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So me and the family have this plan to fly from Oslo to Edinburgh in the end of october when the kids schools are closed. Pick up a car and go see the best of Scotland in a week.
So what should we absolutely not miss?
If you, for some godforsaken reason would like to go to the westcoast (Fjaellbacka, Bohuslän) of Sweden I am happy to divulge a few spots of my own. //Jay
Give us a feel for what you like and how much driving you are up for!!
Weather could make it amazing or really miserable in a few places, Islands on the west coast ferries are one idea, city stuff in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Whiskey trails and some mountains
East Kilbride, Wishaw and New Cumnock.
A week isn't long to see everything - but there's a couple of highlights.
How much activity do you want to do?
It would be easy to drive all week, and miss out on what the place is about.
Whiskey
Ahem.
Avoid North Lanarkshire. It's become very middle class (allegedly)
A few more details about why you want to see Scotland might help. Be aware that you could spend a lot of time driving and skipping over some of the good stuff or choose to locate yourself in one or two locations and expose yourself to a bit more detail.
Movie/TV locations are popular so the Storr on Skye (Prometheus and others) , Glencoe (Harry Potter, Highlander etc), Glenfinnan (Harry Potter) and the Inverness area (Outlander) all crop up regularly and are very popular with families.
Avoid North Lanarkshire. It’s become very middle class (allegedly)
I’m thinking about moving out
I won’t lower my standards for anyone
Edinburgh is one of the greatest cities in the world, well worth a day or two there
Then drive down to the Borders for a day or two of top drawer biking (road or off road)
Then a boat over to Arran for a couple of days, its like a condensed version of the mainland with mountains, moors and beaches. This is a great way to see lots without driving for hours
Whiskey
Some Scotch people won't like that
Ahem.
See, now you've done it
Great! Since we live right by Skaggerak we know a thing or two about raining, and if we would like a week of fun in the sun we would go to Spain. But Scotland looks marvelous.
We are quite fond of driving, like to talk endlessly.
And more rural than cityslickers.
My wife loves whiskey that taste peat and smoke.
I´m a sucker for nice views,castles and cemetaries.
The kids are bribable
T
Sounds like you want to head to the West Coast. Start at Oban, ferry to Mull (Iona) then up through Ardgour. Castles and Whisky aplenty.
I'll blame auto correct for the #SCOTCH drinks confusion 😉
To save any Drink driving issues I'd suggest a tasting here with the very knowledgeable people https://www.smws.com/about/venues/the-vaults might have to park the kids somewhere 😉 Distillery tours in lots of places but it depends how into that you are
As others said could be lots of driving, but a triangle such as Edinburgh then over to loch lomond/oban/skye area then up to glen coe area before heading back down to edinburgh maybe via st andrews would give you a fair taste of things.
Pretty much what Scotroutes says. Driving is slow in rural scotland / highlands. I'd drive to an area then stay there or plan not to drive muchg each day. Oban / Mull / Ardnamurchan / Ardgour would be a good choice. Or Inverness / Ullapool / Lochinver
For me the west coast is the best part and the further north the better - but its a long drive. Edinburgh to Ullapool will be the best part of a days drive
I'd do what Andy4d said but carry on along Loch Ness to Inverness then down via Aviemore and the A9 back to Edinburgh.
The main ferry company serving the Western Isles sells island hopping tickets.
https://www.calmac.co.uk/things-to-do/island-hopping-adventures
If your wife likes smokey Whisky, the the island of Islay is a must do. Of course, you can do your own island hopping but the link might give you some ideas.
Island hopping in October will leave you a hostage to the weather (even more so than normal). Not ideal if you are pre-booking accommodation and have a limited travel window.
Depends on your preferences. If you really like driving around looking at scenery from the car, there is plenty of opportunity to do that. If I was visiting for a week, I'd have a day or two in Edinburgh on the way in or out, then base myself in one place the rest of the time and relax. The West coast had the most dramatic scenery, and you can't really go wrong anywhere along there. Ardnamurchan and Plockton areas are very nice. Skye is good to visit, but extremely busy now (maybe not so bad in October). I'd think twice about staying in the island itself.
Skye was less busy in 2018 than it was in 2017. Either take that as "warnings were effective" or as "the problem was over-hyped ".
St andrews and A9 are terrible suggestions.
I'd say if you can be flexible wait and see the weather situation and go wherever is not shit.
Islay is going to tick quite a lot.
You can do a nice trip mist places with a week but from experience accomodation can be a bit of a ballache at that time.
The people suggesting st andrews and the A9 obviously don't like you!
Glad I wasn't there in 2017, because 2018 was plenty busy enough for me!
The big draws like The Storr and Quiraing were mobbed, although we had a lovely quiet day of walking on a less popular route.
Come prepared for fickle weather; in October there could be snow on the high passes, storms keeping the ferries in harbour or biblical rain... There could also be amazing white beaches, a warm sea or loch to swim in and the most stunning west coast sunsets. OP, with your background, you'll be used to this!! It can still be a bit busy in October but accommodation isn't usually too much of a problem. I'd definitely agree with the alternate days plans above- drive one day, stay at a base the next, whether town, glen or island. I've tried to keep the driving journeys reasonably short.
Edinburgh for 1 or 2 days.
Drive to Oban; ferry to Mull.
1 day here and Iona. Ardnamurchan on the wee boat to Kilchoan. Maybe whale/shark/eagle watching.
Continue up to Arisaig, Mallaig & Skye boat.
Talisker distillery for peatreek.
Cross the bridge and visit Plockton for seafood, then Applecross, Shieldaig; Torridon.
Glen Affric or Inverness; if there's time, Loch Ness or Fort George; about 3 hours to Edinburgh airport from town. Home.
Skye is good to visit, but extremely busy now
Oh I don't know. I've spent a week on Glenbrittle campsite and there was only one other tent. We never got across to say hello on account of the rain.
No honestly, go to Skye just for the Cuillin Hills, forget the movies. A walk from Glen Brittle campsite up into Coir a Ghrunnda is brilliant.
[IMG] 
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Above red line good. Below red line not as good.
...
I'd agree with St Andrews being not worth it, but I'd defo head up the A9, quickest way into where I'd want to be, certainly better than buggering about on wee west coast B roads looking at hills from a car.
I canny be arsed driving though, obviously OP is different...
As others said could be lots of driving, but a triangle such as Edinburgh then over to loch lomond/oban/skye area then up to glen coe area before heading back down to edinburgh maybe via st andrews would give you a fair taste of things.
Pretty much this, but with a bigger loop to make it a proper holiday / drive. So after Skye, go up 'the NC500' (as much as I hate mentioning that) as far as Ullapool / Lochinver, with that being your end point north. Then back down via the A9 visiting Speyside distilleries at leisure, and ending with a St Andrews / Edinburgh tourist bonanza.
through gritted teeth i'd also say north coast five hundred the road from kyle to Thurso based on the OP's likes. How you get to the start or from the end is easy - everything is great.
The only caveat is the weather - october could be glorious or utterly miserable. Id probably avoid the islands and concentrate on the North West and North. Edinburgh is a great city (I live there) but it's a city, the north west highlands you will remember for the rest of your life
Lochaber sunshine isn't what it sounds like.
". A walk from Glen Brittle campsite up into Coir a Ghrunnda is brilliant."
+1 Best mountain scenery in the UK.
St Andrews maybe an hour max, borders ok but a wee bit boring, Arran, Raasay for a day, Pitlochry as a base for a couple of days, Trossachs maybe, near Aviemore nothing too far from Edinburgh
If you like cemeteries then you have to go to the Necropolis in Glasgow. In fact, if you do one of the cities, make it Glasgow not Edinburgh.. 😉
Ok, Necropolis looks amazing, a bit like Highgate cemetary..
Thanks for all the input!
For a Glasgow Tandem tour see me! - For guiding further afield, stay with my folks? www.balmillig.co.uk
Concentrate on a quarter of the country, don't plan too far in advance. Let the weather forecast decide for you, prepare an alternative, bring a raincoat and tough it out anyway.