I have been able to plan my trip to Rome very well by reading this forum. Now we have planned this last minute trip from London to the Scottish Highlands for 4 days. We know it is very little time and the highlands are vast. But our friends gave us a surprise and are with us for the next week. We decided last night to go to Scotland and got our travel and cottage booked. We are living in a place near Inverness ( Muir of Ord).

I usually give a lot more time to trip planning than half a day. I know there are a lot of threads on Scottish Highlands, however I have not had much time to read them. I have tried coming up with a tentative itinerary. Please do comment on it.

30th June: Bus to Inverness (I know it's a very long ride, however everything else at this last minute was prohibitively expensive).

1st July: Reach at11:00am. Collect the car. Drive to the rental.

Get out of the house at around 3:00 after getting fresh. We could go east towards Nairn/ Foress/ Findhorn (we would have ideally liked to See Cawdor castle...but that doesn't seem possible).

2nd July: Lochness/Fort Augustus/ Drumnadrochit/ Glen Affric/ Cannish

Day 3: Isle of Skye

Day 4: Fort William to Mallaig ( we will have to make an early start because ideally we would want to be back in Inverness by 4:00pm)

Take the train back from Inverness at 6:30pm.

Does this seem like a feasible trip? If it is too much driving and you had to cut down some part,which one would it be? We could definitely come back to Scotland, but our friends may never be able to come back.

Please help, I really feel quite lost.

A bus from London to Inverness!? That would be gawd awful IMO -- but if it is your only choice its your only choice. I'd definitely look into flying up to Inverness though.

After sitting on a coach for hours and HOURS, I'm not so sure I'd want too many long driving days.

I wouldn't do your eastern excursion on your arrival day. I'd maybe drive south for Loch Ness/Drumnadrochit/Glen Affric etc. since you don't have opening hours to worry about. The scenery is "open" as long as its daylight. Then you could do Brodie/Cawdor castles Nairn and the eastern swing the next day

Skye is fabulous of course - but that will be another REALLY long day in a vehicle. I'd decide after you are up there whether you want to do that. But if you do -- there is absolutely NO reason to then schedule Malaig/Ft William on a separate day. You could drive to Skye over the bridge and come off at the ferry and drive Malaig to Ft William on your way back.

twelve plus hours on a bus? I just wouldn't do it. However, it's your butt. I simply wouldn't do much if any thing you are doing on this trip. I am a speed traveler, but I go solo and bounce around. I do wish you well, let us know how it turns out.

Let me reiterate. I think you're insane. Nut if you must...

a) Check Easyjet out of Luton. I know the timing's bad- start of school hols and all, but you MUST be able to do better than getting a bus.

1st July: From Muir of Ord, do the Black Isle. Don't go any further.

2nd July: OK

Day 3: Oh God! Tell me you're not going to go to Skye for the day, go back to Muir of Ord and then go BACK to Fort William the next. That is total insanity. Really. Trust me on this.

Day 4: Do Nairn, Culloden, Clava cairns and Cawdor instead.

The train is, at least, a better option than the bus

Thanks a lot for the replies. I know it is a tiring trip, and we may end up not doing some parts of it.

Janisj I am unable to understand that why do you suggest to go southwards instead of East as the total drive till Glen Affric is about 3-3hrs 30 minutes one way (after doubling the google maps estimated time). However the distance from Muir to Foress is about 2 hours one way. Which might still be do able to do.

Can you suggest some other castle that is more feasible.

You also suggest that we should make the Isle of Skye and the ride from Mallaig to Fort Williams as one day. Do you think that is a feasible day. I thought that would be way too long.

I have been thinking about what all of you have suggested. Changing our travel plans now is difficult. However do you think it would be a more feasible itinerary if we stay on our last night in Portree, or any other place in Isle of Skye.

Then on the last day we could take the ferry from Isle of Skye to Mallaig and drive to Inverness. Is the way just as scenic as the drive from Fort Williams to Mallaig.

I said that (though Sheila's suggestion of the Black Isle is even better) because -- as I said south (or the Black Isle) is simply scenery. Terrific scenery but, but scenery none the less. There are no opening/closing hours (which is why I assume you mentioned not being able to see Cawdor -- it would be closed by the time you got there)

It is daylight until 11PM so you can see whatever you want the day you arrive (assuming you want to see the insides of ANY sort of motorized vehicle). You could see Glen Affric at 9PM and still SEE it. Not the same for Cawdor or other places w/ open/close times. No castle would really be feasible on your arrival day. And I certainly would not plan any set things for that day. You will probably feel worse than jetlagged folks arriving after an overnight transatlantic flight.

If you must go out, do some scenery bagging that day - and leave places w/ set hours (like Cawdor) for another day.

"<i>we could take the ferry from Isle of Skye to Mallaig and drive to Inverness. Is the way just as scenic as the drive from Fort Williams to Mallaig.</i>" Ft william to Mallaig or Mallaig to Ft William is over the same road

The plan is still beyond nutty/exhausting

But that is a HUGE improvement

The OP will now be on the bus to Inverness.
I hope that it stops occasionally to allow the poor passengers to stretch their legs.

The long distance buses do make stops quite frequently (in this particular case at 10 intermediate locations) to drop off and collect passengers (not everyone is going the whole distance). That's one of the reasons it takes so long, the other being the speed limiter at 65mph.

As an impoverished student in the 1980's I often used to take the National Express (or Scottish Citilink) buses between Dundee and Manchester - at around 7 hours that was bad enough, but to do a 12.5 hour overnight trip cooped up on one of those things makes my head spin. Totally barking mad trip if you ask me.