SCOTLAND S HIGHLANDS AND ORKNEY ISLANDS

Transcription

1 The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County trip to SCOTLAND S HIGHLANDS AND ORKNEY ISLANDS Highland Wildlife, Wildflowers and Gardens May 22June 7, 2015 Registration deadline: February 1, 2015 Follow the routes of seabirds and stoneage man, red stags and Vikings through the extraordinarily beautiful northernmost points in Britain, in the height of the spring. Northern Scotland and its surrounding islands are rich in natural history, archeology, and Celtic and Norse Culture. Join us for an indepth look at wildlife, wildflowers, Highland gardens and prehistory. Our small group will explore remote glacially sculptured glens, mountain lochs and burns, delicate moorlands, private Highland gardens, castles, cairns, Neolithic villages, golden eagle aeries, otter runs and puffin colonies. The Orkney Islands are world famous for their sea birds, archeology, and history and contain the greatest concentration of archeological monuments in Europe. Walks are at a leisurely pace; days on your own to pursue personal interests are an option. Leadership is provided by Karen Travers, international trip leader, biologist, and Pennsbury Land Trust past president (her 11 th trip to Scotland), TLC for SCC representative, and Scottish naturalists. At Aigas Field Centre near Beauly, enjoy Highland hospitality at the home of Sir John and Lady ListerKaye. This VictorianGothic castle and its surrounding lodges combine modern comfort with traditional atmosphere. The excellent meals featuring Highland specialties are served baronial style in the Great Hall. Wellequipped hotels in West Highlands and Orkney are conveniently close to interesting island sites. Cost of $5500 includes 15day trip with double occupancy lodging and private baths, all meals except in transit, fees, admissions, ground transportation, professional leadership and much more. Airfare is not included. For more information: visit our website: Call our office; x 101 A Natural History Expedition to Aigas Field Centre and The Orkney Isles

2 B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner Day 1 Friday May 22 ITINERARY DEPARTURE 2 Leave Philadelphia in evening on US Airlines for our flight to Glasgow with dinner in flight. D Day 2 Saturday May 23 gloaming. L, D Overnight at Aigas ARRIVAL AT AIGAS FIELD CENTRE A private bus will meet us at Glasgow Airport and drive us to the House of Aigas in time for lunch, afternoon tea and initial welcome. Settle in before dinner in the baronial hall of House of Aigas. After dinner, learn about domestic arrangements and how the Field Centre operates. Evenings at Aigas include lectures by guest experts, relaxing in the gracious sitting room by the fire, browsing in the wellstocked library and map room, and strolling along woodland trails, loch, gardens and heather moors in the Day 3 Sunday May 24 AIGAS FIELD CENTRE After breakfast, attend a meeting to run through the programs and for you to ask questions. Sir John ListerKaye will welcome the group and deliver an informal talk about the history of land use in the Scottish Highlands. This lecture will set the scene for the rest of the programme. Before lunch enjoy a tour of the House of Aigas, art collection, and Lady Lucy s gardens. Share a buffet lunch before joining a guided walk led by the rangers around the Aigas nature trail. The path winds through a variety of habitats including broadleaved woodland, loch, wild moorland and natural pinewoods. This is an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with the surroundings and the flora and fauna of the local area habitat for red and Roe Deer, Otter, Pine Martin, Tawny Owls, Scottish Crossbill, Crested Tit, and a diverse number of heaths, ferns and wild orchids. Stop off at the wildcat breeding project where we can discuss the plight of this highly threatened Scottish predator of which it is thought there may be as few as 400 left in the wild. Gather in the parlor for afternoon tea. This evening there will be a lecture on the habitats and wildlife of the Scottish Highlands followed by dinner. Day 4 Monday May 25 GLEN AFFRIC Following breakfast we drive approximately 45 minutes west to the mountains, lochs, and forests of Glen Affric. This magnificent remnant of the ancient Wood of Caledonia, was bought by the Forestry Commission in 1951 with conservation work carried out within the woodland over the following decades. One of the most beautiful glens in the Highlands, Glen Affric is managed as a nature reserve. The mature Scots Pines have a charm and character of their own and support a unique range of wildlife, wildflowers, and trees. Take a leisurely 4 mile walk with Aigas rangers through Glen Affric watching for native Rowan, Blaeberry, Crowberry, Willow Aspen, Crested Tits, Scottish Crossbills, Red Squirrels, Pine Martins, Red and Roe Deer, and Golden Eagles. Return to Aigas in time for afternoon tea. This evening there will be an opportunity to watch the Eurasian beavers on the Aigas loch.

3 Day 5 Tuesday May 26 HIGHLAND HISTORY, GARDENS AND ARCHAEOLOGY 3 Today we shall travel east for 45 minutes to visit the historical site of Culloden Battlefield the site of the last battle fought on British soil a desperate fight in 1746 which changed the history and land use of the Highlands forever, breaking down the clan system and paving the way for the Highland Clearances a century later. Next visit the Clava Cairns are three wellpreserved Neolithic cairns, thought to be burial chambers of ritual significance connected with the Winter Solstice and death, with evidence of both inhumations and cremations. There are two chambered tombs with cup marked stones and one ring cairn, unique to the Moray Firth area, connected with the magic/religious cults of our ancestors. The third site today is Cawdor Castle and gardens near Nairn has been the family home of the Thanes of Cawdor since the 14 th century. The existing castle contains a fine example of a 16 th century tower house with elegant 18 th century additions. Its fine gardens are famous. The nature trails varying from 1 to 5 miles will take you into a mixed oak and pine woods. Watch for Red squirrels and Scottish Crossbills. Tonight there will be an introductory lecture on Orkney. Day 6 Wednesday May 27 SUTHERLAND, CAITHNESS & ORKNEY The Orkney Islands are world famous for their archeology and history and contain the greatest concentration of archaeological monuments in Europe. Remote today, Orkney was once an important trade center from the Stone Age to the Viking raids. Harbor and gray seals inhabit the bays of ancient fishing villages. After an early departure, we shall drive through Sutherland and Caithness to Scrabster, where we board the ferry and head for the Orkney Isles. It will take us two hours to cross the Pentland Firth, where there will be plenty of opportunity to watch for dolphins, small whales and seabirds like Gannets, Fulmars and Shearwaters. We pass the Old Man of Hoy, a spectacular sandstone sea stack. After disembarking at the picturesque port of Stromness, we will drive to Kirkwall, the Orkney capital, before arriving at our accommodation. After a short rest, visit the remarkable 12 th century St. Magnus Cathedral and explore the fascinating side streets of this ancient sandstone town. B, L, D Overnight at an Orkney hotel Day 7 Thursday May 28 ORKNEY WEST MAINLAND Leaving Kirkwall, we head for the 5,000 year old tomb of Maes Howe to read the graffiti etched in the walls by Viking raiders. Then visit the impressive Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. This Henge monument still hides the secrets of its purpose. Our next visit is to the well preserved Stoneage village of Skara Brae, situated on the beautiful but exposed Skaill Bay. Skara Brae provides an insight into everyday life in 3,000 B.C. One of the natural history highlights of Orkney is the RSPB reserve of Marwick Head. The dramatically sheer sandstone cliffs provide nesting sites for 80,000 sea birds including Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars, Puffins, and Kittiwakes. As you walk to an excellent viewing spot watch for spring wildflowers as well. On the way back to town visit the Broch of Gurness, one of the finest examples of these curious ironage defensive structures in Scotland. Search for the rare and delicate Scottish Primrose here.

4 B, L, D Overnight at an Orkney hotel 4 Day 8 Friday May 29 ORKNEY Yesnaby & Broch of Birsay Today we visit the west coast of the Orkney mainland and the spectacular sea cliffs, stacks and blow holes of Yesnaby. A walk along the coastal path will offer superb views, wildlife watching and opportunity to look for coastal wildflowers. Heading northwest and onto the tiny island off the Mainland, we visit the Brough of Birsay. The Brough was intensively settled from the 7 th to the 13 th centuries AD. Physical remains comprise a 9 th century VikingAge settlement and 12 th century monastery, together with traces of an earlier Pictish settlement of the 7 th and 8 th centuries. Seabird nests, wildflowers and tidepools add to the interest. We also visit a tiny private nature reserve and wildlife hide at St. John s Loch on Dunnet Head an excellent opportunity for good close up views of nesting arctic terns as well as several species of ducks. B,L,D Overnight at an Orkney hotel Day 9 Saturday May 30 ORKNEY to AIGAS This morning embark on a tour of some of the most important wartime sites on Orkney. Scapa Flow has a navel history dating from as early as the Napoleonic wars and the Churchill barriers. Constructed during World War II, they are a vital and significant part of it. The barriers were designed to protect the home fleet from German Uboats. On Lamb s Holm visit the Italian Chapel constructed by Italian prisoners of war working on the barriers. Our return ferry departs from St. Margaret s Hope with ample opportunities for further bird and cetacean sightings. A leisurely drive back down the east coast will allow us time to visit the charming coastal towns of Tain and Dornoch. Day 10 Sunday, May 31 THE BLACK ISLE The Black Isle is an area rich in natural history and folklore, and we shall spend the day exploring this fertile area. Begin with a scenic drive along the north shore of the Beauly Firth to watch for a variety of species of wading birds, Bottlenosed Dolphins and there is always the chance of seeing an Osprey or Red Kite. Take an exciting dolphin watch boat ride into the Firth with excellent chances of seeing nesting sea birds close up as well as dolphins. Wander through the impressive ruins of the 13 th century cathedral at Fortrose. We shall lunch at Chanonry Point a second chance for dolphin watching before driving to the Georgian village of Cromarty. After a short stop up on the South Sutor to view the surrounding landscape, we shall spend the afternoon in Cromarty wandering at leisure around the fine merchants houses and visiting Comarty Courthouse before returning to Aigas. Day 11 Monday, June 1 GLEN STRATHFARRAR AND BEAULY A relaxing final day starts with a walk around the House of Aigas garden with Lady Lucy ListerKaye, its creator.

5 5 Then we visit one of the Highland s bestkept secrets the local and private Glen Strathfarrar. This is one of Scotland s most scenic mountain glens and wild Caledonian Pine Forests, home of majestic Red Deer and Golden Eagles. In the afternoon there will be time to visit the nearest town of Beauly with it s excellent Campbell s Tweedhouse, shops and priory or just relax on the scenic grounds of Aigas. There will be a distillery tour for those who wish it. This evening you have an opportunity to visit a wildlife blind to view the elusive pine marten, badgers feeding and possibly red and roe deer. Day 12 Tuesday, June 2 West Coast and Inverewe Gardens Today we see some of the most dramatic and aweinspiring scenery Scotland has to offer. The journey west is truly remarkable, taking us from the hard, infertile rocks of the Moine series in the east to the ancient gneisses and sandstones of the west. We take in Scotland s most photographed glen, Glen Docherty, which leads us down to one of Scotland s largest freshwater lochs mystical Loch Maree. Folklore abounds in this area and there is plenty of natural history too, this being one of the secret release sites of the whitetailed eagle back in the 1980s. We will make a stop at Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve (NNR), the oldest NNR in Britain. This area is a haven for wildlife with specialities like the pine martin, sea eagle, golden eagle, black throated diver and red diver all thriving here. Turning north at the coast, we go to one of Britain s most celebrated gardens,. Inverewe Gardens were crafted from nothing by Osgood Mackenzie in Victorian times and is still delighting visitors from around the world. We continue through stunning coastal scenery before finishing our day at the Dondonnell Hotel. B,L,D Overnight Dundonnell Hotel Day 13 Wednesday June 3 Dundonnell House and Garden and return to Aigas Dundonnell House stands on the flats at the head of Little Loch Broom and is surrounded by a stunning landscape of mountains and water. Within this environment, a walled garden has been created that is bursting with diversity, encapsulating many small pockets with different themes but always paying homage to the surrounding landscape. The garden was started by the Roger brothers who settled there after the Second World War and began to bring in collections of exotic species, particularly bonsai plants. It is now owned by Lady Jane Rice and continues to bloom with interest and variety. Enjoy a tour of the garden which is probably one of the loveliest gardens in the Highlands of Scotland. Leaving Dundonnell behind, we visit the hugely impressive Corrieshalloch Gorge. Plunging to 60m, sunlight hardly ever reaches the bottom. In the dark humid conditions ferns have flourished that are found nowhere else in Britain. Finally and with a stop to look for black throated divers on the way we return to Aigas for afternoon tea. B,L,D Overnight at Aigas

6 Day 14 Thursday, June 4 Private garden visit and wildflower walk 6 Today we visit a private local garden according to weather conditions and growing season. We combine the visit with a walk in a woodland to look for wildflowers. On return to Aigas we enjoy a farewell dinner with a Highland piper playing us into the dining hall for our last dinner at Aigas. B,L,D Overnight at Aigas Day 15 Friday, June 5 Aigas to Glasgow Depart Aigas after breakfast and travel by coach to Glasgow passing through the historic Glen Coe and Loch Lomond. Enjoy dinner on your own in Glasgow and an evening at leisure. B,L Overnight at a Glasgow hotel Day 16 Saturday, June 6 Return to Philadelphia Our flight leaves Glasgow mid morning arriving in Philadelphia mid afternoon. B,L COST The total cost of $5500 (single supplement is $230) includes: Land transportation including mini bus, train, ferries, and private bus transport from Glasgow to Aigas.

7 The 15 day trip includes double occupancy lodging at Aigas Field Centre and comfortable hotels and inns. All rooms have private baths. 7 All meals except in transit (including afternoon teas at Field Centre) Professional leadership and Aigas Field Centre tuition, taxes, service charges, admissions $100 tax deductible donation to The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County. TLC for SCC is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting the natural, historical, and agricultural heritage of the County. Informational pre trip meeting with Scotland informational handouts Note: Airfare from Philadelphia to Glasgow is not included. We would be happy to book your air arrangements or you may book your own. If you do your own reservations it is important to be on the same flight as the group if you wish to use our private bus service to Aigas. Single supplement is $230 extra. This applies if you request it or if you are willing to share but we have no roommate for you. Tariffs, currency rates of exchange and airfare are in effect as of May 2014 and are subject to change without notice. A valid passport is required. No visa or immunizations are necessary. Cost is based on 810 participants. A short video presentation is available upon request Call (610) for trip additional information. CLOTHING, WEATHER, TRAVEL, AND PRETRIP MEETING Dress is casual with subduedcolor clothing preferred in the field. Weather is very pleasant this time of year with some rainy days possible. No special precautions are necessary for food or water. Participants should be in good general health. Walks are at a leisurely pace with some hills and rough ground. Shorter walk options are possible for longer walks in the itinerary. Travel in Scotland is by Aigas Field Centre mini bus unless otherwise specified. A Pretrip meeting several weeks before departure will cover packing and travel details. Enjoy literature display, video presentation, refreshments and meet the leader and other participants. For questions, call Karen Travers at (610) RESERVATIONS/PAYMENTS/CANCELLATIONS 1. Complete the form and send with a deposit of $500/person to the Land Trust for Southern Chester County prior to February 1, This deposit is non refundable after February 10, The balance of payable to TLC for SCC is required by March 1, It is not refundable after unless a replacement is found. A reminder letter will be sent. Trip insurance is highly recommended and is available through My World Travel, Inc. Registrants will be sent insurance forms upon request or you may secure your own.

8 LIABILITY 8 My World Travel and the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County act only as your agents for carriers, hotels, and others providing service included in the trip. In the event it becomes necessary or advisable, or for any reason whatsoever, to alter the itinerary or arrangements, such alterations will be made. Neither My World nor the sponsor, the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, is liable for any loss, damage, delay, injury or expense due to failure or improper operation of any service included in the trip for any reason whatsoever. Return with payment to The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, P.O. Box 734, Unionville, PA Mail by February 1, Reservation form for the The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County s trip to SCOTLAND May 22June 6, 2015 Enclosed is $ ($500 nonrefundable/person) deposit (deadline Feb. 1, 2015) Make check payable to the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County Name(s) as it appears on your passport: Address: (Zip) Phone: ( ) (Home); ( ) (Work) (Cell) E mail: Passport # (s)