Notes on our travel to Scotland, including Edinburgh, Islay, and the Highlands. Tips on when and where to go, where to stay, what to eat, and what to do.
In planning our 2015 trip to Scotland, we reluctantly cut Islay from our itinerary. Friends had enthusiastically recommended a visit, but we could not make it work with our schedule. We pledged, however, to visit on a future trip, and made it a priority when planning our 2019 visit.
We allocated three days (& three nights) to Islay. This gave us time to explore the island’s beaches and visit several of our favorite distilleries for in depth tours and tastings.
While tempted to return to some of the excellent hikes from our previous trip to Scotland, we instead decided to explore new parts of the Highlands before returning to prior hikes. After researching hikes in Scotland, we settled on four days of hiking the peaks of Torridonian sandstone running through Sutherland, Assynt, and Wester Ross.
In May 2019, we had the opportunity to return to Scotland for a week of hiking and whisky. Starting in Inverness, we spent the first half of the trip hiking in the northwest Highlands. We then drove down the west coast, took a ferry to Islay, and spend three days visiting distilleries, trying whisky and exploring the island.
This is part two of our Scotland trip, covering stops in Fort William to hike Ben Nevis, a few days on Skye, and in Inverness. This part of the trip follows a few days in Edinburgh, on Loch Lomond, and in Oban. The overview covers some of the logistics and planning details. Continue reading
This post covers part one of our Scotland trip, including time in Edinburgh, on Loch Lomond, and in Oban. In the second part, we visit Fort William, Skye, and Inverness. The overview covers some of the logistics and planning details. Continue reading
This series covers a thirteen-day circuit of Scotland, including Edinburgh, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, Oban, Fort William, Skye, and Inverness, in May 2015. It is divided into two parts:
The map below covers our general itinerary, and I’ve noted resources we found helpful while planning our trip and where we stayed. You can also view my full Scotland photoset on Flickr. Continue reading