Tour of Culloden Battlefields; 1 mile, easy. Inverness Riverside Walk; 2 miles, easy

After a hearty Scottish breakfast, you begin the day by walking the nearby Culloden Battlefields. A local guide leads you through this National Trust of Scotland site that saw the last pitched battle on British soil in 1746, giving you a complete picture of the brief battle that had a lasting effect on Scottish, British, and European history. Next walk along the banks of the River Ness, beginning at the castle on top of the hill with great views over the city. Then emerge onto the riverside tow path. Walk over small bridges that link small wooded islands to the mainland, past magnificent Victorian houses, with great views of the cathedral, small churches, and, potentially, a fly fisherman standing in the middle of the river trying to secure a catch. After lunch begin your drive west to your destination of the Isle of Skye.

In the late afternoon you arrive in the town of Flodigarry on the island's northwest coast, accompanied by spectacular views of deep azure water. Arriving at your stunningly located country house hotel, there is time to relax, and later congregate for dinner at its excellent restaurant. On the menu are exclusively local salmon, lobster, langoustines, beef, lamb, and venison.

Skye Museum of Island Life. Rubha Hunish; 4 miles, easy to moderate. Quiraing; 4 miles, moderate, or Ruadh nam Brathairean (Brothers’ Point); 2 miles, easy to moderate

Awakening to magnificent scenery and an ample breakfast, a short drive takes you on to Kilmuir, and the Skye Museum of Island Life, a museum dedicated to the traditional thatched cottages and simple crofting, or farming, way of life on Skye in the late 19th century. Thatch-roofed cottages, once common throughout the Highlands, were ingeniously constructed from the materials at hand—thatch, stone, and salvaged timber from shipwrecks common before lighthouses. Then embark on this morning’s walk, which takes place on Skye’s most northerly point of Rubha Hunish, a truly magical place, starting near a red phone booth, seemingly out of place in this remote area. The ruins of the abandoned village of Erisco soon come into view as you ascend gently northwards onto Meall Tuath, eventually reaching a former coastguard lookout overlooking the Little Minch, an important shipping channel. A volunteer-maintained hut offers shelter from the wind if needed, and from this spectacular location the north cliffs plunge down hundreds of feet, with magnificent views across the sea to the mountains on the Isle of Harris. The headland’s northernmost tip is the best place on Skye for spotting dolphins, porpoise, and whales and, listening carefully, you may hear their blowing when they surface. The trail circles back with views of the ruins of Duntulm Castle, abandoned in 1732.

After lunch there are two options: the more moderate Quiraing walk or the easier Brothers’ Point. On the Quiraing walk, the route takes you on a path, offering wide open views of the island, surrounding waters, and the Scottish mainland, without any form of habitation in sight. Walking along the side of the hill down a narrow trail, you soon come across the the Quiraing’s wild landscape of fantastic rock formations, pinnacles, and buttresses. Crossing over a rocky gully, you round the corner and now have magnificent views of Kilmaluag Bay. Begin to descend to the valley and finish the walk through a narrow gate. Alternately, approaching the island’s northwest region you depart for a walk to dramatic “Brothers’ Point,” or by its Gaelic name, Ruadh nam Brathairean, named for an early monastic community. Passing ruins of crofts and a former salmon netting station, you climb a short but steep section past the barely visible medieval fortress remains of Dun Hasan, and emerge on a lovely grassy plateau, with Kilt Rock and its waterfall to the north and the point ahead of you.

Later, you return to your hotel in Flodigarry, to relax and again enjoy dinner in the dining room, perhaps concluding with one of the menu’s tempting berry, cake, and cream desserts.

Coire na Creiche and the Fairy Pools; 5 miles, easy to moderate. Free time in Portree

This loop walk provides easy access to, and tremendous views of, the Cuillin Mountains, considered among the most rugged in Britain. Starting out along the crystalline Allt Coir a Mhadaidh stream, the trail reaches the Fairy Pools, as implied by the name, a series of translucent aquamarine pools—tempting for a dip on a hot day. Continuing by a natural rock arch you emerge to views of the pinnacle of Sgurr an Fheadain straight ahead, appreciated by serious mountain climbers since the 19th century. Rising out of a rocky and boggy low point, you traverse the lower slopes of Bruach na Frithe, looking back to views of Coire na Creiche, the site of the last battle between the MacDonalds and the MacLeods. Here you may be lucky enough to sight a golden eagle soaring over the hilltops and valleys. The path curves around through open hillsides to Sligachan and the walk start.

Later, you may wish to have some free time in Skye’s largest town of Portree, with its pretty, bustling harbor lined with colorful houses. It also has a Gaelic heritage center, restaurants, and cafes, you have some time to stroll about and browse its shops. Later check into the Sligachan Hotel, popular with walkers and lovers of wild Highland scenery for 180 years, with the Black Cuillin Hills towering at the back of the hotel and the sparkling waters of Loch Sligachan glistening at its foot.

Neist Point and Waterstein Head; 4 miles, easy to moderate

Neist Point is the most westerly point on Skye and after a great and filling Scottish breakfast head out from the parking place and along a path to the lighthouse with wildflowers, ferns, and heather. The path then reaches a wide grassy plateau which you can follow all the way to the lighthouse, which has a power equal to 480,000 candles and can be seen from up to 24 miles away. Here is a majestic place, which overlooks the restless sea and the wave-fringed expanse of Moonen Bay. Neist Point, dominated by Waterstein Head, is one of the most spectacular cliffs on Skye, a magnificent place from which to gaze out to the Outer Hebrides, which float on the far horizon. After a glorious day of walking and potentially seeing many birds, such as the purple sandpiper, sooty shearwaters, fulmar, kittywake, cormorant, terns and much more, head back to the hotel. This evening head to Portree for dinner here at a favorite bistro café (which we can’t help mentioning serves Green Mountain Coffee, Country Walkers’ neighbor back in Vermont!).

Ferry to Isle of Raasay. Churchton Bay to Inverarish; 3.5 miles, easy to moderate

You depart Flodigarry this morning after breakfast—the day’s destination is the scenic Isle of Raasay, an island of the Inner Hebrides lying in deep channels between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland. The name Raasay is from the Norse for red deer, and its stark beauty and independent culture were portrayed in the 2006 novel “Calum’s Road” about a resolute crofter, or farmer, in the island’s north. The short ferry from Skye arrives into Churchton Bay, from where you start a walk winding through open hillsides, forest, and along the water. From the pier, you round into the next bay, Raasay’s Harbor, where an old grassy path leads towards the headland. Continuing into some woods and a thick stand of rhododendrons, you emerge above the beautiful North Bay, sandy at low tide and with broad views towards Ben Tianavaig and the Trotternish coastline. A grassy path hugs the coast between beach and forest and then rises through a stand of pines to a gigantic stone wall at the remains of Raasay House, mentioned in Boswell and Johnson’s 1775 “Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.” Culminating at a beautiful panorama across towards the Red Cuillins on Skye and Balmeanach Bay, you enter the village of Inverarish to pause for lunch.

Catching a ferry back to Skye, the route then veers southeast to your home for the next two nights, the Kinloch Lodge, an elegant and luxurious small hotel nestled at the foot of the Kinloch Hill and along the sea loch of Na Dal in Sleat. Accolades are truly deserved for the Isle of Skye’s only Michelin-starred restaurant. The award-winning chef and the hotel’s owner, a food writer, work together to produce an exceptional menu using Scotland’s high quality meat and seafood, accompanied by carefully chosen wines from its extensive cellar. Tonight may start with an Isle of Skye scallop mousse and local langoustines, followed by either local fillet of venison or hake, and finished with a delectable apple and calvados cheesecake with warm caramel sauce.

Boreraig and Suisnish: Cleared Coast; 7.5 miles, moderate, or Kinloch Forest and Leitir Fura; 4 miles, easy to moderate

You begin the day with an award-winning breakfast—a wide selection of fresh fruits, baked goods, cooked items, and fresh yogurts—fortifying you for a walk with magnificent views of Skye’s rugged interior and coast, mountains in the distance, and glistening water in the foreground. From the ruins of the 16th-century church the route gently climbs past abandoned marble quarries to a former railbed till it reaches the high point with views to the distinctive ridge line of Bla Bheinn. The path then descends toward the coast through lush pasture and sheepfolds, paralleling a hillside brimming with waterfalls. Watching your footing on some uneven stones along the water; you pause to look out for seals or otters just offshore. Alternately you may wish to try an easier option. This lovely loop walk rises along the hillside above your hotel, starting through a quiet forest of silver birch with views over the Na Dal Sound. Gently ascending, broader views open up of the Isle of Ornsay and the Sandaig Islands just off the mainland and the peak of Beinn Sgritheall towering above, and also to the site of the former home of Scottish naturalist and writer Gavin Maxwell. Continuing on, you reach Leitir Fura, with its stone cellar holes and walls of the village abandoned in the 19th century. Nova Scotian descendants of the small population who had been forced to abandon it because of poverty have placed a commemorative plaque at the walk’s end, where you catch glimpses of the tops of the Cuillin Ridge and Bla Bheinn.

Returning to your hotel, you can sink into your comfortable room or an armchair by the fireplace in the elegant drawing room with a cup of tea, or a single malt perhaps. Dinner tonight is in the hotel dining room once more. Taste the delights of chef Marcello Tully with creations such as a walnut and parmesan tart with caramelized onions, or wild pigeon breast wrapped in Parma ham.

Transfer to Edinburgh

After a sumptuous breakfast you transfer to Edinburgh, which takes approximately five hours. En route stop for lunch in breathtakingly beautiful Glen Coe, which literally means “Valley of the Weeping.” On arrival in Edinburgh you bid farewell to newfound friends.