Scotland

Curious about what there is in Inverness itself. Aware of all the many things nearby but what in Inverness proper? Guidebooks don't feature much to see there, in town.

Inverness for sure. We use a Rough Guide to Scotland and plan our travels using it. Everyone has their favorite places and you will be able to find the ones you will find memorable. You could go as far north as Thurso if you wanted. Be sure to give yourself two or three days in Edinburgh and see some of Glasgow if you can.

Inverness is said to be the capital of the Highlands. The Culloden Battlefield is there as is an excellent museum of Highland history including silver. The River Ness flows through the town on its way to the sea. There's good Highland shopping there too. Culloden is an interesting historical site. We felt like something bad happened there, and it did. The castle, while not old is very interesting. We stayed in one of the old hotels near the Episcopal church, which was also interesting.

Inverness is a pleasant town, very accessible to the highlands and more rugged parts of Scotland. We really enjoyed the old railway hotel at the main station- large rooms, very good food. interesting experience to feel you are back in time. (the name seems to change every now and then, I suppose it depends on which chain is running it at the time). We also enjoyed going out to the small towns/villages and staying in local small hotels.

Do you mean far north or northeast? Sounds like you mean north if you're basing yourself in Inverness. (ie do you mean around aberdeen - this is the northeast, or far north which is above inverness?)
S

Fifteen days in the highlands is a great amount of time. Here are some suggestions. Take you time driving to Skye. I would head north and west to Stirling. You'll be tired and not wanting to drive too far, so stop there and visit the Castle. This is the gateway to the highlands and when you see the geography you'll understand why! You can stop off at Bannockburn on the way into to town. This is where Bruce defeated Edward Long Shanks, Hammer of the Scots. ; ) You can then head north on the A84 to eventually hook up with the A82 which will take you as far as Fort William. On the way you'll drive through Loch Lomond and the Trossach National Park (not near Loch Lomond though), past spectacular scenery to Ranoch Moor and Glencoe. You'll want to stop often for pictures. Plan to stop at the Visitor's Center for Glencoe and hear the story. After Glencoe you'll drive up Loch Linhe. Ben Nevis is there. You can stay in Fort William or go out to Spean Bridge. Just past Spean Bridge on the on the A82 is the Commando Monument. Very moving and fantastic views. Worth the detour. You'll drive further west on the A830 out of Fort William to get to Skye. I'm taking you to the Ferry. I suspect you'll want to reserve your spot on the Mallaig Ferry. On the road to Mallaig you drive past the Glen Finnian Viaduct of Harry Potter Fame and the place where Prince Charlie landed for the rising of '45. I'm skipping past an area I've briefly explored and would like to explore more--Ardnamurchan--but you need time. The roads are small and you can spend days back in there. ; ) BTW gas up when you get the chance. The small cars have good milage, but you can find yourself in places without petrol stations. Watch Sundays. More in a later post. Pam

Skye is a wonderful island. Do you like to walk? There are a wide range of walks of different levels on Skye. You want to see the CuillinsRed and Black, and I would recommend the Trotternish arm of the island. If you don't hike up into the Cuilins a bit, you might go down to Elgol. They offer boat trips to Loch Coruisk. The views are wonderful. There is a brooch on Skye which is interesting to visit as well as Dunvegan Castle with its Fairy Flag. The light house at Niest Point is in a spectacular setting and at the end of a beautiful drive. There is a great jewelry storeSkye Silver. What you do after Skye is probably your biggest question. You could continue out to the Outer Hebrides. You can catch a ferry at Uig to Tarbert and explore Harris and then Lewis. Harris has beautiful beaches, a medieval church and spectacular scenery. Walks too if you are interested. Lewis has the Calinish Stone Circle, the wonderful Carolway Broch, a viking long house, and another spectacular Lighthouse at the Butt. You can then catch a ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool, which is one of my favorite little towns. Above Ullapool in the hill are some nice short walks with great views of Loch Broome. In Ullapool is my favorite Knitwear shop and a nice bookstore. Alternatively, you can go over the bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh and visit Eilean Donan Castle before heading north toward Gairloch. This route takes you through the Torridon's which are very beautiful and have great walks a well. Pam

I'm still going here. ; ) If you wanted to, you could drive north and around the top of Scotland and then down to Inverness. We did it with 3 nights. There are spectacular views of mountains, lochs, tidal sands and gorgeous cliffs. Cape Wrath requires that you take a ferry and then a mini bus out to see the light. We missed it and I really regret that we did. Further along the northern coast is Loch Eriboll. Its a beautiful Loch that was used by the Navy in WWII. Further along is Tongue and past Tongue is Betty Hill, which has a nice little museum on the clearances. But to get a notion of the clearances go to Strathnavar and visit the park where there once a village. You can walk around it and read about what was there only 200 years ago. You have to go inland a bit to see this. You can continue west to Thurso and on to John O'Groats. At either place you can catch a ferry to Orkney. Orkney is its own special place and if you decide you want to go there let me know. You can drive down the North Sea Coast to Inverness. I've not stopped at Wick, but I've wanted to. ; ) I have stopped at the Broch just North of Golspie and Dunrobin Castle. I'm a Sutherland so found it particularly interesting. It has beautiful gardens. Further south is Dornoch, which has a great little cathedral. It would be a nice place to stay. There is a world class gold course there. You go past the Black Isle on the way to Inverness. I have stayed in Fortrose and enjoyed it. But Inverness is a great base for more sites. The Inverness tourist sites have been mentioned. I would add that there are great restaurants in Inverness and to add Cawdor Castle and Fort George to the list of things to do. It's also fun to do a boat ride on the Moray Firth. You can do day trips from here to Glen Afric and of course, Loch Ness. Pam

Inverness is a great city- one of my favorites. Nice to walk around and in addition to Culloden Battlefield and the Clava Cairnes, you can take a cruise on the firth and one up the River Ness and Lock Ness with a stop at Urquart Castle and the village of Drumnadrochit. Lots of great day trips with tour companies go out of Inverenss and their TI office is fantastic- they'll even help you plan drives. We also like Aviemore- a small village in the Caringorm Moutains. It would give you a nice break with things to do like horseback riding, cannoeing, hikes, a restored steam train to ride, hikes up or down Mt. Caringorm - or use the Funicular, a local microbrewery that gives tours and samples (Hubby love the Caringorm Gold Ale), and lots of nearby distilleries (the Speyside whiskies are my favs- esp. Dalhwhinnie)- oh and Blair Athol Castle is not very far either. Lovely village and the castle and grounds are great, too. We always use trains and the occassioal bus, so listen to Pamela about routes and the wee roads of Scotland. She is quite experienced.

Last summer we spent 3 days in the Outer Hebrides on the Isles of Lewis and Harris easily accessible from Skye by ferry. It was a great part of our trip well worth the effort and time. Very different from anyplace else in Scotland. Really wild and isolated. Try the website undiscoveredscotland.co.uk
There are drives you can read about with pictures included. It is vey helpful.

You've gotten a lot of really good advice. Skye is one of my favorite places I've been - fabulous scenery and interesting history. I would definitely try to get to one of the islands. Pamela had a great idea - to go from Skye to Harris/Lewis and then back to the mainland. The Orkneys are also amazing. I've only been to the main island, but it is packed with prehistoric sites. I also like Inverness and the sites around it. It's hard to go wrong in the highlands; I'm sure you will love it.

Ginger, If you want to go some where not many American tourists go pay a visit to the Isle of Islay and Jura, which is next to it.

If you go the Isle of Jura, they make a wonderful single malt whisky there. Not sure if they have tastings there, but surely you can get in a local pub( of course I like a smokey single malt, not everyone does).

I want to thank everyone for all the great info, I bought a laminated map so I could circle what I want to see. Lots of circles so far. I have added the Outer Hebrides to my trip. Ginger