Self-paced Scotland

Jack is right, places get booked up early. You could also rent a flat through a holiday letting agency but this might be a more expensive option if you want to stay in B&Bs. With regard to getting round Edinburgh, the hills are quite steep but buses go everywhere you're likely to visit.

The Edinburgh hills are well designed for someone with unpredictable energy level - the smaller ones (Blackford Hill, Calton Hill, the Braids, Corstorphine Hill) are handy for buses and only a short walk up from the stop, while the road and path network round Arthur's Seat means you can decide how far up you want to go and how steep you want it while still seeing something interesting.

If you're interested in gardens, the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh is first-rate for the outdoor free stuff. The pay-to-enter glasshouses are very disappointing with their weird flow management - you can only go one way through each of the internal doors, which forces you through them far too fast - not worth the money. It's the same idea that makes Holyrood Palace such a letdown.

Thanks for the additional feedback. I'd venture that her stamina is better than mine at this point. But the chemo caused peripheral nerve damage in her extremities which can (sometimes) make it uncomfortable to stand or walk for extended periods.

It's shaping up to be an early Sept trip. Four full days in Edinburgh. Train to Oban four or five days there. The ferry to Mull is a no brainer. Is it possible to hire a car in Oban if we get the urge to go farther north? Or it it too expensive to contemplate?

It's easy to get the ferry to Mull, but there's nothing to see in Craignure and the bus service on Mull is not very frequent - check the timetables. There are more buses to Tobermory than there are to the Ross of Mull and Iona. You won't be able to see both on the same day.

Try to read Alan Warner's "Morvern Callar" before going to Oban. You will see most of the characters in it walking round the town centre...

jack_campin: I did read "Morvern Callar" despite the rather grim descriptions on the dust jacket:

"The reader is cut open by a coldly perfect sorrow finely sharpened on a stone of nihilism." - Mark Richard

It wasn't as bad as all that.

Odd to see that Oban is never mentioned by name although the book repeatedly references the circular folly and Jacob's Ladder.

If it is accurate, I suspect the characters are more often staggering around town.

Guess it can be read as a slang primer, too. There were obviously some things I missed. For one thing, I'm completely unfamiliar with most of the music referenced throughout the book.

Thanks for the suggestion. It was a worthwhile read independently of our trip and it's certainly not something I would have picked up on my own.