14-Day Tour of Scotland

We start day two of this tour with a drive south to the Scottish borders region. You will enjoy rolling green landscapes with thick woodland and some of the finest abbeys, stately homes, and castles in our country. There are too many to visit in one day, but we have selected the very best to give you a great mix of what the area has to offer.

Our first stop is the beautiful Melrose Abbey, built under King David I’s order in 1136. This pink sandstone building is an exceptional piece of architecture and employed some of the greatest stonemasons of its day.

The next stop is Abbotsford House. This grand baronial property was home to Sir Walter Scott; poet, novelist, and the man responsible for reviving Scotland’s national identity after the prohibition period when playing bagpipes, tartan, Gaelic, and anything Scottish was banned. The house contains a vast library and important artefacts from Scotland’s long history. We then take you to a beautiful viewpoint which looks over the border countryside known as Scott’s View.

Our final stop is the largest castle in Scotland, Floors Castle, home to the Duke of Roxburgh. Dating from 1721 and remodelled in the 1830’s this fairy tale castle is considered by architect William Playfair to be his greatest ever commissioned building. We return to Edinburgh in the evening.

Enjoy an overnight stay in Edinburgh.

Start your incredible day with a visit to St Andrews, Scotland’s historic town known as the birthplace of golf and once the country’s religious capital. Explore the town’s rich history, from its ancient Abbey and Castle to the iconic university, where Prince William and Kate Middleton met.

Next, head to the charming East Neuk of Fife, with stops in the picturesque fishing villages of Anstruther and Pittenweem, known for their quaint harbours and seaside beauty. End your tour at Falkland Palace, the former royal residence of the Stewart monarchs, home to the world’s oldest royal tennis court.

We then return to Edinburgh where we will stop for the evening.

We depart Edinburgh for Stirling, home to the mighty Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument. This commanding position at the foot of the Highland boundary has been fought over for thousands of years as a strategic point to control the entire country. We continue north into the Trossachs National Park to enjoy a cycle around the shores of Loch Katrine. This scenic location is where Sir Walter Scott wrote his best seller, The Lady of the Lake. You can hire an Ebike at KatrineWheelz

We then continue through the Cairngorms National Park to the city of Inverness for the evening.

The fifth day starts with a visit to the Culloden Battlefield where the British government troops fought the Jacobite army in 1746. The Scots suffered a heavy defeat, and this was to be the last ever battle on UK soil. The visitor centre has a state-of-the-art, 360-degree theatre which allows you to immerse yourself in the battle and hear real accounts from those who fought.

From Culloden, we move a few miles down the road to the 4,000-year-old Clava Cairn Burial Chambers. This exceptionally well-preserved Bronze Age cemetery is one of Scotland’s most sacred prehistoric sites.

We then continue to visit Johnstons of Elgin and enjoy a Mill tour and go behind the scenes to learn how the World’s finest cashmere is made.

We return to Inverness for the evening.

Your Outer Hebrides trip takes to the water today! We start with a drive north to the port at Ullapool. Here we board the 10.45 AM ferry to the Isle of Lewis in the beautiful Outer Hebrides. This crossing takes 2 hours and 45 minutes, so we can enjoy lunch on the ship and then start sightseeing as soon as we land on the island.

We spend the afternoon visiting sites in the northwest of Lewis. We visit the Blackhouses of Arnol to experience island life in the 1700s before continuing to the remote Butt of Lewis. This is a rocky headland that is the most northerly point of the Outer Hebrides and is often battered by giant Atlantic sea swells. No other landmass stands between the Butt of Lewis and North America to the west.

Finally, we make our way back to Stornoway for the evening.

We set off to explore many sites in the central area of Lewis, starting with Shawbost and the ancient Norse mill and kiln. These buildings provide a rare glimpse into the island’s Scandinavian past. The nearby town of Shawbost is also famous for producing the world-renowned Harris Tweed. Our next stop is Dun Carloway Broch. This well-preserved building dates from the last century BC. A short drive brings us to Gearrannan Village, which dates back to the Iron Age. However, the houses present today are from the 1600’s.

The next site we visit is the mighty Callanish Stone Circle. Pre-dating the Pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge, this 5000-year-old wonder is a marvel to explore.

Our final destination is the island of Great Bernera. Linked to Lewis by a bridge, it boasts great beaches, farming crofts, and the Iron Age house at Bosta. Finally, we return to Stornoway for the evening.

Your Hebridean holiday continues with a departure from Stornoway and a drive south to the Isle of Harris. Here, you will discover some of the finest beaches and remote scenery in Scotland.

Our first stop is the coastal village of Bunabhainneadar. Here, you can take in the sites of the North Harris Mountains. Next, we take the “golden road” around the south and east of the island. This remote area is scattered with little villages which were only accessible by sea until a road was built at great cost, hence its name. We then stop at St Clement’s Church near Rodel. Built in 1520, it’s considered to be the grandest medieval building in the Western Isles. Our next stop is the village of Leverburgh for a delicious lunch.

Our final stop before catching the ferry is a real jewel of the Western Isles. Luskentyre Beach could be mistaken for the Caribbean. The fine white sand and turquoise water are very tempting on a warm summer’s day. We catch the 16.00 PM ferry to the Isle of Skye where we stop for the evening.

Enjoy an overnight stay in Portree, Isle of Skye.

The Isle of Skye is a true highlight of all trips to the Hebrides. We start with driving a loop around the geological wonder of the Trotternish Peninsular. We then visit The Old Man of Storr (featured in the movie Prometheus) and continue to the 200ft Kilt Rock Waterfall.

We then visit the strange landscape of the Quiraing. This volcanic wonder is one of the most beautiful sites on the island. Next, we visit another bizarre feature known as the Fairy Glen. It can only be described as a miniature mountain landscape suitable for elves and goblins.

We continue west across the island to the only remaining inhabited castle on Skye. Home to Clan Macleod for the last 800 years, Dunvegan Castle and Gardens is a great place to immerse you in history, boasting the longest continuous habitation of any castle in Scotland. Finally, we will visit SkyeWeavers.

Enjoy an overnight stay on the Isle of Skye.

For our next adventure, we make our way to the opposite side of the island. Here, we visit the magnificent Cuillin Mountains and take a boat trip on the Bella Jane to spot seals, dolphins and rare birds in the spectacular Loch Coruisk. The road to Elgol is worth the drive alone but there’s the added reward at the end of 15 miles on a single-track road — one of the best views in all of Scotland!

After a stop for lunch, we drive around the north side of the Black Cuillin Mountains. Here, we pick up the rugged walking trail to the mystical fairy pools at Glenbrittle. This path is not suitable for those with walking difficulties as we have two river crossings to negotiate and roughly four miles to walk. Appropriate footwear is essential.

We then make our way back to your accommodation on the Isle of Skye.

Enjoy an overnight stay on the Isle of Skye.

We make our way off the island via the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig. Back on the mainland, we enjoy the spectacular views on the road to the isles and visit Glenfinnan Viaduct (featured in the Harry Potter movies) and the Jacobite Memorial.

Next, we stop at one of Scotland’s most desired spots — Glencoe. Towering mountains on all sides and a bloody history make this an unforgettable experience for all who visit. We then continue south to visit Etive Mor, an extinct super volcano known locally as “the Shepard of Glencoe”. We continue South along the West coast to the beautiful port town of Oban.

We catch the morning ferry over to the Isle of Mull. We will visit the ancestral home of Clan Maclean at Duart Castle. We continue along the scenic, South of the island and catch the foot passenger ferry to the holy island of Iona. We visit the ancient Abbey founded by St Columba in AD 563, making it the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. We then explore more of the island of Mull, including Calgary Bay. Calgary Castle that sits in the bay is where Fort Calgary, later the city of Calgary, was named after.

We return on the afternoon ferry to Oban for the evening.

We travel south from Oban to explore Kilmartin Glen. This area is renowned as one of the most significant concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in Britain. Within a 6-mile radius of Kilmartin village, there are more than 800 ancient monuments, standing stones, stone circles, henge monuments and burial chambers. We continue through this scenic landscape to Campbeltown. At one point, this was the whisky capital of the World, until prohibition was introduced in the USA and most of the distilleries closed with the collapse of the export market. This is also the location of Paul and Linda McCartney’s farm where Paul wrote the song, Mull of Kintyre as a tribute to the area they loved so much.

We return to Oban for the evening.

We travel back to Edinburgh through Argyll, home of Clan Campbell. We visit Inverary Castle which is the current seat of the Duke of Argyll, head of Clan Campbell. This beautiful home is a cross between a stately house and a fairytale Castle. We also stop at Loch Awe with spectacular views over the remains of Kilchurn Castle. After lunch, we continue to the “Bonnie Banks” of Loch Lomond. This is Scotland’s largest loch by surface area. Our final stop is a masterpiece in Scottish and International architecture. Hill House was designed and built in 1902 by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for a wealthy local family. It’s considered to have the finest interiors, textiles and decorative elements that made him so famous the World over.

Sadly, your tour must come to an end sometime and we will head back to Edinburgh where we will say goodbye…………………until the next time.