Travel to Manchester England

The Orkney day was my favorite part. After the ferry, we saw the 5,000-year-old village of Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar, and the pace felt noticeably slower and calmer than the city days. The Highland scenery along the way was wonderfully open and vast.

The nine days took me from Edinburgh up to Skye and back to Glasgow, with something different every day. My favorite stretch was the Orkney Islands—Skara Brae's 5,000-year-old village and the Ring of Brodgar were both worth the ferry ride.

We had to meet at King's Cross at 6:30am, then the train took about four hours. After arriving, we did a bus loop past the Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace. Edinburgh Castle entrance was already included in the tour price, which I found convenient.

We covered over 500 km in one day, heading north from Edinburgh. Glen Coe was the scenic highlight, and after a lunch stop near Fort William, I added the Loch Ness cruise at Fort Augustus. The water was calm and peaceful.