A few weeks ago, I posted recommendations for an Irish road trip. Those same friends then jumped a plane for a short road trip to Scotland. Here is a rough outline for a week trip. All of the photos are from Spokenlight photography.
Edinburgh: You definitely want 1-2 full days in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle (opens at 0930, advance tickets needed), is a must do. Start your day there and then head down the Royal Mile with stops at Victoria Street Terrace overlook; Grassmarket; Princess Street Gardens for views & photos of the Castle; St Giles Cathedral, and Palace of Holyrood. Then walk to St Arthur’s Seat or Calton Hill for city views. If you have time, you’ll also want to visit the National Museum of Scotland If it is warm enough consider the rooftop of Cold Town House for dinner views of the Castle. Other places to try include gelato at Mary’s Milk Bar, Scran & Scallie for traditional Scottish food (yuck), and the White Hart Inn is one of the oldest Pub’s in Scotland.
Note: Similar to Ireland, outside of Edinburgh, the scenery is the destination. You can obviously spend weeks driving around and not see it all. For this trip, I concentrated Inverness and Isle of Sky. This blog had good options for a more Easternly drive.
Edinburgh to Inverness: Rent a car and drive North to Inverness with stops at Stirling Castle, Bidean Nam Bian, and Glencoe Valley.
Inverness: Spend a day in the area enjoying the countryside with stops at Inverness Castle; Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle; Clava Cairns (if you have time, to see Bronze Age graves) or Beauly Priory for an 800 year old tree. Other ideas for things to do in the area check out this blog.
Two Days at Isle of Sky: Options include:
Option 1: Trotternish Loop (3 hours). Make sure to pack snacks or a lunch. You can learn more here.
Option 2: If the weather is nice, take a boat trip out of Elgol to see scenery and seals, puffins, dolphins, and even Orcas (You’ll want to book in advance).
Option 3: Drive West side of the island. See blog for map and the second half has descriptions.
Return to Edinburgh: Stop at Eilean Donan Castle on the way.
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