Scotland - 3 weeks round trip - Itinerary and questions

The A832/A890 is the route many of us would suggest to Skye anyway (especially from Elgin) as opposed to via Loch Ness. And Strathpeffer (where Castle Leod) is at, is a nice little Victorian Spa Town. You could either eat in the Village Square or at the old Railway Station.
Birnam Highland Games- I see they say parking is limited and first come/first served so the train probably is the better option.

Leaving aside subjective judgements about the train itself the Jacobite would be hard to build in- assuming even that tickets are still available. They no longer sell single tickets.

Even with the first ferry off Mull that would be very tight to get to Fort William in time for the morning steam train. I think the easiest way is to take that morning ferry off Mull, then the lunchtime service train from Fort William to Mallaig. Three of you go by train, the 4th drive to Mallaig. When that service train gets to Mallaig the steam train will be sat there on the other platform so you can get up close and personal. And you see exactly the same scenery. Then all of you get back in the car and drive to Pitlochry. If you leave fairly soon you should be able to see both the morning eastbound and the afternoon westbound steam trains at Glenfinnan viaduct.

Taking the first ferry out of Tobermory and driving via the Corran ferry you should have plenty of time to get to Fort William in time for the lunchtime train, so you don't have to go to Craignure for the Oban ferry.

Loch Ness is pretty but there will be plenty of nice scenery anyway. We didn't particularly enjoy some of the drive along Loch Ness, we found it narrow and twisty and all eyes needed to be on the road and not the views anyway.

We spent 3 days on Mull and loved it, unfortunately our trip to Iona and Staffa didn't happen because the ferry was cancelled due to rough water. I'd try and book it for a day that gives you a buffer day to try again in case that happens to you.

Are you staying in Tobermory? An afternoon drive to Calgary Beach is worthwhile.

Thank you very much for your ideas so far.

I think the easiest way is to take that morning ferry off Mull, then
the lunchtime service train from Fort William to Mallaig. Three of you
go by train, the 4th drive to Mallaig.

I like this approach.

Are you staying in Tobermory? An afternoon drive to Calgary Beach is
worthwhile.

We will stay in Salen. It's not as nice as Tobermory, of course, but it seems to be the most central place to explore the island.

I don't have specific walk suggestions but this website I found in my own planning has lots of details of various walks in highlands and the islands including the difficulty, distance and time: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/

I don't have specific walk suggestions but this website I found in my
own planning has lots of details of various walks in highlands and the
islands including the difficulty, distance and time:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/

Many thanks, that looks really comprehensive.

Stnehaven would be nice to stay at if you want to visit Dunnottar Caatle. It would be much less congested and hectic than Aberdeen.

Three nights in Elgin seems like a lot. While I cannot recommend a tour, both Macallan and Glenfiddich distillery’s are nearby.

Hi, it sounds like a wonderful itinerary! I agree that 3 nights might be a bit much for Elgin, but it depends on what you intend to see/do there. The cathedral ruins are wonderful, though, and you can certainly do some drives to nearby coastal towns while you're there. If you are continuing your drive down the coastline to Edinburgh, you can't go wrong stopping at the Bullers of Buchan and the Slains Castle ruins (aka New Slains Castle) near Cruden Bay. They are both magnificent and are easy to get to as they are right off the main coastal road.

With regards to Loch Ness, I agree with the others that you could easily leave that off without missing much.

Mull is an incredible island and I'm very glad you're going there. Tobermory is charming and there is a lot you can see and do there. I stayed 4 nights in one of the harbor B&Bs and parked in one of the free car lots on the harbor. It's lovely to be able to walk down through the shops and restaurants that line the harbor. Bring your camera as it's very photogenic. You can visit the Isle of Mull Cheese Shop (Sgriob-ruadh Farm), which is about a mile from the harbor. There are self-guided tours to meet the farm animals and learn about traditional cheese making. There is also a cafe and a farm shop.

Also, there is a short walk from the harbor car park along the wooded hillside to Aros Park with woodland trails, a lochan and really nice waterfalls. A walk from the other end of Main Street leads along a coastal path to the Rubha Nan Gall Lighthouse. There are amazing views out over the Sound of Mull. And another short walk up the hill towards Baliscate leads to the Baliscate Standing Stones. Nearby is the site of the Baliscate Chapel, the subject of a BBC archaeology dig.

You also might want to stop at Isle of Mull Pottery, which is just beautiful. They sell some in the shops along the harbor but the main shop is in the town up above Main St. (you will pass it if you go to Calgary).

The Tobermory Bakery is wonderful—definitely stop here for one of their delectable pastries, take-away sandwiches and coffee or tea. Their Millionaire's Shortbread is incredible! There is a shop at the end of the harbor that is farthest from the ferry terminal that sells handmade chocolate with a tea room, and along the way are some very nice gift shops - I bought half my souvenirs in Mull (and I'm picky about stuff like that). Lots of nice restaurants, too. There is also a catch-and-release aquarium that is interesting, too.

I agree with Allan about Calgary Beach, which is about a 30-40 minute drive from Tobermory. It's very narrow and the single track roads run through the mountains with some switchbacks, so you will need to go slow through much of it. It's well worth a visit to see the beautiful beach, though. On your way back, you could stop at Glengorm Castle. This is a private castle so you can only see the outside (in a gorgeous setting along the water), but they have a nice cafe there where you can stop have tea and cakes in a very lovely setting. I stopped there for tea, then walked around the gardens and then down to the sea. It was a perfect afternoon.

I also agree with Allan about scheduling a buffer day for the tour. My tour was cancelled and unfortunately, I couldn't fit in another day. I would probably not invest too much time in one, so would go with the 3 hour tour that includes Iona. Keep in mind that if you have a car, you could easily get to Fionnphort on your own (1 1/2 to 2 hour drive) then take the ferry over to Iona on foot. That's what I did and it worked out well.

I would also recommend the Walk Highlands website that Laurie Ann mentioned. That is by far and away the best resource for hiking in Scotland.

One more thing: since you are heading to Skye for 4 nights, you might want to consider visiting the tiny island of Raasay, which is a short 20 minute ferry ride from Sconser on Skye (you can bring your car over). It's a nice break from the crowds on Skye (and Skye will be crowded during the time you are there). There are some wonderful hikes you can take (check the Walk Highlands site for those). There is also a distillery, and a hotel called Raasay House that has a nice cafe. And a community-owned shop where you can find an interesting array of goods.

But mainly people go there for the hiking, especially if you are looking to get in some solitary hiking without the crowds. You can visit some very old ruins there and see Calum’s Road, built over a 10 year period by one man. I went there one day during my 4 nights on Skye and really loved it.

Glengorm Castle is a castle in name only- it was never a real castle in defensive terms, but one person's baronial style house.

The name Glengorm illustrates the sadness behind the place (gorgeous views notwithstanding). An existing settlement was cleared and the people evicted in order to build the place (Mull was infamous for it's clearances, this was towards the end of that time).

Glengorm means 'Blue Glen'. The original owner (who was hated on the island) chose that name after asking locals, unaware that the blue referred to the blue smoke from when the cleared houses were burned together with their stocks of peat (for fuel) and gathered seaweed (for eating). One story is that a woman who had been cleared cursed him never to live in the house and he didn't dying in a riding accident before the house was completed.

Most of those cleared were 'lucky' in that they stayed on the island and moved to Tobermory, as opposed to being shipped away from Scotland.

Many thanks to all contributors, this is really useful information.

Three nights in Elgin seems like a lot.

My wife loves the accommodation there and the younger generation are planning at least half a day's surfing at Lossiemouth East Beach. I'm sure we won't get bored.

I also agree with Allan about scheduling a buffer day for the tour.

We will plan the boat trip to Staffa on our first full day on Mull, then we have some flexibility.

you might want to consider visiting the tiny island of Raasay, which
is a short 20 minute ferry ride from Sconser on Skye

Good idea, I hadn't thought of that before. But I'm a bit worried whether it won't get too crowded on Skye.

The name Glengorm illustrates the sadness behind the place (gorgeous
views notwithstanding).

Every place in Scotland seems to be full of (sad) stories.

You are on Skye end August/early September on the shoulder of the season. The Scottish schools have started their Autumn term so there is less of a domestic market to taking vacations on the island. But that is more reason to escape to Raasay for a day, to avoid the crowds.

Glengorm Castle is a castle in name only- it was never a real castle in defensive terms, but one person's baronial style house.

I would agree with that. Now it's private apartments for rent to holiday goers. (very nice-looking ones, I might add). :-) But you can still walk the gardens and hike around the area and walk down to the sea. And visit the cafe, which gave me a very nice tea with cakes. :-) I don't know that I would go out of my way for it (although it's not that far from Tobermory), but it's a nice stop on the way back from Calgary if you make it there.