At the end of uni last year, me and my friends went up to the Highlands for a road trip – fulling consolidating Scotland as my favourite country. While I use public transport a lot usually, it does have to be said (and hopefully you’d have guessed from the title) that you kind of need a car to do this! You can get the bus or a coach up from Edinburgh to Inverness to start and then drive from there. It’s not impossible persay to visit the Highlands or the Cairngorms by public transport – I’ve been wild camping with one of my closest friends went wild camping and just used buses from Edinburgh HOWEVER for the purposes of this post, get yourself a car – or some amazing friends who can drive and have cars!
Firstly, work out what you actually what to do – whether that’s hike Munros, wild swimming, seeing some of the more touristy places or a mix of everything.
Hiking Munros
I’m a massive fan of hiking and even more when the climb leads to such a good view. I would recommend using (ALL TRAILS) as a great place to find routes if you want to hike over here. Take PLENTY of layers, (we got stuck in a snowstorm in May – it is Scotland), a picnic for the top and make sure someone in your group is in charge of music and maps!
Wild Swimming
Okay I fully admit I don’t think I wild swam on this trip itself, but I have been wild swimming around Scotland loads in the last few years. There are some great websites like Guide to Lakes and Rivers for Wild Swimming in Scotland, and I’d recommend a look especially if you’re a bit newer to the scene. Wild swimming is great, but can be pretty cold up and always make sure you’ve got a friend with you. There are so many options for wild swimming in the Highlands – from lochs to rivers to the sea.
Where we were (near Ben Nevis) lochs were probably the most accessible option, and if you stay rurally (like most places in the Highlands to be honest) or drive a little bit further away from the towns it’s easy to find small parking places near swim spots.
Accomodation
Went a little away from my usual hostels and we stayed in a wooden lodge about 30 minutes drive away from Fort William. This was great as it allowed us to have beautiful views (with ponies outside), shorter drives to hiking spots and also close enough that we could do a big shop at Fort William.
Location
As I’ve mentioned before, a little further out from a larger town is perfect. Places like Fort William and Aviemore are great as nearby bases. If you want to hike Ben Nevis, make sure you’re close enough (and also go at the right time of year, it can stay snowy quite late on).
People!
Kind of obvious but a road trip with friends is AWESOME. I was so lucky to have the best group of friends to go and hike with, chat with for the few days (and eat so many M&S cookies in the evenings) and drive around listening to Noah Kahan (perfect Scotland road trip music). Four or five people for a hiking trip is a good number – enough to fit into a car but still have plenty of people to hike with for safety, and just for good vibes!
