Scotland?

Definitely, just do the Old Town where castle is, very compact and can see most of it in a long day. Then at night to see the castle lit up was fantastic. The New Town section was not impressive to us. One of the highlights of Old Town was to go underground to see Mary King's Close, it is right by castle and I think only took about an hour.

We are planning a trip in late August and just booked a room at Claichaig Inn in Glencoe. Apparently it's a favorite place for hikers, and sounds really fun.
Here's the website: http://www.clachaig.com/

Aviemore, in the Caringorm moutains, makes a great base for outdoor activities and is close to quite a few of the BEST distilleries and Blair Atholl castle (possibly some others). Plenty of hikes/walks, horseback riding, canoeing, etc. If you decide to include Edinburgh (and you could fly into there) it is a fairly short train ride (I think 1 or 1 1/2 hours) to Aviemore.

I would definitely not skip Edinburgh. We did not spend much time in Glasgow but had four days in Edinburgh. You can certainly see the Old Town in a very busy day but wow is it worth it. It is not a city at all like Chicago or any of the cities we are used to in US. Please consider it.

Will consider it - but my husband and I have lived in Helsinki for 16 months, hence have seen a major chunk of Europe. Would you still recommend? If so, we might spend a day.

Yes, I would spend a bit of time in Edinburgh. It's beautiful city and well situated. The castle can help you learn a bit of Scottish History. If you need a warm up hike, you can climb Arthur's Seat. Or, there's a nice walk along Leith Water, but I expect Arthur's Seat is more up your alley. ; ) Toni has already told you about Aviemore and it is a great place to hike in the Cairngorms, but there are some other places that I would recommend you consider. When I've done my walking holidays in Scotland, I've been based in the Inverness area. I've stayed in Strathpeffer at the Richmond Hotel. It's gone through some ownership changes, but looks pretty good now. Check TripAdvisor. http://www.richmondhighlandhotel.co.uk/ More recently I've stayed in Fortrose at The Anderson http://www.theanderson.co.uk/ The reason why we have stayed in this area is that you can easily drive west to Toridon, Ullapool, Glen Afric, and even Applecross (with a really early start!). Or you can drive north to the North sea or east to Culbin Sands, or south to Aviemore and the Cairngorms. The reason this flexibility is important is because of the weather. When hiking you really want to go where there is the least rain and in Scotland in can be pouring rain in the west and quite lovely in the east, south or north and vice versa. If you watch the news the night before and are willing to be flexible, you'll be able to get out walking for every day. Do bring rain gear--good waterproof jacket with a hood, rain pants. A midge hat is a good idea, and good boots are very important. The trails tend to be rough and wet. They can be quite boggy. More on the walks in the second post.

I can tell you now about some great areas, if you decide that you want more specific locations on these, let me know and I can email the guide that we travel with as she's a friend. First, Culbin Sands. This is an area near Nairn on the Moray Firth. It is sandy and pine woods and eventually you work your way out to the Firth and walk along the shore. It's the area we go to for a starter hike at the beginning of our week or later on if the weather has been bad. It often seems to be raining everywhere else and the sun is shining on Culbin. ; ) Glen Afric. This a beautiful Glen. There is a circle walk that will likely take a day unless you are really good. One side is road that you walk in and the other side is a path that has quite a few streams across it. It's beautiful. We have done it were we just walked partly in and then walked back. Ullapool Hills: Right above Ullapool are some great walks. You are high up, and there is a small peak you can climb. I'm not a hill walker and I made it to the top last time. The views are wonderful and you can make the walks longer or shorter. Check on the woolen shop in Ullapool! Ceilidh Place is also nice for a hot drink on a damp day. You could also go a bit further west to Inverpolly. Stacpolly is a well climbed peak. I've not done and won't. ; ) But there are other walks in this area. I've done a walk near Loch Maree. Our walk required a drop off, but there are likely other walks in the area. Gairloch was nice too. THere are other walks in the west, but I would need to talk to Carol to get you specifics. I'd need to do the same for the walks in the north. Also, in Inverness area is Culloden, Cawdor Castle, Urqhart Castle (nice walks above it), Loch Ness, Fort George, and more. Pam