We decided to see in the new year with four days on the road in Scotland, splitting the trip between Edinburgh and the journey north towards Inverness and Loch Ness. We hired a car rather than taking the van this time, which suited the short break and gave us the freedom to move between the city and the Highlands without trying to cram too much into each day.
The drive north quickly became part of the trip rather than simply a way of getting there. We broke up the journey with a stop at the Angel of the North before continuing towards Scotland. It doesn’t take long to visit, but standing underneath it gives you a much better sense of the scale than seeing it from the road or in photographs.
Two Nights in Edinburgh
For our first two nights, we stayed at the Travelodge near Edinburgh Airport. It kept the accommodation costs sensible and meant we didn’t need to take the car into central Edinburgh. We left it at the hotel and used the tram instead, which kept the city days straightforward.
Edinburgh Castle was our first proper stop. There is a lot packed into the site, but what struck us just as much as the history was the view. From the castle walls you can look across the rooftops and get a much clearer idea of how the city fits together, with the old streets below and the hills beyond.
It was notably busy when we visited, so this wasn’t a peaceful wander around an empty castle. There was still plenty to hold our attention, though. If the castle is high on your list, allow at least two hours rather than trying to squeeze it between other stops. Tickets can sell out too, so booking ahead is sensible if your plans depend on getting in.
Afterwards, we slowed things down with a wander through the Christmas markets. The wooden stalls, lights and smell of hot food gave the centre a properly festive feel, and after spending much of the day at the castle it was nice not to have much of a plan beyond walking, browsing and seeing where we ended up.
That carried into our second day. We started with breakfast at a local Wetherspoons, took the tram back into the centre and spent much of the day walking without too much of a plan. We followed whichever street looked interesting, stopped in shops and cafés, and let Edinburgh fill the day rather than working through a long list of attractions.
Calton Hill was one of the highlights. Because we were already exploring the centre on foot, it fitted naturally into the day rather than feeling like another journey in itself. The climb rewards you with a wide view over Edinburgh and its skyline, and on a clear day it is the sort of place where it makes sense to stop for a while rather than reach the top, take a photograph and head straight back down.
Driving from Edinburgh to Inverness and Loch Ness
Day three changed the pace completely. We left Edinburgh behind and headed north towards Inverness, with Loch Ness as the main focus for the day. On paper, it had looked like a couple of hours in the car. Once we were actually doing it, we realised we hadn’t quite appreciated just how far the journey was.
That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The drive became part of what we remembered most about the trip. The city gradually disappeared behind us, the landscape opened out into rolling hills and wider stretches of countryside, and there was much more of a sense that we were travelling through Scotland rather than simply heading for the next attraction.
We didn’t find Nessie, which probably saves an awkward conversation with the newspapers, but the route around the loch gave us enough reasons to keep stopping anyway.
One of those stops was the Falls of Foyers, where we spent around an hour. It worked well as a break in the day and gave us a chance to get out of the car properly rather than simply pulling over for another view. The sound of the water hitting the rocks and the mist around the falls made the place feel bigger and louder in person than we had expected.
From there, we continued to Urquhart Castle on the edge of Loch Ness. Parking was straightforward with plenty of spaces available when we visited, and once inside the setting did much of the work. The ruins sit beside the water, so you get the history of the castle alongside long views across the loch.
Even if you aren’t someone who normally builds a trip around castles, this one is easy to appreciate because of where it sits. It also made a useful longer stop during the day rather than another quick viewpoint. The site has a visitor centre, café, toilets, picnic area, shop and water-bottle refill point, so there is an opportunity to take a proper break before carrying on.
Is Scotland Worth Visiting in Winter?
We went into a New Year trip expecting proper winter weather, but the conditions were surprisingly mild for us. It was cold, certainly, but never so uncomfortable that it stopped us walking around Edinburgh or getting out at the viewpoints and other stops along the route.
We were lucky with the weather, and that made the scenic parts of the journey much easier than we had expected. It also meant the trip never felt as though we were simply moving between indoor attractions to escape the cold.
Looking back, four days gave us a good mixture of city wandering, long stretches on the road and time around Loch Ness. Edinburgh provided the busiest part of the trip, while heading north brought a completely different pace and landscape.
The main lesson was not to underestimate the driving. If you are trying to cover Edinburgh, Inverness and Loch Ness over a long weekend, a fair amount of the trip will be spent on the road. For us, that ended up being part of the appeal. Some of the best moments came from the journey between places rather than from rushing to tick off another stop.