This trip will run if with a minimum of 10 people – maximum of 15.
Final Date for guaranteed departure booking is December 1, 2019.
Includes:
- Professional Tour Manager for 11 Days from arrival at Glasgow airport until departure
- Airport arrival and departure transfers
- Air Conditioned Touring coach for 9 days with driver
- 11 Days Full Scottish Breakfast
- 4 Three Course Dinners including iced water, coffee and tea
- An Evening Food Walking Tour (this is your dinner)
- All experiences and entrance admissions noted in your itinerary
Not included:
- Flights
- Gratuities for tour manager and driver
- Admissions, expenses, and items not specifically noted
- Meals and drinks not specified
Itinerary:
Day 1:
Glasgow airport arrival and transfer to hotel. Free Time to Explore Glasgow on your own.
Take the Hop On Hop Off Bus to visit Glasgow’s popular spots like The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow University, The Necropolis, The Riverside Museum, The Tall Ship, or the Clydeside Distillery just to name a few.
Accommodation:
Grand Central Hotel or similar. Full Scottish breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 2:
Travelling to Edinburgh with a morning stop at the Kelpies. Tour of the mysterious Rosslyn Chapel (of the DaVinci Code) – included experience. Free time to explore the city of Edinburgh as you like – a few suggestions might include walking the Royal Mile, visiting Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the Whisky Experience,The Real Mary King’s Close or climbing to Arthur’s Seat. Walking Foodie Tour of Old and New Town Edinburgh in the evening (included).
Accommodation:
Doubletree by Hilton Edinburgh or similar. Full Scottish Breakfast Included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 3:
Leaving Edinburgh to travel along the Fife Coast with stop at The Royal Yacht Britannia visit with audio guide (admission included). Stop at Dysart Harbour for a photo op before heading to the charming old village of Falkland where you can choose to visit Falkland Palace or for any Outlander fans explore some of the famous filming locations.
Continue your journey passing through charming little fishing villages including, Elie, St Monans, and Anstruther while stopping for any photo ops along the way. Visit St. Andrews the home of golf and the oldest university with beautiful shorelines and a mysterious castle and cathedral ruins during you can choose to visit during your free time there.
Accommodation:
St. Andrew’s Hotel or similar. Full Scottish Breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 4:
Learn about Scottish farming life with a morning farm tour at Newton farm (included). From farming life to the royal life at Glamis Castle (chilhood home of the Queen Mother and birthplace of Princess Margaret) your personalized and luxurious tour of Glamis. Includes a welcome from the Castle Piper and a reception of tea/coffee and shortbread in the 16th Century Chambers followed by a privately guided tour of the castle.
Enjoy a forest walk at the picturesque Hermitage before heading to Heathergems Visitor Centre and Factory Shop in Pitlochry. From their viewing gallery watch as their skilled craftspeople handcraft the Heathergems from natural Scottish heather and see how they make this trulyunique Scottish jewellery and Celtic giftware.
Accommodation:
Atholl Palace Hotel Pitlochry or similar. Three course dinner with iced water, tea/coffee included. Full Scottish breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 5:
Drive into the incredible Cairngorms National Park with your first stop at Balmoral Castle the Scottish home to the royal family where you will experience a luxury land rover safari tour at 9:00 AM by accompanying one of their guides on a fascinating tour of the Balmoral Estate. This is an excellent opportunity to experience the stunning mountain scenery. Although there are no guarantees, wildlife species which are regularly encountered, include birds of prey, red squirrels, red deer, red grouse, black grouse, snow bunting and salmon (included).
Stop at the Muir of Dinnet Nature Reserve Visitor Centre and possibly take a short walk out on one of the four paths from the Visitor Centre time permitting.
And for your final stop Dunnottar Castle (admission included). a dramatic and evocative ruined cliff top fortress. Steeped in history, this romantic and haunting ruin is a photographer’s paradise, a history lover’s dream and an iconic tourist destination for visitors the world over.
Accommodation:
MacDonald Norwood Hall Hotel or similar. Full Scottish Breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 6:
After breakfast visit Tyrebagger stone circle a tranquil ancient monument, cocooned amongst the surrounding trees, and approached via a pleasant walk up through the surrounding woodland. It is unusual in having survived largely unspoiled since the time of its erection, unlike many other damaged and destroyed stone circles. Tyrebagger is a real gem – an unlikely survivor on the edge of the encroaching world.
Castles and whisky are up for the remainder of the day with a visit to Castle Fraser Garden and Estate. With a core that possibly dates back to the 1450s, Castle Fraser is a fabulous place to soak up the atmosphere of old Scotland. (included admission)
Not far from here is your next stop nestled on a picturesque hillside, the elegant pink tower of Craigievar Castle is spellbindingly beautiful. Begun in the Scottish Baronial style around 1576, this iconic tower house is among the best preserved and the most loved in Scotland; its exterior remains virtually unchanged since William Forbes completed it c1626. In accordance with the former owner’s wishes, artificial light has not been installed in the upper floors. This means that the castle’s extensive collection of historic artefacts and art is seen in the shifting light from the sun, exactly as they would have been when they were made. (included admission)
Founded by Helen Cumming in 1811 as an illicit distillery and licensed in 1824, Cardhu is the first distillery to be officially pioneered by a woman. Two women, in fact: in 1872, Elizabeth Cummings, daughter-in-law of the founders, took over the running of the distillery and set about refining the flavour and character of the whisky we know today. On the agenda is the Guess Dhu Tour – After a guided tour of the distillery, participate in a nosing and tasting of 3 whiskies. You will also receive a complimentary Cardhu dram glass (included).
Accommodation:
The Nethybridge Hotel or similar
Full Scottish Breakfast included
Porterage included for 1 bag in and out
Day 7:
This morning see for yourself why Elgin Cathedral earned the name the ‘Lantern of the North’. Even as a ruin, the cathedral shines out as one of Scotland’s most ambitious and beautiful medieval buildings. (included admission)
Continuing to the Dallas Dhu Distillery where you can step back in time
to see and hear how whisky was made in the 1900s – and then sample a dram for yourself (included admission)
Getting closer to Inverness the Capital of the Highlands you will stop at Clava Cairns a
well-preserved Bronze Age cemetery complex of passage graves; ring cairns, kerb cairns and standing stones in a beautiful setting.
And then your final must stop at Culloden the powerfully emotive and atmospheric battlefield where the 1745 Jacobite Rising came to a tragic end and experience the powerful emotions of the Battle of Culloden in our visitor centre’s 360-degree battle immersion theatre, which puts you right in the heart of the action. (included admission)
Accommodation:
Columba Hotel or similar. Full Scottish Breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 8:
Your group will be travelling to Aviemore beginning your day with a walk around Loch an Eilein (loch of the island) with its island castle ruin and stunning surroundings of forest and hill is one of the most loved places in the UK.
After your hike it is time to travel back in time at The Strathspey Railway for a nostalgic Afternoon Tea, in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. This First Class dining experience includes return travel in a vintage, private compartment (max 4 guests) with a fine selection of sandwiches, freshly made cakes, scones with local jam and cream and is finished off with a choice of tea or coffee or speciality teas (included experience).
Accommodation:
Columba Hotel or similar. Full Scottish Breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 9:
First stop this morning is at Ruthven Barracks which were built by George II’s government in the early 1700s after the failed Jacobite uprising of 1715. The barracks saw action twice. A 300- strong Jacobite attack failed to take the barracks in 1745, but a more heavily-armed attack the next year forced the barracks’ surrender. The Jacobites rallied here after their defeat at Culloden before conceding.
Not far from here you will visit the Highland Folk Museum where visitors get a flavour of how Highland people lived and worked from the 1700s up until the 1950s! This is done by displaying over 30 historical buildings and furnishing them appropriate to their time period. Some have been built from scratch on site and some have been moved here from other locations. The site is a mile long with our 1700s Township (featuring 6 houses) at one end through to our 1930s working croft at the other.
Travelling through beautiful Laggan on into Spean Bridge with a stop at the Commando Memorial.
End your day in Fort William and enjoy a farewell three course dinner including iced water, tea/coffee with the group at a traditional pub (included meal)
Accommodation:
Alexandra Hotel or similar. Full Scottish Breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 10:
Drive through the atmospheric Glencoe where jaw dropping scenery will make you want to stop and take photos all along the way.
Take one of the few short walks in Glencoe. This ramble explores the woodland in the central part of the Glen, and visits Signal Rock, where according to legend the signal was given to begin the Glencoe Massacre.
Continue your drive through some incredible highland scenery making your way to Loch Lubnaig offering a serene getaway with picnic tables for an incredible scenic lunch before arriving at Loch Katrine one of Scotland’s bonniest lochs where a trip to Scotland & The Trossachs would not be complete without seeing it and taking a sail on the loch on the iconic SS Sir Walter Scott (still powered by steam and has been providing sailing trips on the loch since 1900) (included experience)
Accommodation:
Courtyard by Marriott Glasgow Airport. Three Course Dinner with iced water, coffee/tea included. Full Scottish Breakfast included. Porterage included for 1 bag in and out.
Day 11:
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before transferring to the airport for your flight home
