Highlands

September 9

I picked up the rental car and we drove to Pitlochry. On the way, we stopped in Kinross and did the Loch Leven loop. (My Garmin watch died at the beginning - but I was able to recharge it when we stopped for lunch )

September 10

We did our first Munro, Schehellion, which is a good one to start with as it very well marked. The weather was perfect and we had beautiful views.

After the hike, on the drive back to Pitlochry, we stopped in Killiecrankie and Maggie took a quick dip in the cold water.

Back in Pitlochry, we went to the Scottish games, and then drove to Braemar.

September 11

From Braemar, we did a long hike that covered 4 Monros: Carn an Tuirc, Cairn of Claise, Glas Maol, Creag Leacach. It was foggy at the top of the first Munro, but the views were still amazing.

After the hike, we drove to Aviemore in the Cairngorms National Park.

September 12

From Aviemore, we drove to the start of the Cairn Gorm, where we took the Summit Path. It was very windy and cloudy, but we still had amazing scenery.

September 13

We climbed Sgòr Gaoith, and I fell in the bog! While it was foggy on the way up, it cleared as we reached the summit, and we had a beautiful view of the loch.

After the hike, we drove from Aviemore to Inverness, stopping at a food truck for some amazing brisket!

In Inverness, we went to a cool coffee/bike shop, and then went to listen to live music in the city center.

September 14

We drove from Inverness to Tongue, with a short stop at Glenmorangie distillery.

Once in Tongue, we drove to get some groceries and explore the small town. We then stopped at a food truck for burgers.

It started raining in the evening, which wasn't good news since I had planned a long bike ride the next day.

September 15

The main reason I wanted to come to Scotland was to bike on the North Coast 500 (NC500). One of the nicest sections of the NC500 is the section from Tongue to Ullapool through Durness. So I decided to do it in one go.

Even though it was constantly raining and my shoe cleat broke halfway, I had an amazing time.

Maggie drove the car and met me in Ullapool, where we mostly worked and had a giant box of french fries!

September 16

We worked in Ullapool for the day and then drove to Gairloch. It was a beautiful drive along the coast and we stayed in a hostel in the middle of nowhere.

September 17

We woke up at 5:30 and drove to hike Beinn Eighe. The hike was tough: steep uphill and downhill sections, very windy, and we were hammered with sleet at the summit.

Afterward, we drove to Broadford on Isle of Skye where we stayed for a couple of nights.

September 18 and 19

On the 18th, we stayed in Broadford to do some work and recover.

On the 19th, I biked (and Maggie drove) to the Fairy Pools, which was a very nice ride.

The Fairy Pools were nice, but very crowded. Hobbly Maggie took a dip in the freezing water!

We then drove to Portree.

September 20 and 21

On the 20th, I did a really nice (and very windy) ride to explore the north of the Isle of Skye.

Maggie went indoor climbing, and then looking for an outdoor spot to swim.

On the 21st, we drove to Invengarry. The drive was really beautiful (I should have biked!).

We arrived early and couldn't yet check in, so we drove to Fort Augustus to have lunch on the shore of Loch Ness.

The hostel owners in Invengarry were great. They had asked if Maggie was also Lebanese, and for some reason I replied "No!", which came off a bit aggressive 😂.

They also told us about their upcoming trip to Andalusia in October, planting it as a seed for my potential next destination after Scotland.

September 22 to 24

We drove from Invengarry to Fort William and did an easy hike (Cow Hill).

On the 23rd, we stayed in Fort William and went climbing in a church converted to an indoor climbing gym. The gym also had a nice coffee shop, so we could work, take a short climbing break, and then repeat.

We also stayed in a cool tiny home for the night.

On the 24th, we hiked Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the UK) via CMD Arrete. The CMD Arrete is more challenging than the other routes that lead to Ben Nevis, but it was a lot less busy.

Ben Nevis was definitely the most touristy Munro, and was full of people. On all the other Munros that we did, we hardly met anyone.

After the hike, we drove to Oban and walked around the town. At night, we went to a bar to listen to live music.

September 25 to 28

The 25th was mostly a driving day. We drove from Oban to Lochranza in the Isle of Arran, taking the ferry from Claonaig.

On the 26th, we did a short and easy walk in Lochranza, with very beautiful views. We then went to the only cafe in Lochranza, which was a sandwich food truck.

On the 27th, we hiked Goat Fell which means windy hill in Gaelic, and it was indeed very windy!

On the 28th, I biked around the island to Broadick, and Maggie drove.

From Broadick, we took the ferry across, and drove to Loch Lommand where we stayed at a hostel on water.

September 29

We hiked Ben Lommand and had an amazing weather.

After the hike, Maggie went swimming in Loch Lommand.

September 30

We drove back to Edinburgh to return the rental car. It was very rainy, and I got soaked when biking back from the rental place to our a hostel, a converted church!