Castles of Scotland
Edinburgh and Stirling, up the east coast to Dunnottar, across the Highlands to Loch Ness and Eilean Donan, and back by Inveraray.
- 7 stops
- 749 km by road
- 10 h 39 min of driving
- 5 days
Distances and times are calculated on real roads (OpenStreetMap), with no stops and no traffic.
The route goes into the planner with its stops, split over days: move, remove or add stops, see the times and look for a place to stay. Or open the whole route in Google Maps.
Before you set off
A car for this route
Hire the car where you arrive, at the airport or in the first city, and check that it can be returned where the route ends.
- Car hire Hire a car in the United Kingdom and reach the places the trains do not. On Auto Europe
- Airport transfer A driver meets you at arrivals and takes you to your door in Edinburgh, at a price fixed in advance. On Kiwitaxi
- eSIM for the United Kingdom Mobile data from the moment you land, with no roaming bill. Installed on your phone before you leave. On Airalo
These services are sold by our partners: you book and pay on their sites. Viaqui may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
About the route
A circuit of the mainland that takes in the two royal castles, a cliff-top ruin, a castle on Loch Ness and one on a tidal island. Edinburgh and Stirling both stand on volcanic rock and controlled the way north. Glamis is a lived-in house with towers, Dunnottar a ruin above the North Sea. From there the route crosses to Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, continues west to Eilean Donan, where three sea lochs meet, and returns south by Inveraray on Loch Fyne. The roads in the west are narrow; allow more time than the distances suggest.
The route has 7 stops in United Kingdom, in Scotland. From the first to the last there are 749 km by road, which is 10 h 39 min of driving with no stops. The numbers on the map and in the list are the same order; press a stop to see it on the map, or open its page for the description and the address.
The route is a suggestion, not a schedule: you can drive it the other way round, split it over more days or take only the stops on your way. Every stop is also on the attractions map of United Kingdom, together with everything else there is to see around it.
How long does the route take?
The driving alone is 10 h 39 min. With the stops, it depends how long you stay at each. We suggest 5 days, a pace that leaves time to go inside, not only to drive past.
Is the distance by road?
Yes. The 749 km and the 10 h 39 min are calculated on real roads, not in a straight line, with OpenStreetMap data. They do not include stops, traffic or detours.
Do I pay at every stop?
No. Some of the stops are free to enter; where a ticket is sold, it shows on the page of the place. Opening hours are set by whoever runs each place, so check them before you leave.
Can I change the order?
Yes. The order here is the one that keeps the drive short, but the route works just as well backwards or in pieces.
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