Intimate Scotland: A Small Coach Escorted Tour

Edinburgh Airport. On Own. Today you arrive at Edinburgh Airport where you make your own way to your hotel. Today explore Edinburgh on your own or try a public day tour through www.viator.com Overnight Apex Hotel.

Edinburgh.
Today we may decide to do sightseeing with the Hop on Hop off Bus. Travel down the Royal Mile past St Giles Cathedral, the historic City Church of Edinburgh with its famed crown spire. Also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle (Scotland’s chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen). Continue past The Scottish Parliament building to the Palace of Holyrood house, the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. The palace was home to Mary Queen of Scots for six years and houses beautiful tapestries and paintings. Now take the opportunity to compare the old and the new by taking a trip around the New Town through Charlotte Square to the Georgian House to experience the elegance of 18th-century living in Edinburgh’s New Town. Designed in 1791 by Robert Adam, Scotland’s foremost 18th-century architect, Charlotte Square was one of the most fashionable and desirable residential addresses in the New Town. Alternatively, you may wish to visit Ocean Terminal and view the Royal Yacht Brittania where presidents, kings and queens were entertained. It was, first and foremost, the home from home of the Royal family when entertaining abroad. Overnight Apex Hotel.

Edinburgh-Inverness.
Your driver will collect you at and you will travel to Stirling, once known as the ‘Key to Scotland’, with its imposing position in the centre of the country, to Stirling Castle. For centuries this was the most important castle in Scotland and the views from the top make it easy to see why. Stirling Castle played an important role in the life of Mary Queen of Scots. She spent her childhood in the castle and Mary’s coronation took place in the Chapel Royal in 1543. From the ramparts you can see the Wallace Monument, perched high on the Abbey Craig around where Wallace camped before his heroic battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, built in 1869 to commemorate Scotland’s hero. Nearby is Culloden Battlefield where the last hand-to-hand battle was fought on British soil which takes on a whole new meaning with the opening of an exciting new visitor centre and interactive exhibition. Dinner and overnight at Kingsmill Hotel Inverness.

Inverness.
This morning you will travel the short distance to the Clansman Harbor for a 1 Hour Jacobite Cruise to enjoy the stunning views of the surrounding mountains from the loch and sail the deepest part using the Jacobite sonar then alight at Urquhart Castle where you will have the chance to explore for an hour before cruising back up the loch to the Clansman Harbour. Urquhart Castle was the site of many battles led by the Clan MacDonald. It stands on a rocky promontory on the north shore with stunning views of the glen and a chance to spot the famous Loch Ness Monster. It has a turbulent history: seized by the English in 1296, sacked in 1545 by MacDonald Lord of the Isles and later left to decay after 1689. Returning to land travel to the little town of Beauly and the tranquil ruins of Beauly Priory. Founded around 1230AD by monks of the Valliscaulian order. They came from their mother house in Burgundy, in France, and settled beside the Beauly River, at the place where it enters the Beauly Firth. They were invited to do so by the lord, Sir John Bisset. And there their successors lived for the next 300 years, until the Protestant Reformation of 1560. Enjoy the stunning scenery as you drive, spotting the islands of Skye and the Hebrides from the west coast. Round off today with a visit to Culloden Battlefield where the last hand-to-hand battle was fought on British soil which takes on a whole new meaning with the opening of an exciting new visitor centre and interactive exhibition. The battlefield itself is now restored to as close as possible that marched on by the two sides on that fateful day. Overnight Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness.

Inverness-Ft William.
This morning travel through Continue to the beautiful Rogie Falls. Here there are a series of lovely walks on the Black Water which you can follow to see the waterfall that is famous for salmon viewing. Get up close to these impressive waterfalls on the new suspension bridge across the beautiful Black Water river. It’s only a short walk from the car park and during August and September there’s an excellent chance of seeing wild salmon leaping upstream. Eilean Donan Castle is situated on an island at the point where three great sea lochs meet and are surrounded by some majestic scenery. Originally a stronghold of the Mackenzie’s of Kintail, but having lost control in the 14th century, the Mackenzie’s obtained a charter of Eilean Donan in 1509 and in 1511 the Macraes, as protectors of the Mackenzie’s, became the hereditary Constables of the Castle and it has been home to the Clan Macrae ever since Loch Shiel, where Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in 1745 and to commemorate the Jacobite’s who subsequently fought and fell during the 1745 uprising. We continue to Fort William. Overnight The Garrison Hotel.

Ft. William-Glasgow.
You will now travel to the most scenically beautiful of all Highland glens, Glencoe, stopping at the visitors centre to view some of the most spectacular mountain scenery anywhere. This area is steeped in history, and at the Visitors Centre you will hear about the infamous 1692 massacre of Clan MacDonald and see the new exhibition. Located at the western end of Loch Tay, the famous white waters of the Falls of Dochart(Loch Lomond) can be viewed from the village’s bridge and from here you can admire the misty spray rising in the air as the waters of the river crash into the rocks then flow around the Islands of Inchbuie, known as the traditional and ancient burial place of Clan MacNab. Travel via the Trossachs and Loch Lomond to Glasgow. Overnight at Apex Hotel.