Elegant Scotland - Eastern Explorer

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    Elegant Scotland - Eastern Explorer

Tour length

8 days

From

99,999.00$99999.00

Our Elegant Scotland tour is a staff favourite. Stay in some fantastic four- and five-star properties throughout Bonnie Scotland.

Itinerary


Day

1

Edinburgh to St. Andrews

Arrival in Scotland. Collect your rental car and head north crossing the Forth Road Bridge with its dramatic views of the Victorian feet of engineering the Forth Railway Bridge. Travel through the quaint fishing villages of the East Neuk of Fife and you travel back through time. The traditional cottages with red pantile roofs and crow-stepped gable ends appear unchanged from earlier times. Fishing boats lie at rest in the harbour following the bustle of unloading their catch as they have done for centuries. Kellie Castle, completed around 1606 and once home to the Earls of Kellie, was restored by the Lorimer family in 1878. The oldest tower, dating back to 1360, is said to be haunted, but today the castle is a tranquil spot. Continue to St Andrews to your overnight accommodation.

Overnight - Macdonald Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews


Day

2

St Andrews

Enjoy a full day in St Andrews, home of the oldest university in Scotland, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, more commonly known as ‘Kate and Wills’ first met. This town is capital of golf with its famous and prestigious Old Course. The remains of the 12th century St Andrews Cathedral, the largest in Scotland and the medieval layout of the town are still visible. You can also visit the 13th century St Andrews Castle overlooking the North Sea, where, during the Reformation, many evil deeds took place in the “Bottle Dungeon”. You will enjoy the traditional small shops and the beautiful sea views before returning to your overnight accommodation.

Overnight - Macdonald Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews


Day

3

Dundee & East Coast

Continue through the Scottish countryside in the direction of Dundee. You can visit Edzell Castle and Gardens, a remarkable and very beautiful complex with a late medieval tower house incorporated into a 16th century courtyard mansion, and walled garden with a bathhouse and summerhouse laid out by Sir David Lindsay in 1604. The carved decoration of the garden walls is unique in Britain. You can visit Stonehaven, a former fishing village with a picturesque harbour, and Dunnottar Castle, a spectacular ruin 50 metres above the sea and an impregnable fortress to the Earls Marischals of Scotland. Continue in to Aberdeen to your overnight accommodation.

Overnight - Mercure Ardoe House, Aberdeen


Day

4

Aberdeen

Spend the morning in Old Aberdeen, a beautiful location where the university is based. See Kings College, a chapel famous for its rich woodwork dates from the 16th century. Visit Duthie Park and Winter Gardens – a beautifully laid out 50 acre park with floral displays in all seasons including a “rose mountain”. There are two boating ponds and many interesting sculptures and mountains. The Winter Gardens feature exotic plants, flowers, birds, fish and turtles. Travel north in the afternoon to Castle Fraser, an atmospheric baronial castle dating back to the 15th century and the ancestral home of the Fraser family.

Overnight - Mercure Ardoe House, Aberdeen


Day

5

Speyside

Travel through the Speyside area towards Inverness. Speyside is a great area to sample some of Scotland’s Natural Larder. You can learn everything you need to know about Scotland’s National Drink with a tour of one of the Speyside distilleries. You can visit Glenfiddich, Cragganmore, Grants, Cardhu and many more. Each gives an audio-visual show and then a guided tour of the distillery to learn of the processes and for many the highlight is a tasting at the end of the tour. Visit Culloden Moor, the site of the battle on 16 April 1746, when the forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie were defeated by English government army, so ending the Forty-Five Jacobite uprising.

Overnight - Tulloch Castle, Dingwall (nr. Inverness)


Day

6

Inverness

Enjoy a day visiting the West Coast of Scotland. You can stop at Corrieshalloch Gorge, one of Britain’s finest examples of a box canyon. This dramatic mile-long gorge is 200 feet deep. The river, which carved out the gorge, descends 150 feet at the Falls of Measach. A suspension bridge a short way downstream from the falls was erected by John Fowler (1817-98), best known as joint designer of the Forth Railway Bridge. Journey across to Ullapool, a quaint fishing village before visiting the beautiful Inverewe Garden, the world-famous garden created from once-barren peninsula on the shore of Loch Ewe by Victorian gardener Osgood Mackenzie. These magnificent gardens have a famous rhododendron collection and who would expect to find palm trees in Scotland. Return through the magnificent scenery of the Torridon area and past Loch Maree. Return to the Inverness area for overnight.

Overnight - Tulloch Castle, Dingwall (nr. Inverness)


Day

7

Loch Ness & Glencoe

Today travel south again going via Loch Ness. Loch Ness forms part of the Caledonian Canal a feat of some great engineering by Thomas Telford linking East Scotland with West by using a series of lochs linked by a canal system. Make a stop at Urquhart Castle, a very scenic spot and also the place where the most sightings of “Nessie” have been. Continue towards Fort William, which nestles beneath the highest mountain in Great Britain – Ben Nevis.

Overnight - Isle of Eriska Hotel, Benderloch (nr Oban)


Day

8

Onward Journey

After your final Scottish breakfast, your tour is complete.  Return your hire car and commence your onward journey.


Availability

Room Type DoubleTripleSingle2xTwin
No Tour Availability listed.

Prices are per person in Canadian Dollars.  Subject to availability.
Child rate from $769 & is applicable for 1 child sharing with 2 adults. 
Triple is based on 2 rooms (1 Twin & 1 Single).
Upgrade to Super Inclusive Insurance from $150.

Tour Highlights

  • Fishing villages of Fife
  • St Andrews
  • Edzell Castle and Gardens
  • Stonehaven
  • Dunnottar Castle
  • Aberdeen
  • Castle Fraser
  • Speyside Whisky
  • Culloden Moor
  • Corrieshalloch Gorge
  • Ullapool
  • Inverewe Garden
  • Inverness & Loch Ness
  • Fort William
  • Ben Nevis & Glencoe
  • Oban area

Tour Inclusions

  • 7 nights accommodation pre-booked in first class hotels & manors
  • Full Scottish breakfast daily
  • 7 Day "Royal Coverage" self-drive standard car rental
  • 1 hour Inspiration Cruise on Loch Ness
  • Entrance to the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition
  • Touring map of Scotland

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