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.

@JustHereForThePooStories Inveraray is fabulous. The George hotel is good if staying as a couple, great country pub atmosphere downstairs, excellent food love music etc, thousands of twinkle lights and roaring fires, and good accommodation upstairs (The merchants room in particular is brilliant) breakfast in bed is great.

The Brambles is brilliant too, we stayed in beautiful double room across fro the main building, breakfast was excellent in the morning.

Loch Fyne hotel and Spa is good for facilities and views across the loch, but is a bit mainstream and commercial against other hotels.

Do you know, I'm from Scotland and live here and I don;t know where to start!! Certainly you'll need more than a few days! And Avon skin-so-soft as a midge repellant!
Personally, the West coast does it for me-Applecross, torridon, Knoydart and I used to live on Arran, so go there!! Also further north-Lochinver, Ullapool etc.
Itching to get nice weather so we can do a run up to sutherland.
I;m in NE and today it looked like Narnia with the snow covered mountains!

I’ve done most of Scotland and can say south Harris is the most beautiful but there is very little accommodation and not much to do.

Harris (island) is amazing. Callander area is gorgeous and not so touristy.

I would advise you avoid Skye, Glen Coe, Fort William etc as we went last summer and it was absolutely mobbed. It spoilt the whole holiday. There were traffic jams (30 mins travelling 2 miles across Fort William) and no tables in tea rooms on Skye.

Any island where you need to take a ferry is the best bet, as tourist numbers are controlled by the spaces on ferries. Skye has a road bridge so can not control numbers entering.

I live in NE Scotland.
Have a lovely trip.

Oh this is a lovely thread, thank you OP! I've been away for 16 years, but I love my home country.
I adore the Highlands, and totally agree that you'll get the scenery you're looking for up there - but, just in case you want to widen the net a bit, can I just recommend the East Neuk of Fife? Crail, Pittenweem, St Monans, Elie - beautiful little fishing villages, and well worth a visit if you're across that way.

We toured much of the Scottish highlands and islands in our van from June to September last year. My stand out favourites were Fionnphort on Mull (and Iona) and Hushinish on Harris (the beaches on Harris beat any Caribbean beach I've been on).

Applecross was lovely for the views across to Skye, seals and deer and some stunning isolated beaches.

We enjoyed walking in the areas around Achiltibuie (for views across to the Summer Isles and Stac Pollaidh) and Lochinver (for the Assynt Highland games and Suilven).

We enjoyed the drive over the Ardnamurchan peninsula too.

Skye was really beautiful but stupidly busy.

I second the East Neuk of Fife. The scenery's less dramatic than the West Coast but it's really beautiful in a different way. You can walk the coastal path from one village to the next.

Check the Isle of Eriska- absolutely beautiful

Another vote for the North Coast 500 - I live on the top section of it and it's an amazing drive round.

We're just moving this over to somewhere more permanent (with the OP's nod).

If you've only got a few days I'd recommend you drive between Loch Lomond and the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar as being one of the most stunningly beautiful drives in Scotland that you can do in a day! And with the added benefit of having a fantastic lunch in the original Loch Fyne (no longer anything to do with the chain). Then you could carry on north for a few days and make it to Applecross.

Try and rent a small motorhome, you can often find good deals on itison and groupon.

Might have to do that myself soon...

I’d say the rest and be thankful.

There a couple of books that might be worth a look for inspiration...
Photographing Scotland ( gives a great photo guide to Scotland)

• Dougie Cunningham

North coast 500- Charles tait

We routinely drive up to Scotland from Bristol (we have family in the central belt and on Mull), sharing the driving. We either stop in the Lake District or at SIL's on the outskirts of Glasgow overnight then carry on up to Mull.
However some years we have made this a longer trip after going out on a limb to Mull by taking in Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Fort William, The Great Glen, Inverness, Pitlochry and Edinburgh.

Caledonian McBrayne are the main ferry operators for the western Isles. (Mull doesn't have an airport ) and you can get an island hopper ticket.

Just be aware that Scottish schools break up a full month before English ones and in the Highlands it may say A-road on the map, but it can often be a single track road with passing places so journey times may be longer than you think. Also sheep are little feckers that like to sit down in the road too.

God I want to go to Scotland now! Oh! I live here 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿😍

Thank you @Dontletthebastardsgrindyoudown

Ooo I love The East Neuk too. Can recommend a fab cottage in Crail if anyone feels like staying there.

This thread is making me think. We would love to move to Scotland and may be in a position to do this reasonably soon. But where on earth to choose?

Are jobs a factor folly? You clearly need a research trip!

I'm back with my research and would like to run it by you all.

Day 1 Fly to Glasgow - hire car - Oban- ferry to Mull - overnight in Tobermory.
Day 2 Oban - Fort William-Glencoe- overnight in that area
Day 3 Glencoe- Edinburgh- overnight in Edinburgh
Day 4 Back to Glasgow.

We can be flexible and add a day. Does this sound like a good route? Would anyone like to tweak my plan

I would add a day!
No matter how long we give ourselves for a road trip it’s never enough.
I would also probably go Glasgow to fort William, then back to Oban -Tobermory then stop somewhere en route to Edinburgh ? Stirling/ callander then back to Glasgow. That way you’re going across Rannoch moor down into glencoe in the most scenic direction imo.

Don't bother getting ferry back to Oban from Mull if you're heading to Fort William. Go on the Fishnish-Lochaline crossing and then Corran ferry over Loch Linnhe. The Lochaline ferry can't be booked but usually pretty quiet. Cheaper than Oban ferry too and the drive from Lochaline is stunning.

Similar to fuckweasel I would say don't go back to Oban. I'd get the ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan.

I'd do Kilchoan up to Morar for silver sands and then to Fort William (via Glenfinnan if that takes your fancy) and stay the night there.

Then do your Glencoe down drive the next day.

It's brilliant having insider knowledge. I'll look again this evening.

Totally agree with the above posters, forgot about the Tobermory to Kilchoan ferry that’s a good plan.

Following with interest and grateful thanks for all the suggestions - it WILL be the year my sister and I visit Scotland!