I will be traveling alone and need to be in Aberdeen, Scotland the end of July. Flying into Edinburgh. I have 5-10 days and would like to spend time in the southwest part of Scotland. I have traveled fairly extensively other parts of Scotland (hiked Perth to Fort William (missed Glencoe), Isle of Skye, Harris Island, Northern part of Scotland and back to Edinburgh.

I like hiking/biking, day tours (all of this will need to be public transportation unless a tour), small villages (unless a larger village is the perfect hub), eating (especially seafood), and watching the world go by. Happy to stay in 1 place, or jump around with a minimum of 3 nights in any place.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

There is a lot to see in Dumfries & Galloway, and nearby Ayrshire and Cumbria. All of my touring in the region has been by car so I'm not sure about public transport. I got the impression that except for the few major towns, the bus service in D&G would be inadequate for touring. There is a long time Fodorite who used to live in the area and would know more, but I haven't seen him post in a while. (I think they may have recently moved to France but not sure).

Ayrshire might be a bit easier -- including the isles of Arran and Bute.