We are flying in to Inverness in the beginning of August 2025, and we hope to find a home base in which to stay a week. My spouse and I have two kids, ages 8 and 11, and will be renting a car for this week, then driving to Edinburgh to drop it off for our stay there (we already have booked lodging in Edinburgh).
We will have travelled for more than 13 hours by the time we get to Inverness, so I'm not sure we will be up for a long drive to get to our lodgings, but we'd love to pick a home base that's lovely but also near some day trips.
We like easy-to-moderate hikes and gorgeous scenery; my kids love castles and experiences like farm visits. We'd love to be by small shops like bakeries, cafes, pubs and the like, and not have to go too far for groceries, as I predict one of my kids will have a hard time adjusting to the new place and food. Walking tours or lake cruises would be great, but not required. A kid-allowed whiskey tour would be amazing as well. I am entranced by the idea of going to Skye, but I'm not sure how we can make it work. We will also plan on going to a Highlands games at some point, but there are many during that week, so I think we can do that no matter where we stay.
I was just planning on booking a week in Inverness, but then I started going through the forum and it sounded like we could probably find something even more lovely, but then I got a bit overwhelmed with the options! Fort William, Nairn, and Grantown on Spey all seem like a good place to start?