Skye and the Scottish Highlands

Departing Edinburgh and Glasgow our journey together starts as we make our way into the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. We’ll make a stop in the picturesque village of Luss to explore this delightful village and enjoy the views of the "bonnie, bonnie banks".

As our coach ascends the "Black Mount" there are wonderful views of Loch Tulla below. Soon we are amidst the remote beauty of Rannoch Moor. This unspoilt landscape extends over 50 square miles and is one of the great wildernesses of Europe! Spectacular and moody - Glen Coe is quite simply awesome! We will make a photo stop in Scotland's most famous glen. No matter the weather you are sure to be inspired by this very special place.

Fort William enjoys a scenic location overlooking the banks of Loch Linnhe. After a stop for lunch our next treat, hopefully, will be wonderful views of Ben Nevis, Britain's tallest mountain.

The Great Glen provides an impressive landscape of lochs and mountains that were formed many millions of years ago. Sit back and marvel at the impressive backdrop as we travel along the banks of Loch Lochy and Oich. In the village of Invergarry watch out for the "Well of the Seven Heads", a monument with a very bloody tale to tell!

Glen Shiel is home to the "Five Sisters of Kintail", a range of five mountains whose impressive peaks are over 3,000 feet high. Soon picturesque Eilean Donan Castle will come into view. This is, without doubt, one of Scotland's most iconic sights. The castle stands on a little island situated at the confluence of Loch's Alsh and Duich. We'll have time to discover the castle for ourselves during our stop here.

Soon we travel "over the sea to Skye" by the modern road bridge and head to our accommodation for the next two nights.

Overnight: Isle of Skye (2 nights)

It's an exciting day ahead as we explore the beauty of the Isle of Skye. The towering Cuillin Hills give Skye its breathtaking beauty. Considered by many to be amongst the finest hills in Britain the Cuillins present a vista that is simply unforgettable.

The picturesque town of Portree, the island's largest community. The name of the town means the "King's Port" following a visit by King James V in 1540. Today the pretty painted houses which surround the harbour give Portree an old fashioned appeal as we shall discover.

The famed Trotternish Peninsula. We will travel northwards to the little port of Uig from where ferries sail to the Outer Herbrides. At little Kilmuir there is a monument to Flora MacDonald who, famously, assisted Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from the troops that were hunting him by sailing him "over the sea to Skye" disguised as her maid.

We'll stop to explore The Quiraing, a dramatic terrain formed by a massive landslide. Here you can walk through a landscape that dates from Jurassic times and as you do see if you can identify the rock formations whose descriptions are the "Needle", "Table" and "Prison".

A short drive brings us to Kilt Rock, so named because the basalt columns of this rock fall to resemble the pleats of a kilt - it's well worth the effort to snap an "I was there" photograph!

Dun Beag is an excellent example of a broch: a kind of Iron Age round stone tower only found in Scotland. It stands at the top of a rocky knoll commanding excellent views overlooking Loch Bracadale and the Cuillin Hills. It would have been built around 2,000–2,500 years ago and today it is ours to discover!

We bid farewell to Skye as we return to the mainland and make our way to moody Loch Ness where you’ll have the chance to visit Urquhart Castle and enjoy a monster-spotting cruise.

Bustling Inverness, is known as the Capital of the Highlands. On the outskirts of this fast growing city lies notorious Culloden Moor. It was here in 1746 that Bonnie Prince Charlie's dreams of capturing the Crown for the Stuart dynasty came to a bloody end. His Jacobite army was routed by the Government troops under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. The aftermath was particularly brutal such that it changed life in the Highlands forever.

The next part of our journey takes us through the Cairngorm National Park. We'll pass the remote village of Dalwhinnie then descend through the Drumochter Pass, which has linked the Highlands to the Lowlands since the earliest of times.

Nestling amongst spectacular scenery, and overlooked by Ben-y-Vrackie mountain, the pretty Highland Perthshire town of Pitlochry has attracted visitors since the days of Queen Victoria. You're sure to be enthralled by it's charm.

From Perth we’ll make our way through the ancient Kingdom of Fife then across the River Forth to reach Edinburgh

If you started your tour in Glasgow the coach will pause at Edinburgh Waverley Station. Here you catch the express train back to Glasgow. The train operates every 30 minutes and the journey time is only 50 minutes or so. The fare is included in the cost of the tour.

Tour Ends!!