Thank you to Mike, isn31c, and wasleys for all the help and advice for our trip! I wanted to report back in and let you know we had a wonderful time. We ended up doing the following:
Arrival day: Landed in Heathrow at 7:30 am, and found out our noon flight to Aberdeen was cancelled. We got moved to a 3 PM flight that was delayed until 4:30. The good news is that because we are platinum status on American, we could use the BA lounge to get a meal/shower/great nap during our nine hour layover.
Day 1: Braemar Gathering - We saw a man from the Czech Republic set a world record for throwing the 56 pound weight up and over the high bar, saw the King and Queen, and got the best takeway fish and chips of the trip (from The Place to Be). It took us 78 minutes to get out of the parking lot, but only because we ditched the line we were in and scooted over to another line that was moving way faster. The drive to Fort Augustus took us about 3.5 hours, but at 9:30 PM, ten miles from our lodging, we hit the edge of the road and blew out a tire. Our host and hostess kindly retrieved us, and we left the car parked with a note on the windshield that said we'd sort it out in the morning.
Day 2: spent most of the day getting a blown out tire replaced (thank goodness for the tire insurance), then did a Loch Ness cruise and had a takeaway dinner from Beaufort Pizza in Fort Augustus - delicious pizza.
Day 3: Did the Plodda Falls hike, then a couple of hikes in Glen Affric and stopped at Corrimony Chambered Cairn (Glen Affric is GORGEOUS - my favorite hiking day). Another takeaway dinner in our apartment.
Day 4: drove up the south side of Loch Ness (so pretty!) to Culloden Battlefield, then went into Inverness to Leakey's Bookstore, where I found two 1895-6 editions of Baedeker's travel guides to add to my collection. Stopped at Primark to buy fleece-lined tights to put under my pants as I was cold and had dinner at Hootenanny's.
Day 5: Did a five mile hike (the River Beauly and Lovat Bridge Circuit), then went into Beauly, stopped at Robertson's Farm Store for shopping and to meet some coos, drove up to the Black Isle to Chanonry Point, and had our best dinner of the trip at Crofter's Cafe in Rosemarkle.
Day 6: First stop - Highland Folk Museum, which we enjoyed. If you arrive later in the afternoon, start at the Pinewoods area - we started at the opposite end, but they closed the gate to the Pinewoods area 45 minutes before the museum closed. Then we did the 4 mile hike around Loch an Eileen, which was beautiful. Another takeaway fish and chips dinner.
Day 7: Checked out of our apartment (highly recommend The Old Convent Holiday Apartments), drove to Pitlochry so I could stop at Heathergems and get some jewelry, then went to Stirling Castle for the afternoon. Had a delicious dinner at The Meadowpark Hotel over by the University of Stirling, then drove to Glasgow airport, dropped off the rental car, and took a cab to Glasgow Central where we boarded the Caledonian Sleeper for the overnight to London. We had a compartment with two bunks, and it was a fun experience, but not the best sleep and I'm not sure I could convince my hubby to do it again unless we could get the compartment with the double bed. (quote from hubby: "It was better than the overnight bus from Istanbul to Bucharest, because there were no assault rifles and I could stretch out at least")
Day 8: Arrived in London early and we were off the train by 7:30 AM. We dropped our bags off at our hotel and went to the Tate Britain, took the UberBoat from there up to Bankside, went to Southwark Cathedral, then did an afternoon "Disastrous London" walking tour with London Walks. Took a nap at the hotel then had a delicious Italian dinner at Isolabella on Red Lion Street in Holborn. We have been to London multiple times so it was lovely to not have anything
planned and just wander around enjoying the city.
Day 9: flew home.