SCOTLAND TWO WEEKS IN AUGUST

If you do go to Skye, I'd suggest that you take both routes - the ferry from Mallaig to Armdale, and the Skye Bridge. The view from Mallaig Bheag of Knoydart, Skye, and the isles of Eigg and Rum is absolutely beautiful.

The drive along the northernmost coast of mainland Scotland is something I wish I had been able to do. This scenic drive would put you in Scrabster, where you could get the ferry to the Orkney Islands. I don't know how long the drive would take from Ullapool though.

If Ullapool is your base for the Northern Highlands, then you could probably do without 3 nights in Inverness. Maybe one night in Inverness after leaving the Orkney Islands and then two nights in one of Elgin (east of Inverness, near the coast), Aviemore (the central hub of the Cairngorm Mountains) or PItlochery (south of Aviemore, on the edge of the Grampian Mountains), depending on what you want to see in the area (distilleries, scenery, etc). This is my own personal bias as I didn't really care for Inverness much at all and also you stated that you prefer smaller towns over cities. Of the three other options I suggested, I would choose Aviemore.

If you drive straight from Edinburgh to Skye you'll spend most of the day in your car (I do see you've left a little travel time in your itinerary). You could break up the trip and spend a night in one of Crianlarich (near Loch Lomond), Glencoe, or Mallaig.

I lived in Mallaig for three months so I'm a little biased :P

Have fun!

I'd choose just 1 from Shetland and Orkney (I spent 2 weeks there last summer, hitching & ferries, but only scraped the surface). To reach Shetland, the most time efficient method is the overnight Northlink ferry from Aberdeen, but it's not cheap. Thurso is a nice town with runied castle, along 2 miles from Scrabster ferry port. I agree that Inverness doesn't have much to recommend it - although it can be a base for the eastern end of the Great Glen and Loch Ness. Similarly, Fort William, at the western end of the Great Glen is OK as a base, but not really a destination in its own right. Drive along A830 "Road to the Isles" (or railway) from Fort William to Mallaig is spectacular - be prepared to stop and look eg Glenfinnan viaduct and Highlander memorial at head of Loch Sheil, Loch Ailort, Arisaig, Silver Sands of Morar, views to islands etc.

I spent 4 nights on Skye and felt it wasn't nearly enough. I agree that Inverness is not particularly interesting, though the train from there to Kyle of Lockalsh, near Skye, is pretty terrific. It also seems a shame to miss Glasgow, but you can't do everything.

I'm biased, I'd scream Shetland all the way when it comes to Orkney and Shetland, but I have spent a bit of time in Orkney as well and its a pretty good place to go if your looking for the cultural edge in easy to find sectors, by comparison Shetland is just as good, but you have to go looking for a lot of the sites yourself as we've not been quite as Historic Scotlandised as Orkney has, not saying its a bad thing Historic Scotland have done a lot of good work in the conservation of historic sites, its just not to my tastes and Shetland is to all intents a purposes a lot wilder than Orkney. The boat north from Aberdeen takes 14 hours, if you go for a cabin its expensive, if you go on as a foot passenger and are willing to sleep where you sit, then its really not that bad especially if you take your own food, and theres a couple of bars on board where you can get a drink and plan what you want to do. But Shetland is about 80 miles in length, and as Copepod said you can be here for months and barely scrape the surface, and there is a mass of things to see and do. With that in mind I would probably suggest you hit Orkney this time and then come back and hit Shetland on its own to really experience what we have to offer.

August in Orkney, particularly Stromness, will be busy as there is an international sea angling competition going on so accommodation could be hard to come - by. Getting to Orkney from the highlands is a trip to Scrabster from where you can get the boat over to Stromness, its a short ferry journey and takes you around the Old Man of Hoy and around some of the highest sea cliffs in the UK. From Stromness its easy enough to get over to Kirkwall, visit Skara Brae, Stenness and other historic sites. In Thurso there are a good few bars, a tourist hostel and an almightily cheesey night club. Scrabster is largely just the harbour with the ferry terminal, fish market, ice house and lots of boats. There are 4 sea angling charter boats and 1 sailing and wildlife boat which operate from there.

From Skye to Ullapool take the coast road, having driven it 4 times now it doesn't get old and it is stunning. The from Ullapool head north towards Cape Wrath and Durness, head to Balnakeil for a great hot chocolate and then go east through Tongue and Betty Hill to Thurso and Scrabster from where you can get the ferry to Orkney, come back to Scrabster at the end of your trip and head down the A9 to Inverness through Latheron Wheel, Brora and Dornoch before heading south to Aviemore (all that in itself is enough for 2 weeks to be honest). As you are going to cover a really big area I suggest you get either a travel card for the trains or hire a car this will make things easier when your in the north west and it also gives you somewhere to sleep if no hostels are available. You can leave the car in Scrabster for the 3 days you are in Orkney as they have carparks specifically for that, there is a charge but its not a lot of money.

Enjoy your trip

If you need some help with booking accommodation etc then you could try any of the following Companies - all of them organise self-drive holidays along the lines your looking for:

1) http://www.seescotlanddifferently.co.uk/

2) http://www.absoluteescapes.com/

3) http://www.scotlandmadeeasy.co.uk/

I hope this helps.

I'd strongly endorse what #1 has to say about the boat from Mallaig one way, and back via the bridge the other.

I'd also stay a day or two in Fort William on the way, which will let you see Glencoe, and, if weather permits, climb Ben Nevis.

#4 That's good to know about August in Orkney, not been there yet, it's my last part of Scotland to visit.

I also second the hot chocolate at Balkaneil :)

You can't do everything in 14 days I'm afraid.

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