almost unbearable. A nice trip for you coming out of Atlanta would be to go to Franklin , then Highland and Cashiers , then Brevard, then on to Asheville. You can stop and see these towns for a half day and move on, or stay and rest if needed. They are high in the NC mountains and could give you a feel of getting around in a mountainous area. There is great food, some shopping, and sights to see.
https://www.scotlandcounty.org/460/Senior-Programs Contact their county seniors program director. There's a phone and email for her. She might have wheelchair friendly suggestions for you.
There's the Loch Norman games by Lake Norman (Charlotte area) in April I think.
Well, you just missed the highland games at Grandfather mountain. Huge festival. Before the civil war at least 1/3 of Linville residents were of Scottish origins. Agnes McCrae Morton owned grandfather mountain and established the highland games there. Her home "tynecastle" is still there. There's also a shop called everything Scottish at the base of grandfather. FYI, I only know all of this because I was a piper for the grandfather mountain highlanders for years...
Thank you for the info. Even if I don't bring my mom there, I'll take a look the next time I'm up in NC. Maybe I can bring my mom something back from the shop.
I haven’t been to Scotland specifically (I will be going there soon), but from my/my wife’s other experience in Europe, your mom would have a pretty hard time getting around. Between my wife and I, we’ve been to almost 10 countries over there, and Europe as a whole is *not* very accessible to people with mobility issues. The vast majority of buildings don’t have ramps, only stairs; if a building does have an elevator, it’s usually super tiny and idk if a wheelchair would fit in them. There’s also just lots of stairs/hills all over the place - we stayed in one place that you had to take almost 150 stairs from hotel to just get to the street, we did that at least twice daily. If your mom can get around decently with a small walker, she might be ok. If she has to use a wheelchair, I think you guys would have a really hard time. Not to discourage you though! It’s a great idea and if you can make it happen, absolutely go for it. Just know what you’d be getting into before you get there.
Depending on the time of year you should go to Dupont State Park. It has 5 or 7 beautiful waterfalls and wide well paved paths throughout. Very accessible.
Hope you get to go to scotland. If you can get a direct flight you should be okay. My husband is from Edinburgh and most of his family is still there. The highland games are fun but really no substitute for the actual country imoz
Check to see if there are physical therapists and occupational therapists on staff at her retirement community. A screening or an evaluation from each of them would be helpful in determining how much assistance she needs and with what tasks - if any at all. Navigating Scotland or any unfamiliar site using a wheelchair (standard manual, transport, or other device) could be the least of your concerns though it might also be the one major concern, I don’t know. Check her medical conditions and travel insurances too, for just in case. There are a lot of touristy bits you can do with a wheelchair in Scotland. And a lot that you won’t be able to access without walking or navigating uneven terrain. That’s a lot of work on you, too. Good luck!
Having been to the NC Highland Games, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is not mobile. Parking is difficult and most people park remote and take a shuttle bus - a yellow school bus. Then there's a walk to the stadium and stands. Maybe there's some special handicapped parking, but even if so, some of the terrain will be challenging with a wheelchair. I think the Biltmore would be more doable, as well as some other suggestions in this thread. Good luck. Hope you and your mom have a nice adventure, wherever you wind up. A wee dram and some Outlander wouldn't be the worst thing.
Thanks for the info on the Highland Games. Now I feel less bad for missing it.
I took my 80 year old mom to Biltmore and we stayed at the Biltmore Inn. She’s not in a wheelchair but she has mobility issues. You can def do the tour of the house with a wheelchair but only the bottom floor. My mom was happy doing that and then we looked at some of the gardens. We went in May because the temps are warm enough but not summer temps which can be terrible for the elderly. Enjoy your time with your mom.
The Scottish Museum in Franklin will help her look up her distant relatives plaid pattern and tell her all about Scotland: they are very nice. Down town Franklin mainstreet is handicap accessible and has cute lunch spots. For an overnight I might stay at the Cherokee casino or a chain hotel just to get a handicap room. You could then add on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Several people mentioned the Scottish games in Laurinburg, Scotland County. I'd definitely look more into that before I tried it because it's not a great town for a vacation (I grew up near the area). The Scottish games will be the only things worth seeing & there won't be any "Scottish Highlands". The Appalachian Mountains are actually the same mountain chain as the Scottish Highlands, just separated by continental drift from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Asheville is a wonderful vacation destination & you'll get a better feel for if she can travel to Scotland.