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Edinburgh, Glencoe and Isle of Skye

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4.3 stars(3 reviews)
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The heritage of Scotland is fascinating

You are viewing the 2022 itinerary. Select your departure year
20212022
9 days From £1,595 per person

2022 Tour code: SKS22

About the tour

After a nostalgic overnight journey from London aboard the Caledonian Sleeper Train, discover historic Edinburgh before heading into the Highlands by the West Highland Line. Enjoy visits to the Isle of Skye, as well as some of Scotland's most iconic castles and glens.

Highlights

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What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - London and the Caledonian Sleeper

We meet in London Euston today to board the Caledonian Sleeper for our overnight journey to Edinburgh.

Day 2 - Edinburgh

We arrive in Edinburgh today, where you are at leisure until dinner at our hotel this evening.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Edinburgh

Today, we take a guided underground tour of Edinburgh at the Real Mary King's Close. This infamous alley is famous as the Scottish capital's most haunted street, and is the birthplace of various legends and ghost stories. Mary King's Close had been closed to the public since the 18th century, only to be opened more recently. During that time, the street became shrouded in mystery, which we begin to unravel on our tour. Afterwards, you are at leisure to discover Edinburgh by night - why not take a stroll up the lively Royal Mile?

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 4 - The West Highland Line

Leaving Edinburgh today, we transfer to the station for our journey across Scotland to Glasgow. Enjoy the wonderful passing scenery as we travel through the heart of this country, admiring the beautiful hills and moorlands we pass. From Glasgow, we join the iconic West Highland Line to Fort William, a railway journey that is regularly voted one of the best of its kind in the world. We transfer to our hotel in Roy Bridge, where on arrival, we enjoy dinner this evening. Next up is a night cap, as we sample Scotland's most famous exports, whisky, with a tasting and talk about the production of this fine drink.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 - Fort William

Today, we delve into the history of Scotland today as we head to the Clan Cameron Museum in Achnacarry. Here, we enjoy an informative Clan Heritage tour and talk at the Clan Cameron Museum. We learn about the history of this clan, which has survived from the 14th century until today, before continuing to Fort William. We have some free time for lunch ahead of a visit to the fascinating West Highland Museum.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 - The Isle of Skye

After breakfast, we travel to the Isle of Skye via the Skye Bridge, pausing en route at Eilean Donan Castle for a photo opportunity and the Visitor Centre. Arriving on the Isle of Skye, we visit Armadale Castle and enjoy Afternoon Tea here. The home of Clan Donald, we enjoy a guided tour of the castle, where we learn more of its fascinating history, as well as sit down to a delightful afternoon tea. This incredible castle is exactly how you'd expect a medieval fortress to look, with square towers and crenellated parapets. Despite its ancient appearance, this castle was only built during the 18th and 19th centuries, but fell into ruin in 1925. The remains of this castle are now romantically draped in ivy, and are a delightful place to while away a few hours.

We return to the mainland via ferry to Mallaig, transferring by coach to Glencoe where we check into our hotel for the night, the Kingshouse Hotel located on the West Highland Way.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - The Jacobite Steam Train*

This morning, we travel by coach to Fort William for one of the highlights of our tour. The Jacobite Steam Train is one of the United Kingdom's most famous steam trains, and takes us along the West Highland Line to Mallaig. This stretch of the railway is one of the most iconic, as along the route we travel over the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct. An enormous, 21-spanned concrete structure blends so seamlessly with the surrounding countryside that it has become an integral part of Scotland's landscape.

We enjoy free time in Mallaig for lunch before our return journey. From Fort William we transfer back to the Kingshouse Hotel in Glencoe for our final night in Scotland.

*Please note on early/late season departures the Jacobite Steam Railway excursion is replaced by the scheduled Scotrail service.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 - Glencoe

After a morning to explore some of the West Highland Way, a long distance walking path through the Highlands, we head to the Glencoe Visitor Centre where we have time to take in one of Scotland's most iconic glens. Glencoe has been the spectacular backdrop of many films and offers landscapes of winding valleys, rugged mountains and forest fringed lochs. We have the afternoon free in the port town of Fort William before joining the overnight Caledonian Sleeper Train to London.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 9 - Home

We disembark after breakfast and our holiday comes to an end.

Includes
  • Breakfast

Additional information

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

Hotel Du Vin

Hotel Du Vin, Edinburgh

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Kingshouse Hotel, Glencoe

Kingshouse Hotel, Glencoe

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Glenspean Lodge Hotel

Glenspean Lodge Hotel, Roybridge

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Trains

Caledonian Sleeper
Jacobite Steam Train
West Highland Line

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

UK Rail Connections
Extending your holiday in Edinburgh
London Hotels

Reviews

4.3 stars4.3 / 5 · 3 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (1)
  2. 4 stars
    (2)
  3. 3 stars
    (0)
  4. 2 stars
    (0)
  5. 1 star
    (0)

Mr Alan Mockford

4 stars

Submitted 26/Jun

Unfortunately the trip was spoiled by Industrial Action by SCOTRAIL/Caledonian Sleeper. I recommend the use of the Sleeper Service is removed from the trip as the potential to cause disruption is far to high and the journeys from/to London would be better as daytime journeys to provide a much better view of the countryside.

Collected by Trustpilot

Stephen Boxall

4 stars

Submitted 20/Jun

Very enjoyable, in spite of Covid restrictions. Problems with rail strikes but overcome admirably by excellent Tour Manager Iain.

Collected by Trustpilot

Stephen Boxall
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Mrs R Brown

5 stars

Submitted 04 Aug 2019

Good itinerary, great attention to detail and high quality hotels

Collected by Great Rail Journeys

Europe & UK by Rail 2021

Europe & UK by Rail 2021

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Edinburgh, Glencoe and Isle of Skye

The heritage of Scotland is fascinating

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