4 days to see Scotland - West coast vs East Coast

Hi, mtgriffin,

Yikes! Four days to pack in a lot! A lot is going to depend on your interests. Are you looking for scenery, castles, distilleries, wildlife, locals, or a combination of all of the above?

I would skip your overnight in Pitlochry. There is just not a lot to see, unless you plan to visit one of the small distilleries. Instead, give Stirling a little more of your time (Castle, Wallace Monument, etc.), and then move on from there. Stirling is a short drive from Edinburgh, so you could arrive early and spend a morning there.

Given your short amount of time, you should give Fort William and Glasgow a miss. There's not a lot to see in Fort William, and there is so much to see in Glasgow that you'd regret not giving it more time. Inverness would be a good stopping off point for day trips to other locations. You'd have enough time for a day trip to the West Coast (Ullapool/Gairloch/Lochcarron/Plockton, etc.) Having said that, if you want to visit Glencoe, then by all means go through Fort William.

You may want to return along the coast of the Moray Firth. There are lot of charming fishing villages along the coast. However, if you've just come from Ireland, you may already have had your fill of charming fishing villages. :)

Again, a lot depends on your interests. Many of the people who post here will be happy to help you find anything specific you're looking for. You'll also get a lot of recommendations.

Best wishes, and good luck!

Mike (Auchterless)

I spend a lot of time in eastern Scotland.

But if this is your first trip to Scotland, I would stay to the west. IMHO, I believe the Highlands are the highlight of Scotland.

Mike is right. Stirling is well worth a day, to see the castle and Wallace monument. I wouldn't bother with Inverness unless you want to head east or north from there.

So I'd suggest the following for your 4 days if your focus is on the scenery of the highlands.

Arrival day (not counted in the 4?) Edinburgh castle and overnight in Edinburgh.
Day 1. Pick up rental car at airport (you don't want to drive in Edinburgh). Head to Stirling. Castle and Wallace monument. Overnight in Stirling or Callander.
Day 2. From Callander to Fort William. Some lovely smaller lochs (have a look at a map) around the Callander area. Then via Glencoe, maybe pausing for a hike. You could also take the road to the isles from Fort William to see stunning mountain and coastal scenery and the Glenfinnan monument and viaduct (famous from the Harry Potter films) and maybe the amazing engineering of the Neptune steps lock gates. You could then overnight in Fort William.
Day 3. Head slightly north to Fort Augustus where the canal joins loch Ness (more lock gates and a pleasant village for a wander to the shores of loch Ness) before heading east via Spean Bridge on the A86. There are a couple of natural wonders to see off the A86. The Ice Age landscape of Glen Roy is one and the other is Creag Meagaidh nature reserve. You then pick up the A9 road at Dalwhinnie (good distillery here) which takes you south again towards Edinburgh. You could also stop at the Falls of Bruar which are next to House of Bruar (known as the Harrods of the north). You could overnight in Pitlochry or Dunkeld.

I'm not quite sure how the 4 days on the ground pan out, but if you have a spare day then either day 2 or 3 could be spread across 2 days.

I'd agree with Frank on this one - head via the Trossachs and Callendar to Oban and make this as your base. It will take about 4 hours to drive and is a stunning journey through some wonderful scenery. You could stop off in Stirling for the casdtle and there are views of the ruined Kilchurn Castle on the way, which unfortunately isn't open at the moment. You can do a day trip to Mull and Iona or better still spend a couple of days on Mull (if you can get accommodation). Alternatively catch the ferry from Oban to either Lismore or Kerrera from Oban. These are very much off the tourist beat. You can also do a day trip to Glencoe from Oban (include a drive round Loch Leven?) Go and find Dunstaffnage Castle and chapel or explore Kilmartin Glen if you are interested in prehistory.

On the way back return via Inverary (Castle and Jail ), down Loch Lomoind to drymen and then across to Stirling on the way to Edinburgh. This will, take 4-4.5 hours so time to do some stops and sight seeing.

So much great information and routes to consider. Wish we could see isle of Skye as well but that doesn’t appear possible. No extensive hiking on this trip but a few towns with some shops for the ladies would be nice as well.

Edinburgh will be the best bet by far for shopping. I found Stirling high street quite depressing last time I was there with lots of empty shops. Inverness is very much a working town with few shops of interest to visitors, except perhaps Leakey’s antiquarian bookshop and the odd ‘tartan tat’ shop on the high street. Same goes for Fort William. House of Bruar on the A9 near Blair Atholl is interesting and has nice clothes, accessories and foodie items. It’s not known as the Harrods of the North for nothing!

We spent 16 days in Scotland 2 years ago and the highlight for us was Stirling Castle where we spent about 6 hours on a day trip from Glasgow. Edinburgh is worth a day or two as well. My only concern for you on such a short schedule is that it takes time to drive from place to place in the Highlands. With only 4 days including travel, I'd likely stick to one base and make day trips.

Thank you! We have 4 days excluding our days of travel. We arrive day 1 around 1:30 PM, then have 4 days, departing on 6th day.