How many days do you need to tour Scotland?
This road trip itinerary, covering the West of Scotland including Glasgow and the Isle of Mull, takes 7-8 days. It could easily be extended by another week to include the North Coast 500 route around the Highlands, or an extra couple of days to see Edinburgh too.
What is the Best Month to Visit Scotland?
This makes a fantastic summer road trip but whatever month you go, just be prepared for rain! We took this trip in early May and had a few drizzly days but it we were mostly quite lucky with the weather. As well as the usual UK May bank holidays (first and last Monday of May), Scotland also have an extra day off on the first Monday of August. Whilst most things will still be open on Bank Holidays, they may have reduced hours and touristy spots are likely to be a little busier.
Getting to Scotland
If you’re planning to hire a car once in Scotland, you can easily turn this route into a loop starting and ending in Glasgow. So you can either fly to Glasgow Airport or take a train to Glasgow Central Station and hire a car from there.
It’s fairly easy for us to drive to Scotland from the North East of England and jump straight into the road trip. But if you’re coming from further south and want to stop along the way, I’d recommend a night in the Lake District or Northumberland.
Scotland Road Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Dumfries & Galloway
Our first stop in Scotland was at Caerlaverock Castle. The triangular castle was built around 800 years ago but you can still see the remains of an even older castle in the woods just behind it. You do have to pay to look around the castle but it was only £6. I think this was actually the only attraction we paid for on the whole trip! Everything else was either free or closed due to COVID restrictions.
After a wonder around the castle and a walk in the woods, we headed to Dumfries for lunch. Instead of staying the night in Dumfries we opted for the smaller town of Dalbeattie, just a little closer to Galloway Forest Park.
Dalbeattie was a charming little town with a high street that partly looked like it was frozen in the 1950s. The highlight of the town for me was the Dalbeattie Museum which was sadly closed during our stay but the window display caught my eye as it looked like a collection of belongings that had been hoarded over the last century. When I read up on the story of the museum I realised that’s exactly what it was! One man’s dream to open a museum in his hometown has now grown to an expansive collection reflecting the history of the local area.
Newcastle Upon Tyne (home) > Caerlaverock Castle (2 hour drive) > Dumfries (20 minute drive) > Dalbeattie (25 minute drive)
Day 2: Galloway Forest Park & Finnich Glen
We started Day 2 by driving to Galloway Forest Park. More specifically we walked along a few trails around Loch Trool and Bruce’s Stone. The stone is a memorial to Robert the Bruce and his victory over the English in 1307.
Afterwards, we followed a long winding road north and popped into the Ayr for lunch. Ayr is a seaside down so of course we had to have fish and chips! Our next stop on the way to Loch Lomond was Finnich Glen and the Devil’s Pulpit which I highly recommend!
Finnich Glen is a small gorge, just outside of Glasgow. Its not a huge visitor attraction so there isn’t really parking nearby other than a few laybys but it is well worth a stop! It is on private land so you do have to climb over some fences and walls to get to it but apparently it is legal to do that.
If you want to get down into the glen, to fully explore it I’d recommend wearing waterproof footwear. There are some steps to get down (called the Devil’s staircase or Jacob’s ladder) but they’re 200 years old and super step and kind of broken so be careful!
Dalbeattie > Galloway Forest Park (30-60 minutes drive) > Ayr (1 hour drive) > Finnich Glen (1 hour 15 min drive) > Callander (30 minute drive)
Day 3: Callendar & Ben A’an
After a lovely breakfast at Deli Ecosse in Callander, we walked up to Bracklinn Falls which was about a 30 minute walk away from the centre of Callander, although there is a carpark slightly nearer.
Then it was time for us to conquer Ben A’an – a “mini” mountain. In total it took about 2.5 hours for us to walk up and down with plenty of breaks (I’m very unfit!) and I was exhausted afterwards but the fews over Loch Katrine were worth it!
Day 4: Loch Lomond to Oban
To finish off our time in Callander, we wandered around the Callander Heritage Trail in the morning before setting off toward Loch Lomond.
Our first of three stops was at the Falls of Falloch followed by the Inveruglas Pyramid, a view point on Loch Lomond. Unfortunately it was fairly drizzly day so the few wasn’t great but we passed the viewpoint again a few days later and got some much better pictures.
Our third stop before Oban was at Kilchurn Castle where we got to meet some highland cows. Despite not being too far from the motorway, the castle was hard to find. There were hardly any signs and you couldn’t see it from the road. Perhaps because of that it was very empty when we arrived!
Once we arrived in Oban, we wandered up to McCaig’s Tower to take in the views. We ended the night with a meal at Cuan Mor, which was definitely the best meal of the trip so far!
Callander > Falls of Falloch (50 minute drive) > Inveruglas Pyramid (15 minute drive) > Kilchurn Castle (45 minute drive) > Oban (40 minute drive)
Day 5: Tobermory, Isle of Mull
From Oban, we took the Ferry to the Isle of Mull (about 45 minutes) and spent the day exploring the island. Our favourite parts of the island were Tobermory (the town that Balamory was filmed in), Aros Park and Aros Castle. This was another hard to find castle and it seemed to actually just been in someone’s garden, clinging to the edge of the cliff.
We returned to Oban that night but you could easily adapt the route to get the ferry from Mull to Lochaline instead. For our last night in Oban, we visited a fish and chip shop which boasted that Gordon Ramsay had declared them to be the best fish and chip shop in Oban. We spotted battered pizza on the menu and of course had to try a slice! I’m not sure what Gordon made of it but it actually was quite nice!
Day 6: Glen Coe
On our way from Oban to Glen Coe we searched for Castle Stalker (again hard to find!). We parked up at Castle Stalker View Cafe, got a drink and traipsed down towards the castle through some bushes and a farm. Usually there are boat tours that take you right up to the island castle but they weren’t running during our visit.
Next up was Glen Coe! I had heard a lot about Glen Coe so I was quite disappointed when we reached the village of Glencoe, thinking “is this it!?”. But the true beauty of the glen is just beyond the village, where there are plenty of walks and viewpoints to take in the sights. We walked up to Signal Rock, stopped at the Three Sisters Viewpoint and The Meeting of the Three Waters.
That night we stayed in Fort William, which wasn’t a particularly exciting town but we did visit the Coprach Shipwreck and had some fantastic food at the Highland Cinema.
Oban > Castle Stalker (35 minute drive) > Glen Coe (20 minute drive) > Fort William (25 minute drive) > Coprach shipwreck (10 minute drive)
Day 7: Glenfinnan Viaduct
Day 7 took us to our most northerly point and one of the things I was most excited to see – Glenfinnan Viaduct. This famous bridge was featured in Harry Potter and still has a steam train running along its tracks twice a day. To see the Jacobite steam train, make sure you’re in position with a good view for 10:45am.
After spotting the train we also walked a few minutes from the view point to see Loch Shiel, also featured in Harry Potter as Hogwart’s Lake.
After taking in the sights we hit the road and headed to Glasgow, arriving around 3:30 after a stop off for lunch. On our first afternoon we wandered around the city centre and explore the city’s many murals.
Fort William > Glenfinnan Viaduct (25 minute drive) > Glasgow (2 hour 45 minute drive)
Day 8: Glasgow
On our last full day, we explored Glasgow’s Necropolis and cathedral in the morning followed by a vegan brunch at Glasvegan.
In the afternoon we headed west, taking the subway to Kelvin Bridge. We took a stroll through Kelvin Grove Park then the University of Glasgow ?and then the Botanical Gardens.
This lead us to the Hillhead area of Glasgow which is lovely! We stayed here all evening with drinks in Brel’s beer garden followed by dinner at the Bookclub.
Day 9: Heading home
On our way back to Newcastle, we stopped off at a few more sights including the Falls of Clyde and Grey Mare’s Tail (one of the UK’s highest waterfalls!).
Glasgow > Falls of Clyde (50 minute drive) > Grey Mare’s Trail (1 hour drive) > Newcastle Upon Tyne (home) (2hour 2 minute drive)
Have you been on a Scotland road trip? What are you must-see sights? Let me know in the comments!