Outlander Tour of Scotland
IN love with the story of Jamie and Claire?
Fascinated by the Loch Ness Monster?
Love to Knit?
This is THE tour for all the knitty-gritty on Scotland!
Day One
Our trip starts when you arrive in Edinburgh and are collected by your tour guide (and driver) Michele Marden. We start with a three night stay in Edinburgh. There’s plenty of time to nap away the jet lag and to explore this great city. Everyone can take this first day at their own pace. We'll be staying near the Royal Mile, though, so be sure to check out Edinburgh Castle - and keep an eye out for likely spots for Jamie's printer's shop!
Day Two and Three
Will be determined based on local events and happenings (as always, my guest have input).
Day Four
We head out past “the bonnie, bonnie, banks of Loch Lomond” to stop for Sunday lunch at The Drovers Inn. It's been doing business on the West Highland Way since 1705 and could easily have served "a pie and a pint" to Jamie and Claire. We round out the day by traveling up the north side of Loch Ness to our bed and breakfast in Fort Augustus. This small town, named for a fortress built during the Jacobite Rising of 1715, will be our home for the next two nights and we’ll no doubt enjoy watching as the boats go through the five locks of the Caledonian Canal that is located there.
Day Five
On Friday we head even further north, to visit the iconic castle of Eilean Donan. A stronghold of the MacKenzies, it is said that this 13th Century castle was built by a Highland warrior who could talk to the birds. So beautiful and perfectly situated is Eilean Donan that if you google “Scotland” and click “images” the castle is 8 of the first 9 images!
After visiting the castle, we head “over the sea to Skye” which no longer requires a boat ride, surely a relief to any share that Jamie’s sea sickness. We'll even visit a local yarn shop and (hopefully) knit with them. (While you're knitting, here's another chance for the fellas to see something different - maybe a visit to a distillery?) On our way home, we stop for a bite and a pint at The Kintail Lodge on the banks of Loch Duich, a place that always puts me in mind of Lallybroch.
Day Six
Heading north, we visit the Loch Ness Visitors Center to see all about the history of the Highlander’s waterhorse. An Irish missionary named Saint Columba, who traveled throughout Scotland in the 6th Century, was the first to relate a tale of the creature from the loch and since 1933 the sightings have exploded. The most recent finding was a figure in Apple Maps! Fingers crossed we see Nessie!
Further on, we make a visit to the standing stones of Clava Cairns, the inspiration for Craigh na Dun. A remnant of the Bronze Age, the stones of Clava Cairns are tomb, astronomical site, and ancient mystery. If the magic of Outlander’s standing stones was strong in the 1740s, imagine what it would have been like almost 2,000 years before! Are you brave enough to touch one?
We end our day in Stirling, in a Georgian manor house hotel which will be our home for the last two nights of our trip.
Day 7
Next we make a visit to Stirling Castle. Stirling is one of the largest and most strategically important castles in Scotland and throughout it’s history it has repeated changed hands between the Scots and the English. William Wallace’s heroic defeat of the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge has been commemorated in song, story, and more recently Mel Gibson’s movie, Braveheart. The castle was recently renovated to it’s 16th Century condition, with 6 of the royal apartments looking as they did in the time of Mary Queen of Scots. We’ll see the Unicorn Tapestries, visit the Great Hall and medieval kitchens, spend a few minutes in the Chapel Royal and walk in Queen Anne’s garden. We finish the day with a farewell dinner back at Castle Culcreuch and round out the night with a special performance by Gillibride MacMillan, a world renowned Gaelic singer who plays The Bard on the Outlander series. His songs and stories are the perfect send-off to our trip.
Day Eight
This morning you’ll be delivered to Edinburgh Airport, where those who are staying in the UK can catch tube and rail connections into the city and beyond.
Cost
$3000 per person, double occupancy. This includes seven nights accommodations - bed & breakfast, Sunday lunch and our farewell gala; pick-up and transport throughout the tour; VIP entry for two days at The Knitting and Stitching Show,
In addition, you'll get all the perks of a "Trip With Michele." This means that you'll receive a goodie bag of tempting things to get you excited about your trip and a month or so before we leave, you'll get a packet from me which will include a detailed itinerary, guide books, and maps of our destination.
On the tour itself, I’ll happily customize each day for the participants, so whether your idea of ideal is go-go-go or more laid back, you’ll have the perfect trip. Finally, if you’d like to begin or end your trip with additional nights in Edinburgh or Glasgow, or visits to other Scottish, UK, or European destinations, I can arrange add-ons for you at really terrific rates.
PREFER A SELF-DRIVE VACATION? NO PROBLEM. CONTACT ME FOR PRICES.
