The Scottish Highlands: Megan and Scott’s Byway

Byway customers Megan and Scott, from London, have recently returned from their slow travel adventure in the Scottish Highlands where they explored show-stopping landscapes by train, boat and bus. In this post, they share their experience of Scotland from the West Highland Line, including the Isle of Mull with its extraordinary wildlife, beautiful Loch Lomond, Oban and Fort William, and the sweeping Isle of Skye.

We’re Megan and Scott, guest blogging for Byway

We wanted to go on an adventure to somewhere different, where we could enjoy nature, discover new places and try local food and drink. We love photography, so stunning views were a must. We came across Byway through a Facebook ad and thought the holiday sounded ideal, it was also easier for us as there was quite a lot to plan. We really appreciated the effort the Byway team went to in planning our trip, they were super responsive to what we wanted and helped us organise the holiday pretty quickly - even though we changed our dates twice and it was very last minute they found something that worked! We booked our holiday because we had options to personalise it - it wasn’t just a rigid holiday and we felt like the team cared that we had a good trip.

The Sleeper Train North

We started our holiday with dinner and a drink near to Kings Cross, then boarded the Caledonian Sleeper train at Euston to travel to Scotland in our sleep. The Byway team had booked us a private cabin, we struggled to sleep initially because we were so excited about the holiday! We decided last minute not to stop in Glasgow on the way to Loch Lomond as originally planned, because it gave us an extra hour of sleep in the morning.

Loch Lomond, Oban and the journey to Mull

Loch Lomond was so pretty - well worth the stop for the views - and since we arrived earlier than planned we got back on the train towards Oban earlier as well: Byway booked us flexible tickets, so it wasn’t a problem to change our plans on the day. We played games on the train but kept being interrupted by all the pretty views outside the window! After arriving in Oban we stopped for lunch at The Olive Garden, where the food was lovely and the portions big - we definitely didn’t go hungry! It was literally right outside the station and only two minutes to the ferry terminal so we didn’t have to carry our bags far. We then headed on the Calmac ferry across to the Isle of Mull - a stunning crossing, and a beautiful bus ride at the other end to take us up to the pretty town of Tobermory, where we were staying.

The Isle of Mull

We had a wonderful evening meal at our hotel in Tobermory - the best view in town, right at the top of the cliff! We finished the meal with a delicious Cranachan, the traditional Scottish pudding with oats, raspberries and cream. The next day we’d signed up for a boat trip to visit the nearby Isle of Staffa, which was excellent; we saw whales, dolphins, and seals, the water was really still and we had really good weather - there was sun almost all day! We bought lunch at the Co Op and ate on the island which was lovely. We enjoyed walking the area around Tobermory (the Byway team recommended some routes), as well as a meal at the Mishnish (also a Byway recommendation) where the langoustines were good but a bit fiddly! They’ve got good Covid measures in place with screens between all the tables. We also went for a drink at Macgochans next to the Tobermory Distillery - the pub area was really cute.

Fort William

After two great days on Mull we set off for Oban after breakfast and after stopping for coffee and wander around, boarded the train to Fort William. It was such an amazing route through the moors, with views of all the beautiful lochs and mountains. We were discussing our next stop on the train and decided we’d really like to squeeze in a visit to the Glenfinnan Viaduct. We found a train that would take us there as soon as we arrived in Fort William so spoke to the Byway team and they found somewhere for us to leave our bags. This meant we could walk up to the view point hassle-free and get some lovely close-up pictures. We had good fish and chips and unique Monkfish Scampi at Crannog.

The Journey to Skye

The next day we got up early, excited for our journey to the Isle of Skye. As we booked last minute, sadly the Jacobite Steam Train had sold out, but the Byway team sorted us spots on the normal train which takes the same route, so it was still an amazing experience! We stopped for a coffee overlooking the fishing boats in Mallaig and then hopped on the ferry to Skye, discussed our plans over a nice lunch (it was hard to decide - there’s so much to do!) and then picked up our hire car. We stayed at The Passing Place in Fiscavig in the southern part of the island which was absolutely lovely and our hosts were great and provided really nice breakfasts. It was quite remote - there were a couple of pubs but not much else! We’re pleased we hired the car because we could really make the most of exploring. We did a great walk up to the Old Man of Storr (recommended by Byway) on our way to our accommodation - it was more challenging than we expected but the views of the rocks are pretty - it was a bit drizzly but we didn’t get too wet!

The Isle of Skye

Our favourite walk on Skye was the incredible Quiraing walk which is so pretty. We spent a great afternoon at the Talisker whisky distillery which was super interesting - made us really appreciate the craft and care that goes into producing it. The weather was mixed but it didn’t stop us from doing everything we wanted to. We did another great walk to the fairy pools - the bugs were a bit annoying but the pools were so pretty. We also took a boat tour from Portree - and spotted some hilarious seals! Skye was definitely our favourite part of our trip, it’s really beautiful.

The journey home

We squeezed in a morning trip to Eilean Donan castle on our way home - so pleased we did this, it’s beautiful (and they’re very Covid secure) - before dropping our car and hopping on the ferry back to the mainland. We stopped for coffee and very nice cake at the Tea Garden cafe in Mallaig before our train to Fort William. After a nice hearty dinner at The Tavern we boarded the sleeper, had a great night’s sleep and woke up very sad to be home the next morning! We loved our trip - just wish it had been longer!

You can see more of our trip in Byway’s Instagram Story Highlight.