Best Scottish Tours

Day 1 is a fabulous introduction to the Scottish landscape, exploring the mountains, glens lochs and rivers or Argyll Forest Park & beautiful Loch Lomond, staying in Oban for the night.
Day 2 we make our way to the Isle of Mull which has a fascinating clan history. We tour the whole island, visiting Torosay Castle and Tobermory with its wonderful frontage of painted houses.
Day 3 we travel south to Finnphort to take the ferry to Iona and a tour of Iona Abbey, which is one of the oldest and most important religious centres in Western Europe.  After a day exploring we return to Mull for the night.
Day 4 we travel via fabulous Glencoe, steeped in history with dramatic scenery.  On the way, we stop over in the charming town of Fort Augustus on the shores of Loch Ness.
Day 5 we visit the iconic 13th century Eilean Donan Castle and then head for the Island of Skye.
Day 6 is a full tour of the Island of Skye, visiting Armadale Castle & Gardens, passing through Broadford and on to the Island capital, Portree.  Heading North we take in Dunvegan Castle with other options a possibility.
Day 7 we head south via Invergarry, stopping for a tour of Blair Castle followed by a tour of Edradour Distillery which probably houses one of the finest single malts you can find.  
Day 8 explores Stirling with a visit to the National Wallace Monument commemorating Scotland's great hero William Wallace; the views from the top are stunning and worth the climb.  Stirling Castle is the next stop for a full tour to take in the castle's long and turbulent history.
Day 9 takes us to Edinburgh calling in at  Rosslyn Chapel made famous by Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code on the way.  We visit Edinburgh Castle and then enjoy a walk down the Royal Mile, with its charming mediaeval architecture and the opportunity to do some last minute whisky shopping.
Day 10 on our final day we explore the City of Glasgow the option of a city tour and with the highlight of a visit to Glasgow Cathedral, a superb example of Scottish Gothic architecture.

Your tour begins when your tour driver collects you from the arranged location.  Today we head deep into the ancient Argyll Forest Park via the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch lomond.

Loch Lomond is Britain's largest freshwater loch and is also, in the opinion of many, it's most beautiful.  In the past its waters have been a busy thoroughfare - the remains of dugout canoes have been found, along with the clinker-built, stern-steered birlinn galleys of Gaelic times.  From here we travel over the Rest and Be Thankful and into the rugged Argyll Forest Park.

This magnificent stretch of rugged hill country was the very first Forest Park for public enjoyment to be established in Britain, back in 1935.  Many visitors who have come to know the Argyll Forest Park, its mountains, glens, lochs and woodlands, claim that this first park is also the finest of them all.  After an exhilarating first day in Scotland we make our way to our chosen hotel for dinner, bed and full scottish breakfast.

Today we depart Oban and make our way to the Isle of Mull.  It is widely understood that Mull was inhabited shortly after the end of the last Ice Age, from around 6000 BC.  In the 14th century Mull became part of the Lordship of the Isles.  After the collapse of the Lordship in 1493 the island was taken over by the clan MacLean, and in 1681 by the clan Campbell.  During the Highland Clearances in the 18th and 19th centuries, the population fell from 10,000 to less than 4000.

We shall tour the whole island, visiting Torosay Castle and the main town, Tobermory, which was founded as a fishing port in 1788.  After an exciting day touring, we head to our chosen hotel in time for our evening meal.

After a hearty Scottish breakfast, we travel south to Finnphort to take the ferry to Iona.  In 563, St. Columba came to Iona from Ireland with twelve companions, and founded a monastery.  This grew to be an influential centre for the spread of Christianity among the Picts and Scots.

Today we will tour Iona Abbey, which is one of the oldest and most important religious centres in Western Europe.  The Abbey, now an ecumenical church, is of particular historical and religious interest to pilgrims and visitors alike. It is the most elaborate and best-preserved ecclesiastical building surviving from the Middle Ages in the Western Isles of Scotland. Though modest in scale in comparison to medieval abbeys elsewhere in Western Europe, it has a wealth of fine architectural detail, and monuments of many periods.

In front of the Abbey stands the 9th century St Martin's Cross, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in the British Isles, and a replica of the 8th century St John's Cross (original fragments in the Abbey museum). At your leisure you can spend the afternoon walking around the Abbey and the island and soak in the unique atmsophere of tranquillity of Iona.  We return to Mull via passenger ferry and make our way back to our hotel for dinner.

After a hearty scottish breakfast we travel north this morning to the Isle of Skye via Glencoe.  Much of Scotland's early recorded history is full of violence - battles, feuds, murders, treachery.  But the incident which to this day still arouses the strongest passions was the massacre of the MacIans (a sept of the clan Donald) in Glen Coe in 1692.  Glencoe is also nationally important for its landscape, wildlife, history and geology, as well as being the home of Scottish climbing.  The Five Sisters Of Kintail are a high ridge range of some 8 km (5 miles) long rising steeply from Glen Shiel to a maximum height of 1,067 metres (3,501 feet).

We pass through Spean Bridge on our way to Fort Augustus on the shores of Loch Ness where we may take a cruise on this lovely loch - keep your eyes peeled for the legend of Nessie.

After this we head for Eilean Donan Castle, sitting where three lochs meet and probably Scotland's most photographed castle.  The original castle was built in the early 13th century as a defence against the Vikings.  By the late 13th century it had become a stronghold of the Mackenzies of Kintail.  In 1511, the Macraes, as protectors of the Mackenzies, became the hereditary Constables of the Castle.

An early 13th century fortified structure would have been a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the north of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266.  From here we take the short trip to our chosen hotel in time for dinner

After a hearty scottish breakfast we travel north this morning to the Isle of Skye via Glencoe.  Much of Scotland's early recorded history is full of violence - battles, feuds, murders, treachery.  But the incident which to this day still arouses the strongest passions was the massacre of the MacIans (a sept of the clan Donald) in Glen Coe in 1692.  Glencoe is also nationally important for its landscape, wildlife, history and geology, as well as being the home of Scottish climbing.

We pass through Spean Bridge on our way to Fort Augustus on the shores of Loch Ness where we may take a cruise on this lovely loch - keep your eyes peeled for the legend of Nessie. 

After this we head for Eilean Donan Castle, sitting where three lochs meet and probably Scotland's most photographed castle.  An early 13th century fortified structure would have been a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the north of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266.  From here we take the short trip to our chosen hotel in time for dinner.

This morning we wake to the spendid scenery of the Isle of Skye.  Commonly known as "The misty Isle", the stark rise of the jagged Cuillin ridge drops to the gentle white of a soft sand beach.  Inlets and islands create a complex lacework pattern with the sea and the tiny white crofts that dot the Island are fascinating.  A place where time means nothing, and beneath every footstep lies 500 million years of history.

We will do a full tour of the Island, visiting Armadale Castle & Gardens, passing through Broadford and on to the Island capital, Portree, which has an old fashioned appeal with colourful houses and traditional harbour.

Heading further North we visit Uig, Kilt Rock Falls and Dunvegan Castle.  On a clear day the views to the Outer Hebrideas are truely spectacular.  Time permitting we may even take time out to visit Talisker Distillery.  We return to our chosen Hotel for dinner, bed and full Scottish breakfast.

After breakfast we head south via Invergarry.  The scenery quickly changes from the challenging and rugged mountain terrain of Skye to the gently rolling heather clad hills of Perthshire.  Known as the "big county", Perthshire has a wide variety of landscapes, from the rich agricultural straths in the east, to the high mountains of the southern Highlands.  We will stop at the House of Bruar for lunch and afterwards take a tour of Blair Castle. 

Blair Castle stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl. It is the home of the Clan Murray family, who hold the title of Duke of Atholl and is well worth a visit.  If time permits we will also take a tour of Edradour Distillery which probably houses one of the finest single malts you can find.  Tonight we will stay in Pitlochry giving us time to enjoy the Town in Bloom.

Today will have a more leisurely pace taking in the colourful history in Stirling.  First we shall visit The National Wallace Monument which commemorates Scotland's greatest national hero, Sir William Wallace, who defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in the year 1297.  The Monument is built on a rocky crag from which Wallace watched the English army gather on the South side of Stirling Bridge.  However, after defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298, Wallace was betrayed and captured.  He was hanged, drawn and quartered in London in 1305, and has since become a symbol for Scotland and Freedom.

We will also pay a visit to Stirling castle which sits majestically on top of volcanic rock.  The castles' long and turbulent history is associated with great figures from Scotland's past, such as William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Mary Queen of Scots.  After a full tour of the castle we will take time out to have lunch.

If time permits we can also visit the Bannockburn Heritage Centre to learn how the fate of the nation of Scotland was decided when Robert the Bruce and his army defeated the army of Edward II of England on 23 and 24 June 1314.  We then return to the chosen hotel in time for dinner.

After breakfast we head for the City of Edinburgh via South Queensferry to view the magnificent Forth Railway Bridge, and then into Edinburgh where the Old Town and New Town have been listed since 1995 as World Heritage Sites.  We will visit Rosslyn Chapel made famous by Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code before making our way to the spectacular Edinburgh Castle.

Perched on an extinct volcano, Edinburgh Castle is one of Scotland's most important castles.  Here we can also view the Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish regalia and the Scottish Crown Jewels.  Dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, these are the oldest set of crown jewels in the British Isles. 

We shall finish the day with a walk down the Royal Mile, created 325 million years ago by the immense pressure of moving glaciers during an ice age.  Today though it is home to places of interest and shops for all things Scottish. We shall then make our way to our chosen hotel in Edinburgh.

After breakfast we will visit Glasgow Cathedral which is a superb example of Scottish Gothic architecture.  It is also one of the few Scottish medieval churches (and the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland) to have survived the Reformation not unroofed. The history of Glasgow Cathedral, also known as The High Kirk of Glasgow, is linked with that of the city and is allegedly located where the patron saint of Glasgow, Saint Mungo, built his church.  From here we can also take a tour of the city.

Dependant on your interests we could also visit the Gallery or the Museum before heading back to our hotel for our last nights stay.

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