Camping in Scotland

Background

Almost two years ago, my grandmother Isabel passed away peacefully after suffering from Alzheimer's. She was a Scot, raised in Musselburgh, and some of her longest-held memories were Scottish limericks or poems. She often read Robbie Burns in a Scottish accent, which both made it authentic and near-impossible to understand.

When she passed away, she left my brothers and I some money - we decided the best way to spend that money was checking out Scotland for the first time. We rented a car, camped, and visited as much as we could, including some family we'd never met. The following video is about that trip. Details of the trip follow.

Huge thanks to Phil, Sue, Jack, Alex, Katie, Malcolm, Julien, Béatrice, Kelsey, and everyone else who made the trip possible.

Itinerary

As it turns out, another friend of mine was traveling to Scotland around the same time with his girlfriend, and we relied heavily on the planning they had done (thanks Julien & Béa!). Here's our rough itinerary:

Day 1:

• Arrive, stay with family near Glasgow

Day 2:

• Drive to Edinburgh to pick up cousin
• Drive to Ben Vrackie
• Night out in Edinburgh

Day 3:

• Explore Edinburgh
• Stay with family in Edinburgh

Day 4:

• Drive to Loch Lomond
• Hike Ben Lomond
• Stay Loch Lomond

Day 5:

• Drive through Glencoe, Fort William
• Stay at Glen Nevis Camping Park

Day 6:

• Hike Ben Nevis
• Drive to Cairngorms National Park
• Stay at Rothiemurchus

Day 7:

• Funicular Railway at CairnGorm Mountain
• Drive to Ullapool through Inverness
• Stay Ullapool

Day 8:

• Drive to Kyleakin
• Stop at Eilan Donan Castle
• Stay: Kyleakin

Day 9:

• Hike Elgol Peninsula & Camasunary
• Stay: Kyleakin

Day 10:

• Explore Skye - Kilt Rock, Old Man of Storr

Day 11:

• Hike Glen Brittle Fairy pools
• Talisker Distillery Tour
• Neist Point Lighthouse sunset

Day 12:

• Quiraing sunrise
• Drive to Glasgow
• Armadale-Mallaig ferry
• White sands of Morar
• Glenfinnan viaduct
• Stay in Glasgow

Day 13:

• Explore Glasgow - Kelvingrove Museum, Necropolis, Hanoi Bike Shop, Paesanos, The Lighthouse, Hillhead Book Club
• Stay: Glasgow

Day 14:

• Explore Glasgow - Riverside Museum
• Drop off rental car
• Stay with family near Glasgow

Day 15:

• Fly home

We were in Scotland June 1 - June 16, for reference.