Small Group Clan Tour, 3 - 10 September 2010.

It's a clan tour, but not a tour of particular clan lands...

It's about understanding our clan heritage and enjoying the Highlands. We take you from The Braemar Gathering on 'Royal Deeside' to Culloden Battlefield, then out to the beautiful Isle of Skye, through Glencoe and down to Argyll

It's a small group tour, and so a maximum of 24 people. But plenty people for the Scottish Dancing, Haggis Eating and Whisky Tasting which is all a (voluntary) part of the experience.

Day One.
Meet at Edinburgh Airport on Friday 3 September.
Heading north, you’ll pass Loch Leven, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned, then up to the fairytale castle of Glamis, childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Then it's up the coast to Dunnottar Castle, ancient home of the Keiths. We host a little 'Welcome Drinks' party at your traditional four star Aberdeen city centre hotel.






Day Two.
Today it's 'Royal Deeside': the lovely glen that enchanted Queen Victoria. You see Ballater and Crathie Kirk, where the Royal Family worship, then visit The Braemar Gathering, attended by HM The Queen, to enjoy traditional Highland Games.
Then you’ll go over the hills (with the heather in full bloom), to your riverside Inverness hotel (with swimming pool and spa)



Day Three.
The new hi-tech Culloden Battlefield visitor attraction provides a unique new insight into the last stand of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobites. A visit to the bronze age graves known as the ‘Clava Cairns’ and a tour of the lovely Cawdor Castle complete the day.
The late afternoon is free for shopping in Inverness and in the evening there will be a little entertainment. Same hotel by the river.




Day Four.
Castle Urquhart by Loch Ness was once the most powerful castle in the Highlands. It has been a ruin for 300 years but is still evocative and the old tower is a prime place for spotting Nessie. We pass through the lands of Clan Grant of Glenmoriston, heading for the Isle of Skye, but before then lies the Eilean Donan experience: probably the most photographed castle in Scotland and this ancient MacRae stronghold has some fascinating stories.



Tonight you are at the very fine Cuillin Hills Hotel, in Portree, capital of Skye.


Day Five.
Your road winds past numerous sea lochs and old Celtic sites to Dunvegan Castle, seat of Clan Macleod since the 13th century. In the afternoon you will visit Flora MacDonald's grave, see ‘Kilt Rock’ and the extraordinary landscape of the Quirang.

Again you are at the Cuillin Hills Hotel.


Day Six.
Before leaving Skye there is time to enjoy the ‘Museum of the Isles’, created by Clan Donald and certainly the best explanation in the world of the clan system, its origins and its decline. From ferry to Glenfinnan, where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745, also home to the ‘Harry Potter Viaduct’. The road then leads through Fort William, past Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, to gloomy Glencoe, scene of the massacre. The day ends by Loch Fyne in Argyll in a lovely waterside hotel with swimming pool and spa.

Day Seven.
First stop is Inveraray Castle, home of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell. Then the road goes by Loch Lomond’s bonnie banks to Stirling and its wonderful castle. In the distance will be the monument to Sir William Wallace, Scotland's 'Braveheart'.


You say good-bye to your guide at the Edinburgh Airport Hotel where you are booked in for bed and breakfast.

Your Guide.
Your guide ran our wonderfully successful Highland Tour after last year’s Clan Gathering in Edinburgh.

Here is what people said...

• “Pauline was amazing and her historical knowledge astounding.”
• “The choice of our guide was just fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble to her”
• “Pauline and Grant were exceptional. All in all the tour was fantastic.”
• “Grant and Pauline were great and made the whole tour a joy. We were either seeing all the beauty of the Highlands or laughing our heads off at their jokes.”
• “The highland tour was fantastic , Pauline made it a pleasure to be there, she is smart, witty and charming .”

Price of GBP 1030 per person includes six nights dinner, bed and breakfast in double or twin rooms in three or four star hotels and one night bed and breakfast only at the Hilton Edinburgh Airport. Single supplement is GBP 225.

Entry included to: • Glamis Castle • Dunnottar Castle • Braemar Gathering • Culloden Battlefield • Cawdor Castle • Urquhart Castle • Eilean Donan Castle • Dunvegan Castle • Museum of the Isles • Inveraray Castle • Stirling Castle.

We ask for a 20% deposit, hence GBP 206. To book on our Clan Tour, please make your payment here: If a booking on the Clan Tour is cancelled, monies will be refunded as follows: Within four months: 50% of deposit Within eight weeks: Nil

If you would like to know, more about the trip then send an email to me, Alastair Cunningham.