You can then continue to Edinburgh, visiting the Old Town, lined with picturesque alleys branching off from the Royal Mile, the main street. Also worth seeing is the New Town, clearly Georgian in style. From here, you can head to the Fife peninsula to the east, crossing the bridge over the Forth estuary and exploring the charming fishing villages of East Neuk, which reveal inviting little seafood restaurants.
If someone loves golf, it’s a great opportunity to stop at St. Andrews and try one of the famous links, the seaside golf courses where this sport originated. Crossing the bridge over the River Tay, you can reach Dundee and continue northwest on the A923, arriving in the Grampians region, famous for whisky and castles. The A97 road offers a stop at the Strathisla Distillery, a typical whisky distillery near Keith, founded in 1786 and considered the oldest still operating in the Highlands. The A9 road leads directly to Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, from where you can also head to the nearby Loch Ness to catch a glimpse of Nessie, the legendary lake monster, and then to the port of Scrabster to the north, where you can board for the Orkney Islands, with their pristine and welcoming nature, rich in archaeological sites (Skara Brae, Maes Howe…) dating back to the Stone Age.
Returning to Scrabster and taking the A836 road, it’s worthwhile to reach Ullapool and board for Stornoway on the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Lewis is famous for its spectacular beaches and prehistoric remains, among which the grand menhirs of Callanish stand out, a site of great allure and mystery. Lewis and the Harris peninsula are also known as the lands of tweed, the famous and valuable wool fabric produced from the fleece of the ever-present Black Face sheep and protected by a determined producers’ consortium.
Reaching Tarbert, to the south, it’s very easy to board for Uig, the gateway to the island of Skye, considered the most spectacular corner of the Highlands, marked by mountain ranges such as the Cuillin Hills and wild valleys like Glen Brittle. Once in the main town of Portree, continue on the A87 to Broadford and then return to mainland Scotland via the Skye Bridge, before heading to Fort William, a town nestled at the foot of the Ben Nevis massif (1343 meters), considered the Scottish capital of outdoor life: in winter the mountain slopes become thrilling ski runs and, in summer, the longest downhill mountain bike trail in Great Britain winds its way here.
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