SCOTLAND
Alba
Glasgow → Islay → Oban → Glencoe → Skye → Edinburgh
Day 01 — Sat, Sep 12
Touchdown Glasgow
Wheels down, keys picked up, first dram poured.
Everyone driving this week: walk today, sleep well — tomorrow is your first real left-side driving day.
Glasgow after dark
FR7673, seats together (hopefully)
First dram at the Pot Still
Day 02 — Sun, Sep 13
Loch Lomond to the Sound of Jura
Bonnie banks, a castle, standing stones — and a harbour bed 10 minutes from the ferry.
Don't treat this as a dead positioning day — it front-loads the ferry so Monday becomes a full Islay day.
Luss, bonnie banks
Inveraray on Loch Fyne
5,000 years at Kilmartin
Day 03 — Mon, Sep 14
Islay — The Whisky Day
Ferry across, warehouse tasting at Lagavulin, and a house by the sea in Bruichladdich.
Designate the drivers before the first dram, not after. Scotland's drink-drive limit is effectively zero.
CalMac to the whisky isle
Lagavulin, 13:30 sharp
Warehouse No.3
Day 04 — Tue, Sep 15
Machir Bay, then Back to the Mainland
One wild Atlantic beach before the boat, then north to Oban's harbour lights.
Use the Islay morning — you paid the logistical price to get here. Machir Bay is the payoff.
Machir Bay, all ours
Oban harbour lights
McCaig's at sunset
Day 05 — Wed, Sep 16
The Coastal Road to Glencoe
Castle Stalker, the Three Sisters, and the Skyfall road down Glen Etive.
This is the day to not rush. If the weather gives you one clear window, spend it at the Three Sisters.
Castle Aaargh!
Glen Coe, three sisters
The Skyfall road
Day 06 — Thu, Sep 17
Glenfinnan and the Road to Skye
The Harry Potter viaduct, Eilean Donan, and over the bridge to the misty isle.
Glenfinnan parking overflows by mid-morning — being there by 10:00 matters more than anything else today.
10:45 to Hogwarts
Eilean Donan
Portree, home for two nights
Day 07 — Fri, Sep 18
Full Skye
Storr, Kilt Rock, the Quiraing, Fairy Glen, Neist Point — chase the weather, not the plan.
Skye rewards flexibility: if the Quiraing is clear at 09:00 and raining at 13:00, flip the order. Check the forecast at breakfast.
The Old Man, before the crowds
Quiraing in the clouds
Neist Point, last light
Day 08 — Sat, Sep 19
The Long Way South
Loch Ness, the Cairngorms and Pitlochry — the drive is the sightseeing.
Leave by 08:00 sharp. Everything after Urquhart is optional — drop stops, not the Edinburgh evening.
Urquhart — no monster yet
Cairngorms out the window
Obligatory cooDay 09 — Sun, Sep 20
Edinburgh Morning, Then Home
Royal Mile before the crowds, Calton Hill for the view, airport by three.
Don't cut the car return fine: fuel up the night before or at the airport BP, and be dropping keys by 14:30.
Victoria Street, 9am
Calton Hill goodbye
The castle on the rockThe journey
Slàinte mhath!
Have a great trip, Jacek & crew.