Okay then, may I suggest a slight change to the itinery then? Avoid the cities and maybe even the outer islands. Spend some times on the West coast, Lochcarron, Lochinver, Gairloch (that's where JK from Jamiroquai goes to chill, but don't tell anyone). Find a nice hotel that you can spend three or four days at, maybe the four chimneys in skye (very nice food) or the Applecross Inn (again, award winning pub food) and do a bit of walking about, maybe catch a crofter in the evening and get out for a wander around the land with him the next day. I'd say Lochcarron would suit you for maybe a four day stretch and then somewhere like Durness for a couple. In fact, why not go around the North Coast? Some great gaps of nothing up there - and then spectacular roads and scenery to boot - google for the Kylesku bridge.

Oh, and if you want to meet the real locals, don't stay in Inverness itself. Get out to a farm B&B bit out of town - maybe Cawdor (Macbeth country) or one of the villages on the Black Isle - Cromarty, Cononbridge, something like that. Same can be said for Edinburgh or Glasgow, don't stay in anything with a chain or it'll be like staying in a HIX back home.

If you need specific recommendations, PM me !