Lady’s Scottish Highlands Tour Itinerary

Today I want to share about my Scottish Highlands tour. This 3-day trip took me from Edinburgh to the Highlands and back. Along the way I discovered everything from beautiful islands to legendary castles. Read on for the itinerary.

Scottish Highlands Tour

The Scottish Highlands are a place of legends. The Loch Ness monster, William Wallace, and Bonnie Prince Charlie are just a few.

Add to that the tradition of storytelling and the abundance of whiskey distilleries, and the myths grow more miraculous.

But legends alone are an insufficient way to experience the staggering beauty of the landscapes and lochs, the craggy cliffs and snow-capped mountains. No, this is a place that must be seen, felt, and tasted to be true.

If you’re interested in doing a Scottish Highlands tour, Rabbie’s offers great small-group tours of Scotland. I’ve done a number of their tours and have had great experiences. You can learn more and book here.

Wallace Monument

My day on the Isle of Skye was sandwiched between two others replete with Highland highlights.

I traveled north from Edinburgh after an amazing time at the city’s famous Hogmanay celebrations. The first stop on my Scottish Highlands tour was the Wallace Monument, a tall tower on a hill across the valley from Stirling Castle.

As the name implies, the monument was dedicated to William Wallace, the 13th-century Scottish hero of Braveheart film fame.

It was also the largest monument in the world that was not dedicated to either Buddha or Jesus. Let it never be said that the Scots don’t appreciate their freedom fighters.

Glen Coe

From the Wallace Monument, we drove north to Glen Coe, the valley known for its appearance in the James Bond movie Skyfall.

But Glen Coe was famous for a long time before that, and for good reason. The smooth mountain peaks, white waterfalls, and misty aura made it one of the most beautiful places we saw on our Scottish Highlands tour.

Fort Agustus

Glen Coe was followed by our arrival in Fort Agustus, a town on one end of Scotland’s famous Loch Ness. We stayed there for two nights, using it as our Highland home base as the region unfolded before us.

Eilean Donan Castle

One of the most memorable moments of the trip was when Chris, our driver, made us close our eyes as we rounded a bend in the road.

When he let us open them again, we were met with the sight of Eilean Donan Castle, a stunning stone structure sitting stately on an island in a loch. It was breathtaking.

Culloden

Another emotional experience on our Scottish Highlands tour was visiting the battlefield of Culloden, where the Scottish Highlanders made their last stand against the English army in 1746.

The bleak windswept field and its memorials to the clans that lost men there were intensely sorrowful.

Loch Ness

The tour hit a happier note as we drove the length of Loch Ness, skimming our eyes across the water in search of Nessie. We managed to spot a few impostors, but the real Loch Ness monster evaded us.

Thankfully we managed to see the beautiful ruins of Urquhart Castle, which more than made up for Nessie’s absence.

Clava Cairns

Passing through Inverness, a city once voted the ugliest in the United Kingdom but which now has its share of charm, we visited a Bronze Age burial ground called Clava Cairns.

The stone monuments were a testament to the depth of Scotland’s history, and their unexplained layout left us with a lingering sense of mystery.

Whiskey Distillery

From Clava Cairns our Scottish Highlands tour took us to the Tomatin whiskey distillery to experience Highland single malt at the source.

We took a factory tour and learned all about the production of Scotch whiskey. Then we did a Scottish drinks tasting in the shop. I’m no whiskey expert, but it went down just fine.

Edinburgh

On the way back to Edinburgh, we took a bit of a detour due to a road closure. It was far from inconvenient, though, as the drive took us through beautiful forests and heathered plains that glowed golden in the afternoon sun.

Farther along, our Scottish Highlands tour took us by the Carr Bridge, an old stone construction that made a perfect circle over the river below.

And there was another bridge, too. The famous Forth Bridge welcomed us back to Edinburgh, orange in the darkness of night.

3-Day Scottish Highlands Tour

It was a nice way to end my Scottish Highlands tour, not least because the next morning I would be crossing that very bridge to travel up to St Andrews. To be continued…

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