Scotland & The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo – Aug 2022

Following local pickups, we travel to Belfast Port by coach and take the lunchtime sailing to Cairnryan and travel to our hotel just outside of Glasgow. We’ll enjoy a ‘Welcome Dinner’ this evening, a perfect way to get to meet your fellow travellers.

Start the day with a hearty Scottish Breakfast and join our coach and driver for a full day excursion. Out first stop today is Scone Palace, which was the original place of coronation of Scottish Kings. The palace has been home to the Earls of Mansfield for over 400 years and is situated just on the outskirts of Perth poised about the River Tay and overlooking the routes to the Highlands northwards and to Strathmore east to the coast. It is the longest room in Scotland and has entertained many royal figures throughout history.

We continue to the City of St Andrews (maned after Scotland’s Patron Saint), home to the oldest University in Scotland, at nearly 600 years old and the third oldest in Britain. The town is surrounded by history and we’ll meet our super local tour guide who will take you on a gently paced walking tour of this beautiful city. We’ll return to our hotel for dinner this evening.

Today we travel to the stunning splendour of Inveraray Castle, overlooking Loch Fyne and nestled amongst beautiful gardens, this sprawling castle is the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, Chief of the Clan Campbell and the iconic, must-see visitor attraction on the West Coast of Scotland. It was featured several years ago in a Christmas Special of Downton Abbey. We enjoy a guided tour of the house with some free time to explore the beautiful gardens. Our next stop is to the nearby town of Inveraray where we stop for lunch.

Our next stop is Tarbert where we meet Stuart for a delightful Cruise of Bonnie Loch Lomond, with panoramic views shadowed by towering peaks of the Southern Highlands this relaxing 1 hour cruise is the perfect way to see the loch whatever the weather. We then head to Glencoyne Distillery, home of one of Scotland’s most famous Single Malt Whisky’s. Our group is taken on a tour where we will learn all about the production process of this world famous Whisky and of course we experience a wee dram of this liquid gold.

We return to our hotel for dinner together.

Our first visit today is to The Royal Yacht Britannia docked at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh. Enjoy your time wandering around this magnificent ship, a formal holiday royal residence of Queen Elizabeth II. In the early afternoon, we meet our local Edinburgh tour guide for a fantastic tour of Edinburgh, see Charlotte Square, Holyrood Palace, St Andrews Square, Queen Street Gardens. The afternoon is totally free in Edinburgh, explore the city, shop and dine at your own pace. We’ll meet again in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle at 8.15pm and take our seats for the 9 pm performance  of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a spectacular outdoor show held in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle. The floodlit Castle itself forms a spectacular backdrop for the thousand musician, pipers, drummers, singers and dancers performing in the Esplanade. The Tattoo itself is a unique and memorable celebration of pageantry and is one of Scotland’s most famous tourist attractions, staged every year as part of the world-famous Edinburgh Festival. At the end of a fabulous evening, our coach will collect us and take us back to our hotel.

Relax this morning and have lie-in.  Our afternoon begins with a visit to the town of Stirling with the magnificent Stirling Castle dominating the skyline. Know as the ‘Key to Scotland’ for centuries this was the most important castle in Scotland. Entrance is included. Our next visit is to The Falkirk Wheel. It’s the only rotating boat life in the world and it connects the Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal.  Visitors board the canal boat and experience the rotating 360 degree lift. A fun experience showcasing an amazing modern engineering solution. In the early evening, join your travelling companions for a final dinner together at our hotel.

On this final morning, we check out of our hotel, head west for the ferry to Belfast and homeward bound with wonderful memories of our Scottish Holiday.