Day 1 – Friday
Departs 8.30am from Waterloo Place, Stand ZE (formally Strand E)
Main Stops: Dunkeld, Laggan, Eilean Donan Castle
Photo stops: Killiecrankie, Loch Laggan, Ben Nevis, Loch Garry, Skye Bridge.
Information: Early History and Geology, Stone of Destiny, Jacobite Rebellion, Highland Clearances and the romantic Scottish myth.
We head north towards the river forth, which was nicknamed the Sea of Scotland in the 13 C by an English king called Longshanks. More about him later. As we cross river, you will see the Forth Rail Bridge. It amazed the world when it was completed in 1890 and has become an enduring symbol of Scotland’s engineering heritage.
We travel through Fife and Perthshire towards our first stop in Dunkeld. A chance for a story or two along the way about Scotland’s early history.
Dunkeld is a delightful village. Its history goes back to the 9th Century. There is time to explore the ancient cathedral grounds and take a walk through the mature woodland down to the River Tay. There are lots of great wee coffee houses and Menzies make the meanest and freshest sandwiches in the world. There is also a small supermarket and a fine public toilet.
Feeling refreshed we head north and will shortly cross the geological border that separates two totally different worlds. But first, we stop briefly in Killiecrankie. A place of legend and beauty. The place that Bonnie Dundee battled against government soldiers in 1689, the beginning of the Jacobite rebellion. Back on the road and suddenly the landscape changes, its wild, empty and big. A chance now to talk about some of the differences between the lowlanders and highlanders and there are many.
Vast heather moorlands and mountain views surround us as we head towards the Grampian Mountains and into Cairngorm National Park. Down into laggan, this area is favoured by TV producers and movie makers alike because of its wild mountain scenery and misty lochs.
Time for some lunch - maybe picnic or a local hotel or just a sandwich on the bus. Whatever seems right on the day.
400 million years ago we banged into England. A crack appeared, thanks to time, ice, floods, wind and rain we have the great glen. This big valley divides the highlands, apparently you can even see it from space. Famous for its deep dark lochs and a certain monster. For thousands of years it is the natural route across Scotland. We now trace its path to Invergarry, stopping for a photo of Scotland’s highest mountain Ben Nevis.
More photos at loch Garry and then through Glen Sheil past another important battle site to Eilean Donan Castle (adults £5.50).
This castle is perhaps the most iconic image of highland Scotland. It is perfectly situated on an island at the point where three great sea lochs meet, and surrounded by some wonderful scenery. It is now one of the most visited attractions in the highlands. The first castle was built in the mid 13th century and stood guard over the lands of Kintail. Since then, the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. It suffered badly during the Jacobite uprising in 1719. Nearly 200 years later it was reopened.
Short supermarket stop, a chance to pick up some goodies and dinner if you are self catering.
On to Isle of Skye
“Carry the lad who was born to be king over the sea to Skye”
Today this lad, Bonnie prince Charlie, would, like the rest of us, would opt for the Skye Bridge. There are great views from the bridge as we cross, in a few minutes, from the Kyle to Skye. We drive under the shadow of the Cuillins to Minginish. You will then be dropped off at your accommodation.
We mostly stay around the village of Carbost or Portnalong because we think this really gives you a taste of Skye. These are small communities and very typical of Skye. Close to the sea and still dependent on it. In the evening the local pub, The Old Inn, soon fills up. It serves dinner and this is a great chance to relax and get the feel of island life.
If you are self catering you can still of course look in for a wee refreshment later on. Life in the village of Carbost centres the around Skye’s only whisky distillery – Talisker.
If there is live music in the pub or even a ceilidh (music and dancing) in the village hall we will let you know.
Anyway you will have free time until pick up Saturday morning between 8am and 9am.
Day-2 Saturday
Typical day touring Skye
Main stops: Iron Age Broch, Optional Morning Stops include - Neist Point Light House OR Dunvegan Castle OR Coral Beach, Portree.
Photo stops: Cuillins, Loch Dunvegan, Macleod’s tables, Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock, Duntulm Castle.
Information: Skye basics, early islanders, clan battles, folklore, Vikings, effect of Jacobite rebellion, clearances, wildlife, Bonnie Prince Charlie. Everyone collected from their accommodation between 8 and 9am.
Scenic drive past magnificent Cuillin Mountains, this range of rocky mountains dominate the Island. They are shrouded in mist and steeped in legend. These peaks have featured in island stories since the beginning of time. We can only imagine their significance early settlers like the ones who built the 2000 year old Broch at Dun Beag. We stop there for a short walk to see this ancient round house.
Depending on the weather and time of year we may now visit Dunvegan Castle, the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland or drive through Glendale to the lighthouse at Neist Point. Where you will learn about the famous Glendale martyrs who defied the government and transformed the lives of the islanders for ever. OR maybe even a swim at the Coral Beaches...!
On to Portree, the Island capital, for lunch and shopping. Portree has a harbour, fringed by cliffs, with a pier designed by Thomas Telford the big man of Scottish Engineering. Attractions in the town include the Aros Centre which celebrates the island's Gaelic heritage. Plenty of bakeries, pubs, restaurants and shops.
In the afternoon we continue to Trotternish which contains some of the most striking landscapes in Scotland. We drive past the Storr. This 719m summit rises above the east-facing cliffs that run down the centre of the peninsula. And if The Storr is not dramatic enough, sitting at the foot of its cliffs is a 50m high tooth of rock, the Old Man of Storr, so daunting it remained unclimbed until 1955.
Short stop at Kilt Rock, 200ft high cliffs with a waterfall tumbling sheer to the pebbled shore below. Then past the Quiraing, another example of the peninsula's weird rock architecture, to Duntulm castle. This was successively an iron age broch, a Pictish fort and a Viking stronghold, before being used for a castle first by the MacLeods then by the MacDonalds. The MacDonalds abandoned the castle in about 1730. Some say this was after a nursemaid accidentally dropped the baby son of the Clan Chief from a castle window above the cliffs. The ghost of the nursemaid, killed in retribution, is still said to wander the ruins. We may even have time to explore the Fairy Glen bizarre and delightful miniature landscape of grassy, cone-shaped hills.
Short stop at supermarket before returning to you accommodation.
There are plenty of opportunities to take many short walks to explore some or all of the above. The length of each depends on the weather, time available, the interest level and of fitness of the group etc.
Day 3 – Sunday
Main Stops: Loch Ness, Glencoe, Tyndrum, Wallace Monument
Photo stops: Cuillin Mountains from Sligachan, 5 Sisters of Kintail, Rannoch Moor, Loch Tulla, Hamish the hairy coo
Information: Legends of Kintail and Loch Ness Monster, highland roads and occupation, Glencoe massacre and William Wallace.
Heading south towards the Skye Bridge and back over to the mainland. Drive along shores to Loch Duich to the 5 sisters of Kintail, a high ridge some 5 miles long rising steeply from Glen Shiel to a maximum height of 3,501 feet. The five distinctly pointed summits are a well known landmark.
Towards the Great Glen and chance to explore Loch Ness, it’s big, deep, dark and cold. Time for a swim? Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the legendary loch Ness monster. It’s water visibility is exceptionally low because of the high peat content in the surrounding soil. It is the second largest loch in Scotland but due to its great depth it is the largest by volume. Its deepest point is 754 ft. And here is an interesting fact: It contains more fresh water than all lakes in England and Wales combined!
Lunch in Fort Augustus on the most southern tip of Loch Ness. After some lunch, a chance to walk down to the shores of Loch Ness or take a short walk along the canal and lock system, built by Thomas Telford in the early 1800s.
Through Fort William south to the most impressive of all Scotland’s glens – Glencoe!
It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland. The narrow glen shows a dramatically grim grandeur. The name Glen Coe is often said to mean "Glen of Weeping", perhaps with some reference to the infamous events which took place there in 1692. However, 'Gleann Comhann' does not translate as 'Glen of Weeping'. In fact the Glen is named for the River Coe which runs through it, and bore this name long prior to the 1692 incident.
Time for some photos and drive south across Rannoch moor. More beautiful wild scenery as we continue on to Tyndrum for a break and some food.
The landscape is now changing again as we approach the lowlands and Stirling. As we scoot past Loch Luibnaig we are almost back in lowland Scotland. But the most important part of Scotland’s story has still to be told. As we pass Stirling Castle we talk about William Wallace whose name has resounded through British history for 700 years. This is where he taught Longshanks a lesson and you will see the National Wallace monument that marks the spot of his most famous victory over England in 1297.
Return to Edinburgh Sunday Evening by 7pm