11 Days From London To The Highlands Of Scotland Tour Package
Duration: 11 Days / 10 Nights
Priced From: $1,799 pp dbl. occ.
Dates: May - Oct
This 11-day vacation is ideal for repeat visitors to the UK as it maximizes the time available by starting in London and ending in Glasgow. Arrive in London to experience the jewels of this remarkable city, and on your way up to Scotland enjoy medieval York and visit the lavish, newly created Alnwick Garden. Then cross the border and take in the beauty of the Lowlands, Edinburgh and its castle, a whisky distillery, and the Highlands and its capital of Inverness. Travel “over the sea to Skye” before returning to the mainland and the “Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond.” A highlight visit to spectacular Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute rounds off a great Scottish experience.
Itinerary
Day 1
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
Day 2 Arrival in London, England
Uniformed Hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay. This evening maybe an optional dinner followed by a cruise on the River Thames?
Day 3 London
After a hearty English breakfast, morning sightseeing with a Local Guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall's mounted horseguards and the Prime Minister's Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. Free time in the afternoon for independent activities or to join an optional excursion to Windsor Castle or the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels. Tonight maybe an optional evening out to see a West End show? (FB)
Day 4 London-York-Middlesbrough
Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and depart London at 8 a.m. for a day of northbound travel. Take a break in the market town of Stamford before skirting Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest. In York, England's most complete medieval city, stand in awe in front of the great structure of York Minster, then follow your Tour Director through a maze of quaint streets including the narrow Shambles. Before dinner tonight at your Middlesbrough hotel, a welcome drink and toast to happy touring with a congenial group. (FB,D)
Day 5 Middlesbrough-Edinburgh, Scotland
This morning a magnificent highlight visit to see the lavish, newly created ALNWICK GARDEN, where the fountains and waterfalls are a breathtaking feature. Take your photos of the castle, ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, setting for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the recent Harry Potter films. In the afternoon, distant views of Holy Island and Lindisfarne, then cross the border at Berwick-on-Tweed and head for Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city. Tonight why not join our optional Scottish evening with Highland dancers, bagpipers and the Ceremony of the Haggis? (FB)
Day 6 At Leisure in Edinburgh
Morning city sightseeing with a Local Guide introduces you to the 200-year-old “New Town” and famous scientists, inventors and novelists. In the “Old Town”, drive up the narrow Royal Mile to EDINBURGH CASTLE to admire Scotland's Crown Jewels, then explore HOLYROOD PALACE (except when the Queen is in residence). The afternoon is free to enjoy this “Prince of Cities” at your own pace. Later, a unique optional experience: board the former Royal Yacht Britannia , which for the Queen was once the perfect royal residence for glittering state visits and family holidays. Tour five decks and see how the Royal Family and crew of 240 lived and worked on board. Dinner rounds off this optional evening. For tour numbers 0804, 0811 and 0818 tickets are included for tonight's performance of the world-renowned MILITARY TATTOO: a vast spectacle of massed Scottish pipe bands, which takes place in an arena on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. (FB)
Day 7 Edinburgh-Inverness
Over the elegant Forth Road Bridge and into the Highlands. At Aberfeldy, the picturesque setting of DEWAR'S WORLD OF WHISKY, your distillery visit includes a guided tour and explanation of the ancient art of converting barley, water and yeast into a heart-warming liquor, and of course a “wee dram” tasting is also included! After a lunch stop at the nearby Victorian mountain resort of Pitlochry, head for Deeside with its royal connections and visit pretty Braemar, home of the Royal Highland Games for over 900 years. Cross heather-clad moors to spend the night at Inverness, the Highland capital. (FB,D)
Day 8 Inverness-Isle of Skye
A leisurely day with a stop first at CULLODEN VISITOR CENTRE which sets the scene of the crushing Hanoverian victory over Bonnie Prince Charlie's Scottish clans. Plenty to focus your camera on as you follow the shores of Loch Ness, keeping a lookout for the mysterious monster. After a lunch stop in Fort Augustus, picture-perfect Eilean Donan Castle with its majestic mountain backdrop is the last mainland photo opportunity before crossing onto the Inner Hebridean Isle of Skye, the relaxing setting for tonight's stay. (FB,D)
Day 9 Isle of Skye-Glasgow
Call at the Clan Donald Centre for a visit to its MUSEUM OF THE ISLES and an insight into 13 centuries of clan history before boarding your ferry at Armadale to sail across the Sound of Sleat. Rejoin the mainland at Mallaig and follow the “Road to the Isles”, pausing at Glenfinnan, the scene of the raising of Bonnie Prince Charlie's standard in 1745. More scenic highlights this afternoon: Fort William beneath Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain; the shores of lovely Loch Linnhe; the mountain pass known as Glen Coe, where the MacDonald Clan was treacherously massacred by the Campbells; wild Rannoch Moor; finally the “Bonnie Banks” of Loch Lomond. On arrival in Glasgow, your orientation drive takes in the 12th-century cathedral, imposing university buildings, and elegant Georgian squares built by the wealthy tobacco barons. (FB)
Day 10 Glasgow, Excursion to the Isle of Bute
A worthwhile last day's excursion out of Glasgow with a short drive and ferry crossing to the picturesque Isle of Bute. The highlight is a visit to the Marquess of Bute's MOUNT STUART HOUSE, Britain's most spectacular Victorian gothic stately home, built in the 1880's in breathtakingly grand proportions. Here you'll be welcomed in the family's private sitting rooms for morning coffee, following which your guides will show you around this amazing house. Back in Glasgow, the rest of the afternoon is free for last-minute shopping before bidding farewell to your traveling companions during dinner at your hotel. (FB,D)
Day 11
Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB)
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10/08
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