The Edinburgh festival/Fringe festival is on from 4-28 August. Accommodation is in short supply, booked well in advance and crazy expensive during this. Depending on your preferences you may want to go to some of the shows or stay well away.

The local bus operator has a circular route from Portree to Uig and back that is quite scenic, this goes out by the main road and back around the north/west coat or vice versa.

Bus to Armadale runs weekdays but the schedules differ in the summer/school holidays.

Current Skye timetables https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/North%20Scotland/Highlands/Skye%20Revised%202022.pdf

Ferry Armadale - Mallaig https://www.calmac.co.uk/summer-timetables/mallaig-armadale

The last train to Glasgow is not the 21.25, the Sleeper from Fort William arrives at 00.15 and takes local seated passengers.

There is a connecting local train from Mallaig at 18.15.

https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net/electronic-national-rail-timetable/electronic%20National%20Rail%20Timetable/02.%20May%202022/Scotland%20Route/218%20Edinburgh%20and%20Glasgow%20to%20Crianlarich,%20Oban,%20Fort%20William%20and%20Mallaig.pdf

There is also the Jacobite steam train Mallaig - Fort William as shown in the timetable headed WR. This is not included in interrail and requires pre-booking, unfortunately they only offer return fares Fort William - Mallaig - Fort William.

https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/steam-train-trip

There is nothing beside the ferry terminal in Fishguard (it is nearer the small village of Goodwick, Fishguard town is a long walk). You may find a local B&B but if not there is a connecting train at 22.15 to Carmarthen and Swansea, so you can check Carmarthen for accom.

Thanks for all the infos :)

So that's why Edinburgh seems so expensive…

The scenic route around Skye looks very nice, great idea ! The tourist office who got in touch with Stagecoach could confirm that the 13:20 bus to Armadale only runs on Fridays (school days only). A bit complicated but we'll make it as the school year starts on 15th August !

Yeah I know there's a later train but we hope to see the route as much as possible in the daylight which should be possible with the afternoon train.

Fishguard wasn't exactly on our list indeed but as we arrive with the ferry quite late, it was the best spot. We've found B&Bs in Goodwick but they only accept a minimum stay of 2 nights as of yet... We'll see or maybe in the end we'll take the train further as you advised.

Again thanks very much !

I went to Pitlochry last summer. Small town, but quite charming. There’s quite a big theatre there at a very nice location at the river Tummel and the woods and has quite interesting plays.

And plenty of outdoor activities (Kayaking, hiking, biking,...) too in the surroundings. And it’s at the doorstep of the Cairngorms national park.

The railway line (Perth-Inverness), was also quite scenic, but a bit less than the west-coast lines in Scotland :)

Spend longer in Yorkshire. Also try to fit in the Settle to Carlisle railway it is probably the best rail experience in England. It actually runs from Carlisle to Leeds but if you are on the way down you can change at Skipton for a returning train to Carnforth (home of Brief Encounter film) and Lancaster for reconnection to Manchester and beyond. Or you could go from York to Leeds and up to Carlisle for onward to Newcastle or Glasgow.

https://settle-carlisle.co.uk/

On the way back down from Glasgow, you could get off the train in Penrith and take a bus to Pooley Bridge in the Lake District. There's a walk/hike from there around the beautiful lake Ullswater to Glenridding, then take a boat over the lake back to where you started.

In terms of the cities, I think it sounds fabulous what you're doing, starting in York and ending in Bristol/Bath. 

I meant to add a bit about Ireland but got distracted.

Again I don’t know what your plans or preferences are so these are just some travel suggestions.

For a scenic country most of the railways are a bit dull, the Dublin - Rosslare which you are already planning has some good parts but the best line is the part of the Belfast - Derry route west of Coleraine.

If you want a much slower alternative route Dublin - Belfast you can get the train Dublin - Sligo, bus Sligo - Derry and train from there. It would take about 8 hours and the bus is not included in interrail, it  is about €20.

@Al_G The Sligo - Derry seems like an excellent detour. Nature is perfectly fine for both of us but we'll prefer to stay in cities or towns I believe. Right now the only must in Ireland is Dublin and I very much want to visit Giant's Causeway.

Which one would you do ?

- 2 full days in Dublin and one daytrip to Kilkenny

- DAY 1 Dublin - Sligo - Derry (night in Derry)

- DAY 2 Derry - Coleraine - Giant's Causeway - Coleraine - Belfast (night in Belfast)

- DAY 3 Belfast - Dublin - Rosslare

OR

- add a full day in Belfast and travel on day 4 to Rosslare

I believe we'd spend a night in Derry to not travel backwards the day after to Giant's Causeway

@JDH Thanks very much for the advice. We might spend a night in Carlisle or Penrith and explore the next day the Lake District by bus (or even boat). Which destination is better for the night ? Carlisle or Penrith ?

As a possible alternative to backtracking from Giants Causeway to Coleraine to head to Belfast, Translink run a July and August only bus, route 252 Antrim Coaster. It runs 2 times a day from Coleraine via Giants Causeway to Larne, Annoyingly they take the timetable down in the off season but it takes about 2hrs Causeway - Larne. The scenery is very good along the coast and that journey is definitely worth it if you are there at the right time and can use it.

From Larne you can catch the train to Belfast parts of which are scenic also, Larne itself however is definitely not being somewhere worth spending any time in.

I would say that you would easily find enough to do to fill a day in Belfast; Titanic, Troubles tours, Ulster Folk and Transport museum, plenty of options.

Carlisle is a much bigger town with more of interest than Penrith but either would do for an overnight stay.

The Lake District would definitely occupy you for a day, it has decent enough bus connections in the peak season.

https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/Cumbria/Lakes%20Connection/Summer%202023/CNL%20Summer%2023%20Lakes%20Guide%20WEB%20V2.pdf

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/cumbria-and-north-lancashire/explore-the-lakes-by-bus

Yeah, like Al says, Carlisle (bigger city) and Penrith (market town, which is closer to the Lakes) are both fine and have those decent buses operating, though neither are particularly mind-blowing.

If you wanted to base yourself close to a train station in the Lake District, you can of course change at Oxenholme and head up to Windermere, close to the largest of the lakes. I only didn’t suggest this initially, as it’s likely to be busier/popular (though perhaps less so in September when schools have gone back) and as I spent a lot of my childhood around Ullswater I have a soft spot for it! Keswick (small town) is another good base, but again you have to get a bus from Penrith there first.

Thanks for the info !

No problem to take the bus for us but accomodation within the Lake District seems very expensive (end of August)…

We’re now considering staying in Carlisle and doing a bus day trip to the Lake District from Penrith to Windermere (via Keswick or Ullswater). Then the next day take the Carlisle - Settle railway :)

Sounds good! Hope the trip goes well.