Yesterday was my thirtieth day in Scotland and my third day in Edinburgh. Today was my fourth day in Edinburgh, but I spent the entire day (except for a fabulous dinner I’m just back from) in Stirling visiting Stirling Castle. The photos will do justice to my last two days’ sightseeing better than anything I…

In my first day-and-a-half in Edinburgh, I’ve already seen and done so much! And yet, it feels like I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. This city is amazing. Every direction I look, I see something fascinating, beautiful, historic, magical. I won’t give a blow-by-blow account of all my activities; you can follow my…

From the rugged mountains and beautiful countryside where I spent the last two weeks, I’m ending my Scotland adventure in more urban settings. I spent the last three nights in Dundee, and now I’m on the train to Edinburgh. (I probably won’t finish this until I’m in my hotel in Edinburgh, maybe late tonight.) I’m…

I stayed three nights in Pitlochry, and I took a day trip to Dunkeld. I loved both towns. They are both charming, compact, and pleasant places to wander up and down their main streets. I did a hike starting and ending in each town. These were filled with photo-worthy moments and places I just wanted…

I spent the last two days exploring Cairngorms National Park, with Aviemore as my base. My first day here, I hired a driver to take me around the park. And yesterday I walked to the nearby estate of Rothiemurchus for some fun and some hiking.

The photo above is probably the most interesting place I visited during my 1 1/2 days in Inverness. It may look like there’s nothing there. But read on to find out why it was the highlight of my time in this part of Scotland.

Today I took a tour to various highlights on the Isle of Skye. You can see all the photos I took. You can also listen to a wonderful story told by our guide and driver, Bill. It’s in the album.

Today I took a boat trip to the Isle of Rona. I had high expectations about how beautiful Scotland would be. So far my expectations have been met or exceeded. Today they were exceeded yet again.

For my first full day on the Isle of Skye, I decided to take a trip to Dunvegan Castle & Gardens. I’m staying in Portree, which is the largest town on Skye, and the capital. (I don’t know what it means to be the capital of an island, but it is.) I’m staying four nights…

Fort William is the second largest settlement in the whole of the Scottish Highlands. It’s kind of the unofficial capital of the West Highlands, since it is the terminus of the West Highland Way, a 96-mile hiking trail that starts just north of Glasgow. It’s also very close to some of the tallest mountains in…

I spent the last three nights in Oban, which I used as a base to explore several islands of the Inner Hebrides. Now I’m on the train heading to my next destination. I previously wrote about my adventure getting to Oban. I will try to avoid any such adventures going forward.

Here is the story of my journey from Balloch to Oban on ScotRail. It has not gone as planned. If it had, I would have arrived in Oban about two hours ago. Instead, I will get there about three hours from now.