Wednesday was a busy day. We got going a bit earlier than usual, checked out and went into central Dunblane for a wonderful breakfast at the Beech Tree Cafe.

The drive into central Edinburgh where we turned in the rental car took almost two hours instead of one hour as Google projected. The longer drive was due to traffic, filling up the car with diesel ($10.81 per gallon), a couple wrong turns and a detour. After driving a total 783 miles over ten days, we successfully returned the car.

Our room wasn’t ready so we played cards one last time while we waited. We went out exploring a bit then had coffee in a coffee shop across from the train station.

For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant.

Then we went to a traditional music concert. The concert was part of a music series called Tradfest that is happening in Edinburgh this week. The group was called The Furrow Collective.

After the concert we walked back to the hotel and said goodbye to Roger and Gayle who planned to leave the hotel at 5:30 am to start their voyage home.

This morning before we left Ballachulish we went for a walk along the nearby lake.

Our drive today was about two hours as we make our way back towards Edinburgh. Tonight we are in Dunblane about an hour outside of Edinburgh.

For dinner we walked down into the town to a pub called The Village Inn.

If you would like to read about our return to Edinburgh click here.

This morning after going back to the Coffee Bothy for breakfast we left the Isle of Skye and headed south.

The Eilean Dolan Castle location was first occupied in the 6th century. The current castle was rebuilt and opened in 1932. We didn’t go inside but we enjoyed walking along the shore in front.

We are staying at the Isles of Glencoe Hotel. When we got to our room it was very cold. We asked a housekeeping lady how to turn on the heat. She said to call the front desk. It turns out that the front desk controls the heat in all the rooms. They turned ours up to 19c. When we got back from playing cards the heat was still off. We called again and they turned it up to 22c. When that didn’t work they sent someone up to the room who determined that the heat didn’t work! Eventually a space heater was delivered. Now we are quite comfortable.

To read tomorrow’s blog post click here.

On Sunday we spent the day exploring a bit of the Isle of Skye. For breakfast we went back to The Coffee Bothy. It’s a wonderful small coffee shop with great bakery goods. The owners are so friendly as is the resident dog. Even though we are spending less than 48 hours on Skye we are becoming regulars.

After breakfast we drove a loop on the Sleat peninsula in Southern Skye.

To read my next blog post click here.

Today we drove across the Scottish highlands from the east coast to the west coast. Once we left the Inverness area we started to see people with cameras stopped by the side of the road obviously waiting for something. After a bit of Googling we figured out that it was the Highland Historic Commercial Vehicle Run 2026.

From the Scottish mainland we took the Skye Bridge to the Isle of Skye where we are tonight. When we first arrived at Juniper Cottages, where we are staying, it was too early to check in. We had about three hours before check in time so we stopped at a nearby coffee shop.

Then we drove over a one lane road through the center of the island. When we reached the water on the other side we got out and explored a bit.

For dinner we ate at a seafood restaurant, Claymore. It’s right across the main road from where we are staying.

To read about our second day on Skye click here.