Driving Tour of Skye and Northwest Highlands of Scotland

Skye is filled with prehistoric monuments. To do Skye justice, we recommend a minimum of two days/three nights on the island. The majestic unpopulated Northwest Highlands of Scotland lure Scots when they want to get away from it all. The scenic beauty of the rugged coastline, mountains, lochs, glens and rivers, provide superb recreation.

The driving tour for Skye and the Northwest Highlands of Scotland is approximately 395 miles.

Begin your journey at Fort William visiting Inverlochy Castle. Take A82 north out of Fort William to Invergarry where you can visit Invergarry Castle. Head west on A87 and then north, and west again on A87 throug Glen shiel. At Shiel Bridge take the small road west to Glenelg to visit the Glenelg Brochs. Back on A87 follow it north to Eilean Donan Castle. Again on A87 follow it to Kyle of Lochalsh and on to the Isle of Skye. Continue your drive along A87 until you come to Sligachan where you'll take A863 to Dunvegan. There you can visit Dunvegan Castle. Head out of Dunvegan taking A850 east to Skeabost where you'll come to a small road B8036 heading north just a very short way and you'll connect to A87 north to A855 at Uig. Follow the A855 to visit the Skye Croft Museum and Duntulm Castle. Continue along A855 where you'll now be heading south and you'll again meet up with A87 at Portree. Continue along the A87 back through Sligachan and to the mainland. Once you reach Auchtertyre turn north onto A890 until you come to the junction of A890 and A896. Here you'll take the A896 and follow it west until you Shieldag and on to Torridon where you'll take the A896 to Kinlochewe. At Kinlochewe take A832 to Gairloch. Continue on A832 passing Poolewe and on up to Laide. Again, continue along A832 until you reach the junction of A835 which you'll follow east. Before you reach Canon Bridge there is a small road heading south which will connet you to A832. Take A832 east then south just past Beauly. At this junction head west towards Kilmorack and A831 to Echless Forest where you can visit Erchless Castle, Beaufort Castle, and Moniak Castle. Continue along the A831 to Cannich where you'll stay on A831 but now you're heading east. Stop off at Corrimony to see Corrimony Cairns. After your visit continue along A831 east until you join A82 at Drumnadrochit and follow this just a little way to visit Urquhart Castle, which is on the west side of Loch Ness. From here you can drive north to Inverness on A82.

Below is a list of sites on the Isle of Skye and Northwest Highlands of Scotland that we have very interesting. Add as many as you want to the above tour as most are within a short drive and really won't add very much to the miles but remember they will add to your time. It can become overwhelming when you try to fit it all in and believe me, you won't be able to do it all in one trip. But that's part of the fun....you just have to keep coming back!

1. Knock Castle - This late medieval castle was a MacDonald fortress called Caisteal Chamuis in Gaelic. To reach the castle we had to follow a path through a pasture strewn with sheep. There is not much left of Knock Castle.
2. Dun Sgathaich Castle - This place is worth visiting if for no other reason than for its beautiful surroundings.
3. Castle Maol
4. Dun Beag - This broch is one of the four or five best preserved in western Scotland, out of about 500 brochs in the country. The broch is off the A863, a half mile to a mile west of Bracadale. The broch is on the north side of the road, the car park is on the south side.
5. St. Columba's Island
6. Urquhart Castle - Pronounced "urk-urt", is one of Scotland's most visited tourist attractions. It stands on a promontory overlooking famed Loch Ness.
7. Strome Castle
8. Beauly Priory
9. The Nigg Stone and Church

A Driving Tour of Scotland's Northeast

So many castles exist in the northeast that local tourist authorities have created a castle trail. However, not only castles dot the region. This ancient Pictish kingdom also boasts numerous carved stones, recumbent stone circles, Roman forts, cathedrals and ruins. It is a land of wild mountains, deep glens, and rushing rivers, treacherous sea cliffs.

This driving tour of Scotland's northeast is approximately 195 miles and will take you from Aberdeen to Inverness.

Begin your journey in Aberdeen where you'll leave the city heading south on A90 to Stonehaven and Dunnottar Castle. Leave Stonehaven by the A957 heading northwest until you reach the A93, from here you can take a short drive to visit both Drum Castle and Crathes Castle. After your visits head west along A93 to B993 continue west. Continue your journey west on B976 until you meet A93 at Crathie. Take A93 west-southwest to Braemar where you'll visit Braemar Castle and if you are there the first weekend in September, visit the Highland Games. Leave Braemar the same way as you came, on A93, heading back to Crathie stopping by Balmoral Castle along the way. Leave Crathie by the B976 until you meet the A939 heading north. At Colnabaichin it's just a short drive west to Corgarff Castle. Leave Colnabaichin on A944 which meets up with A97 where you can visit Glenbuchat Castle, Kildrummy Castle, and continue on north A97 to Huntly. Stay in Huntly a couple of nights so that you can visit Huntly Castle, Loanhead Circle, Tolquhon Castle, Fyvie Castle, and Delgatie Castle. Leave Huntly by way of the A920 heading west to Dufftown. Here you'll want to visit Balvenie Castle and Glenfiddich Distillery. Leave Dufftown on the A941 continuing on to Elgin where you'll want to visit Elgin Cathedral, Spynie Palace, and Duffas Castle. Leave Elgin heading west on A96. Along the way you may wish to visit Sueno's Stone at Forres and Brodie Castle just west of Forres before you reach Nairn. Continue your journey along A96 until you reach Inverness. You'll want to spend a couple of nights here to visit Culloden Battlefield, Clava Cairns, and Cawdor Castle.

The following are other sites, which I may or may not have already mentioned, you may wish to add to your visit while on this driving tour of Scotland's Northeast.

1. Elgin Cathedral
2. Sueno's Stone - My husband and I have seen this stone in many photos, but none of them prepared us for its immensity or for the complexity of the carvings. Sueno's stone stands at the edge of a housing area next to the A96.
3. Duffus Castle - Pronounced "duffus" not "doofus".
4. Spynie Palace
5. Balvenie Castle
6. Huntly Castle
7. Picardy Symbol Stone - Class I Pictish stone may be one of the oldest in Scotland, possibly dating from the 7th century. Take the B992 to Insch. In Insch, follow the minor road toward Largie. The stone stands about two miles beyond Insch on the south side of the road.
8. Maiden Stone - This is a finely carved Class III Pictish stone and may be one of the last of the Pictish carving tradition. The site is located off the A96 4.5 miles northwest of Inverurie.
9. Loanhead Stone Circle
10. Crathes Castle
11. Arbroath Abbey

Since there are so many places to visit within a short distance, we chose self catering as our main accommodation along with Bed and Breakfast/Guest House for the in-between drives for this journey. We chose to stay at Delgatie Castle's Symbister Suite, which is located in Turriff, for one week while we toured part of the northeast region of Scotland. Each morning we would map out our journey for the day, stop off in the town of Turriff for supplies for a picnic lunch, and take off. Although, we were well planned in our journeys we always allowed time for those sites which seem to show up along the way that weren't planned but seemed very interesting. While we enjoy the planning we also love to be spontaneous while on vacation. This allows us to relax, which is what vacations are really all about. Some of our best memories are the ones where we just drove the country roads of Scotland and would come upon a ruined castle. There are so many ruins throughout the countryside of Scotland that most tourists don't even know about or even seem to care to stop by to see. But to us these are some of the best places we visited. There were no people around to disturb the peacefulness of simple, quiet nature. We would park our car as close to the area as possible and hike back to the ruin with our picnic lunch in tow, lay out our blanket and relax amidst the ruins.

Driving Tour of Central Scotland

This driving tour of central Scotland includes the areas Argyll, Perthshire, and Fife. This driving tour is approximately 335 miles long. Argyll is in the western portion of Scotland and has a rich association with the first Scots, called Scotti. Perthshire is convenient to Scotland's central cities. Fife is on the east coast just north of Edinburgh.

Begin this journey from Dumbarton, which is just northwest of Glasgow, on the A82 heading north to Tarbet where you'll turn west (A83). Take the A83 west through Inveraray, now driving south. Continue along the A83 to Lochgilphead where you'll take the A816 north out of Lochgilphead until you reach the B841 at Cairnbaan. Then follow the B841 along the Crinan canal for about 2.5 miles and turn left at the B8025. This road takes you south for about 1.2 miles where a minor road forks to the left leading to Achnamara and the B8025 continues on. To get to Castle Sween, go left at the fork and take the one-lane Achnamara road for about 5 miles. After your visit to Castle Sween go back to B8025 and drive north towards Kilmartin and the A816. From here you could take a short drive south to see Dunadd Castle or you could just continue north where you'll pass Carnassarie Castle. Continue along the A816 until you reach Oban where you'll now take the A85 out of Oban to continue your journey. Stop by Kilchurn Castle just off the A85. Continue along A85 where, just past Ardchyle, you'll turn north on the A827. Follow this to Aberfeldy where you can visit Castle Menzies. Leave Aberfeldy by the A82 until it meets the A822. At this intersection you can make a right on the A822 and drive a short distance towards Crieff to visit Drummond Castle or you can turn left on the A822 to continue your journey to Dunkeld. Leave Dunkeld heading south on A9 to Perth. Just outside of Perth you'll want to visit Huntington Tower Castle, Scone Palace, and Elcho Castle. Leave Perth heading northeast on A94 to Glamis were you can visit Glamis Castle. From Glamis follow the A928 south to A90 and continue south through Dundee where you'll then take A914, A919, A91 to St. Andrews. From here you can head south a short distance to visit Kellie Castle. Leave St. Andrews by B939 until you meet up with A916 where you can turn north to visit Scotstarvit Tower and Hill of Tarvit. Take the A916 to Cupar where you'll leave Cupar heading west until you meet the A92. Here you'll turn south onto A92 and you'll exit onto A912 driving west and stop ere to see Falkland Palace. After your visit continue along A912 until you meet back up with A91. When you reach the M90 take this south to Edinburgh.

The following are places of interest along this drive which you may wish to add to your itinerary.

1. Castle Sween - Castle Sween is the oldest castle still standing in Scotland and may have been the first Norman castle.
2. Kilmartin Church and Linear Cemetery - The linear cemetery or line of burial cairns is the most prominent feature in the valley. The cemetery was used and altered for more than 1,000 years, beginning about 5,000 years ago. The Kilmartin Church is known for its Celtic crosses and its fine medieval grave slabs.
3. Temple Wood - Temple Wood is a famous stone circle frequently cited in arhaeological writings and consists of two stone circles. Be sure to look for the double spirals on one of the northern stones in the main circle.
To see the linear cemetery and Temple Wood, park at the Lady Glassary car park and follow the well-marked paths. They are in the valley of Knapdale along the A816.
4. Dunadd - The fortress of Dundadd, one of Scotland's most important ancient historical sites, stands about 3.5 miles south of Kilmartin. After 500 AD, Dunadd served as the capital of ancient Dalriada. Before that, it had been an Iron Age fort and, before that, a Bronze Age site.
5. Achnabreck Rock Carvings - A virtual prehistoric art gallery, Achnabreck displays Scotland's most extensive group of rock carvings. Achnabreck is well signposted, east of the A816 just north of Lochgilphead near Cairnbaan. The walk to the carving is about one-third mile.
6. Carnasserie Castle - Carnasserie Castle was built between 1565 and 1572. Carnasserie is well preserved despite being captured and partly blown up in 1685. The castle is visible from the road just off the A816 a little more than a mile north of Kilmartin village.
7. Dunstaffnage - Massive Dunstaffnage Castle served as a significant stronghold of the Lords of the Isles at one of the most vital sea-lane junctions of western Scotland. It has associations with Robert the Bruce, the Stone of Destiny, and Flora MacDonald. Driving to Oban on the A85, Dunstaffnage is just off the road to the north on a small peninsula, about four miles east of Oban.
8. Kilchurn Castle - The ruins of Kilchurn Castle loom majestic against a backdrop of mountains and projects a haunting beauty.
9. Dunkeld Cathedral - The town of Dunkeld is just off the A9 heading toward Inverness, about 15 miles north of Perth.
10. Oakbank Crannog - Scotland's lochs contain many crannogs, man made island dwellings approached by various sorts of causeways. The Oakbank Crannog is located at the east end of Loch Tay on the south shore.
11. Elcho Castle - Elcho Castle provides an outstanding example of a nearly intact tower house.
12. Huntingtontower Castle
13. Falkland Palace
14. Aberdour Castle
15. St. Andrews Castle
16. St. Andrews Cathedral
17. Dunfermline Abbey, Palace