Day 1 I will personally pick you up at Edinburgh Airport and we start heading north into the Highlands. Our first stop on the way north will be the village of Balquhidder where we will see the final resting place of Rob Roy Macgregor. Continuing north we drive through the magnificent Glencoe a haven for hill walkers and mountain climbers throughout the year. We have dinner and stay the night in Glencoe.
Day 2 On our way north to the Isle of Skye, just north of Spean Bridge we stop to admire the Royal Commando Memorial. Driving over to the West Coast we take a tour of Eilean Donan Castle, the most photographed castle in Scotland. 15 miles from Eilean Donan Castle we drive over the spectacular Skye Bridge onto the Isle of Skye. On Skye we visit Portree the capital of Skye and enjoy the beautiful view of the harbor. We have dinner and stay overnight on Skye.
Day 3 After breakfast we take a drive around Skye enjoying the beautiful landscape. In the graveyard of the small village of Kilmuir is the resting place and memorial to Scotland s most famous heroine, Flora MacDonald. Close by we visit the Skye Museum of Highland Life and see how people lived on Skye centuries ago. In the afternoon, we will board the MacBraynes Ferry which takes us over the Hebridean Sea to Tarbert on the Isle of Harris. We will have dinner and stay the night here.
Day 4 Harris is famous for its tweed weaving and we will visit John Donald McKay who will give us a demonstration of how the tweed is made. A short distance away is Luskityre Beach described by many to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. On the south coast of Harris, we will visit St. Clements Church the grandest medieval building in the Western Isles. We will have dinner and stay the night at the Highcroft Guest House
Day 5 In the morning we drive over the causeway from Harris onto the Island of Lewis. We will visit the Callanish Standing Stones and Visitor s Center. From Callanish we drive to the east and visit Stornoway the largest town in the Hebrides. You will see the beautiful Harbor and visit some of its specialty shops After our visit to the Hebrides we will sail across the Minsch to the beautiful town of Ullapool. We are back on the mainland now and we head further north into the mountainous region of Sutherland. We will have dinner here and stay the night.
Day 6 Continuing north Sutherland is one of the most remote and scenically beautiful areas in Scotland. We drive along the north coast of Scotland to John O Groats which is the most northerly populated town on the mainland. Continuing along the north coast to Scrabster we board the Northlink Ferry, the MV Humnavoe, which takes us over to the Orkneys. We come ashore and stay the night in Stromness
Day 7 Orkney is a very interesting island and our first stop is Skara Brae the best preserved Neolithic settlement in Western Europe. It dates back to roughly 3180 BC. Close by is the Ring of Brodgar, an enormous Neolitic ring of standing stones which also dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. Known as the Light in the North St. Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the capital. It took 300 years to build starting in the 12 th century. We will take a tour of the cathedral. After lunch we will have a tasting at the Highland Park Distillery. The distillery leans heavily on the Viking history of Orkney and produces a malt whisky to suit.
Day 7 Continued Scapa is the other distillery on the island and we will certainly not miss a visit there to taste their special malt whiskies. We will visit the Scapa Flow Visitor Center to see artifacts from its famous Naval history. Shipwrecks from the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet can still be seen in Scapa Flow. After dinner we will board the ferry and sleep the night in our own personal cabins. This is a very special ferry and actually looks more like a cruise ship on the inside.
Day 8 We arrive back on the mainland after our overnight voyage and head south down the east coast of Scotland. We will stop at the Clyneish distillery in the small town of Brora for a very special tasting and history of the town. Further south we visit Dunrobin Castle, ancestral home of the Clan Sutherland. To finish the day we will take a City Sightseeing Tour on a double decker bus around Inverness, the Capital of the Highlands. We have dinner and stay the night at Daviot Lodge, our 5 star guest house.
Day 9 Our morning starts at the Battle of Culloden Visitor Center where we will see first hand the history of the 1745 rebellion. We will walk out onto the Battlefield and see where the opposing armies lined up. The House of Bruar is sometimes referred to as the Harrods of the North It has something for everyone so you can shop till you drop. Pitlochry is the quintessential small Scottish town. Mostly built in Victorian times it has a lot of surprises. Balhousie Castle is the regimental museum of the Black Watch. You can see artifacts on display representing three hundred years of service to the country.
Day 10 It is time to say farewell to Scotland and haste ye back! I will be taking you to Edinburgh Airport for your flight home or other destination. I want you to have the experience of a lifetime and here is one for the road. Have a safe trip home!
Scotland Is Waiting For You Are You Ready To Book Your Tour, Contact Your Host Jeff Robertson at Caledonia Fine Arts Company P O Box 698 Ivoryton CT. 06442 860 434 8899 http://www.tours-of-scotland.com caledoniafinearts@mac.com