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Driving from Eilean Donan Castle heading to Edinburgh

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are planning a trip to Scotland for 6 days in July. I have managed to come up with an itinerary but I'm stuck with the following:- we are visiting isle of Skye and the next day heading to Eilean Donan Castle. After that we would like to go in the heart of the highlands but not sure where to go (as in where should we head for). We would be making our way back to Edinburgh and hoping to get to the city the next day in the evening. Since its seems to be a long drive to Edinburgh, I would like to stop somewhere beautiful in between for the night. Would u kindly advise where we should visit in between Eileen Donan Castle and Edinburgh please? I thought of Plitchory but it's still quite a drive from the castle. I thought maybe a two drive from Eilean Donan Castle would make more sense to break the trip. Thanks for your tips on advance :)

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3123 posts

I would suggest stopping in/near Boat of Garten or Aviemore. After you leave Eilean Donan Castle in Dornie, you'll probably want to stop along the north shore of Loch Ness to visit Urquhart Castle and/or the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition. From there I would head straight through Inverness and pick up the A9 south toward Aviemore.

Alternatively you could take a more direct route from Dornie south via Invergarry to Spean Bridge and then east on the A86, which brings you to the A9 near Dalwhinnie (home of amazing whisky; I believe the distillery has tours). That too could be a nice choice. Either way, you'll get a highlands experience. If there aren't overnight accommodations right there, you could likely book a room in Blair Atholl.