Planning our 2019 Scottish Highland Adventure
For me, the majestic Scottish Highlands will always hold a special meaning. From the serene beauty to lovely B&Bs and whisky, we thoroughly enjoy any chance we get to go to the Highlands!
In August 2018, we visited the inner Highland and did a giant circle around Loch Ness. While we had a blast with sheep and exploring Outlander sites, I wanted to go back to the true Highlands – Isle of Skye! Not only have my parents loved this trip, the reviews from everyone else have made me really yearn to return to Scotland!
Planning our Travel
From London to Isle of Skye to Gairloch, we would have the road trip of our lives!
How?
Because I like to be very different, I really wanted to take the overnight Caledonian Sleep train either to or from Inverness. However, after careful research, it made more (financial) sense to do a one way ticket.
Travel Tip: For the Caledonian Sleeper, remember to book early for the best deals!
Thus, to get to Inverness, I purchased a one way Easyjet flight from London Luton. It was a whopping $90 and the flight time was a very generous 1 hour and an half.
Road Trip!
Because we desperately wanted to go to Highlands, it meant we would be renting a car. I used the site skyscanner.net to achieve the cheapest rental deal and received a great rate from Arnold Clark, a local chain of cars. Our experience was fantastic with Arnold! While they did not pick us up at the airport, the customer service, not to mention the new car, was excellent! I would highly recommend them!
Quaint Bed & Breakfasts
Using my parents as a resource, we essentially based our entire trip on one bed and breakfast in Uig, Scotland. The Cuil Lodge has a 2 night minimum which I was absolutely fine with considering the rave reviews from my parents and online sources! However, it was located at the tip of the Isle of Skye so we would have to readjust our trip logistics ever so slightly!
Next, we wanted to go to the Gairloch region, which is about an hour or so west of Inverness. To do this, we stayed at Mo-Dhachaidh B&B located in Poolewe. A superb B&B that had terrific views situated right on a loch! We really had great, quaint bed & breakfasts!
Onto Inverness
As mentioned above, our trip to Luton Airport was unremarkable. Because we are taking a train on the way back, we took a taxi to the airport. This, we had no stress in terms of parking, public transportation, or timing! Even security was a breeze for us!
At the airport, there was a stark difference between the Inverness passengers and pretty much everyone else. For our plane, passengers were decked out in winter gear versus people in shorts. We were slightly nervous and jealous!
Our flight was very easy and had no delays! Usually these intra-UK flights are heavily delayed so we always send a little prayer! More importantly, these flights do not have customs and that makes it very good! Because we weren’t picking up our rental car until the next morning, I pre-arranged our taxi to our AirBnB. Since Inverness is a tiny airport, they don’t often have taxis readily available.
Travel Tip: When in doubt, I pre-booked online and the driver was waiting for us! We had a seemless walk from the plane to the car.
Winter is (still) Here
Because our AirBnB was a 5 minute walk from downtown Inverness, we walked through the bitter cold wind to find some dinner. In true classic rural Scottish form, pretty much most restaurants were closed at 8:30-9pm. Strangely, the town center was very empty despite a Thursday night.,. Last time, we had to plug our ears and hope the noise settled down!
Mustard Seed
As we perused Google and nearby restaurants, we struck gold as we found one of the few open restaurants - the Mustard Seed. While it looked like a chain restaurant we could find in the US, it surprisingly comfortable and cozy! Unlike the town, it was still very full and we were lucky to snag a table as they refused customers after us.
Travel Tip: In rural UK, be sure to book a restaurant or have an idea of where your next meal is coming from!
Since we weren’t too hungry, we decided to share our starter and main. Luckily, the restaurant served American (or maybe Scottish) serving sizes so it was plenty! Our starter was an excellent pancetta wrapped asparagus. These weren’t our small Tesco sized asparagus! For our main, we decided to get the stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon. It was incredible! We were thoroughly surprised and stuffed!
Our meal provided the perfect food coma blanket as we walked back to the BnB. Sadly, we would have to get use to the cold!