The good hours
Things to do
A written day if you want the order already settled, or a gorge, a harbour, a chocolate counter, a forest park, or a spa if you would rather choose the hour. The weather still gets the deciding vote.
Written days
The order is already on the page. A glen in the morning, a harbour in the afternoon, and one visit when the day has room for it. The map can make another from the same pins.
A long weekend in Speyside
3 days · Speyside
Dufftown or Aberlour for the weekend, one booked tour, and a walk out to the iron bridge.
Three days from Inverness
3 days · Northern Highlands, Cairngorms
A city bed, the river islands, a day up to Tain, and the pinewood loch near Aviemore.
Two nights in Oban
2 days · Oban
McCaig's Tower, a window of chocolate on the esplanade, and the distillery in town.
Fort William, not the summit
2 days · Lochaber and Mull
A bed in town, the glen under Ben Nevis, and the distillery at Lochy Bridge. The summit can wait.
Skye, slowly
3 days · Skye
Portree for the nights, a booked hour at Talisker, and the bay when the single-track has time for it.
A day in Edinburgh
1 day · Edinburgh
Salisbury Crags in the morning, one whisky visit, and an Old Town bar if you are staying.
Deeside, and the linn
2 days · Royal Deeside
Ballater or Braemar for the bed, the Linn of Dee, and Royal Lochnagar at Crathie.
Perthshire, without a tasting
2 days · Highland Perthshire
The Birks or the Falls of Bruar, a chocolate counter, and a spa at Gleneagles if you have already phoned.
Mull needs its own night
2 days · Lochaber and Mull, Oban
The ferry from Oban while the morning is fresh, a night in Tobermory, and the distillery on the harbour.
Walks
Craigellachie and the Telford Bridge
Walk · Craigellachie
A short, level walk from Fiddich Park to Telford's iron bridge, on the Speyside Way.
Glen Nevis
Walk · Fort William
The glen under Ben Nevis. The visitor centre is the start. The lower falls are further up the road.
Holyrood Park
Walk · Edinburgh
The park under Salisbury Crags, next to Holyrood. The summit is a climb. The lower paths are the gentler day.
Linn of Dee
Walk · Braemar
A short waymarked circuit where the Dee runs through a rock chasm, west of Braemar.
Loch an Eilein
Walk · Aviemore
A pinewood circuit of a loch and a ruined island castle, in Rothiemurchus, near Aviemore.
McCaig's Tower
Walk · Oban
A town walk from the station clock to McCaig's Tower, with the distillery and the bay in the same hour.
Ness Islands
Walk · Inverness
A loop of small islands in the River Ness, a short walk from the city centre.
Talisker Bay
Walk · Talisker
An easy hour to a beach, a sea stack, and a waterfall. The hamlet of Talisker, not the distillery in Carbost.
The Birks of Aberfeldy
Walk · Aberfeldy
A wooded gorge and a set of falls above Aberfeldy, a short drive from the chocolate stop in Grandtully.
The Falls of Bruar
Walk · Blair Atholl
A short, steep gorge walk above the House of Bruar car park, just off the A9 near Blair Atholl.
Spas
Cameron Spa
Spa · Loch Lomond
A spa day at Cameron House, on Loch Lomond, about half an hour from Glasgow if the road is clear.
Irene Forte Spa
Spa · Edinburgh
The spa in the Balmoral, on Princes Street. Day passes and treatment days are on their page. Book it.
Kohler Waters Spa
Spa · St Andrews
A thermal spa in the Old Course Hotel at St Andrews. Day packages are on their site. Book ahead.
One Spa
Spa · Edinburgh
A thermal spa at the Sheraton on Conference Square. Book the hour.
Stobo Castle
Spa · Stobo
A castle spa in the Borders. Day visits are there if you book them.
The Spa at Gleneagles
Spa · Auchterarder
A spa day at the hotel in Auchterarder, with lunch or afternoon tea if you phone ahead.
Chocolate
Cocoa Mountain
Chocolate · Dornoch
A chocolate shop on Castle Street in Dornoch, the town north of Tain. The counter, not a factory tour.
Gordon and Durward
Chocolate · Crieff
A high-street sweet maker in Crieff. Tablet, fudge, and the sugar mice, made in the shop.
Oban Chocolate Company
Chocolate · Oban
A small chocolate workshop on the esplanade, a few minutes' walk from the distillery. You can watch through the window.
The Highland Chocolatier
Chocolate · Grandtully
A chocolate visitor stop in Grandtully, five minutes off the A9, between Aberfeldy and Pitlochry.