Hi. Having just returned from a mid-October week in Scotland, I figured I would let folks know that even in October, a surprising number of things were fully booked - and some important to us places were not. Below is the list of those that we encountered, most of which we booked ahead. We missed out of the Falkirk Wheel boat ride as we didn't think that would sell out. No problem for us in Portree as we had a house with a kitchen but still surprising.
Fully Booked Upon Arrival
Falkirk: Falkirk Wheel Boat Ride
Portree: Seemingly all restaurants
Skye: Talisker Distillery Tour
Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh: Andy Goldsworthy exhibit at the National Gallery
The parking lots at the most popular hiking site on Skye were not full and while we made dinner reservations for both nights in Edinburgh the restaurants did not see full. I know that in the summer both of these are jammed.