A 1600 mile road trip from London to Scotland, 1 hotel, 1 campsite, 2 nights Airbnb, 3 nights car camping. Here is our ultimate Scotland itinerary!!
Day 1 En-route Edinburgh
We headed off midday for an early start to Edinburgh from London, 391-mile drive in my little 1.6 1 Series BMW. As we got there around 12am and our original plan was to depart on Saturday (but we decided to get a head start on Friday) we didn’t have accommodation and decided to car camp.
Day 2 Edinburgh
The first thing we did was explore this beautiful city. We went to a gin garden festival overlooking Edinburgh’s castle and did some shopping in this historic city. Word of advice take public transport into the city or book parking well in advance otherwise, you will find yourself looking for parking like we did for a few hours. After a long day of exploring we checked into our hotel ‘The Hub Premier Inn’.
Day 3 Cairngorms National Park
After a comfortable night at The Hub, the adventure was not over in Edinburgh. We set off to Holyrood Park for an early morning hike up to Arthur’s Seat.
After our hike, we were now ready to leave Edinburgh for a 2hr 30min drive, 105 miles to Balmoral Pyramid, Cairngorms National Park. This was such a scenic drive through the fog, over the bridge, passing the snowy mountains. We randomly came across the Glenshee Ski Centre and hopped onto the ski lift for £10 per person – return. Of course, we just had to do it as this was our first time on a ski chairlift.
We ended the day with a 2hr 40min, 111mile drive to Fort Williams, car camping in one of the most peaceful spots looking out to the summit of Ben Nevis.
Day 4 Fort Williams
If you’re a Harry Potter fan you’re going to want to visit this iconic spot, the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct View Point, where you can see the exact steam train that a scene from Harry Potter was filmed in. Following the train up to the station of Mallaig, it leads us to the beautiful Camusdarach Beach. Honestly, you’re going to feel like you are in the Caribbean (minus the cold water). The beaches have white sand and crystal clear blue water, you’re not going to want to miss out on this spot. We ended our night in our cosy Airbnb.
Day 5 Ben Nevis
This was by far one of the most challenging days of our trip. Climbing the highest mountain in the United Kingdom, Ben Nevis. I will be writing a separate blog for this one as we have completed the 3 Peaks. But I can tell now, this was no easy feat. Once we were done with the hike which took up most of our day, we only had the energy to grab some KFC, have a shower, and hit the covers!!!
Day 6 Bealach Na BA
After checking out of our Airbnb we jetted off for a 2hr 15min drive to the Applecross Peninsula where the road’s curve, bend, and wind on the famous Bealach Na Ba. This single-track road leads us to the town of Applecross. There wasn’t much to do there so we headed 2,054ft back down the Bealach Na Ba and 2hrs later we were in Skye looking for the next spot to car camp.
On the way to Skye, lies the magical Eilean Donan Castle on its own little island. This is the same castle featured in the James Bond movie – The World is Not Enough (1999)
Day 7 Isle of Skye
The first stop we had on the list was Kilt Rock, this was a 5-minute drive from where we car camped and the Old Man Of Storr was only a 10-minute drive from there. Kilt Rock was a spectacular viewpoint and if your lucky enough you could spot whales or dolphins. Old Man Of Storr was a 2hr hike return to the car park.
We also wanted to to get to Kinloch campsite for the check-in time and this was 1hr away from these popular viewpoints. This campsite was in the perfect location overlooking the sea. We pitched up our tent and slapped the BBQ on.
Day 8 Glasgow – London
After a not-so-quiet night at the campsite, we packed up our things and hit the roads for a 5hr, 226miles drive to Glasgow. We were initially meant to be staying in Glasgow for a spa night in the city but unfortunately, we had to cancel our hotel as they were the only city in Scotland that was still in lockdown. Lucky for us this was the way home so we got to stop at a funky petrol station that was on our list of places to visit. The Race Track Pit Stop!! When in Glasgow this is a must-visit stop if you like Slushies, hot dogs, and desserts, they had it all. With 60 different slushy flavors and an array of desserts, we were in heaven!
After that Pit Stop, we then drove 400miles back to London. Which was meant to be a 6hr 50min journey home, took us 8 long tiring hours due to road works. We got home at like 2 am. Next time we might just catch a flight!
