4 nights in Glencoe or Two in Glencoe, Two in Oban OR Two nearish Torridon and Applecross

Hi, k19722791,

Nice palindrome! I'm assuming that you already have your accommodation arranged for Skye. You are pushing it a bit for arranging accommodation for next month anywhere north and west of the Central Belt. Your best bet at this point would be in one of the major population areas - Oban, Fort William, and Inverness. However, you could still luck out in a less populated area. I'm assuming (again) that you'd be looking for a double and a twin, which is going to eliminate most B&Bs..

If you want the best in Highland scenery, I'd recommend two nights in Fort William so that you can easily visit Glencoe (unless you can find somewhere closer to Glencoe); a night in the area of Lochcarron so that you can visit the Applecross/Shieldaig/Torridon area; and possibly a night in the Gairloch area.

You can take the Skye Bridge on your way to Skye, then the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig on your way off island, so that you can visit Glenfinnan on your way back to Edinburgh.

If you decide to do the Glencoe/Glenfinnan/Mallaig route, there are a couple of hotels in the Mallaig area that may still have accommodation. They are the West Highland Hotel and the Morar Hotel. There isn't a whole lot to do in the Mallaig area, but there are a couple of really good hikes, a beautiful beach (Camusdarrach), and pony trekking on the sands at Arisaig. Also day trips to the Small Isles (Rum, Eigg, Canna, Muck) on certain days. If the schedule is right, you could spend an overnight on Eigg (Glebe Barn) or Rum (Rum Bunkhouse).

These are just suggestions, but I have to say that you need to decide soon, as accommodation in that part of Scotland books up months in advance. Also, if you're planning to take a ferry at any point in your travels, you need to reserve that, as well.

Good luck, and keep asking questions!

Mike (Auchterless)

Our family LOVED Oban. It's a sweet little town, on a gorgeous harbor. We took the ferry to Iona one day and that was incredible. We stopped at Glenfinnan on the way to Mallaig and Skye. Glenfinnan was awesome, even though we weren't there when the train passed by. Enjoy!

Thank you Mark and Cassienevins!
I have a couple of more questions please.

We will stay in Glencoe for 2 nights and then Fort Augustus for 2 nights, then onto Skye for 4 nights. After Skye, we need to drive back to Edinburgh in one day.

• When in Fort Augustus, we'll only have 1 full day. Should we do nearby hikes or would you recommend the drive of an hour to see the Culloden Battlefield site?
• From Fort Augustus would you 'backtrack' to Mallaig then take the ferry to Skye so that when we leave Skye we take the Skye Bridge, and then a stop at Eilean Donan Castle on the way back to Edinburgh. Is that too much to add to the nearly 6hr drive back? Should we instead go from Fort Augustus to Eilean Donan Castle, then to Skye. And take the same road back to Edinburgh, skipping the ferry?

Thanks!

Personally I would opt for local walking from Fort Augustus over Culloden. However if you opt for the latter you could/should? take the short diversion to the Falls of Foyers.
Regarding the Mallaig ferry there is an underlying nervousness about capacity. Due to events elsewhere on the network there is a 50:50 chance the route will remain on a single vessel timetable into July. We should know by this time next week.
But there is an option 3- see Eilean Donan outbound then an 8 mile back track to Shiel Bridge, turn off for Glenelg and take the little turntable ferry over.
An option 3 1/2 which I have never heard of anyone doing is to turn off at Shiel Bridge before Eilean Donan and go to the end of the road beyond Letterfearn. In theory that should give you a unique view of the Castle, then back track for Glenelg.
Beyond the road end there is an iron age broch you can walk to.

Should we do nearby hikes or would you recommend the drive of an hour to see the Culloden Battlefield site?

A lot depends on how interested you are in the history of the Battle of Culloden. The battlefield itself is a large expanse of moorland so in many ways it's not particularly scenic. It has an excellent visitor centre and the guided tour of the battlefiled is well worth doing as it puts the battle into context. You begin to realise just what a disaster/fiasco it was for the Jacobites. If anything could go wrong fotr them, it did...

Also just a short distance from Culloden are Clava Cairns. if you have been watching the popular Outlander programmes, they are thought to be the inspiration for Craig na Dun.

Hi again, k19722791,

"...take the short diversion to the Falls of Foyers."

isn31c has given you some good suggestions. The drive up the east (south?) side of Loch Ness is considerably more scenic than via the A82. Much easier on the nerves, too! Personally, I think that it's best to visit the Falls of Foyers only if there have been a couple of days of rain prior. We visited the falls three years ago, during a considerable dry period. Although the woodland walk was pleasant, the falls were a disappointment. The stream was probably only a foot wide. We'd been hoping to see the falls in spate, per the online photos.

However, the rest of the drive was definitely worthwhile. We were able to dip our toes in the loch, and had a good hike around the headland at Dores.

I hope that you have a wonderful holiday next month!

Mike (Auchterless)