Expert: Robert Craig - 7/17/2006

Question
Hi, I'm planning my first trip to Scotland in Augest and had a couple questions about my driving route.  I'm planning on spending 6 nights in the highlands, getting around with a rental car. My rough itenerary is edinburgh-glencoe(1st night)-isle of skye (2nd night, planning on taking the ferry after driving down the road to the isles, not sure if its worth it though?)-drive along loch ness to inverness (3rd night, will there be less traffic going in this direction?)-ornkey islands (4th night, was thinking about taking a really long route through ullaopol and along the northern coast heard it was really beautiful, do you have an idea of how long that would take? is it worth the time?)-back through inverness to the whiskey trail area (5th night) and finally stay around dundee (6th night) before dropping the car off back in edinburgh.  I know its on the intense side but I'm 23 and a pretty energetic traveller.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Tim

Answer
Hi Tim

That is one helluva schedule. I hope you like driving!

You could easily get to Skye via Glencoe in one day from Edinburgh. The day you save could be spent on Orkney or on Skye, which are both worth a better look.

The A830 to Mallaig and then Skye is worth taking, as is the A87 through Glen Shiel and over the Skye Bridge. If you take the A830, a marginally more scenic (and also longer) route than the A82 between Onich and Fort William is to cross to Ardgour at the Corran Ferry and take the road through Acharacle. You will miss out on the Glenfinnan monument, but you will see Castle Tioram, which is better.

Inverness is not worth passing through twice, unless you *really* want to see Loch Ness - though I'm not sure why anyone would, when there is far finer scenery all the way up the West Coast.

The drive up the West Coast is beautiful, but prepare for sore shoulders. It will take all day, if you go from Skye-mainland-Loch Carron-Loch Torridon-Loch Ewe-Ullapool-Achnahaird-Lochinver-Clashnessie-Durness-Thurso (though you could miss out on a lot of sore shoulders and not much scenery by bypassing Lochinver). The area of the mainland between Skye and Ullapool is just as beautiful - if not more so - than the area between Ullapool and Durness. I would probably recommend sticking to the west coast rather than going to Inverness and back out. If you *do* go Inverness-Ullapool and back, the best route for scenery is probably Inverness-Bonar Bridge-Ledmore Junction-Lochinver-Achiltibuie/Achnahaird-Ullapool-Garve-Inverness.

Apart from that your itinerary sounds ambitious but doable. Have a good time!

cheers
Craig