20 Day Mostly Scotland Itinerary

Rabbie's has some excellent day tours out of Inverness. And my personal opinion is that the Tattoo shouldn't be missed.

Your other questions I can't answer.

Julie, Scotland is so beautiful with so much to see and experience. My trip in August/September 2022 was actually planned around two events: the Edinburgh military tattoo and the Braemar Highland Games. IMHO, you should not miss the Military tattoo especially if you enjoy the traditional piping and drums; it is truly a spectacle and your teens will enjoy it very much. I’m glad you are going to see a highland game/gathering as well. The heavy games especially are fun to watch.

I also highly recommend booking a day tour or two out of Inverness using Rabbies. My one day tour from Inverness going to Culloden moor, Clara Cairns and Glen Afric was a highlight for me since I have highland clan ancestry (McKenzie).

Here is a link to their Scotland tours

https://www.rabbies.com/en

While at Wick one of the less well known places to visit is the Whaligoe Steps.

Personally yes I think Orkney mainland is worth visiting for the day. You imply that the hotel in Wick is not yet firmed up. If I was thinking about adding in Orkney I would stay in Thurso- as that is where Northlink to Stromness leave from and it is a bit closer to Pentland ferries at Gills Bay- the other Orkney ferry company.

Because of the times of sailings it does constrain your day on Orkney somewhat- so think about extending your day by sailing back with Northlink and availing yourself of their bed and breakfast offer. You board the ship at Stromness when she arrives back from her last sailing at 2130, or anytime before 2330. Sleep on the ship while she is berthed at Stromness have your breakfast as she sails back to Thurso next morning. Then drive to Halkirk straight from Scrabster port (Thurso). It is fantastic value for money and a bit of a different experience- https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/booking-info/offers/hamnavoe-bed-and-breakfast/

What time is your flight back to New York on 8 August? If it was before mid afternoon I would be a bit nervous about arriving on the Cal Sleeper the same morning.
If the train is booked now then it's booked. But if anything happened on the track overnight, or the train broke down in the middle of the night and you arrived into Euston several hours late then you could be in a bit of a pickle.
Much as I will promote the sleeper I(it IS a very civilised way to travel) the reality is that such things do happen. And, by the nature of the sleeper service, when things happen they tend to go badly wrong.
Personally I would get the 1730 day train down the previous night and have a last night in London, just to be on the safe side. But that is me being very prudent.
If the sleeper is a fixed thing now, just keep in the back of your mind that the last stop before Euston is Watford Junction. If the worst happened you can bail out there for the short cut to Heathrow- the rail air link, and the different 724 Service.
I'm sure you won't need them, but belt and braces.

Thank you everyone. We will definitely check out Rabbie's for tours. And I love the idea of sleeping on the Ferry. Our hotel in Halkkirk is nothing special and very pricy, so we will likely cancel for the night before the games and just arrive in Halkirk mid-morning and stay one night.

Our flight back to JFK is at 1830, so I am not particularly worried. And hotel rooms for a family of four are currently running 750 pounds to stay in a non-central London location, with most closer to 1,000 pounds. I just can't do it. I had looked at staying in Liverpool (bucket list) the night before but I don't think it gets us much. I also didn't want to shortchange Glasgow. We are also okay not seeing London as we plan to go back at some point and do it properly. Just not in August!

Keep the suggestions coming!

Well if it's an evening flight then that's fine with the sleeper.

If it's the Ulbster Arms in Halkirk I see what you mean about the pricing.

Yes, it was the Ulbster Arms. I just modified booking to only Saturday night after booking the Orkney Northlink Ferry RT, including the B&B option. Basically, the price of the ferry with car and cabins was just a little more than the price of the Ulbster Arms. With my "savings" I will go buy tickets to the Tatoo.

Also, the ferry terminal from our "Farm Lodge BBQ Hut" was 25 minutes to Thurso vs 13 minutes to Gills Bay, and it was definitely cheaper to book RT on the same line, so we went with that.

I am concerned that the way you've listed your itinerary suggests you have a lot more time at each stop than you actually have. You've listed each travel day against both the originating and the destinating town; actually, you'll be on the move that day (and stopping to appreciate the scenery, etc.) and will have little time to spend in either place. I imagine you're aware you will have only one full day in London, Wick, Halkirk, Skye and Glasgow. However, there's a risk that potential responders will glance at something like "7/24 - 7/26 - Wick" and assume you have 3 nights and 2 full days there.

Edit: I see that I was inaccuratewith some of my time calculations. I apologize.

I'd want more time on Skye, but I'm well aware of the how hard it is to find lodging there even six months in advance, so I imagine that ship has sailed. Still, be aware that western Scotland is very, very rainy, and allowing yourself only one full day somewhere is risky if you hope to engage in outdoor activities.

By the way I am hoping that @skyegirl will pitch in on the best route from Halkirk to Skye in late July- I'm not sure which route you have chosen.

I guess the choice is the NC500 via Durness, or the A9/A837 via Lairg and Ledmore or the A9/A890 via Achnasheen.

Probably the last is the best as the NC500 could be pretty busy, but expert local advice would be very useful.

Yes, please chime in on routes from Kirkwall to Skye and Skye to Oban. We don't mind going a bit out of our way either and we love the weird and obscure.

We should have two full days in Skye, Oban, Edinburgh, and basically two full days in Glasgow with the 2330 train. We are okay basically missing London. I have been many times, and the kids will do it at some point, probably on their own in university. It's the remote parts I am trying to nail down for them. They are city kids to start it is nice to get out to the middle of nowhere for all of us.

Hello. Isn31c is correct in his identification of routes, but for me the only realistic driving route from Halkirk to Skye is to head south to Dingwall and then across country to Achnasheen, then Kyle of Lochalsh. It’s going to be a slow, slow drive, probably around 5 hours but pretty scenic. I wouldn’t attempt the Nc500 in summer. It’s hell as far as I am concerned.

Skye, to Oban, my preferred route would be ferry Armadale to Mallaig (essential to book via calmac) then Fort William before heading south Oban. If you can’t get the ferry organised, then A87 and A82 to Fort William and then south to Oban.

You will need to make dinner reservations in Skye. It’s crazy busy at the moment and July will be worse. Don’t assume you can just walk in to places.

Thanks for the route details. We will use them. And also the heads up on making reservations on Skye. We are planning to cook many meals ourselves on Skye, and I have already looked up grocery options, but I will definitely want at least one nice meal out for lunch or dinner. We are also okay with take-away if it is an option too We will be nine days into our trip, and I think I will be rather tired of eating out at this point.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions. I am sure I will be back with another question soon enough.

Julie, since you mentioned your accommodation on Skye is in Broadford and you will likely either eat in or get carry out, might I suggest a wonderful little place called Fisherman’s Kitchen for fabulous fish dishes in Kyle of Lochalsh? It’s literally a cottage/hut selling delicious meals for take away but also offer outdoor picnic table seating. I loved the Cullen Skink (sort of a haddock/potato stew). Here is a link

https://www.fishermans-kitchen.co.uk/

Edit to add: I see from the site they have limited opening days currently. It may change later in the summer.

Its not a logical route but I am a fan of the Crask Inn especially when travelling down from Tongue.

A decent have compromise is to abandon the " best" roads to Skye at Bonar Bridge and head up Oykel Bridge to Ledmore Junction, its mentioned above .
The NC500 south to Garve are pretty decent roads as opposed to the narrow twist-a-thon north of Kylesku.
Sounds a grand old trip

By the way the Caledonian Sleeper lounge at Euston, on Platform 1 (the same platform as the train departs from) is open from 6pm for Inverness/Aberdeen/Fort William customers- so a nice place to relax in if you have spare time, and has showers.

It is also open in the morning from train arrival until 10.30am.

At Inverness the lounge is just across the street from the station and is open from train arrival time until 10.30am, with showers and light snacks. Out of the entrance, cross the road and it's the first building on the left on Union Street.

At Glasgow Central you can use the Avanti West Coast Lounge from 8pm.

Thanks again, everyone, for the suggestions and the routes. Hopefully they expand the hours for the summer at the Fishmarket. It looked wonderful!

We will definitely use the lounges. We booked the Club Class for that reason! But I wasn't aware of the showers. Much better than trying to shower in your cabin I am guessing.