I haven’t finished planning this Summer holidays, I’ve already started daydreaming about next year’s plans 
I mentioned in some other post that I’ve been thinking about spending the Summer in UK next year, but more specifically I’d love to visit Scotland and possibly spend all the time (approx 3 months) there and exploring around. My dream would be to reach some very remote parts like Shetland islands.
I’m wondering if there is any sitter who spent approximately this amount of time in Scotland, doing pet sittings and maybe also exploring and staying in accommodations during this time? I’ve just given a quick glance, are there sittings more or less spread around the whole Country?
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I’ve done a month long sit up in Scotland before, near Inverness. Sits in Scotland are certainly possible, though they are less frequent than sits in England. Most are in larger cities like Edinburgh & Glasgow, but if you set up a saved search you’ll be able to find the occasional listing in more remote areas 
We relied on public transport only, so although we were able to see Inverness, Lock Ness & Culloden with public transport, having a car would have enabled us to see and do a whole lot more, so definitely your own vehicle for Scotland is recommended if you don’t already have one 
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Yes there are quite a few sits in Scotland. The majority in Glasgow or Edinburgh. We recently did a 6 week sit in the outer Hebrides, but Scottish islands don’t come up very often, and go almost immediately.
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I feel like some are gone very quickly, and others (not usually the island ones but the remote mainland ones) stay there for ages because they’re so remote & often inaccessible to local amenities, and then have a responsibility like ‘don’t leave the dogs for more than 2 - 3 hours’ 
I’ve seen some very remote Scottish ones that have sat there for months with a low applicants badge.
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Yes, some places in the north of Scotland are very remote, miles from anywhere or anything. You would definitely need to like your own company.
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The borders are fantastic and often overlooked. Lots of castles and abbeys.You do often need a car as there is not always public transport. I have been on sits several times there and around Stirling which is full of history. I recommend the borders railway which is an easy route into Edinburgh. Islands do come up but not frequently and again you might need a car.
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Depending what your interests are, you can also get the Historic Scotland membership, which will get you in to so many castles & historical places for free. The owners at our sit bought us a card each, valid for a whole year, which was a treat!
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[And your partner’s]!
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Thank you for your sharing. I know it’s probably early enquiring about this idea, but it’s good to start fantasizing and see what to expect.
Yes, I do have a car and I think (hope!) I love my own company enough to survive from this solitude experience 
I lived in Ireland for many years. Although I was mostly in the capital city, I also lived in the countryside for a number of years, not isolated though.
In Ireland there are many remote places where I spent just a few days while exploring. I know what you mean about that solitude feeling.
However, I think that living there for a little while in company of some pets, it would make it more fulfilling.
The only thing I’ve noticed in the few sittings that I’ve seen so far, is that they have many animals to look after, obviously, more space, more pets can live there 
I don’t mind looking after an indefinite number of cats, but usually I go with one dog only at a time.
OK, I’ve already set up a notification on the App for 2026, let’s see when the first sitting will come up…
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No, because there’s only a small population of people living in the more remote areas of mainland Scotland (which is the bulk of it, that’s why it has the amazing scenery it has), and only a smaller number of people living in the Shetlands, so there are naturally much less sits in those areas too.
If you zoom slightly into the map of Scotland you’ll see where the majority of sits are focused, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Also on the map, the green shaded areas are typically beautiful rolling countryside and hills, where hardly any people live, so very very little sits.
If you’re planning on catching the ferry from Ireland, there are some truly beautiful places, on the west side, Tobermory, and Largs for example.
You are guaranteed to see beautiful scenery travelling between sits as soon as you head out of the cities, so personally I wouldn’t work things around that too much. Most of the smaller towns, are surrounded by stunning views.
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@HappyDeb Thank you for the link, such amazing views!
That’s right, I’ve seen a high concentration around Edinburgh and Glasgow. Having visited those places in the past, I would like to explore more in depth now.
As I checked the sittings in Scotland just a couple of times, I thought it was a good idea to ask who had travelled there already to have a better understanding on how many sittings are there and how spread they are.
Looking at them now is not too bad, considered that some other sittings might have gone already. I can also see two ads in the Shetlands
I could still fill in with some accommodations here and there for the missing parts.
More than likely I’ll be travelling from France (coming from Italy). I suppose the best way is sailing or travelling through the channel tunnel and arrive in Dover from where the adventure will start. If you have any suggestion on the route to take, I’d be very happy to hear. I don’t mind taking detours to see some hidden beauties.
@Mokina we did that in reverse, kind of. It took many months, and I realise this doesn’t have much to do with Scotland, per se, but here goes, this was our route!
In 2022 we drove from Germany through France, took the channel tunnel train - you stay seated in your car! Did some sits and drove through England, up North to Sterling for a sit. Then we drove to Stanraer, and took the ferry over to Northern Ireland for some sits in Ireland. Then we took the ferry from Dublin to Cherbourg, France and had many housesits in Europe. In the end, we drove to Barcelona, took the ferry across to Sardinia, drove through Sardinia, took another ferry across to Sicily where we had a long housesit. And then drove back through Italy and Austria, to Germany.
I would love to have my own car again and spend longer in Scotland. Even if you have to alternate sitting with Airbnb’s, then you can just meander and explore the whole day long without having to worry about being back to feed the pets. Especially because the sun sets so late, you can lose track of time.
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Hi @Mokina. I did a month between two sits not far north of the border and both were wonderful. I’d been waiting for a sit on the Isle of Skye for this summer and luckily a perfect 3-week sit came up. Just set up a search, be patient, but act quickly when you do see one.
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@Mokina, daydreaming about housesits in Scotland - fabulous!
We’ve complete two housesits in Scotland (1 THS, 1 friend). We had an oddly similar mindset to you - mid June to mid August exploring less-travelled parts of Scotland. Housesits do appear - as with other counties, mostly around larger cities. We’ve reviewed quite a few. Applied selectively - including one in Orkney Islands! Secured a month long sit for summertime. Bring it on!
Suggest make good use of THS Search function.
Keep dreaming. For us, such dreams are a fundamental part of housesitting.
We’re also dreaming of southern hemisphere for early months of 2026 - will see
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@GotYourBack any particular countries / continents? Just curious!
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It’s a long drive from Dover, but if you look at where York is at in England, anything further north in general (apart from the cities/towns obviously) is pretty with countryside views.
You have two main motorway routes that are great as you get further North in England if you’re driving, the M6 on the west side of England, or the A1 on the East side, and both routes take you up to Scotland.
The A1 is the easiest route to find from Dover.
Pretty places to stop/sit near the A1 in the North of England would be Harrogate, York, Knaresborough, Durham. Just beyond Durham you will also pass the Angel of the North Sculpture from the A1, but I’d recommend you take a rest and see it up close for free. Where you park the car, just off the A1 is where it actually is, so no walking if you’re tired from travelling.
The M6 has the Lake District, each town there offers something different from the next.
Both Durham and the Lake District are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Google them.
Durham is where I am from, it’s gorgeous! But we’ve spent a lot of time in Scotland over the years., with it being not too far North from us.
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@botvot, we have openness in such dreaming. But have discussed Australasia and South America - Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile. That said, I’ve been inspired by other THS Forum housesitter posts re their experiences in other parts of Asia. Guess see what opportunities become available.
As full-time housesitters (who’d have thought!) then we dream broad plans then seek ‘feature housesits’ (often month+ and attractive in some way) before seeking ‘filler housesits’ (gaps). For southern hemisphere then, to self-justify flight costs, we’d try and spend say three months in a region.
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You also have the option of taking an overnight ferry from Amsterdam (Ijmuiden) to Newcastle (North Shields), which is only just over an hour from the Scottish border. A more expensive option than Calais-Dover but cuts out a lot of driving if you really just want to get to Scotland. There is also a Rotterdam - Hull ferry, with Hull being about 3.5 hours from the border. And since this is for 2026, you can also cross your fingers for the return of the Rosyth (not far from Edinburgh) ferry which is talked about every year but never seems to happen. There used to be a Rosyth - Zeebrugge sailing but Rosyth - Dunkirk is the latest proposal.
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Thank you @HappyDeb I have a clearer picture now.
Speaking of the Lake district, I remember once being very close, but unfortunately I didn’t have a car and I couldn’t visit around. I was in Ulverston, the birth town of Stan Laurel.
There are so many places in England I also would love to visit for a long time.
That’s great news @LauraT I actually looked for a ferry to sail to Scotland recently and I read that the service had ended a few years ago. It must be the one you mentioned.
I thought that driving to Amsterdam would take much longer, but it’s actually the same distance to Calais.
Speaking of the ferry route Rosyth – Dunkirk after reading your post I went searching online and it seems like they’ll probably launch it in the second semester this year.
Great to have these options, I’ll definitely take them into consideration!
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