The 2013 Scottish Bucket List
Glencoe – one of the amazing places I hope to see this year
One of the feelings I most love is that as a new year passes thinking back over everything achieved in the previous 12 months. I always hope that it can bring a smile to my face – this year it certainly did. 2012 was epic – but I want 2013 to be even more epic. It got me thinking about what I hope to do in my 32nd year.
I’ve lived in Scotland for almost 3 years now, and although I’ve seen some of the best bits of the country’s incredible scenery , there is still a myriad of things still on my list. I’ve just got myself a car for the first time in 6 years, so 2013 is my big year for seeing Scotland! So much so in fact that I think it deserves its own mini bucket list. Here’s all the places I’m hoping to see and things to do in Scotland during 2013.
I’m sure this list will change over the year, but this is my starting point, and it is not a small list! Any places you think I may have missed please tell me in the comments!
Want to join me and Allyson to any of these? Get in touch with me on twitter @lostintrepid
Towns
- Stonehaven
- Fort William
- Elgin
- Wick
- Inverness
- Aberdeen
- Ullapool
- Thurso
Activities
- Fly on a prop plane out to the hebrides with hebridean air (several, hopefully)
- Take the west highland steam railway from Fort William to Mallaig
- Mackerel fishing in Edinburgh
- Salmon or Trout fishing
- Microlighting
- Kayaking
- Wild swimming at the Fairy Pools on Skye
- Camping
- Climbing
- Wildlife – puffins on Mull
- Attend the highland games
Lochs
- Loch Lomond
- Loch Awe
- Loch Fyne
- Loch Sunart
Mountains, Bens, Glens and and Munroes
- Ben Nevis
- Berwick Law
- Glen Affric
- Glen Lyon
- Randolph’s Leap
- Ben Lomond
Islands
- Black Isle
- Skye
- Mull
- Colonsay
- Jura
- Arran
- Islay
- Coll
Distilleries
Island:
- Jura
- Talisker (Skye)
- Tobermory (Mull)
- Laphroaig (Islay)
- Ardbeg (Islay)
- Bowmore (Islay)
- Caol ila (Islay)
- Lagavulin (Islay)
- Bruichladdich (You guessed it, Islay)
Speyside
Highland
I’m so glad I found your site! I’ll be in Scotland in May (exploring some Islands) and I can’t believe I didn’t know about the Puffins! There are so many islands to explore, so I’m having a hard time narrowing it down to a few. Can you tell me why you picked those islands in this post? I’m definitely going to see about adding Mull for the Puffins.
Hi Christy – Love your blog by the way!
You’re right – seeing enough of the islands is tough in any time scale. Even in a year you’d struggle to see them all. Until now the only Hebridean island I’ve visited is Colonsay, where I proposed to my now wife! To me it’s the most idyllic place on earth – only 5 miles long with deserted stunning beaches and hikes. I chose that one because it was one of the least mentioned places in books and online, and I figured there wouldn’t be many tourists there – which was definitely the case. Check out the Colonsay Hotel as a place to stay.
As for the places on this year’s list – Mull and Skye are the two most frequented and the largest of the islands. Definitely need to check them out. There is tonnes of stuff to see on both (see the fairy pools above, and also check out Staffa on Mull) and I will post on them as the year progresses and I visit them.
Islay is for the whisky and is a must for distillery tours. Jura is the same, and a very small place. The black isle is technically a peninsula, has a great brewery and some stunning castles.
There will be some equally stunning places I’m missing for sure but they will have to wait.
Check out CalMac ferries, who do an Island Explorer ferry ticket, that you can use to hop between islands. Also, Hebridean air do an excellent service to some of the islands from Connel which is a couple of miles north of Oban (the biggest town in the area).
Will you be visiting Edinburgh at all on this trip?