Scotland. Looking for breathtakingly beautiful.

[hawleybits]

We'd like to visit Scotland for a few days early in July. Myself and adult dc.
Does anyone have any recommendations for breathtaking scenery and preferably not too touristy?
Happy to go with recommendations as a starting point and then hopefully fill in the travel and accommodation accordingly.

If you’re happy to come up to the Highlands - the North Coast 500 holds some of the most breathtaking views in Scotland in my humble opinion!

I second that, the Highlands are beautiful

Glencoe. Absolutely stunning.

Loch Lomond and Loch Long are gorgeous too. I think most Lochs are beautiful.

Orkney. So very beautiful.

Following for tips :)

When are you going?

Arisaig - camusdarach.

Applecross

The weather is shire though

We're traveling from the south west, so I think a flight and car hire would be a nice idea and maybe a few airbnb's.
A quick look at EasyJet tells me we can fly to Inverness from Bristol for about £35 return.
Any better suggestions for more convenient airports?

We could go at anytime during the summer holidays but I was looking at 11th July

Ah - early July. Book early. Parts of scotland can get crowded (for scotland) I think Skye was pretty busy last summer - they may have had a traffic jam!

Yay! Come to Inverness. Start the NC 500 - honestly I promise you views like you’ve never seen before! If you’re coming in July please bring midge spray and also clothes for all weathers - remember we can have 4 seasons in a day, most days! You won’t be disappointed!

You could fly to Glasgow and take the road to Mallaig ‘ the road to the isles’ (google it) which winds through some stunning scenery.

Drive up the A9, have a night or two in Inverness then head further north up the A9 slowly enjoying the scenery. There's lots to do on the Black Isle (my kids love watching the dolphins), eat (and buy gin) at The Storehouse of Foulis, have icecream from Capaldis in Brora (eat on the beach), go to Timespan in Helmsdale and Dunnet Bay in Caithness. Then take the boat to Orkney and visit some of the North Isles (Westray is fabulous, beautiful beaches, great history and the best fish and chips in the world) or South Isles (Hoy is spectacular for walking but the trip down the Churchill Barriers to South Ronaldsay is also good).

I third the route 500 - but don't try and do the Bealach na ba over to Applecross in a caravan! Think serious hair pins... But OMG it's jawdropping.

Aultbea lodges are great for exploring the amazing scenery around the highlands.
www.aultbea-lodges.co.uk

And July - bring midge spray but most of the route 500 hugs the coast, and the sea breezes keep the bastards off. It's the lochs inland that get covered in them

So many places - applecross, ardnamurchan peninsular, Ullapool, kinloch and around, glencoe - it gets into your system and then you find yourself moving there :)

You’ve had sensible suggestions - I’ve never forgotten my first sight of Scotland when I was in my early 20s - hope you have a fantastic trip.

You mention summer holidays - worth noting that Scotland have different term dates to England.

The beaches on Lewis and Harris are stunning. Google Luskintyre (spelling?) on Harris especially. Just stunning.

Ardnamurchan and area up to mallaig

Jaw dropping = the a82 over rannoch moor, Buichaille etive Mor rising up magnificently, then driving down through glencoe.
If you've only got a few days fly to Glasgow hire a car, 1.5 Hr drive to Glencoe. The north coast 500 is spectacular but involves long drive times. You're unlikely to find not too touristy in July. However you could always fly to Lewis hire a car and travel through there and Harris. Very much unspoilt and amazing mixture of mountains and seascape.

I’d drive up the east coast. Berwick up through the borders, Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Inverness.

Battle sites for those interested. Lochs. Lots to see and do. I used to drive up for uni and always wishe i could take a couple of weeks for the journey and stop and visit properly, rather than just pass through.

How about flying to Glasgow, then taking the plane to Barra? You will land on the beach, which is incredible. You can hire a car on Barra, and then drive from island to island. Just astonishing.

Agree with Glencoe too, wonderful.

Or how about the West coast of Argyll which we had no idea about but found to be stunningly lovely? You could go over to Arran and eat the best ice cream in the world!

Sorry about the number of superlatives

I loved the Summer Isles - www.summer-isles.com

Assynt. Google it. I think it’s the most beautiful part of Scotland.

Oh my goodness! So much to research. The idea of landing on the beach in a little plane is very exciting!
Also, mountains and seascapes would be perfect. I need to look at maps and make a decision.