Day hike/town stay recommendations - one week in Scotland

Hi, Alaska Traveler,

Did you see the Battlefield Band when they were in Homer a few years ago?

It's difficult to define what is authentically Scottish. It seems as though just about every town on the mainland has a Tesco, Asda, or Morrisons. But if you're heading north from Glasgow, you may want to consider Aviemore. It's definitely not authentic (it used to be!), but it would provide easy access to the western part of Cairngorms National Park. There are some good hikes there. If memory serves me correctly, Carrbridge is (or was!) a fairly authentic Scottish town, so you may want to check it out on the way to Aviemore.

On your way from Inverness to Aberdeen, you may want to drive through some of the towns along the Moray Firth coast, such as Gardenstown, Pennan, Portknockie, Portsoy, Cullen, and Buckie. These fishing towns have retained much of their charm. There are coastal walks from and around most of them. Just off of the A90 heading south to Aberdeen is the town of Cruden Bay, with the nearby Bullers of Buchan.

I hope that at least gives you a start. As you have only four nights, and a lot of country to cover, it wouldn't be practical to base yourselves in one location. You may want to just stay one night in each location, before travelling on. It looks as you have a lot of driving to do in a short time - don't try to do too much in one day.

Best wishes, and safe travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

As well as Aviemore and Carrbridge you could also think about Grantown on Spey- also a pretty authentic (whatever the word means) Scottish town. Very much on the Speyside distillery route and on the A95 route to the East Coast and Aberdeen.

Any town or village is authentically Scottish as in being a place where real, local people live. But places like Aviemore have been possibly over developed and become overly busy with tourists. But that is a double edged sword as the tourists provide employment and income for those locals.
In the Aviemore area Boat of Garten and Nethy Bridge are also nice local villages (on their way to Grantown, so convenient for your route).

On your way from Inverness to Aberdeen, you may want to drive through some of the towns along the Moray Firth coast, such as Gardenstown, Pennan, Portknockie, Portsoy, Cullen, and Buckie. These fishing towns have retained much of their charm. There are coastal walks from and around most of them. Just off of the A90 heading south to Aberdeen is the town of Cruden Bay, with the nearby Bullers of Buchan.

I did this in May of 2023, and enjoyed the drive so much. I loved the little towns along the coast and the drive itself was really peaceful and wonderful. There were hardly any tourists around. You should definitely stop at Lily's in Cullen for some delicious Cullen Skink soup (that was a tip from Mike before my trip) and visit the gorgeous harbor in Portknockie, and much more. if you do this, definitely don't miss the Bullers of Buchan that Mike mentioned. Absolutely beautiful scenery. And about 10+ minutes further down the coast are the ruins of Slains Castle, which is well worth a stop. I wound up staying Cruden Bay for a night, and really enjoyed my stay there.

Thank you, all, for these great ideas. Clearly, we need more time in Scotland! The current exchange rate is not in favor of the USD or CAD for those of us on this trip. It sounds like everywhere in Scotland feels authentic in terms of keeping the character and history of an area intact. We are hoping to tour and hike (or walk as it’s often called). We’ll opt for shorter, quicker trails as we go north through the center, and down the east coast, returning to Edinburgh to depart. We will have to return to hit islands and west coast regions. More planning, with your feedback in mind, is needed. Happy travels!

I think for truly stunning scenery you should focus on the west rather than the north east/east coast.Not that the latter don’t offer some fine coastal scenery but it seems a shame to leave out world class loch, sea and mountain landscapes.

Short hikes in or around Glencoe for example…using the West Highland Way, I’d go south for a flatter level moorland walk , going as far as you want amidst grand scenery.If you go north from Altnafeidh, it’s about a 40 min uphill slog on a good path surrounded by drop dead stunning views from the off.
The ski centre chairlift also gives great access to a superlative short hike to a fab viewpoint.

If you do stick with Aviemore(buzzy, great base) then the Lochan Uaine hike perhaps going on to Ryvoan Bothy, is very easy and just beautiful.There are also excellent hikes from the ski centre, on top notch built trails, many going below the wonderful Northern Corries.Or up Cairngorm mountain itself if you are fit enough for that.

Dunkeld is attractive, so is Pitlochry albeit the latter is very busy.But beautiful architecture.

Walkhighlands is an excellent website used by many walkers covering all of the country.

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/fortwilliam/glencoe.shtml

The NE coast is certainly very different again..Pennan and Crovie are particularly pretty though consist largely of holiday homes these days, conversions of the beautiful fishermen’s cottages.The coast tends to be low cliffs as a backdrop, some nice beaches and a farmland interior.

(We visited Alaska last June and loved it!)

I’ll come back with a few more comments!

We may revise now that we’ve read your post. Will check the link you provided, thank you.

Portsoy is really charming down at the harbour.Used in Peaky Blinders(if you’ve seen that acclaimed British drama series.)

You’ll get top notch fish and chips in Peterhead, the largest white fish port in Europe.Fraserburgh Lighthouse Museum is worth a visit and a grand spot too.

Heading south , Cruden Bay has a world class golf course plus the club house gives great views over the huge beach and coast.
The seal beach at Newburgh may be of interest.
I’d second the Bullers of Buchan for puffins ( though you may be too early) and a cliff walk plus Slains Castle.

Don’t miss the excellent walk to Dunnotar Castle , along a great and easy cliff top path from pretty Stonehaven.

Catterline is an atmospheric small village once favoured by the artist Joan Eardley and with a good seafood restaurant The Creel Inn.

I’m not a huge fan of the coastal route (mostly inland) after that heading for Montrose…St Cyrus has a long if busy beach.

There is interest inland in Arbuthnott where the tiny Lewis Grassick Gibbon Centre is - unmissable if you are a ‘Sunset Song’ fan.I was moved to tears in it - the writer is buried in the old graveyard a short walk away.Some lovely countryside there too.

Arbroath has the Abbey and also the excellent museum with the Declaration of Arbroath on display.If you have an interest in Pictish carved stones, then don’t miss the beautiful little museum at St Vigeans.

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/st-vigeans-stones-and-museum/overview/

West also lies magnificent Glamis Castle.

From St Andrews, the East Neuk fishing villages will be of interest, popular holiday destinations..Crail and Pittenweem are my favourites.Doing at least one section of the Fife Coastal path which links the villages, would be well worthwhile.Lower Largo to Earlsferry/ Elie is to me, the prettiest section.

Portsoy was also used as the primary filming location for the unfortunate 2016 remake of Whisky Galore!

Mike (Auchterless)

The fishing villages along the Moray coast are great fun with their houses clinging to the edge of the sea below the cliffs and you could spend a pleasant day exploring them. Each is very different and it is worth doing the steep walk down to Crovie (no cars allowed in the village) .

Plan you lunch stop in Cullen for Cullen Skink

Scotland Mac - We’re glad you enjoyed your Alaska trip! It’s a long way from Scotland, and no less expensive. We have lots of wild, remote country, mainly accessible only by boat or by air. We will love Scotland’s wilds, trails, and coastal regions.

Thanks so much to all for your thorough recommendations. We wish we had a month to spend in Scotland! We will look over the walking recommendations - shorter trails may be our only option.

Hi again, Alaska Traveler,

I had mentioned Carrbridge in an above post as somewhere you could stop on your way north. Here's an article about the old stone bridge:

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/travel/outdoors/6667517/carrbridge-will-iconic-coffin-bridge-stand-strong-for-centuries-to-come

Best wishes and safe travels,

Mike (Auchterless)

Thank you, again, for these wonderful ideas. Scotland sounds a bit like Alaska - rugged mountains, coastal islands, remote beaches, puffins, seals, and more. I’ve taken notes on all of your suggestions. Because time is short, we will go with shorter, easy to moderate trails so we can spend some time at ruins and museums. Our daughter, who will be in Stirling for a fish talk, will do the driving since she’s fairly accustomed to UK roads. We don’t want to spend too much time in the car.