Scotland by Rail  

(includes the Edinburgh Military Tattoo!)

August 20-29, 2010

Land tour from $2799.00

HURRY! Only 3 rooms left! Only 1 room is available for single occupancy.

Tour closes no later than July 2.

Join Rail Travel Center Vice President/General Manager Carl Fowler on a wonderful tour of the highlands and islands of Scotland. Mr. Fowler is an expert on Scottish history and geography and will share his knowledge throughout the tour. We use a “hub and spoke” approach on this program, beginning with four nights at the centrally located contemporary Holiday Inn Express in Glasgow, continuing with five nights at the landmark Royal Highland Hotel in Inverness, and ending with a final night back at the Holiday Inn Express in Glasgow.

Using a mixture of Scot Rail trains, ferries, lake steamers, preserved steam railways and private motorcoaches, we see the grand scenery of the Highlands in depth. Our program includes visits to a number of castles and stately homes, a tour of the lonely Isle of Skye, and visits to beautiful gardens. We learn the saga of the Scottish clans and see grand Stirling Castle, one-time home to the Scottish kings.

Each participant will have a Freedom of Scotland Rail Pass, allowing deviations from the scheduled tour to pursue individual interests. Train journeys include scenic rides on Scot Rail over the rugged Highland mountains (particularly the stunning coastal scenery from the Kyle of Localsh line and the arched viaducts en route to Mallaig on the West Highlands line, which is planned to be behind a steam locomotive). We ride to the true “end of the line” at Thurso and Wick, northern-most points on the mainland of Great Britain. There also are journeys on the historic steam-powered Strathspey Railway and a Loch Katrine cruise on the true steamboat “S.S. Sir Walter Scott”.

Best of all, the tour includes an evening performance of the legendary Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the largest assembly of massed pipes and drums and military bands in the world, performing in a spectacular setting at Edinburgh Castle! Complete details follow. All aboard!

Optional pre-tour travel day, Thursday, August 19 Flights leave North America today for Great Britain. You can choose direct service to Glasgow (Scotland’s international airport) or fly through London, connecting by air to Glasgow. Participants wishing to spend a few days in England may wish to use a Brit Rail Pass for sightseeing and travel north to Scotland by rail. We can discuss options at booking.

Day One, Friday, August 20 (D) Arrive Glasgow. Flights or trains arrive in Glasgow today. Our hotel is within walking distance of Queen Street Station. Taxis from the airport to the hotel average $40. There is also an Airbus service to Queen Street Station, costing about $12. Nothing is planned for this afternoon, so we have flexibility in arrival times. Be sure to be at the hotel by 7:00 p.m. for our Welcome Dinner! Our hotel for the next four nights is the Holiday Inn Express Theatre District.

Day Two, Saturday, August 21 (CB) Tour Dundee and Edinburgh; Military Tattoo. We take a morning train across the country (about an hour and a half’s ride!) to Dundee to see the “R.R.S. Discovery”, the ship used by Robert Falcon “Scott of the Antarctic” for his first expedition to Antarctica. It was his fate to be the leader of the second team to reach the South Pole and to die on the way back. We continue over the magnificent Firth of Forth Bridge. This marvel of Victorian engineering takes us one-and-a-half miles across the tidal bay shortly before arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland’s stately capital city.

We explore the city on a “Hop on/Hop off” double-decker tour bus, with free time for independent visits. At 7:30 p.m., everyone gathers on Castle Hill for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. We’ll marvel at the massed pipes, drums and military bands as they perform in the amphitheatre at the Castle. We return to Glasgow on a late evening train. Note: You must be able to walk at least four blocks uphill to enjoy the Tattoo, as buses can not stop at the Edinburgh Castle grounds.

Day Three, Sunday, August 22 (CB,L) Tour the Trossachs; “S.S. Sir Walter Scott” cruise on Loch Katrine; Stirling Castle. The deeply folded hills northeast of Glasgow, known as the Trossachs, contain beautiful lakes and historic villages. Today we drive through this beautiful landscape en route to cruise Loch (Lake) Katrine on a true lake-steamer, the “S.S. Sir Walter Scott”. We enjoy lunch in the Trossach hills. In the afternoon, we drive to the mighty fortress of Stirling Castle, magnificently located on the highest hill in town. This was the favorite estate of several Scottish Kings, and the views from the battlements are splendid.

Day Four, Monday, August 23 (CB) Scenic train journey to Oban; ferry to Isle of Mull; Isle of Mull narrow gauge steam railway; Torosay Castle. We take the self-propelled diesel railcar (DMU) this morning from Glasgow to Oban. Enroute we pass the northern reaches of Loch Lomand and traverse rugged hills to the fjords and bays of the western coast. At Oban we board a Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry and cross to the Isle of Mull. Mull is the second largest of the Inner Hebrides islands and the fourth largest island in Scotland.

At the pier we board the diminutive 10¼ inch gauge Isle of Mull Railway. Most trains are steam powered for the journey to beautiful Torosay Castle and Gardens, both of which we tour. Torosay remains the family residence of the Guthries and is the seat of Clan Guthrie. This afternoon we retrace our steps to Glasgow.

Day Five, Tuesday, August 24 (CB,D) Scenic train journey to Inverness; side-trip on the steam Strathspey RY. We take a mid-morning train north over the rugged Scottish Highlands. En route we see castles and deep glens as we ride to Aviemore, where we make a mid-day stop for independent lunches before boarding the steam-powered Strathspey RY. We have a round-trip journey on this scenic line which climbs over the wild moors. Later in the afternoon we reboard the mainline Scot Rail train for the trip to Inverness. This line crosses soaring viaducts and passes close to the Culloden battlefield. Our hotel for the next five nights is located at the railway station in Inverness. The Royal Highland Hotel is an historic landmark. Dinner is included this evening at the hotel.

Day Six, Wednesday, August 25 (B) Tour Inverness; visit Culloden Battlefield. This morning we tour historic Inverness, the principal town in the Highlands. We see the outlet of Loch Ness and visit the Culloden Battlefield, where the revolt of the Jacobite Catholic “Bonnie Prince Charlie” (Charles Stuart) against the Hanoverian Protestant King George I ended in 1746. Here too ended, for a lengthy period, the independence of the Scottish Highlanders, most of whom backed the losing side! There is free time today to shop and explore or perhaps use your Freedom of Scotland Rail Pass to take a train ride to Huntley or Aberdeen. Ask the escort for suggestions.

Day Seven, Thursday, August 26 (B,L) Scenic train journey to Wick and Thurso; Castle of Mey; John O’ Groats. We ride the northern-most rail line in the United Kingdom to Wick, returning from Thurso. The route includes lonely coastal vistas, a vast region of wind-swept roadless moors, and continuous views of the hills to the west. We drive to the delightfully-named John O’ Groats, the sea monoliths at the Stacks of Duncasby, and the northern-most point on the British Isles mainland at Dunnet Head. This region was a favorite of Queen Mother Elizabeth whose summer home, the newly-opened Castle of Mey, is visited this afternoon.

Day Eight, Friday, August 27 (B) North Highlands Railway; Isle of Skye; Dunvegan Castle. We ride what may be the most beautiful railway in Scotland this morning en route to the Kyle of Lochalsh on the coastline opposite the wild Isle of Skye. This branch line crosses the Highlands from the east to the west, running past wild moors, lonely lakes and finally deep fjords. We cross the new bridge to Skye, largest of the Hebrides islands, and drive through Skye’s brooding scenery to Dunvegan Castle, home of the Chief of the Clan MacLeod. This interesting house, with beautiful gardens, is located in a picture-perfect setting. Watch for local seals, which keep company with the MacLeods! We follow a different route from the Kyle back to Inverness, using our private motorcoach. We visit the remarkable Eilean Donan Castle, which sits on its own tiny islet in Loch Duich, and cross a lonely pass to follow the shores of Loch Ness back to Inverness.

Day Nine, Saturday, August 28 (B,L) Loch Ness drive; steam-train over the West Highlands Line; Glenfinnan Monument; return to Glasgow. We motor south along the shores of Loch Ness, passing ruined castles and the locks of the Caledonian Canal to Fort William. Here we board the only regularly scheduled steam-powered passenger service on Scot Rail mainlines for the magnificent run along the coast and over the towering arches of the Glenfinnan Viaduct to Mallaig. The West Highlands Line is noted for grand arched viaducts and nearly continuous views of the ocean and wild Highland peaks. The highest mountains in the British Isles mark our route today. We enjoy our Farewell Lunch today in Mallaig, the port for the southern ferry crossing to Skye. Mallaig also is a noted fishing center.

This afternoon we reboard our coach for the drive to the Glenfinnan Monument and Visitors’ Centre. This was the site where Charles Stuart first “raised his standard” to launch his disastrous revolt in 1745. At Fort William you can optionally (but at no extra fare) board a Scot Rail train for a slower, but very scenic, return to Glasgow climbing steeply over the Highlands (the train arrives at 9:30 p.m.) or stay with our motorcoach for a pretty, but less rugged, drive and an earlier (approximately 7:30 p.m.) return to Glasgow. Our final night is at the Holiday Inn Express Theatre District.

Day Ten, Sunday, August 29 (CB) Tour ends with independent departures from Glasgow today.

TOUR PRICES include all hotels; sightseeing; admissions; meals noted as included above; motorcoach, lake steamer, train and ferry fares; and services of a full-time tour manager. Please note that luggage handling is included between hotels, but you will be responsible for moving your baggage from the lobby to and from your rooms. Note that baggage will travel by van or coach each way between Glasgow and Inverness and will not be with us on the train. Not included are airport/hotel transfers in Glasgow, souvenirs, meals not shown as included, and items of a personal nature such as alcoholic beverages.

You need to be able to walk comfortably at least a half-mile and walk up stairs and uphill to enjoy this tour. Scottish castles have narrow passages and many stairs and, as previously mentioned, we can not access the Tattoo site except by walking.

$2799.00 per person, double occupancy

$3299.00 single occupancy

Conditions and Booking Information (the fine print)

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Last modified: May 21, 2010