by Mal Grey » Sun Oct 10, 2021 11:13 am
Splitting into two areas makes sense to me, any more than that and you'll be spending too long travelling about.
Below are some of the key towns & larger villages I'd consider. I'd be spending time looking through the walks on this site to get a good idea of each region, then choose my two favourites.
The weather may play a part, sometimes its quite different in the east than west, but its hard to be flexible on accommodation booking.
Fort William - for Ben Nevis, Glencoe, the Mamores, Grey Corries, lots of low levels stuff. Plenty of pubs, some with music
Aviemore - Cairngorms, Monadhliath, Speyside, Rothiemurchus. Again, plenty of pubs.
Ullapool - centre for the wonderful North West, masses of more remote hills and lochs inc Fisherfield Forest, An Teallach. Several pubs, eg Ferry Boat Inn, The Ceilidh Place.
Gairloch - good for Loch Maree, and Torridon from the north with some of the best scrambling around. Smaller though, probably less of a "scene".
Lochcarron - also for Torridon from the south, the Strathcarron hills, Coulin Forest, etc. Couple of pubs, less going on.
Plockton - not quite as close to hills, but a lovely little place. Not sure on live music etc, but a couple of pubs. Brings Skye into the options as well as Torridon, but with longer drives for both.
Portree - Isle of Skye and the best scrambling at harder levels. Don't know on the music scene, but plenty of pub/food options. Further away from other areas if you need to move because the weather is poor on Skye.
With a scrambling itinerary, I'd probably be looking at Fort William and one of Ullapool/Gairloch/Lochcarron to get to Torridon or Fisherfield Forest.