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Quick trip to Scotland

Hello all! I’m having the hardest time planning my upcoming trip to Scotland. I have 2 major questions. When and where!
First, when. Either the last week of September or the 3rd week of October. I’m tempted by the warmer and longer days of September and the autumnal colors of October.

My husband has to be in Edinburgh for work on a Tuesday-Thursday. We will land on that Monday so he will be ready for work the following day. Then we will fly home on the following Monday. With so many amazing things to see and do, I’m having a hard time narrowing it down! We will only have 3 full days of exploring. I don’t want to spend too much time traveling but I want to see as much nature and countryside as possible. We briefly considered going up to Shetland as it’s a big bucket list item for me but I figured it wouldn’t be worth the travel time for only one night in the island. We love nature and history and I love tea and knitting. We aren’t into whiskey or distillery tours. We also don’t love cities and really enjoy quaint off the beaten path scenes. I was looking at Pitlochry and the surrounding area. Would that be a good choice for the while time or should we keep moving and see something else? Glen Coe and the major Lochs look lovely but will they be too crowded or touristy? We also looked at Orkney but I worry that’s too much driving. But if it’s really worth it, then we will do it. We are open to train or renting a car. Any advice is welcome!

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My daughter and I traveled to Edinburgh the last week of October 2024. We took a day trip to the Highlands, Glen Coe and Loch Ness with Highland Experience. There was a lot of driving involved . The scenery was not lush and green but rather brown and dried out. We visited Glen Coe, Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle which were not crowded nor touristy. One option for you could be Stirling Castle which satisfies your history interest and is certainly reachable by train ( less than an hour). We did not go there because of a time constraint but if we had another day in Edinburgh we would have.