Scotland - Your Favourites

A lot depends on what your interests are, but I enjoyed Glencoe and the area quite a bit. A drive on a "road to nowhere" off the A82 along Glen Etive is magical as is a drive on the road through Glen Orchy. Stunning vistas on both. Not long after you start the drive towards Loch Etive you'll be treated to a marvellous view of Buchaille Etive Mor. Great place for some pictures (then again in Scotland most everywhere is).

Skye is amazing, as Toni said do stop off and at least admire Eilean Donan on the way. Though the alternate approach would be to drive to Mallaig, stopping off on the way to see the Silver Sands of Morar on the way to the ferry to Skye. On Skye you could consider visiting the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing. The Museum of Island Life is nice as well.

Mull and Iona are also wonderful and well worth some time. The abbey on Iona and the history there is amazing and the scenery of Mull and the charm of Tobermory are great.

Orkney is a treat too, and if you can, a few days there is well worth it so you can visit Skara Brae, Maeshowe, the Ring of Brogar along with the various Brochs around the islands (or even the ones on the Orkney mainland). St. Magnus in Kirkwall is worth a peek here as well as is a brief trip to the Italian Chapel.

There is so much to see in Scotland, but I'm sure you'll enjoy every moment!

Happy Travels!

Eric

I loved Kilmartin Glen-all the standing stones, cairns etc..., Oban, Dunstaffnage Castle. All the border abbeys are amazing. A great spot was also Balquidder, where Rob Roy's grave is. Also, you can't miss the Isle of Skye. Have fun, I'm jealous!

On the way from Inverness to Isle of Skye, don't miss Elliean Donnan castle. Also a drive through the Great Glen, Glencoe and that general area are nice. Aviemore is one of my favorite villages. It is in the Caringorm Mts. and there are some lovely drives around the lochs and along the Spey river as well as lots to do- steam train, funicular up Mt. Caringorm, microbrewery to tour, and LOTS of wonderful whisky distilleries in the area.

The above are all great suggestions. I would add Inchmaholme Priory, Doune Castle (the Monty Python one), Clava Cairns, Dryburgh Abbey, and Skara Brae which you can do as a (very long) day trip from Inverness. Glencoe is gorgeous and evocative.

If you have not yet found the website undiscoveredscotland.com, do explore it. It's good for many hours of websurfing---your list will get so long you will need ten trips to see it all.

Definitely go to the Isle of Skye. It's astoundingly beautiful and has wonderful places to walk and hike. We took a day trip to Harris and Lewis from Skye (only goes on Saturdays I believe) that we really enjoyed. I wanted to stay overnight but could not fit it into our schedule.

Orkney is amazing. We've just been to the main island, but it is sites unlike I have seen anywhere else. It's not the most convenient place to get to, unfortunately, but it certainly is worth the trouble.

Finally, Oban is a nice town to visit. We took the three isle tour to Mull, Iona and Staffa. It was fabulous. Oban is a great jumping off point for a number of islands and a nice town in its own right.

I hope you have a great trip.

You might think about pushing the journey to the islands. If Skye appeals to you, why not keep going and visit Lewis and Harris? A good route would be to head to Ullapool checking out inverness again on the way. (In my opinion you can never visit Inverness too often.) Take the ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway. You can see the Butt of Lewis, you visit Carloway Broch, a Viking Mill, the Callanish Stones, the beaches of Harris and Lewis and more. Get a tweed jacket or just some tweed. ; ) Then catch the ferry from Tarbert to Uig and spend some time on Skye. Then head down the west coast.

Alternatively, leave Inverness and head north to Thurso and take the Ferry to Orkney. Spend several days there exploring the Mainland, Hoy, South Ronaldsay and other islands. Take the ferry back to Thurso and then drive across the top of Scotland. See the lochs where the convoys for WWII were staged, check out the clearances museum at Betty Hill and maybe even Strathnavar. Or continue west to Durness and the wild sands. Drive south to the Inverewe Gardens and then on to Ullapool and south.

Pam

Ditto many of the suggestions: My favorite place is Iona, spending at least an overnight there. Kilmartin Glen, Glencoe, walking the West Highland Way, the Border Abbeys and castles. Dunnottar Castle on the East Coast. Enjoy.

You do not say whether you are doing Scotland then England or vice versa. Assuming you are flying into Glasgow, drivr to Gourock, take a ferry to Dunoon or Hunter's Quay, drive north past Loch Eck and on to Strachur, eventually to Oban, on to Malaig and Skye back to Mainland north to Ullapool up West Coast, Across to John O'Groats, Thurso, Wick, Inverness, down A9 to Perth, Stirling, back to Glasgow and South to England, or from Stirling go through Edinburgh and take the coast road to Berwick.

Hi Bob, I visited Stranraer a summer ago on my way back N Ireland via ferry. Went to Portpatrick just a few miles away which is a hidden gem that most folks don't know about or visit. If you enjoyed Ayr your in for a treat. Portpatrick is a quaint coastal village that folks keep to themselves and I am probably giving away a well kept secret. Enjoy