No, open for suggestions!
My wife and I are having to compromise. I like outdoor stuff and hiking. She likes museums, etc.
We both like historical stuff. We will spend time in London but I’m interested in Scotland.
Because they’re out of everything? 
https://www.northcoast500.com/. is a wonderful trip IF you dawdle ( to a point you have no choice ).
Stonhenge has been mentioned, there are plenty of stone circles in Scotland, a lot are on the islands which take time to get to (though a trip to Orkney of a Hebridean Island is worth it if you have the time), Clava Cairns is however near Inverness and is much more accessible (if smaller) than Stonehenge.
The historical sites in Edinbrugh, are well known and have been mentioned, Glasgow is often forgotten about but the Kelvingrove museum and cathedral are worth a visit and thereare several places about Charles Rene Macintosh.
If you like the outdoors and your wife likes museums and you both like histroical stuff how about open air museums, these usually contain historical buildings with the museum sited on them or relocated to the museum. Examples include:
- Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore (between Perth and Inverness)
- Scottish Crannog Centre, in Perthshire (a crannog is a man made island in a loch people lived on)
- Auchindrain Museum, near Inveraray on the West coast
- Not in Scotland but close in Beamish near Newcastle upon Tyne, this place is huge you can be there all day and not see everything, I would strongly recommend it, (maybe hire a car in Newcastle and visits it before driving up to Scotland).
If battlefields are of interest I would recomment Bannockburn (near Stirling) and Culloden near Inverness
Not sure when in “the Fall” you plan on coming but I would suggest early rather than later. The later you come the quieter things will be and attractions will start to close, September will be fine as should early October but after that things start to close. The weather also tends to get worse (though you can have good and bad weather at any time) and the days get shorter, people often fail ot realise how far North Scotland is (nearly all of Scotland is North of Kethikan Alaska, in the middle of November at about 4pm)
If you like stained glass, York Minster is the place to go. Five Sisters window contains the largest expanse of 13th century grisaille glass in the world
I would hit a professional football match. It doesn’t have to be a top tier match, and in fact the divisions on down the line can be a LOT of fun if you’re a neutral. With all the singing, chanting, and taunting of the visiting team, the crowd becomes a very large part of the spectacle. If you’re a fan of any particular team, you might be able to see their reserves or youth teams play for free or very close to free, too, but you’ll need to contact the team for particulars.
If this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip, go to Stonehenge. If not, skip it. It’ll eat up a lot of your day, it’s likely to be crowded, and you may not learn anything from it. I once heard somebody describe the experience as being akin to seeing La Gioconda (Mona Lisa), or Mt. Rushmore: huge potential for the experience not to live up to expectation.
Falkirk Wheel - to me, that was a highlight when I did a British Isles cruise in 2014.
If you and your wife like historical stuff, you might consider a visit to Hadrian’s Wall, just south of the Scottish border in northern England.
There’s a cool place to stay just south of Edinburgh, Melville Castle. Like most castles, it is rumored to be haunted but unfortunately I didn’t see a ghost when I stayed there.
If you make it as far north as Inverness Cawdor Castle is definitely worth a visit. It is currently closed but their website says they will reopen in April.
If you’re hiring a car… ever heard of a Broch?
There are lots, and some are reasonably complete. IIRC there are left-handed and right handed ones - the spiral staircase hugs the interior of the wall, so you can only swing a sword with one hand. I may, of course, have had a bullshitting guide - it was a long time ago.
There are underground streets in Edinburgh.
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This just made my list, thanks. Last time I was in Seattle WA I took a tour of their underground streets. Fascinating. Highly recommended.
Thank you everyone - I am researching your recommendations.
Highland Folk Museum and Crannog Centre are excellent recommnedations. Be aware that the Crannog itself is being rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 2021 - but this led to a huge amount of support and the museum and Iron Age village have benefited from the investment.
In Edinburgh I would also suggest the Georgian House and Gladstone’s Land, painstaking and impressive recreations of urban life at various points in Edinburgh’s history.
Linlithgow is a short drive/train/bus from Edinburgh and boasts an impressive Palace (birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots), a decent museum and good walks around the loch or on the canal.
In fact, depending on how long a walk you enjoy, a good day out might be Edinburgh to Falkirk by train, take in the Wheel (another excellent suggestion) and walk along the (dead flat) canal to Linlithgow (c. 9 miles), before getting the train back to Edinburgh.
Perth, which now hosts a good museum showcasing the Stone of Scone (ancient symbol of kingship, great story about its 1970s kidnap/rescue from Westminster Abbey which I won’t spoil here) and is generally a pleasant town.
Stirling Castle is excellent, worth checking out nearby Dunblane for its Cathedral as well.
For travel generally, as well as train I’m going to recommend Ember buses which are high end coaches, dead cheap and will take you to any major location inc. Fort William, Inverness etc.
For walks, the WalkHighlands site is really good - covers all of Scotland, will give you maps and directions and does a good job of grading difficulty/terrain/time etc. You will know your own hiking capabilities but if you’re planning something ambitious and/or the weather is not looking good, do beware - the hills are dangerous, conditions can change in an instant and having to call out Mountain Rescue is an adventure you don’t want.
Brainfart/failure to grasp nature of time - the Stone of Scone adventure was 1950, not 70s.
I imagine this post was in jest, but I illegally smuggled the cheese I bought back to South Africa.
I imagine a US citizen will not be able to import it to the USA. Especially the unpasteurised cheeses.
However, consumption while in the UK is strongly recommended.
If driving the Scotland 500 is spectacular and take your time.
The NC500 is becoming a prisoner of its own success:
You’re right, but you essentially lose a day of your holiday travelling, unless you want to get a very early (and expensive) commuter train. The sleeper train is just a really nice experience, feels a bit romantic/Agatha Christie - there’s a bar on board, a reasonably decent restaurant car, and VIP lounges at the train stations, plus you don’t waste a day of your trip and save on a night’s hotel.
It’s just a nice, unusual thing to do that makes the travel more of an experience, IMO.
Either way, the train is a great option as the views up the east coast are beautiful. Far superior to the bun fight of an airport.
Even if it is, I wouldn’t bother. I’ve managed to live here all my 56 years and haven’t felt the need - at the end of the day, it’s a pile of rocks in a field, and I LOVE history.
I went to Stonehenge as an an 11 year old excited about history, and yes, it was… Meh.
You are kept very far away from the stones and, I guess, beinh England, it rains a fairly large amount of the time.
I think they looked OK from the 100m distance we were allowed to go near. Maybe rules have changed, but as a young enthusiast I was disappointed.
You can pay extra for a pre-booked ‘Circle experience’ where you get a guided tour within the stone circle at sunset or sunrise. No doubt makes a difference.
I drove a lot of the NC500 (probably about 2000) before it was a thing, driving from Oban up the West Coast, the the North Coast as far as Tongue. I had a great time and the route was all very little travelled.
In 2016 I went horse riding from the East Coast to the West Coast in a week. Most of the ride was inland, and off road but the majority of the last day was on the NC500 which had opened up the previous year when the trip had not been run (due to some of the horses have a contagious disease).
What had previously been a single track road with virtually no traffic became fill with a constant stream of motorcycles and motorhomes. Normally we would wait at a passing place for a vehicle to go past but if we did that we wouldn’t get anywhere to had to push on at times and force the vehicles ot wait for us, the guide said it still took a couple of hours longer than previous trips to do the last 12 miles or so.