The Scottish Highlands hold so much history and beauty. They were a major reason for why I wanted to go to Scotland in the first place. My ultimate dream was to go hiking around the Highlands drink copious amounts of whisky, but I figured I’d save that for another time.

For this trip, took a 3 day trip with a local tour bus that left out of Edinburgh. It was convenient way to explore a decent size of the Highlands without having to worry about transportation. Some of the highlights of the trip were visiting the Isle of Skye, Loch Ness, Glen Coe, Eilean Donan Castle, Dunvegan Castle, and riding the Jacobite Steam Train (Hogwarts Express).

Transportation Review

Since I’m scared of driving on the other side of the road for prolonged periods of time, I knew I needed to take public transportation or have someone else get me up there. So, in the end, I opted for a tour bus. It was my first time taking any sort of bus like this and it’s probably not something I’d search out again. The seats weren’t overly comfortable (and they were brutal if you were stuck in the back of the bus) and the bus can’t hold a lot of storage, so you have to pack decently light.

But after riding along on those windy roads, I knew I made the right decision to not drive myself up there! Plus, the driver was really great and super knowledgeable about Scotland and the area. I definitely enjoyed chatting with her and seeing the energy she brought to the trip. But yeah… would not probably do a multi-day bus tour again.

Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan is located on the Isle of Skye and it’s been around since way back in the 1200. It’s also the seat the Clan MacLeod. The castle was built piecemeal over the years, but the castle as we know it today was part of a restoration in the mid-1800s.

It’s an interesting mixture of fortress and homey vibes to it, so it was fun to walk through Dunvegan and learn more about the Clan MacLeod. It’s also home to a beautiful garden, which had a lot of cool types of moss and plenty of rhododendrons.

Loch Ness

No monsters were spotted in Loch Ness while I was there. But lots of rain and wind certainly were! It was a blistering cold time when I was in Fort Augustus, but it was still great to see Loch Ness in real life. Plus, afterwards, I grabbed a quick lunch at a nearby pub and the food was so comforting.

Glen Coe

Glen Coe is a beautiful area located in the north of the county of Argyll. But it’s also the site of a Jacobite uprising where multiple people from the Clan MadDonald were killed after not pledging allegiant to the new monarchs. The tour guide did a great job of explaining why this story had such an impact on the people of Scotland (e.g.,, Highland code of hospitality and England’s presence in the country), so I definitely enjoyed this stop.

Eilean Donan Castle

During our drive, we didn’t get to actually go into the Castle for a tour, but I did get to see it from a far. I understand why people are so keen to capture a photograph of this castle because it was gorgeous. So, I don’t know much about it… but I know it’s famous and pretty. So, here’s a picture 🙂

Jacobite Steam Train

Every Harry Potter fan dreams of riding the Hogwarts Express and now I can say I have. During my trip, I got to ride this steam train through the gorgeous highlands where we saw amazing scenes, including a Highland cow, while enjoying some chocolate frogs (not as good as I remember).

Because it’s a steam engine, keeping the window open is not a great idea. Soot shoot into the cabin I was sitting in as soon as I opened up the window, but I did manage to capture some great video, especially of us going over the Viaduct which is the famous Hogwarts Express scene with the flying car.

Isle of Skye

Portree was our homebase for the Highlands trip, so I spent quite a bit of time in Skye. I’m really glad too because it was really pretty here! I have heard great things about the birding that you can do while in Skye (and Inverness), but I didn’t get the opportunity to do it while I was on the trip unfortunately. But regardless, staying in Skye was nice. I loved the scenery and the whisky from the area was really nice! I was a big fan of this area and would definitely go back to check it out again.

Overall, this trip to the Highlands was incredible. The people were so wonderful and the scenery was unreal. I had such a great time while I was there and I definitely want to go back and spend more time out in the nature (plus try more whisky).