Itinerary
10 Days of Castles, Highlands & Dragons
Inspiration for your next adventure
A dragon's hill in Eryri, Edward I's castles on the North Wales coast, the long glen at Glencoe, Skye's ridgelines in the mist and a falconry lesson to finish. For readers who want to stand in the places their books were made of.
Who this is for
Readers who fell for Fourth Wing, Outlander or the old Celtic myths and want the real landscapes behind them. You do not mind a little rain, you like a castle with a story, and your ideal evening is a fire, a whisky and a paperback.
The shape of the trip
Where you sleep, and the rhythm of the days
North Wales, 3 nights · Glencoe, 2 · Isle of Skye, 3 · Gleneagles, 2
Fly into Manchester and home from Edinburgh. Wales and Scotland are linked by the train from Manchester to Glasgow, and the drives are kept to a few hours a day, with time to stop. The splurge is two nights at Gleneagles, with a falconry lesson on the estate.
Where to go and what to eat
The places
01 · 3 nights
North Wales
Base yourself at Bodysgallen Hall, a 17th-century house in its own gardens above Llandudno. Walk Conwy's town walls early, before the tour buses, then see Caernarfon and Harlech, two more of Edward I's castles. Learn one word, diolch, thank you, because Welsh is spoken here every day, in shops, pubs and on the road signs.
02
Eryri and the dragons
Walk up Dinas Emrys from the National Trust's Craflwyn estate near Beddgelert. This is the hill where, in the legend, Merlin showed a king the red and white dragons fighting under the ground, and the red one is still on the Welsh flag. Ride the mountain railway up Yr Wyddfa, Snowdon, from Llanberis, then have lunch at Portmeirion, the Italianate village on the coast that turned 100 in 2026.
03 · 2 nights
Glencoe
Take the train from Manchester to Glasgow, pick up a car, and drive north past Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor into the glen. Glencoe is the most dramatic valley in Scotland and the most haunting, the site of the 1692 massacre of the MacDonalds by soldiers they had sheltered. Stay at Glencoe House, or at Inverlochy Castle below Ben Nevis.
04 · 3 nights
Isle of Skye
Drive the Road to the Isles past the Glenfinnan Viaduct to Mallaig and take the ferry across to Skye. Stay at Kinloch Lodge, run by the MacDonald family, with fires lit and dinner in the house. Hike to the Old Man of Storr early, walk the Quiraing, see the Fairy Pools, and book dinner at Loch Bay, a tiny seafood restaurant in a crofter's cottage with a Michelin star.
05 · 2 nights
Gleneagles
Cross the Highlands past Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, with lunch in Pitlochry, to Gleneagles in Perthshire. It is the longest drive of the trip, so leave early. Take a lesson at the British School of Falconry on the estate, find a ceilidh or a distillery tour, and fly home from Edinburgh, about an hour away.
My take on Scottish Highlands & Whales
US travelers need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, the UK ETA, before they fly. Pack real waterproofs, because the weather changes by the hour. Many roads on Skye and in the Highlands are single-track, so pull into the passing places to let others by, and book the Mallaig ferry ahead in summer.
My take
Worth it, and what to skip
Worth it
Booking Skye first. The island has few good hotels, and the best rooms go months ahead.
The falconry lesson. It is the closest you will come to flying with a dragon.
Late spring or September. Long days, fewer crowds and fewer midges than high summer.
Skip it
The Fairy Pools and the Storr at midday in summer. The car parks fill and the paths crowd. Go early or in the evening.
Trying to fit in the North Coast 500. It is more than 500 miles of single-track and coast road, and it deserves its own trip.
More inspiration
Ideas for your next trip
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