Close your eyes and picture Scotland. If you’re not thinking of the photo at the top of this article, you’ve likely conjured up one of two images: the gothic, stony architecture of Edinburgh, or the vast, sweeping vistas of the highlands. To experience Scotland in its truest form—through its people—neither of these alone will do. On a recent road trip with my partner, beginning in the western village of Glencoe, considered a gateway to the Highlands, and driving south to end in the coastal community of Ballantrae, I discovered that the local pubs, shops, and small town streets are the sights to see—where the locals are generous, the food is delicious, and every roadside cow and sheep appears to have a story to tell. Here’s how we pulled it off.
How to do it
The most important part of any road trip in Scotland isn’t the views whipping past your window—it’s getting the right set of wheels. What the topless Jeep Wrangler is to the Pacific Coast Highway in California, the Toyota Yaris is for traversing Europe. Its small-but-nimble frame makes this car perfect for navigating narrow village roads, plus it gets good mileage on the long hauls around the countryside, and the “meep meep” of the horn sounds like my favorite Muppet. Plus, you want something that can steer clear of the semi trucks hurdling behind you on single-lane highways.
We pick up our car in Edinburgh—from there, city highways quickly transform to main streets cutting through smaller towns, which then transform to country roads flanked by fluffy Highland cows on either side. Having never driven on the left side before, it took me no more than three minutes to hit a curb. To avoid trucks that could swallow the Yaris whole in their grills, there are elbows to pull off onto and let lorries or more aggressive cars pass. As travelers, though, we found these carve-outs doubled as excellent lookout points for some of Scotland’s incredible views. At one, we opened the door to aggressive gusts of wind, but saw the sun break through the clouds and a rainbow touch down on Loch Ba.
Day one
Glencoe, where our journey officially began, is really more of a street than a town. Take a sharp right near the loch, however, and you’ll reach The Carnoch, a milelong row of residential stone houses and mountain views. Home to a youth hostel and folk museum, Glencoe is mostly a destination for outdoorspeople looking to kayak, mountain climb, go trekking, or pitch tents. For us, though, it was also a good location to have lunch on the bank of placid Loch Leven—five miles wide and marked at the center with a remote island that serves as the burial place for the ancient MacDonald clan who once called the region home.
A few miles east of town, the Kingshouse Hotel is a modern extension of the original Kingshouse, which dates back to the 18th century as a military barracks used during the Jacobite Uprising. Today, it’s a comfortable pitstop for hikers waiting out the rain for a night over a pint and a burger. During our stay, Goretex-clad travelers breezed in and out of the lobby and drying room after a day on the famed West Highland Way—a trail spanning nearly 100 miles of the Highlands that is a pilgrimage-worthy route for those looking to embrace the natural beauty of Scotland. If you happen to be there for a wedding, as we were, expect an authentic ceilidh band performing old folk songs and plenty of traditional dancing.
Day two
The rain is on-and-off almost constantly this far north, but luckily, Scotland looks good in grey. After a short drive from Glencoe, I pilot the Yaris onto the Corran-Ardgour ferry before continuing on toward another ferry point at Caledonian MacBrayne to Lochalline. (Ferries, I would argue, are the best part of any road trip—all the fun of a car without any of the focus required when driving.) Our eventual destination, though, is the Isle of Mull, which we watch appear from the deck beside a mother and her two children enthusiastically peering over the edge of the ferry.
To British readers of a certain “zillenial” age, the island’s main town, Tobermory, is best known as the setting for the children’s show Balamory. Wrapped around a quaint harbor full of fishing boats, the streets of Tobermory are lined with colorful stone houses. The walk from the ferry takes you past a painter’s palette of buildings towards the Tobermory Distillery, makers of my personal favorite Scotch whisky, the Tobermory bottle, which is a little peaty, with a light citrus note, and a salty, coastal finish. After sampling a few different ages at the distillery—and learning about the process from peat to product to create that smoky-sweet flavor—I couldn’t help also taking a bottle of their Ledaig 10 Year Single Malt to bring home with me.