Trip to Scotland

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We often get asked about a trip to Scotland. Here's an enquiry that came our way via our questions about Scotland page. As it's a fairly wide-ranging answer, we thought it should go on a separate page! Elsewhere on this site you can find other tours, see some of the links on the right. This answer here describes a seven day Scottish tour, a popular length for a trip to Scotland.

The question about a Scottish itinerary was:

Firstly - I love your views on Scotland! I am also not too keen on Aberdeen or Glasgow as places I really want to see. Therefore, I really think you could answer this question best: We are staying in London for about 3.5 weeks from the end of October. We want to see Scotland, possibly do a 7 day self drive holiday, starting from Edinburgh. I know you already list your 7 day trips here, but what would you suggest if the best route to take via car from Edinburgh to see all the best of Scotland (going up to Inverness, and seeing the Isle of Man and Skye if possible too)? We really want to make sure that we have no regrets about missing any cool places. Thanks, Jonathan Jordaan, South Africa.

Johanna, as a Scottish tour guide, answered this trip to Scotland question as follows.

Dear Jonathan / One of the popular and interesting routes for you to take in order to see some of the best of Scotland in 7 days is to start from Edinburgh - then head north to St Andrews (the home of golf and much more) - then head towards Perthshire - taking in the pretty towns of Dunkeld and Pitlochry and nearby Blair Castle. Overnight in area.

Blair Castle in deep winter. (It won't be like that when you visit!) We had good service in their cafe ourselves recently and it's certainly a popular stop off the A9, the Highland Road.

Next day, head north on the main A9 road to Aviemore and the Cairngorm National Park. Here you can take a ride on Scotland's only mountain railway or enjoy low level walking in ancient Caledonian pine forests. This is a good area to see wildlife especially birds plus you can also take a walk to see our only herd of reindeer. Next day head through the unique Malt Whisky Trail in Speyside, if interested, to learn how some of Scotland's finest malt whiskies are made.

Then you can head north to the Moray Firth coast famous for its fine weather, beaches and the UK's only resident colony of bottlenose dolphins. (Sometimes visitors miss this part out on their trip to Scotland, but we really like the Moray Firth!) The town of Elgin offers you Johnstons Cashmere - they make and sell Scottish cashmere of the finest quality plus offer free mill tours on weekdays. Head west to Inverness - an all but inevitable destination on many a trip to Scotland - where you base yourself and also visit nearby Culloden Battlefield and Cawdor Castle.

Next day head drive down the A82 to visit Loch Ness. Drumnadrochit is the main centre plus loch tours are available www.jacobite.co.uk - later continue west through Glen Sheil towards Kyle of Lochalsh - maybe overnight in the pretty village of Plockton. Next day drive over the Skye Bridge and explore Skye. Portree is the main small town. Elgol is worth driving to if the weather is good for a wonderful view of the Cuillin Mountains.

The Silver Sands - sometimes called the White - Sands of Morar

To make your trip to Scotland even more worthwhile, you might need a second night on Skye - maybe in the Armadale area then catch the ferry from here back to the mainland and the fishing village of Mallaig. From here enjoy a wonderful drive on the famous "Road to the Isles" - stopping off to see the silver sands at Camusdarroch. Then be sure to visit the National Trust Visitor Centre at Glenfinnan to learn about the start of the 18th century Jacobite Uprising plus see breathtaking views of Loch Sheil and also the Glenfinnan viaduct which appeared in the movie "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". Overnight in or near Fort William - a small town the foot of Ben Nevis - the highest mountain in the UK.

Next day head south on A82 through the dramatic Glen Coe - famous for a 17th century massacre (there is a visitor centre telling the story of the glen) - then you drive across Rannoch Moor, a National Heritage site. This expanse was at the heart of the last significant ice field in the UK during the last ice age. Continue south towards Stirling. Visit Stirling Castle, a must see on any trip to Scotland, as one of its largest and most important castles both historically and architecturally.

Overnight here or back in Edinburgh which is only a 40 minute drive to the east.

So, there are lots of ideas here - and you probably can't see all this in exactly 7 days - it depends on your own particular interests - but the route I have described is a popular route for around seven days. / I hope this is useful. / Johanna.

Go back to the main seven day tour Scotland page here.

Return to the scotlandinaweek home page.

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