Hello from Washington State, USA

[lisasunrisephoto]

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Scotland, for the beginning of September! We plan to be there about two weeks and we plan to backpack most of the time, staying in bothies and doing a lot of wild camping. We do want to break up every 3 to 4 days to go into towns. We plan to explore Scotland this way, to not do it on the cheap, but we feel that this is the best way to discover the land, waters, and the people!!!

ANY recommendations at all for what we HAVE to see and experience in this gorgeous country would be so appreciated!
We have started to look into the West Highland Way, Fort William's area, Great Glen Way, Cairngorm NP, The Shetlands, The Isle of Skye, Arran, Outer Hebrides Islands... as you can see we are wide open with our adventure and would LOVE some input!

PS I am also a photographer, so any "must photograph" places would be helpful, but so far I can't imagine anywhere in Scotland to not be photo worthy!!!
Looking forward to hearing from you and lots more research!!!

Lisa and John

[Mal Grey]

Hey

My preference would be pretty much anywhere on the west coast north of the Great Glen. Knoydart, Torridon, Fisherfield, ASsynt/Inverpolly...all utterly wonderful areas with some amazing hills to walk.

Perhaps combine some of that with some time on the isles, Skye being the obvious one, but Mull is a little quieter, or the Outer Hebrides would offer a different type of a second week in a wild and beautiful place with the best beaches anywhere.

With just two weeks, you should try to avoid planning too much, and pick maybe 2 or 3 areas to visit, keeping it flexible until you have an idea of the weather. Sometimes the weather in the east is very different to the west, or the north to the south.

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

I agree with Mal Grey. If you are backpacking then you have maximum choice for the wilder areas, and can combine coastal and hill scenery. "pretty much anywhere on the west coast north of the Great Glen" sums it up really.

If you are a photographer, then the Loch Maree / Torridon area (including the less famous Coulin Forest, immediately to the south of Glen Torridon), the Fisherfield area, and the Ullapool / Coigach / Assynt area are, for me, outstandingly scenic. Personally, I find Skye unquestionably dramatic, but not as compelling scenically, perhaps because there are fewer trees. Areas such as Loch Maree and Glen Affric where there are remnants of the Caledonian Forest are especial favourites of mine. But other WH members wil have their own favourite areas, all of them equally good in different ways!

For an example of a backpacking/bothying tour by another WH member, see https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=53532

I agree with the advice to pick two or three areas and enjoy them thoroughly, rather than trying to do too much.

You will be backpacking during the stalking season. So be aware of this
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/stalking-information-on-walkhighlands-for-new-season/0016741/

In my experience you are usually fine if to keep to the ridgelines and avoid corries. Many paths do this anyway.

Also take midge repellent!

Tim

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

Forgot to say, if you are bothying, use the 'find a bothy' facility on this website

https://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/

[lisasunrisephoto]

Thank you so much Tim and Mal Grey! Great information!!! I appreciated it!

[iangpark]

That's a big ask Lisa!

If you prefer the mountainous landscape, just about anywhere in the West Highland is where you want to be. If it's islands, Argyll is ideal. If it's long, sunny, quiet walks, the Southern Uplands is spot on.

If you're planning on doing a lot of backpacking, I would recommend either making up one route or a cluster of relatively nearby places to visit (e. g. everywhere near Fort William) as the others have said. I would also seriously recommend looking into getting a railcard (£30) and 1/3rd off. You'll not get anywhere near the proper Highlands without a bus, car or train. The WHW would be a great long distance walk for you both but does limit you to seeing a very small proportion of what Scotland has to offer and would take up half your holiday.

Bothies are a ton of fun but (in my experience) will really take it out of you even after one night. I'd recommend interspersing B&Bs/hostels with bothies to make sure you're not waking up cold and with a sore head every morning! (Unless you two are much more hardcore than me!)

Just bear in mind that I live here and have barely scraped the surface of places I want to go

I'm not exactly the most knowledgeable person North Highland-wise or Munro-wise but can give you a hand if need be. Feel free to give me a message if you're struggling a bit.

Cheers,

Ian

[Arthurs Eat]

Affric Kintail Way looks good for a wee four trek with a bothy/hostel in between?

[lisasunrisephoto]

Thank you Ian! Some great info for me! Thank you! I was worried that doing the WHW would limit us a bit too...thank you for confirming that! I will look more into Argyll. Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

[lisasunrisephoto]

Thank you Arthurs Eat! I just had started researching that hike!!! Looks lovely!