“Don’t Miss in October” recommendations…

What is the Caledonian Express?

You do not mention how you will be traveling - by car or by train/bus or a combination of both.

Sounds lovely BUT you have a lot of Islands and the ferries are at the mercy of the weather which at that time of the year can be changeable . Anything from sun and calm seas to driving rain and gale force winds and cancellations of ferries. Unclear if you are thinking 2 or 3 days on Skye and then going up to Lewis and Harris or if they are included in the 2 or 3 days for Skye, I am assuming the former. In any event you need to have a Plan B in case you hit a ferry cancellation along the route.

Camborne - The Hogwart’s Express, from Ft William to Mallaig, ado known as the Jocobite Steam Train.
Leslie - A combination of travel methods. Train when available, bus as secondary, and car when necessary. My youngest main bucket list items are Fingal’s cave, Glencoe, Trossachs, Loch Lomond, Inverness, mine are Stirling, Berwick, Skye, Lewis, Edinburgh, and my wife’s are shopping, and being able to sit when tired.
If I have to plan 3 days in Oban to try to catch one good day, I’ll do it. If a fall storm takes out all the days, then we’ll find a plan B or C. Same with Skye and Lewis.
Thanks.

If you go to Melrose Abbey you may as well visit the other borders abbeys since they are all close together; Dryburgh, Kelso, and Jedburgh. Check the hours everything is open since summer and winter hours can be different. With Melrose Abbey, check to see how much is behind scaffolding. It was undergoing extensive renovations when we were there in October 2022. A rental car works well for visiting them. On your return to Edinburgh you could stop at Rosslyn Chapel.

The Hogwart’s Express, from Ft William to Mallaig, ado known as the Jocobite Steam Train.

Okay so the Jacobite. I doubt they could get away with referencing Hogwarts for rights reasons, (the locomotive used in the films is at the studios in Leavesden).

You can of course do the route on a regular train.

Don’t confuse it with Caledonian Sleeper either.

Bear in mind that you will need ferry reservations if you plan on taking a car on to the ferry (which I think will be essential for you itinerary). It's not that easy to reschedule if the ferry doesn't run. Yes Calmac will try to get you on the next one, but no guarantee. Accommodation in the islands is in short supply at that time of year as many smaller places close at the end of September. This will need careful planning and a thought out contingency. Look at this year's ferry timetables to get a decent idea of what will be possible next October.

Taking the steam train to Mallaig for Skye is hard.
Firstly they don't sell single tickets.
Secondly bus connections from the Ferry port at Armadale on Skye to Portree thence Uig for the Outer Hebs are sketchy at best.
That would need a lot of thought.
In reality it would be a taxi or rental car, picked up at Armadale, dropped off at Uig.
Then foot pax to the Hebs, and another local rental car over there
You couldn't take a local Skye rental car over one way to the Outer Hebs.

With Melrose Abbey, check to see how much is behind scaffolding. It was undergoing extensive renovations when we were there in October 2022.

In September 2024, the west front was still covered with scaffolding and there was no entry into the Abbey church. There was no indicatioin when the work woiuld be finished and the scaffolding removed. The rest of the grounds were fully open and you could wander round the outside of the church.

If time allows, it is well worth trying to add Jedburgh and Dryburgh Abbeys to Melrose. Both are fully open and all three are very different. Kelso Abbey is currently closed "as a precautionary measure while we undertake high level masonry inspections." You can see it from the road outside but to be honest, there isn't a lot, it isn't in the same category as the other three and I wouldn't bother with this one.