Scotland: Edinburgh & the Highlands

Arrive in Edinburgh and transfer to your hotel, the venue for the Ryder Cup in 2014, set in stunning countryside. This evening, join your Resident Tour Director and fellow guests for cocktails and a welcome dinner at the hotel.

Journey to the lovely coastal town of St. Andrews, regarded as the home of golf and site of the Open, the world’s oldest professional golf championship. Enjoy a walking tour that includes the picturesque ruins of the castle and cathedral, as well as the opportunity to walk on the Old Course, followed by lunch at a local restaurant. Then, proceed to Dundee to explore the newly opened V&A Dundee, Scotland’s first museum of design, on a guided visit. View its nearly 300 exhibits, which range from architecture to fashion, health care to furniture, and engineering to video game design. Return to Gleneagles for an evening at leisure.

Travel through scenic landscapes to history-laden Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire, for a visit and lunch on site. Next, drive through Cairngorms National Park, home to the United Kingdom’s only freely grazing reindeer herd, to Rothiemurchus, a family estate in the heart of the forest surrounded by lands filled with wildlife. Set out to view wildlife with a park ranger before continuing to Inverness for dinner at a local restaurant.

Start your day with a visit to Culloden Moor, the historic battlesite where the Jacobite army of Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated in 1746. Next, explore Johnson’s Cashmere Mill, and then stop at Speyside Cooperage, to discover the ancient art of barrel making, learning how coopers shape, shave and char oak casks for whisky. Tour the Glenlivet Distillery, indulging in a tasting of its fine single-malt Scotch whiskies. Tonight, celebrate Scottish tradition at your hotel, starting as the resident bagpiper plays you into dinner.

Drive along the River Ness to Loch Ness, home of the fabled monster. Stop to view the picturesque ruins of Urquhart Castle, and then proceed through the Great Glen past Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland. Pass Fort Augustus, Fort William and Glencoe, scene of the infamous massacre of the highland MacDonalds by the lowland Campbells. Continue along the shores of Loch Lomond to Glasgow, where you settle into your charming accommodations.

Explore the National Piping Center, devoted to the study and history of the highland bagpipe. Stroll its museum and try the pipes if you like, before enjoying lunch on site. Visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, which houses one of Europe’s great art collections, and then enjoy an evening at your leisure.

Today, journey to Edinburgh, stopping en route to board a canal boat for a brief cruise that includes a transit of the Falkirk Wheel, a massive rotating boatlift that is a marvel of Scottish engineering. Afterward, stop at nearby Callendar House — a mansion fashioned after a French Renaissance château that has hosted Queen Victoria, Oliver Cromwell and many other historical figures — for lunch and a visit. Later, proceed to Edinburgh, where you check in to your hotel for an evening at leisure.

Begin your day with a private, before-hours visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia, a proud vessel that served as a floating home to the Royal Family for over 40 years. Continue to mighty Edinburgh Castle, and then spend your afternoon at leisure. This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Afterward, on August departures only, attend the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and depart.