Travel
10 of the best road trips in Scotland
Scotland is ideal road trip territory. Here the best routes are those least travelled, where single-track ribbons of tarmac reach out across the moors, through the glens and around the base of hulking mountains, distracting you with views that demand to be gawped at. Highlights come thick and fast, from world-famous whisky distilleries to towering castles, and postcard-worthy beaches to cosy pubs. Hit the road and remember the adage — it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. This is our pick of the best road trips in Scotland.
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1. Highlands highlights
The Glenfinnan Viaduct
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Loch Ness, the Glenfinnan (or Harry Potter) Viaduct and a whisky distillery: these are the unmissable pitstops for any first-time Highlands road trip. All are easily reached from Inverness, taking the sinewy road south to the shores of Scotland’s most famous loch and the dramatic ruins of Urquhart Castle that stand beside it, and joining the spectacularly scenic Road to the Isles to gaze up at Glenfinnan Viaduct. Speyside is top pick for distilleries, home to the likes of Macallan and Glenfiddich.
How to do it
Newmarket Holidays has a seven-day Best of the Scottish Highlands tour, starting and finishing at Inverness airport, from £1,008pp.
• Best hotels in the Scottish Highlands
• Best things to do in the Highlands
2. Historic Orkney
The Stones of Stenness, Orkney
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In the Orkney Islands, just off Scotland’s north coast, you can drive from one of the world’s most important Neolithic sites to war defenses ordered by Churchill during the Second World War. Both are within easy reach of the capital Kirkwall, with roads leading out to Scara Brae, a Neolithic village that predates Stonehenge, and to the edge of Scapa Flow to cross the Churchill Barriers, built to keep German U-boats out.
How to do it
Intrepid Travel has four-night group tours (maximum 12) to Orkney, starting and ending in Inverness, from £1,482pp.
3. Edinburgh to Glasgow via the Highlands
Make your way from the Scottish capital to Glasgow, the country’s largest city, via a circuitous seven-day route which glides through the Highlands. It’s north first to Stirling Castle, one of the most important in Scotland, then Culloden moor, scene of the tragic end of the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Returning south, hop over to Skye before driving through the dramatic scenery of Glencoe to reach Loch Lomond (Britain’s largest lake).
How to do it
G Adventures has eight-night small-group tours (maximum 16) from Edinburgh to Glasgow taking in Loch Ness, Skye and Loch Lomond, from £2,999pp.
• Best day trips from Edinburgh
• Best affordable hotels in Edinburgh
4. Unique Shetland
An Atlantic puffin in the Shetland Islands
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Shetland, some 100 miles off the north coast of Scotland, is like nowhere else on earth. Here rugged cliffs are home to colonies of puffins, lighthouses perch on jagged rocks and the main archaeological site, Jarlshof, is a jumble of prehistoric and Norse history. Drive up to Muckle Flugga to stand at the British Isles’ northernmost point and take the road to Eshaness for a blustery coastal hike where you’re sure to spot more seals than people.
How to do it
Intrepid Travel has five-night small-group tours (maximum 12) of Shetland, starting and finishing at Aberdeen ferry terminal, from £1,416pp.
5. Harris, Lewis and Skye
Skye Bridge on the Isle of Skye
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Thanks to an excellent ferry network, it’s easy to combine several Scottish islands into one road trip. Most famous is Skye, reached via car ferry or road bridge, where you can drive to Dunvegan Castle, stronghold of the MacLeods for nearly 800 years, and out to the imposing Cullin mountains. Further north, Ullapool is the jumping off point for ferries to Stornoway in Lewis. It’s a short drive to the island’s prehistoric Calanais standing stones, and only an hour or so south to Harris (actually part of the same island), for romps across perfect white-sand beaches that could pass as Caribbean.
How to do it
Newmarket Holidays has five-night tours to Skye, Lewis and Harris, departing from a range of UK airports including Belfast, Bristol and Manchester, from £1,042pp including flights.
6. On the Outlander trail
Doune Castle in Stirling
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Love Outlander? Hit the road and you can follow the trail of Jamie and Claire from Edinburgh right around Scotland and back to Glasgow. Make stops at 15th-century Blackness Castle (which stood in for Fort William prison), Culross (which appeared on screen as Cranesmuir), Culloden Moor and Doune Castle (aka Castle Leoch), and make time for the Highland Folk Museum and Bannockburn to discover real Scottish history.
How to do it
Trafalgar has a 12-night Highland Trail inspired by Outlander coach tours that also take in Skye and Orkney, departing from Edinburgh and ending in Glasgow, from £3,124pp.
7. Foodie Royal Deeside
Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire
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Running down from the wild, heather-cloaked mountains of the Cairngorms to spill out into Aberdeen harbour, the River Dee carves its way through moors and forests and passes numerous castles, including the royal family’s favourite Balmoral. It can be followed by road, making pitstops for a whisky tasting at Lochnagar Distillery and a chance to sample local cheeses at traditional creamery Cambus o’May.
How to do it
Not in the Guidebooks has a one-day Royal Whisky and Cheese Tour along the Dee Valley, departing from and returning to Aberdeen, from £139pp.
8. North Coast 500 by campervan
Suilven and Stac Pollaidh
VISIT SCOTLAND
Scotland’s best-known road trip is the North Coast 500, an approximately 500-mile jaunt around the country’s far north coast, taking in crystal-clear sea lochs, white-sand beaches, pristine pine forests and the cosiest of pubs. The route starts and ends in Inverness, its highlights including Sandwood Bay beach, the climb up Stac Pollaidh and the drive over the pass to Applecross for sweeping views to Skye.
How to do it
Not in the Guidebooks has flexible NC500 Campervan Adventures from £100 a night, picking up a VW camper that sleeps four near Lancaster on any Monday or Friday. Allow at least seven nights; 14 is better.
notintheguidebooks.com
• Lake District v Scottish Highlands: which is better?
• Best of the North Coast 500
9. Iona, Mull and Skye
A bald eagle on the Isle of Mull
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Thanks to regular ferries, it only takes a few days to link three of the most enticing Inner Hebrides on one road trip. Drive north and west from Edinburgh to pass Stirling en route to Oban, where ferries depart for Mull. The island is one of the best places in Scotland to spot eagles so keep your eyes peeled as you drive across to Fionnphort, for ferries to Iona, home to the world-famous abbey. Back on the mainland, head north again for Skye, reached via a road bridge and packed with eye-popping scenery.
How to do it
Rabbies has four-night Iona, Mull & the Isle of Skye tours, departing from and returning to Edinburgh, from £509pp, not including accommodation.
rabbies.com
10. Summit Ben Nevis
Highland cattle in Glen Nevis
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Want to stand atop Scotland’s highest mountain? Fort William is your basecamp, around 20-minutes’ drive west on a road surrounded by lofty peaks. After your hike, continue the road trip westwards along the poetically named Road to the Isles to reach Arisaig, a fishing village and sea kayaking hotspot overlooking the Atlantic.
How to do it
Wilderness Scotland has three-night self-drive Ben Nevis & the West tours, including a guided hike up Scotland’s highest mountain and a sea kayaking trip from Arisaig, from £935pp, based on a group of four departing from Fort William.
wildernessscotland.com
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