Last week I spent 2 nights at The Lovat Loch Ness Hotel which sits near to the shores of Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal in the village of Fort Augustus. I have stopped off at Fort Augustus fairly regularly to stretch my legs on journeys from Fort William to Inverness but never really stayed long enough to explore properly.

Through my itinerary planning service I also get asked a lot about this area as it is a popular tourist route so I felt it was time to get much better acquainted.  It is also important to me that I can personally endorse accommodation based on my own experience whenever possible.
 - spoiler - I will definitely be recommending The Lovat Loch Ness!

When Wendy from Red Kite Campers got in touch asking if I wanted to take their new VW campervan away for a few days to try it out, I got pretty excited.  I've been on a couple of campervan road-trips in Scotland already and I love the freedom of making up my route as I go along and parking up at the most beautiful places for a short stop or even a whole night.
​That initial excitement soon turned to dilemma after dilemma.  With so many rewarding journey options, I struggled to decide on a route!  In the end I opted for a road-trip that would incorporate some of the best Highland scenery on Scotland's west coast.  As I only had the campervan for 3 nights, I had to be selective in the places I could visit in order to reach a balance of having time to enjoy the adventure without spending too many hours behind the wheel. 
The route I have featured below includes a few Scottish tourist classics with my usual mix of hidden gems thrown in.  It is impossible to see all of Scotland in a few days but if you are short on time and big on scenic landscapes, my recommended 4 day itinerary should tick all the boxes.  I've also included some extra suggestions if you have more time to spend.

DAY 1 - MILTON OF CAMPSIE TO GLEN SHIEL 
​APPROX 160 MILES

​With no sign of the torrential rain easing, I decided that our planned walk in Glen Coe was best abandoned as our clothes were just about dry again after our earlier soaking at Loch Lomond.
Mr Adventures Around Scotland pulled our colourful VW campervan in to a layby near the mouth of the looming glen and we both hopped in the back, feeling quite smug that we had such a cosy shelter to wait out the worst of the weather.
The rain thrummed noisily on the roof as a pot of water bubbled away on the stove.  As I poured two mugs of steaming hot coffee, I could just about make out the distinctive form of Buchaille Etive Mor through the sheets of water sweeping across the surrounding landscape.  On days like this, the iconic mountain takes on a foreboding appearance as it guards entry to the gloomy glen beyond.
I've been to Glen Coe countless times and could number the times I've visited on a clear, dry day on both hands and this was definitely not one of those days!

Last year I spent a lovely week in Ullapool with my mum, staying on the shores of Loch Broom in the well equipped Rubha Mor.  Ullapool is well positioned for memorable road-trips around the North West of Scotland and we did plenty of exploring during our holiday.  When I'm with my mum (or anyone else for that matter!), a day out exploring inevitably includes a tea and cake stop and we discovered some cute cafe gems in the most unexpected of places so I thought I would share my recommendations in case you find yourself craving for a cake fix in this stunning and wild part of the country.  Those of you undertaking the North Coast 500 Route might also find this guide useful as you pass most of these stops on the way.
My mum and I do consider ourselves to be Scotland cake and tea stop aficionados so hopefully you won't be disappointed in our choices which definitely met with our expert approval!
​

TEA BY THE SEA, 17 SHORE STREET, ULLAPOOL

​We walked past this gift shop come cafe a couple of times before we finally succumbed to temptation.  Our willpower was eroded away by the list of delicious sounding daily desserts on the notice board outside which we just had to investigate for ourselves.
This is a quirky little place inside with a few tables adjoining a new age type gift shop.  The friendly owners were more than happy to explain what delights were on offer that day and the counter was stuffed with enticing choices.
I opted for a creamy slice of bannoffee pie and my mum opted for the apple pie topped with caramel sauce and cream just for good calorific measure!  A generous amount of tea and an extra pot of hot water to wash everything down completed our sweet, sticky feast and we both agreed that a cake stop at Tea By The Sea deserved a big thumbs up.

Check out my blog or more ideas on things to do around Ullapool

ACHILTIBUIE PIPING SCHOOL CAFE, OLD VILLAGE HALL, ACHILTIBUIE

The highlight from my week in Ullapool was definitely a trip to Achiltibuie and the Coigach Peninsula.  The scenery is breathtaking and it really feels as if you have left the tourist trail well behind.  I highly recommend a visit to this stunning part of Scotland and a stop at the village of Achiltibuie which is surprisingly big considering its remote location. 
The Achiltibuie Piping School Cafe is a real off the beaten path gem with amazing views to the Summer Isles.  This old village hall has a real community vibe and we found the table of home-made cakes irresistible!  For such a remote place, I was also surprised at the wide range of teas on offer and although I didn't have Willow with me, it was good to discover that it is also dog friendly.
Now this is where I must confess to a blogger fail, I didn't photograph our tea and cakes as I was enjoying the experience too much, oops!  I can tell you that I really enjoyed my huge slice of lemon cake and I did remember to photograph the view!  The baking was so good that we bought pumpkin scones to take back to the accommodation and I also bought a cute little puffin card as a souvenir of our day.  We also bought some local free range eggs from an honesty box on the road and I made sure I photographed them to make up for my earlier fail. You'll just have to take my word for it that our cakes looked and tasted incredible and of course try them for yourself!

Check out my blog to find out why I fell in love with the Coigach Peninsula

If you have read my recent blog with some of the highlights from my week in Ullapool, you will know that I was waiting to reveal my stand out experience from the trip as I felt it deserved a blog post all to itself.  Well, I am finally ready to share not only the top highlight from my week in Ullapool, but a corner of Scotland that has firmly entered my list of top places to visit in the country.  
I wanted to take you on a photo journey of my road-trip which started at Ullapool and ventured towards Achiltibuie and around the Coigach peninsula, a region that I fell more than a little bit in love with.  It really was one of those road-trips when I kept thinking that the views couldn't get any better until I turned the next corner!
The only way to reach Achiltibuie is by a long and winding single track road which means it remains free from mass tourism and the whole area still has a simple and rustic charm.  I could easily spend way more than a thousand words rambling on about how magical this place is, but I thought on this occasion I would let the pictures do the talking instead...

​Heading north from Ullapool it wasn't long before I got my first glimpse of the Coigach mountains as I followed the road towards Ardmair.

Abandoned stone buildings topped with red tin are a common sight in this part of the country.

As the sweep of Ardmair Bay came in to view, the white pebble beach was a stark contrast to the dark and brooding mountains in the distance.

Around the bend from Ardmair, the mountain and loch scene was completed by some colourful fishing boats.