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Ferguson - Exploring the Cairngorms, Glencoe and Edinburgh
Kathy Ferguson
Thursday 6th June – Wednesday 12th June 2024
Thursday 6th June – Wednesday 12th June 2024
Arrive in Inverness this morning and meet your friendly Wilderness Scotland guide. Head out to visit Culloden Battlefield and its richly researched and engaging visitor centre. Learn about one of the most harrowing battles in Scottish history and walk across the rough moor where the Jacobites and the Government fought in 1746. Take the opportunity to visit Clava Cairns – a well-preserved Bronze Age cemetery complex of passage graves, ring cairns, kerb cairns and standing stones. After lunch, enjoy a beautiful short coastal walk, identifying flora and fauna with your knowledgeable guide. Arrive at your Georgian mansion accommodation and settle in for a relaxing evening.
Overnight: Nairn | Boath House
Room Type: Grand/Writing Studio
Meals Included: Lunch
Today, enjoy a hike in the beautiful Cairngorms National Park. At over 4500 sq km it is the largest National Park in the UK and with miles of winding rivers, make it Scotland’s most prolific whisky-making region. With your guide, choose a hike that suits you – perhaps head out onto the alpine plateau of the Cairngorms Mountain range and bag a sought-after Munro. Or choose to explore the Caledonian pine forest which is the oldest forest in Scotland and the last of the woodland that once covered the whole of the UK. Roam heather-covered glens and alongside jewel-like lochs for the perfect immersion into the ancient landscape.
Overnight: Nairn | Boath House
Room Type: Grand/Writing Studio
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Depart Boath House after breakfast, and make your way west towards the stunning scenery of Glencoe. These dramatic mountains and ridges have featured as the backdrop in many films and once you are looking up at these summits it is easy to see why! Enjoy a short hike before you settle down with a celebratory beverage in a traditional climbers pub and listen to local legends and fascinating tales of the dark past of Glencoe told by a local storyteller.
Overnight: Glencoe | Glencoe House
Room Type: One Bedroom Suite with Hot Tub
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Enjoy breakfast before meeting your guide and heading out to explore Glencoe. The spectacular Glencoe, carved out centuries ago by glaciers and volcanic eruptions, offers some wild and scenic hiking. One great option is to hike along a narrow rowan-hung gorge until you reach the Lost Valley. This enclosed meadow – high, green, and hidden by precipitous tors, is said to be where the Macdonald clan used to conceal their rustled cattle. Surrounded by jagged peaks that shift in and out of mountain mist, visit the Glencoe Center to learn about the landscape’s haunting history.
Overnight: Glencoe | Glencoe House
Room Type: One Bedroom Suite with Hot Tub
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
After leaving the beautiful surroundings of Glencoe House, you’ll journey towards the Scottish Capital of Edinburgh. You may wish to stop en route for a short hike, perhaps in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, or maybe make a stop at the grave of the famous outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. Finish up in Edinburgh this afternoon where your guide will depart you once you’re settled into your luxurious central city accommodation. Take some time this afternoon to explore the beautiful cobblestone streets of the city. Full of history, the capital is very accessible by foot. Wander up the Royal Mile, stopping to visit the architecturally stunning St Giles Cathedral, and enjoy panoramic views from Edinburgh Castle. Pick up a coffee and a pastry from one of the wee artisan shops, dipping into local galleries, cheesemongers and bookshops.
Overnight: Edinburgh | The Balmoral Hotel
Room Type: Deluxe Old Town View
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
After a relaxed breakfast, spend the morning visiting some of the city’s lovely shops and pottering through Princes Street Gardens. Visit the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a well-loved Skye terrier who spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. You may also wish to take some time today to travel north and explore St Andrews before returning to the city for the evening. Why not celebrate your final night in Scotland with a dram of your favourite Scottish whisky.
Overnight: Edinburgh | The Balmoral Hotel
Room Type: Deluxe Old Town View
Meals Included: Breakfast
After breakfast, head to the airport and depart for home.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Thursday 6th June – Wednesday 12th June 2024
