Make your own way to your four-star chic apartment hotel, located in Edinburgh’s bustling Old Town at the foot of the mighty castle. The city’s main sights, including the Royal Mile, with its many restaurants, cafes and bars, are all within easy walking distance.
If you’re arriving by train, Edinburgh Waverley is just under 1 mile away from the hotel. On-street parking is also available (must be pre-booked, subject to availability), if you’re travelling by car. Alternatively, you can fly to Edinburgh airport, where you’ll meet your tour manager for the short transfer into the city centre.
Unpack and unwind, as you look forward to a fantastic few days in Scotland. Your accommodation will be in chic serviced apartments, equipped with kitchenettes, allowing you more space, flexibility and privacy.
Please note, due to current COVID restrictions buffet breakfast will not be served and rooms will be cleaned upon request. Basic items, including bread, butter, jam, orange juice, eggs, tea, milk and coffee will be supplied in kitchenettes.
Later on, join your tour manager for a guided orientation walk of the area. Highlights will include Edinburgh Castle, the Sir Walter Scott monument and the bustling Royal Mile.
Join your tour manager for the scenic drive to the village of Dull, located in the Perthshire Hills. Sit back and relax as Edinburgh’s urban area gives way to towering glens and trickling streams. Upon arrival, enjoy a quick leg stretch and safety briefing, then set off in several 4x4s for a safari like no other. The Perthshire Hills are a stunning patchwork of gentle glens, rushing rivers and wild woodlands.
Benefit from a totally unique perspective of your picturesque surroundings on your Highland safari. Watch out for wildlife too: depending on the season – and your luck – you may catch a glimpse of the majestic golden eagle or the elusive red deer. Your knowledgeable guide will point out the natural habitats of these wonderful creatures, as well as other points of interest along the way. Refreshments, including hot drinks, shortbread and a wee dram, will be available. This unique experience will give you a tantalising glimpse of Scotland’s magnificent untamed wilderness, leaving you with memories that will last a lifetime.
This afternoon, the tour continues to the charming town of Pitlochry. Surrounded by beautiful scenery on the banks of the River Tummel, Pitlochry is a great place to spend a few hours. Depending on the season, you may be able to see salmon in the river. Enjoy the clean, Highlands air and soak up the incredible views as you wander the town’s streets, perhaps stopping for a well-earned bite to eat (payable locally) or a spot of souvenir shopping.
Return to Edinburgh at the end of a wonderful day in the scenic Perthshire Highlands, and enjoy a well-earned evening at leisure.
On today’s tour, you’ll learn all about whisky, one of Scotland’s most famous exports, with included visits to two distilleries, and a tour of Loch Lomond, one of the most famous lochs in the country.
The tour begins at Glengoyne, one of over 130 distilleries in Scotland. Nestled at the foot of a delightful hill, Glengoyne has been producing whisky for over 200 years, and is the perfect place to learn more about the distilling process. Enjoy a guided tour of this small facility, with a brief introduction to the different techniques used, and of course, a tasting!
Continue to Loch Lomond, part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, an outstandingly beautiful area of mountains, lochs, rivers and woodlands steeped in history and forever associated with the likes of William Wallace, Rob Roy MacGregor and Mary Queen of Scots. Take in Loch Lomond, one of Scotland’s and most picturesque largest lochs, and soak up the picture-perfect views.
This afternoon, visit the nearby Deanston distillery, which was a cotton mill (once powered by Europe’s largest waterwheel) for nearly 200 years before becoming a distillery. As a cotton mill, the site was a thriving industrial hub, with many of its workers living on-site. The current distillery opened in 1991, and makes gin and vodka as well as whisky. A fascinating tour will bring the site’s rich history to life, as well as introducing you to a more contemporary approach to whisky distillation, rounding off a wonderful day.
Return to Edinburgh to enjoy an evening at leisure.
Today, you have the choice of joining this morning’s architectural walking tour of Edinburgh, or spending the day at leisure, perhaps exploring under your own steam.
Edinburgh is famous for its architecture, which is as varied as it is impressive. The city’s beating heart is the UNESCO-listed Old Town, known for its winding medieval streets (known as wynds), Gothic St Giles’ Cathedral, and of course the Royal Mile, its main thoroughfare. The Old Town is watched over by the looming Edinburgh Castle, which dates back to the 12th century.
Elsewhere in the city, the New Town, also UNESCO-listed, represents a masterpiece of city planning. Built in the 18th and 19th centuries, the New Town features preserved Neoclassical and Georgian properties, and is perhaps best-known for Princes Street.
The tour will also take in the Post-modern Scottish Parliament Building, designed by Enric Miralles, followed by the eclectic National Museum of Scotland, and Adam House, designed by William Kininmonth in the 1950s, both of which are on Chambers Street, with its distinctive grey stone facades.
However you chose to spend your day, enjoy a relaxing evening at leisure tonight.
Begin your journey home today, feeling refreshed after soaking up plenty of culture and fresh Scottish air.
