best days out from Fort Augustus?

Hi, Deanna,

I have to say that I really like the itineraries which you've listed. However, some of them are overly ambitious for day trips.

Even from Fort Augustus, the Glen Affric trip would be the better part of a full day.

The drive up the East Bank of Loch Ness would be enjoyable, but the Falls of Foyers can be disappointing. Given an early start, you could combine that drive with a visit to Leakey's, and possibly Culloden. If you're visiting Inverness, the cheapest parking close to Leakey's is the open air lot to the north of the bus station.

Beauly is a great choice. It's not on most tourist itineraries.

Glencoe is a bit of a stretch, but it can be done in a long day.

Skye is also doable in a day from Fort Augustus. Be sure to check the sailing times for the Bella Jane and the Misty Isle. I'm not sure how often they sail in early September. Make sure they can contact you on the day of your expected sailing, as inclement weather can result in a cancellation. It's a long drive to Elgol, and although it's a scenic drive, there are many other things to see on Skye.

The Applecross loop is another good choice, as long as the driver has a head for heights. There are some good short hikes in Glen Torridon.

The Moray Coast is one of my favorite places in Scotland. Elgin Cathedral is a definite must - Lossiemouth Beach is gorgeous - be sure to try Cullen Skink while you're in Cullen (if Lily's Kitchen is open while you're there, she has the best!) - if you get as far as Pennan, it's where much of Local Hero was filmed. You have a better chance of seeing dolphins at Chanonry Point on the Black Isle.

Okay, that's enough for now. I'll let some of our other forum members add their tuppence.

Enjoy your holiday!

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: Doune Castle is really far out of your way. The best time to see it would be when you are returning to Glasgow from Fort Augustus.

Wow, You have seriously done your homework and come up with some great itineraries.

10 Loch Tay- seems quite a long day- it's almost 2 1/2 hours each way. If you are up for that it is a fantastic day out

13 Dornoch et al- Dornoch is about 1 hour 45 but that is another totally wonderful day. One I would put high on the list. From Lairg come back south over the B9176 over the Struie rather than the A9 after Bonar Bridge- https://sobt.co.uk/dornoch-firth-viewpoint/

2 I really like someone who does the "wrong" side of Loch Ness.

As regards the Loch Ness cruises they are all much of a much ness. There is only one Loch and a limited number of places to go to. There are or were high speed RIB trips from Fort Augustus if that is up your street.

For my money you have 13 trips here for 6 nights. Without disrespect to Skye I would leave that until you can do a more substantive trip to the Island.

Glencoe maybe leave until you are on your way to Skye in the future. Likewise Applecross etc #7 is a kind of wow day but it is a lot of driving (2hrs 30 or so each way). Maybe do that in the future on the other way from Skye.

Maybe on Day 4 you could add (!!) the Black Isle- Cromarty and Fortrose.

It makes a change to see someone stopping somewhere different. However, like Mike, I would agree that some of these ideas are going to make very long days and you are going to spend a lot of time in the car driving the same route along Loch Ness. Don't underestimate driving times as driving and roads are slow. If using Google maps it is recommended to add 25% to their driving times PLUS time for stops. There is a danger of it becoming a tick list itinerary.

Days 8 and 10 are both at least six hours driving and may be quite a bit more without adding in any time for stops or sightseeing. You may need to prune this back

Day 13 is particularly ambitious. You are talking about 5-6 hours driving time. You need to allow 90 minutes minimum for Dornoch (allow for parking, comfort break and see the town and cathedral). Dunrobin Castle is 2-3 hours... To make this more manageable, I'd be inclined to either omit Dunrobin Castle and concentrate on the rest OR make Dunrobin Castle the focus of the day. It is stunning!

Picking up in isn31's comment

From Lairg come back south over the B9176 over the Struie rather than the A9 after Bonar Bridge

I would recommend doing Stuie on the way out . Thay away you have the wonderful view looking down onto Dornoch Firth. But this does need to be done on a fine sunny day!

Thank you all for the great feedback! I'm currently rearranging my list with higher priority options at the top and making notes on which ones will be longer days.

Mike, I am thinking that stops at Doune Castle and Stirling Castle will fill the day we check out and head to Glasgow. Should I book ahead for those two castles? We don't return the car until 9 PM that day so we will have plenty of time to spend at each castle. And my husband will probably be content with a quick photo stop at Doune Castle if the inside isn't super exciting, so if you can advise on that I'd be grateful.

Isn31c, thank you for the suggestion to add the Black isle to our Beauly day! I've added it in, along with Chanonry Point per Mike's comment about seeing dolphins there. I have the Fairy Glen Falls saved on my walk highlands wish list, as well as a few others now as well! By chance, have you been to a dinner at the Downright Gabbler in Beauly? I saw it recommended on a blog post somewhere, and they have both the "Celebrating Beauly and the Black Isle" and the "A Write good Night" dinners the week we are in Scotland. Each dinner is three hours long though, and I'm hesitant to book unless it's a really excellent event. Or if you can recommend an alternative place for dinner in that area, I'd be grateful!

Wasleys, I think we will take your advice and make Dunrobin Castle the focus that day, adding in other stops only if we have the energy and time. We are planning a longer trip to Scotland (6-8 weeks) in either 2026 or 2027, so I am quite happy to explore at a relaxed pace and know we can just roll over anything we miss onto the list for next time.

I noticed that days 9 and 11 were not mentioned - are those places not as interesting as the others? Or are there other places within an easier drive of Fort Augustus I should add in?

In my case I just mentioned days which I saw a problem or an improvement with. You still have more days planned than there are days to use, so I, personally, don't want to be overly prescriptive.

Trying to rank these days is an impossible task IMO.

It is your vacation, not mine. You may also (hopefully not) find your plans affected by weather.

Day 9- The only comment is this is another good day. You would want to time Glenfinnan for when there is a steam train going over, but also be aware that the local parking at those times (especially the morning westbound) is pretty tight.
The times are 1056 and 1331 westbound also 1519 and 1808 eastbound. The morning service you get a Glasgow bound diesel train, then a few minutes later the steam- the trains pass each other at Glenfinnan station.

If you are going to Glenfinnan then you can't not see the Glenfinnan monument.

Day 11- No specific comment- probably about 4 hours driving in total done as a circular, one way via Inverness, the other way via Laggan.

There is nothing here you need to book ahead, especially in September when the schools are long since back.

Thanks Isn31c, I thought that might be the case for days 9 and 11 but wanted to make sure before keeping them on the list :) There are so many possibilities! And good to know we won't need to book ahead at that time - we are hoping to check the weather forecast each night and try to catch the sunny days when we can. And fingers crossed the midges will be fewer by then!

I very much appreciate the help!

I didn’t make any comment about days 9 and 11 as I didn’t want to go into overload and they weren’t as 'ambitious' as other days...

Day 9
isn31c has already commented on Glenfinnan.

What are your intentions with the Loch Oich Walk and how long will this take? Is it just a short potter along the loch as the full circuit of the loch will take up most of the day. You may need to plan the rest of the itinerary round this, especially if you are wanting to see the steam train.

Prince Charlie’s Cave - I’m assuming this is the one near Borrowdale and will involve a walk from the car. It’s not far to walk, but if you are wanting to extend this to the beach, you are going to need to allow 30-60 minutes for this. Again decided whether this is a priority?

Save Loch Cluanie for the end of the day and take a decision if there is time to include this. It is a bit of an ‘outlier’.

Day 11

Start off with the Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore which opens at 10am. There’s plenty to do and see there and dont miss the township set among the woods with its thatched roofs. It’s a bit of a walk but worth it. Allow at least 2 hours here. ( I was on a tight time schedule and just managed to see most of it in two hours but ideally could have done with an extra hour.)

Then head through Kingussie (don’t bother to stop). Aviemore is a modern tourist town with a lot of shops but not much else... Depending on expectation you may need to take the decision between Loch an Eilean and Glen Freshie.

Play it very much by ear on the day. Don't try and cram too much in and allow time to really appreciate and enjoy the places you do get to. Definitely come back as there is loads more to see!

Thanks, Wasleys, for the added input. I see that walk highlands has a warning that the Loch Oich circuit is closed until December 2024, so have removed that from our list. And yes, the cave is the one by Borrowdale, it seemed like a nice walk and thank you for sending those other links with more information.

I'm happy to hear that the Highland Folk Museum was worthy of a few hours, and we will definitely plan to start there. And I absolutely agree with your advice to not cram in too much - after our early years of travel being busy every moment, we now embrace the joy of taking our time and meandering. I like to have several options of places close to each other, but we just start with the one that looks most interesting and then fill in from there depending on time and energy. I'm really looking forward to exploring the area a little more than just the usual highlight reel of sights!

Like you . I always have a long list of things I'd like to do and then adjust on the day depending on what I feel like or how time is going. I'd rather have too many ideas than to be scratching my head trying to think what to do! If you haven't found the Undiscovered Scotland website, it is well worth checking out as it has loads of information and pictures of things to do and see. Many aren't in the guide books.

Day 1

Glen Affric is superb and Dog Falls and Plodda Falls (with their viewing platform over the falls) are both well worth doing.

Day 12

Leakey's Book shop is great fun - just to go in, even if you don't buy anything!

I've always liked Inverness and there's a lot more to the city than people realise. There are details of a heritage walk round Inverness here which I've done and found interesting. (It probably took me about an hour to walk plus time for visits to the Cathedral etc.) )There is also a mobile phone app but I've not used this.

The Visitor Centre at Culloden is really good with a lot of information, so allow enough time for that. Also included in the ticket price is a guided tour of the battlefield. This is well worth doing as it explains what you are looking like as well as giving a background to the battle, which ws an absolute shambles for the Jacobites. If anything could go wrong for them, it did! The guide book is also good with a lot of background information.

Clava Cairns are best seem late afternoon when all the visitors have gone. (Outlander put them very much on the tourist radar as they are believed to be the inspiration for Craig na Dun...) The light is also lower then and they are a lot more atmospheric!

Thanks Wasleys :) Our daughter went to Culloden last year and told us to make sure and do the guided tour as well, and she thought we'd want to spend several hours there. So we will be sure to arrive by noon at the latest. And that's a great tip about going to Clava Cairn later in the afternoon :) My husband and I are a little crowd-averse so love traveling when things are quieter!