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Five Day Tours from 5 Locations
5 day tours from 5 amazing locations in Scotland.
4th September 2020.
Looking for some inspiration for travel in 2021? Well here are five different places we visit with an example of a day tour from each location.
Aberdeenshire / Old Meldrum.
We have a wonderful selection of excellent accommodation in this area and here is what we can visit in a day trip from here.
Travelling north east to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in the coastal town of Fraserburgh https://lighthousemuseum.org.uk/ This is a fantastic visit. The museum is amazing to wander around, it has huge lighthouses lenses on display, and you can get right up close to them. Once you have looked around the museum you then go on guided tour to the old Kinnaird lighthouse by the coast. This lighthouse used to be a castle – Kinnaird Castle, a 16th Century Fraser house. The tour is fascinating, there really is nothing like going in a lighthouse, and to stand atop this lighthouse, looking out over the North Sea is such a special experience.
Next is a drive along the Aberdeenshire coast, park the car and walk down hill to the wild and pretty villages of Pennan and Gardenstown. These beautiful coastal villages sit right on the shoreline of the North Sea and offer a unique village walk experience. After this little piece of tranquil beauty, we would visit Duff House, a splendid early Georgian Mansion with an intriguing story! www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/duff-house/ After a nice pub lunch in Banff we would drive back to Old Meldrum where you can tour the local star attraction – Glen Garioch Malt Whisky Distillery. This is one of our favourite distilleries to visit in Scotland. www.glengarioch.com Day ends back at your accommodation.
Inverness.
The capital of the Highlands has always been a fantastic base and now there are so many quality hotels, guest houses and restaurants here, it really is worth spending a couple of nights in this energetic highland city. Travelling north west into epic northwest highland scenery, this is a day of jaw dropping beauty. The journey begins with a trip to the beautiful Highland town of Ullapool where you can enjoy fantastic views of Loch Broom and surrounding mountains. Ullapool has some fantastic local shops where you can pick up locally made products and souvenirs. Next, we can take a walk in the Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve where you can walk over a suspension bridge as the river Droma rushes way below you! We then take one of the most stunning coastal drives of mountain, sea and loch in Scotland to the gardens at Poolewe. Next stop is the fascinating local museum in Gairloch, a new and fabulous addition to this lovely highland village. As we travel back to Inverness, we stop by one of our favourite lochs in Scotland, Loch Maree. This much-loved highland loch is home to 5 large wooded islands and over 60 smaller ones and sits right below the beautiful mountain of Slioch, this truly is Scotland at its natural and inspiring best. You won’t want to leave Loch Maree but when we do, the drive back to Inverness in still an epic one with amazing highland scenery. And, when we arrive in Inverness, you can be rest assured of great food and drinks…
Isle of Skye.
We love the south end of the misty Isle - this part of the Isle of Skye is known as Sleat, the garden of Skye. The accommodation choices here are wonderful from the Michelin 5-star Kinloch Lodge www.kinloch-lodge.co.uk to two amazing hotels with fabulous food Duisdale Hotel www.duisdale.com and Toravaig Hotel www.toravaig.com We also have a collection of 4 & 5 star guest houses in the south of Skye.
Travelling north on the island we arrive at the base of one of the most famous mountain ranges – The Cuillin. This rocky mountain range lies to the west of beautiful Glen Sligachan and faces the Red Cuillin lying to the east of the glen, surrounding you in glorious mountain and glen scenery. After a short walk and a burst of fresh morning air we continue to the island’s capital, Portree. A beautiful port town in a natural harbour setting, there are many local craft shops to peruse and fine cafes serving local treats. We do love café Arriba http://www.cafearriba.co.uk/
After a wander in Portree it is time to travel the much loved Trotternish Peninsula. For an epic island landscape of mountain, complete with unusual rock formations like the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing and open sea views back to the mainland, you find another view like this anywhere in the world. Skye really comes in to its own here and this part of the island is deserving of it’s ‘bucket list’ or ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ visit. At the very top on the Trotternish is the Skye Museum of island Life http://www.skyemuseum.co.uk/ a fascinating visit in to life on the isle over the centuries. The thatch cottages are superb and give you a realistic experience of living in this part of the world. Continuing on we arrive in the small town of Uig where you can have a bite to eat and visit the local potters The Uig Pottery www.uigpottery.co.uk
Dunvegan Castle would be our next port of call. This lovely old castle sits in beautiful gardens and has been home to MacLoed Clan for over 800 years. The castle has many beautiful rooms, antiques, artefacts and art. They also have one of the best-preserved pit prisons! Castle guides are in each room to give you further insight about the MacLoeds and the rooms in the castle. The castle gardens are well worth a visit, as is the back of the Castle where you have beautiful views over Loch Dunvegan.
Before we arrive back in the Garden of Skye, a stop at the Talisker Whisky Distillery is a real treat. This is a bustling distillery with many visitors from all over the world and the staff are all genuinely nice, knowledgeable, and helpful, Slange Var! Cheers. www.malts.com/en-gb/distilleries/talisker
Please note, if you wish to see all of Skye’s sights and hidden gems we would recommend at least three nights on the island.
Oban.
We love this little town, Oban translates as ‘The Little Bay’. It should be ‘The Beautiful Little Bay’. We have endless recommendations of quality 4-star guest house accommodation here and a lot of the rooms have bay views. The town is the seafood capital of Scotland and there are many restaurants serving up fresh, locally caught seafood. We recommend EE-usk http://www.eeusk.com/ Coast http://www.coastoban.co.uk/ and The Waterfront Fish House www.waterfrontfishouse.co.uk
As much as wandering the town is an absolute must in Oban, you can’t help but being enticed by the constant sight of ferries coming and going form the harbour. Also, one of the best views of the town is from the deck of the Mull ferry. At 09.05am each day the ferry departs from Oban to make the 45-minute voyage to the Isle of Mull. On our arrival we take the less travelled route at Salen and follow the back road to Calgary Bay. This drive takes in Loch na Keal the Isle of Ulva, Loch Tuath and the Treshnish Isles. One of the things we love about this route is the peace and serenity of the island. Mull is not as busy as the Isle of Skye and on this route, you really are getting away from the tourist crowds. Like all Scottish islands, the views are superb, and you may also see one of the nesting sea eagles hunting on the loch. The narrow (very narrow at places) winds to the beautiful Calgary Bay, where you can enjoy a beach walk with views of mountain and sea. The rest of the day is spent in the colourful town of Tobermory. Here, the shops are of fine island quality crafts and gifts. A short drive back to ferry port for the 5.00pm sailing completes a lovely day on a most beautiful inner Hebridean island.
Pitlochry.
This much-loved Perthshire town sits in a lush landscape of green hills and mountains and beautiful rivers. Its situation, in the centre of Scotland, makes it a great base for exploring many areas, north, south, east, and west. We love the route in to Aberfeldy and Loch Tay. The short drive through the green rolling hills of Perthshire to Aberfeldy is both peaceful and beautiful. The town is a delight to walk around and we recommend a walk along the Birks of Aberfeldy. www.walkhighlands.co.uk/perthshire/birks-of-aberfeldy.shtml After this lovely walk you can enjoy fresh and tasty food at the Aberfeldy Watermill www.aberfeldywatermill.com
After lunch we take the short drive to Castle Menzies. This is a spectacular sixteenth century Scottish Castle and has been the seat of the Cheifs of Clan Menzies for over 500 years. During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the castle first hosted Bonnie Prince Charlie on his way to Culloden and then, just four days later, the Duke of Cumberland, son of the British Monarch and commander of the Government forces! The castle is a fascinating visit, there is lots to see and there are many rooms to walk through. www.castlemenzies.org
Next up is a visit to the village of Kenmore on Loch Tay. The views down this loch are stunning and here you can also see the start of the River Tay, the longest river in Scotland at 120 miles, at the old bridge on the north end of town. A fascinating visit on Loch Tay is the Scottish Crannog Centre www.crannog.co.uk A Crannog is an ancient loch-dwelling found throughout Scotland and Ireland. The earliest Crannog in Scotland is 5000 years old and they were remodelled and re-used up until the 17th Century. We recommend a visit to this most fascinating place
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