Scotland tour

[keiratwiceknightly]

4 of us inc 2 teen girls. Start in Edinburgh and then drive north to see the highlands and perhaps the western isles... back to Glasgow. Possibly a large camper van but more likely air B and B.

Would love some recommendations as we don't know Scotland at all. We are quite keen walkers but not serious climbers.

What shall we do? Thanks.

We had an amazing holiday to Scotland before dd was born. For scenery I'd recommend Torridon although it's quite far. We also visited Loch Fyne, Islay and Skye. Early June was nice - no midges and we were really lucky with the weather.

Unfortunately we are stuck with late July/ August as I'm a teacher. Weather and midges will have to be endured...!

How long are you planning on being in Scotland? It’s a wonderful country but also surprisingly large.

I'm a teacher too , but our holiday was before I became one!

We are thinking of doing the same as you, maybe during the May/June half term. My dc are a bit younger though so we will need many audio books to keep them entertained during the drive!

Dolphin and wildlife boat trip from Inverness.
The West Highland Way is about 150km of lush, well-marked trails. The southern section of the route, which begins in Milngavie, is less demanding, so it might be a good place to start.
Try to stay in or near village of Ballochso you can exploreLoch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.The Balloch House is lovely. From there you can walk John Muir Way or The Great Trossachs Path and you might see some Ed squirrels. There’s a high ropes course at Balloch Castle Country Park and kayaking and glamping at Portnellan Organic Farm.
Take the ferry to the Isle of Mull. Stay in Tobermory which is a perfect base for day trips. Don’t miss Duart Castle, where Entrapment was filmed. Get an early start to visit Iona, which is less thana mile from Mull.

Avoid Edinburgh in August.

If it were me I’d come out of Edinburgh and head for Loch Lomond, Oban, Fort William and up to Fort Augustus, Drumnadrochit and Inverness. Across to Nairn, Forres, Elgin and Aberlour before coming down to Aviemore, Pitlochry, Perth and back to Edinburgh.

It depends on what you want to do and how much time you have. The above can be shortened by not going across to Nairn etc and then down to Aberlour. You can go Inverness, Aviemore, Pitlochry.

Avoid Edinburgh in August as it will be rammed with people visiting the Fringe.

Have a look at a couple of the "road trips" to plan you itenery? The most famous is the North Coast 500, but also North East 250, heart 200, south west coast 300? Also have a look at the cities/ towns on your must see list? I recommend Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oban, Dundee, Inverness

Lots of helpful tips here folks. Thanks. Going to sit down with an atlas this weekend...

Try the NC500
I own two air bnbs in Thurso and get bookings every week with people doing the NC500
The highlands are beautiful

We absolutely loved Skye but only been Easter time. We also went to St kilda. Breathtaking.

Glencoe is like nothing I've ever seen before.

Avoid too much driving by basing yourself in a beautiful holiday cottage by the sea with a hot tub and visiting numerous islands as day trips - Islay, Gigha, Jura, Arran & Bute plus being based on the Kintyre Peninsular is unspoilt, quiet and beautiful. Lots of walks but no massive mountains. Wander down to the beach at night for a campfire and toast marshmallows under the sunset...return to the cottage for prosecco in the hot tub, watching the deer graze & gazing at the stars or even the Northern Lights if you are lucky....bliss!!! Family holiday that memories are made of...
www.kintyreholidays.co.uk/pointhouse

We did a road trip in Scotland last year. Lots of driving with lots of stops to enjoy the landscape, short walks, and photography. Happy to share the route.

Day 1 and 2 - Edinburgh, Fringe, sightseeing in the city, Forth Bridges

Overnight stay in Motherwell for two nights as it was much cheaper than Edinburgh. Look in towns around Edindurgh for cheaper options, especially in the holiday season.

Day 3 - To Tain, via Glenshee - Braemer - Cock Bridge - Tomatin - Chanonry Point

We stayed in Tain for three nights to cover the route mentioned below for days 4, 5, and 6.

Day 4 - Tain - Lairg - Crask Inn - Altnaharra - Rhifail - Bettyhill - Dunnet Head - Duncansby Head - Wick - Dornoch - Tain

Day 5 - Tain - Merkland Lodge - Laxford Bridge - Durness - Eriboll - Ard Neackie viewpoint - back to Laxford Bridge - Kylesku Bridge - Nedd - Drumbeg - Stoer - Loch Assynt - Ledmore - Oykel Bridge - Tain

Day 6 - Tain - Fort Augustus - Neptune's Staircase - Glennfinnan - Fort William - Glencoe - Glen Etive

Day 7 - Glen Etive - Bridge of Orchy - Loch Lomond - Kilmarnock for overnight stay

Day 8 - Kilmarnock - Moscow [my wife is Russian and we wanted to take a photo there next to the Moscow village road sign :) ] - Gretna Green - Lake District

Day 9, 10, 11 - Lake District

Those places are the route that we travelled, not necessarily the stops.

Trips like NC500 are nice, but tend to get very congested in high season and have lead to problems with parking at places that are not geared up for massive amounts of tourists.

The Moray coast is lovely and quite unspoilt. It also often has better weather than other places, due to being sheltered. There are great distilleries and castles to visit too.