Please sign in to post.

Quaint, well-situated villages to "home base" out of?

Hello All,

My wife and I are looking to settle into a relatively small, quiet Scottish town in mid-late June 2027 for at least a week. The goal is to travel slow and really soak in the experience of being abroad. We are both avid hikers and adore history, art, culture, and food/drink (but who doesn't?). Ideally the village would have basic amenities such as a grocery store, bakery, some restaurants/pubs, etc, and it would be a 30-60 minute drive to a larger city that would have more activities and museums, but we're flexible on a lot of that!

We will be picking up a rental car from Edinburgh (unless otherwise advised).

Thanks!

Posted by
300 posts

You could do much worse than make Ballater in Aberdeenshire a base to stay for a week. It will tick all your boxes.

This site will give you more information to help get you started

https://visitabdn.com/places/ballater-2

This site will help with regards walks

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/cairngorms/ballater.shtml

I know the area very well so if I can help further please feel free to send me a private message if you wish.

Enjoy your trip.

Posted by
8720 posts

Identify the places you want to visit and possible base options will start to stand out. From those possibilities select one that in relatively close proximity to all the places you want to spend time at.

Posted by
3109 posts

We enjoyed a week in Callender and thought it a good place from which to take day trips

Posted by
1826 posts

A lot of it depends where you intend to go. There will be different recommendations for the Highlands, Perthshire and Argyll, for Grampian, for the Borders, for Fife and Angus.