Traveling from Kirkwall to Edinburgh.

Last summer, returning from Kirkwall, we headed towards Inverness, but took the road that heads southwest towards Glenmorriston which has a very good hotel. Then we drove down through Glencoe, turned east at Killin, and spent our last night at Aberfeldy. If you have a bit more time, after Killin you can drive up towards Loch Tummel, then east to Queen's View. THIS DRIVE WOULD TAKE TWO DAYS.
When we left Skye, heading towards the Orkney ferry and Kirkwall, we drove up the west side of Scotland, through Ullapool and across the north coast of Scotland. Unless you have lots of time to explore all of the tiny roads in that area, I would not recommend that route. It is very bleak after Ullapool, the land is mostly empty since the Clearances. It's beautiful in a very austere way, but we much preferred Skye, the Great Glen, and Glencoe.

Thanks for the insight ... I will check the route you mentioned. I'm traveling from Edinburgh to Oban to Portree to Inverness to Kirkwall and have get back to Edinburgh from Kirkwall in two days. Any suggestions would be helpful....

It is a good three hours from Thurso/Scrabster to Inverness. But the ferry from Stromness is up to four hours. So, to be honest, it's a full day to get from Kirkwall to Inverness. Personally, I would recommend spending the night there. Then you can take a more leisurely drive from Inverness down to Edinburgh. You can go down the middle, the A9, and take side trips. You could stop and check out the Highland Folk Museum near Newton More and the Ruthven Barracks. Then hop back on the A9 until Queens View and drive the wee roads west past the loch and then over the mountain to Aberfeldy. It's a good place to stay. It would It would take about three hours to drive to Edinburgh, but you can go the scenic route. IF you've not checked out Stirling that might be a stop. Or you could go east and check out Scone Palace north of Perth.

An alternate route would be to head to Aberdeenshire. After leaving Inverness, drive toward Balater. It's about a 3 hour drive, but you would want to stop for castles and views and maybe a gallery. You could push on to Dunkeld if you wanted to. And be closer to Edinburgh.

Pam

Thanks so much for the input....my plans have morphed a bit...am staying the night in Scrabster, Thursto so I can make ( I would have arrived to late to catch the ferry) the Northlink Ferry to Stromness then get to Kirkwall. On way back I am leaving very early (0630) in the morning from Stromness to Scrabster and on to Inverness where I will spend the night before I will meander (ha) back to Edinburgh. I can tell you it has been fun to put these plans all in place......the Rick Steve's site has been invaluable with providing the resources needed.....