Road Trip Through the Scottish Highlands

I just got back from a week-long road trip around Scotland - Glasgow, north into the Highlands, up to Ullapool (such a cute town) and all the way over to the far northeast coast before heading back down + day in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival (!).

It’s been eight years since I walked the West Highland Way, back when I had no idea it would end up being one of the reasons I left Japan, and it felt nice to revisit, which is something I don’t do often enough.

Blurry back-seat shot of J checking the car’s charging map somewhere north of Glasgow — Where’s the next EV charger?

Roughly, here’s what we got up to:

Wild Camping in the Highlands #

Freedom to roam - love this concept. I still don’t fully understand why it’s mostly the Nordic countries and Scotland that have figured this out: pitch a tent more or less wherever you like, as long as you’re sensible about it and leave no trace.

Mallards gathered by the rocky shore of a highland loch, hills rolling into the distance

Embers and flame from our campfire at night, someone’s shoe just in frame — Sitting around a fire is nice

Sausages frying in a pan next to green peppers, balanced over the campfire — A lot of sausages.

We ate an unreasonable number of hot rolls and sausages.

Golden evening light spilling into a glen, mountains rising on either side of the road

Finding a Bothy #

Turns out finding a bothy within comfortable range of an EV charger is its own kind of route-planning puzzle. We eventually landed on Coire Fionnaraich, tucked into the hills. There are apparently about 100 bothies in the whole of the UK, 80-85 of them in Scotland, which is quite amazing.

A lone bothy barely visible through thick highland mist at the bottom of a glen — Coire Fionnaraich Bothy

Stone bothy with two chimneys emerging out of the fog, two people walking up to it

A Long Way to Whaligoe #

From there we drove all the way to the other side of Scotland to Helmsdale, after changing out minds to book an Inn instead of camping out.

Wildflowers and grass in the foreground with sea cliffs and two walkers along the clifftop path near Whaligoe

Looking down at the cove and the ruined fish store at the bottom of the Whaligoe Steps — Whaligoe steps north of Helmsdale

Orange lichen-covered sandstone cliffs framing the sea near Whaligoe

The Inn Experience #

After a night in tents and another on a bothy floor, the Bannockburn Inn on the way back south felt almost too luxurious.

Table full of soup, bread and coffee cups seen from directly above — Potato/fish soup and homemade bread.

Wildflowers and a fence post in a farmer’s field, farmhouse in the distance

Some Thoughts #

It’s nice to be back somewhere that’s close to my heart — I walked the West Highland Way eight years ago and it genuinely changed my life, maybe it’s part of why I’m still living in Europe today
People are so friendly
It’s nice to be in a country where I actually speak the language for once
Wild camping and bothying opened me up to other forms of “camping” I hadn’t really considered before
It was so much fun. Laughed so so much.