i'm typing with one hand due to arm surgery, so please excuse the poor capitalization and possible errors.
(Americans) hubs and i are planning a 10 day trip through Scotland the very end of this September, beginning of October. i was there early 2000s (during hoof and mouth) and did a lot of city touring, but no highlands or islands. note: not overly athletic so will not be bagging munroes or taking strenuous hikes. i have a ton of things i want to do because we rarely travel, and am overdoing the itinerary, but can drop things as needed. my main questions are regarding travel path/route and being efficient with our driving route. we wont get to everything i mention, likely, but if you see something you think is a must-see or a skip, please feel free to let me know. we do have a travel agent who will arrange lodging, car etc.
will be coming over from N. Ireland after a short visit with friends there. we will either fly or take the ferry from belfast, whichever is most affordable/fits our timetable. we will not need a car in Ireland, but plan to hire one for the Scotland trip. accustomed to interstate highways so high;and roads are a welcome change, but i can't anticipate the timing for travel.
plan is to arrive from Ireland Saturday evening and make our way to hotel in edinburgh after picking up a car. spend Sunday and Monday in Edinburgh. i dont have a huge list of must-sees, i'd like to see greyfriar's kirkyard (have loved the story of bobby since childhood), walter scott monument, mary king's close, possibly the national gallery, and do a lot of walking and looking. ive been to the castle, Holyrood and st giles.
Tuesday morning head out to midhope and blackness castles, falkirk for kelpies and wheel, possibly stirling if weather is bad and do that castle or wallace monument since indoors is an option. then to doune castle, or loch lomond short river tour if weather is nice. plan to stay hopefully in that area overnight.
wednesday drive up through glencoe, stopping at scenic points (Lagangarbh Hut, three sisters, rannoch moor, meeting of 3 waters- depends on weather and walking distance). glencoe visitor center for some history and maybe stop to do the chairlift up weather permitting. stay overnight between here and ft william.
thursday- early am hope to get tix for Jacobite Express (not yet avail as far as i can tell- travel agent will check if he has better resources). afterward drive up that afternoon toward inverness stopping as desired for photos etc. overnight near/in inverness
friday- clava cairns, culloden, loch ness boat tour/urqhart castle, possibly beauly priory if theres time- will stay in same lodging as night before.
saturday- up, walk around inverness, head toward skye. stop at glenfinnian viaduct, eilean-donan castle. want to take ferry over if time allows- leaning toward glenelg ferry across to kylerhea due to novelty.
sunday/monday- stuff on skye- fairy glen, flora macdonald monument, fairy pools, dino footprints at an corran, self-driving tour of island, old man of storr (from road), highland cow area, coral beach, portree all possibilities. i need suggestions re Skye because i know driving around the island is not straightforward and i can't look at the map and calculate travel times etc.
leave Skye Tuesday and plan to fly out Wednesday, unsure departure airpport- inverness would be closer, but not sure its an option re budget/schedule. will stop along the way at smaller villages etc to sightsee if an option.
id also love input on lovely small places to see that might be on this route, i loved Dunkeld and Stonehaven on my previous visit. culross, falkirk come up a lot but i think thats due to the outlander tourism, and while im a fan- im not obsessed. (only doing midhope castle because its on the way and a quick stop.)
i appreciate any and all input, and thanks for ignoring my erratic capitalization and punctuation. gonna be a long 6 weeks of 1 handed life.