Why You Should Road Trip Around Scotland

Rightio, before I start this post let me say I have never done a one trip road-trip all around Scotland.  BUT, I am Scottish, I have a car and I like to drive around a lot exploring the place  


So I have decided that road tripping around our lovely little corner of the British Isles would be the perfect way to explore. 

The Practicalities
You will obviously need a car and be allowed to drive here!  You will be able to hire cars from all over the place but definitely at airports. 

It Is A Pretty Small Place
Scotland is the perfect place to road trip because it's a small place!  You can drive around super easily and see a lot of things!  And because we don't have that much motorway to drive on you will have a nice scenic drive.

But The Sights Are Sorta All Over The Place
Although Scotland is a small place the things you want to do are spread out a little bit, and there isn't that much to see in one singular place.

There Is SO Much To See 
It's super pretty and quite a unique landscape! 

Now, Where To Go: 
This is my totally hypothetical (and probably biased) route that I would take if I was road tripping around Scotland and flying into Edinburgh, the capital, to pick up my car and have unlimited time. 
My interests: (so you can see if this might be of interest to you)

  • Pretty / photogenic things 
  • The sea 
  • Being outdoors 
  • Having adventures / activities to do
  • Experiencing life like the locals 
  • Fun night life! 
(I'm not particularly interested in seeing one million and one castles or playing golf)

Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a Scottish must see, it's our capital and is just stuffed full of history.  Edinburgh is so beautiful, just looking at the buildings and walking around is fun! 
You want to hit up: the castle, Royal Mile, Princess and George Streets, Greyfriars Bobby and the Elephant House (if you like Harry Potter).

Then pick up your car... 
I would then head south, heading for....

Borders / Dumfries and Galloway
Here's my bias, I'm a Dumfries and Galloway girl and I always think it's a shame when everything South of Edinburgh is left off every list relating to Scotland ever. 

To get down here and if you like scenic drives then you HAVE to take the road from Selkirk to Moffat- it's ridiculously beautiful and where the iconic scene in the James Bond Skyfall movie was shot! 

Down in Borders and D&G you're going to find some beautiful scenery and if you head West you'll have beautiful beaches as well.  You can read my short photo diary of being home here.  There are loads of pretty small towns to stop off at if you want that "authentic independent" feel.  

You can also go to the Mull of Galloway which is Scotland's most southernly point- pick a clear day and it's amazing! 

From there head up the west coast, in particular...

West Coast - Oban
Super pretty!  Quite similar to...

Isle of Skye

Now you have a decision to make, to venture north or cut across to the East? But since this is an unlimited dream road trip let's do both! 

The North 
The North North North of Scotland is a completely different landscape to everywhere else in Scotland, it's really hard to explain.  There's less to do up here but you could stop and dolphin spot in the Inverness area or head up to John O'Groats (the most Northern point on mainland UK) in Caithness. 

Then head back down to the East Coast. 

St Andrews
As you guys know I am a student at the University of St Andrews so it is my home away from home for the past 3 year (one more to go after this year in Lyon).  Plus the town is ridiculously photogenic, beautiful and famous!  Definitely worth a stop! 

Highlights would be playing golf if you're a golfer, walking on West Sands where that famous scene in Chariots of Fire was filmed and eating and drinking at some great places. You can also pop to another town called Anstruther which has a super cool working harbour and the best fish and chip shop in the country (literally).  Read about Anstruther here.

You can check out other posts on St A here, on: 

Places: 

Events / Outfits:


Perth 
Super pretty town, worth a little stop if you have time! 

Lochs
We have lochs, many lochs- see all the pretty things.  Go for walks around them if that's your thing! 

Glasgow 
Glasgow is really different from Edinburgh- in a good way.  There's so much life around Glasgow, loads of things to do and a really young, urban vibe about it!  Plus this is the best place to shop in Scotland, and has a great reputation for live music.

Right that's my imaginary road trip around Scotland finished. What did you think of it?  Any suggestions?

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