21 Day Islands, Islands, Islands

Our Islands tours are ever changing as ferry crossings may be delayed or cancelled or venues change times or dates. We try very best level of accommodation available, we are sometimes limited for choice when we are out in the Hebridian, Orkney and Shetland Islands.

Pre-Tour - April 23rd - Arrive into Glasgow International Airport and make your way to the Glasgow Airport Holiday Inn. You will have the day to rest up and get adjusted to the time change before the tour starts. Overnight near Glasgow.

Day 1 - April 24th - We will meet this morning at the Holiday Inn before we make our long drive towards the Western Islands. Our drive will take us through the Trossachs National Park with a few photo op stops along the way. We will also stop at St. Conan's Kirk, spectacularly sited over Loch Awe. You will fall in love with this wee Romanesque Church! Designed and built by Walter Douglas Campbell, the kirk is unique in having an example of almost every style of church architecture. Highlights include the Norman Doorway, the Gothic Flying Buttresses, a Celtic Cross, the Arts and Crafts Carvings, the Saxon Tower and even a Stone Circle! After some exploring we will Stop for Lunch before we make our way to Oban known as the Gateway to the Isles. Oban has a lovely seafront with great shops and lovely walks and we will take time to sample all of Oban's delights before we get checked into our accommodation on the Oban Esplanade. Welcoming Dinner and Overnight Oban. (B,L,D)

Day 2 - We are up early today to take the ferry across to the Isle of Mull. Once on Mull we make our way to the Ferry Terminal at Fionnphort on the other end of the island. Here we catch the wee passenger ferry across to the small and very beautiful Isle of Iona where we will explore the 800 year Old Iona Abbey where St. Columba began his crusade in the year 563. It is said that 48 Scottish Kings are buried in the abbey graveyard. While here you will also want to visit the Nunnery and St. Oran's Chapel. We then Lunch on Iona before taking the ferry back to Mull to visit Duart Castle, home of the Macleans. Standing proudly on a cliff top guarding the Sound of Mull, Duart enjoys one of the most spectacular and unique positions on the west coast of Scotland. For over 400 years this has been the base of the Clan Maclean's sea-born power. You will have some time to wander the grounds and you may want to also visit the Castle Shop before taking the ferry back across the water to Oban where you can find some dinner on your own. Overnight Oban. (B,L)

Day 3 - This morning we depart the Ferry Terminal at Oban to take us across to Mull for a Treshnish Isles and Staffa Cruise. The journey begins a the Ulva Ferry Dock on Mull. Keep an eye out for Otters in the Loch and both Golden and Sea Eagles as we skirt the loch across from Mull’s largest mountain and only Munro, Ben More. At Treshnish, we spend time ashore with the Huge Colonies of Puffins and other sea birds, and then we are at sea again as we go in search of Dolphins, Eagles, Whales and Basking Sharks, the perfect mix of wildlife and scenery. We land on Lunga, the largest of the Treshnish Isles where the main attraction there is the large puffin colony but there are also many thousands of other seabirds nesting there. From Lunga we cruise to the Isle of Staffa, the most dramatic of all the Scottish islands with the geological splendour of its Hexagonal Pillars and Fingal's Cave. While on our way to Staffa we will have our Packed Picnic Lunch and keep an eye out for Dolphins, Porpoises and Minke Whales which are often seen during the warmer months. You will be able to find some dinner onboard the ferry on our crossing back to Oban. Overnight Oban. (B,L)

Day 4 - This morning we start our journey to the South Uist by way of Fort William. We will stop here at this Lovely Wee Highland Town on the shores of Loch Linnhe before we take in the 'Road to the Isles'. Along this route we will at Glenfinnan which sits at the head of mysterious and beautiful Loch Shiel and is at the crossroads of four steep sided Glens. It was here that Prince Charles Edward Stuart or 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' as he came to be known, called for the local clansmen to assemble in August 1745 and raised the standard proclaiming the throne of Great Britain to rightfully belong to his family, the Stewarts. We will make a few more stops along the way at the picturesque Lochailort, Arisaig and Morar before ending up Mallaig, a bustling and thriving port situated on the north west coast at the end of the Road to the Isles. We will stop for Afternoon Tea before exploring Mallaig. The town is a fascinating place where visitors can soak up the atmosphere of a working fishing port. We will take some time to walk around and explore before we take another ferry ride across to Lochboisdale on South Uist. As this is a late afternoon ferry, you will be able to find some dinner on board as we make our way across the water. Once on South Uist we make the short journey to our accommodation nestled safely beside the shore. Overnight South Uist. (B,L)

Day 5 - This morning we take the ferry to the Isle of Barra this morning where we visit the archaeological monuments at Allt Chrysal, Bentangaval, which were discovered in 1990 during the archaeological survey which preceded the building of the Vatersay Causeway and it’s approach road. Excavations have revealed at least six phases of human occupation of this ‘preferred site’ overlooking the sound of Vatersay, beginning about 4500 years ago. If time permits we will also explore Kisimul Castle which for many generations Kisimul was the home and stronghold of the Macneils of Barr. On the way back we stop on the Isle of Eriskay where on 23 July 1745 the French Ship Du Teillay put ashore a small boat at a beach on the west side of the island. This is now called Coilleag a'Phrionnsa, which translates as "the Prince's Cockleshell Strand". Out of the boat stepped Bonnie Prince Charlie, the first time he had ever set foot on Scottish soil. Today the beautiful beach on which he landed is home to the white striped pink sea bindweed, a flower not native to the Hebrides. The seeds are said to have fallen from Charles' pocket as he removed a handkerchief. We then take the land bridge back across to South Uist. Dinner and Overnight South Uist. (B,L,D)

Day 6 - This morning we make our way to North Uist with a visit first to the Cladh Hallan Roundhouses, an archaeological site noted as the only place in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. In 2001 a team of archaeologists found the remains of what are believed to be two mummified Bronze Age bodies, buried under the floor of a Roundhouse at Cladh Hallan. One of them was a male who had died around 1600 BC and another a female who had died around 1300 BC. We then visit Flora MacDonald’s Monument. After the Jacobite defeat at Culloden ‘Bonny Prince Charlie’ faced capture unless he could escape to France. While British government troops were searching for him, he sought refuge in Uist where Flora MacDonald helped him escape to Skye and then to France. We will also stop at the Kildonan Museum Centre for Lunch and a Tour. The centre is a heritage and cultural amenity which includes a museum, a craft shop, a Fèis room for ceilidhs, music and dance, a café and an archaeology room where finds can be cleaned and examined by visiting archaeology groups. Dinner and Overnight North Uist. (B,L,D)

Day 7 - Today will be all about exploring landscapes and seascapes as we traverse from North Uist to Benbecula and to Beneray. North Uist is a stunning blend of beaches, machair lands and freshwater lochs interrupted by rolling dark moorland hills. The island is home to thousands of migrating birds with huge flocks of Turnstones, Purple Sandpipers, Dunlins and Sanderlings along the shoreline. Greenland Barnacle Geese, Dotterels, Ringed Plovers, Skylarks and Oystercatchers on the Machair and Redshanks, Lapwings and Snipe on the marshy grassland. We then drive across the land bridge to the island of Beneray with some time to explore the wild coastline before heading to the ferry dock where the ferry will take us across to Leverburgh on the Isle of Harris where we visit St. Clements Church at Rodel. The church was built in the late 15th century for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris and in 1528, Alasdair Crotach MacLeod, 8th Chief, prepared for himself a magnificent wall tomb on the south side of the choir - possibly the finest medieval wall tomb in Scotland, being crowned by an arch and with ornate carvings of biblical design. Dinner and Overnight Harris. (B,L,D)

Day 8 - After some further exploration on Harris, we cross the land bridge onto the Isle of Lewis and then make our way to the Callanish Standing Stones. Dating back over 4000 years, ranks second in terms of importance only to Stonehenge and is older. The main monument is an extraordinary cross-shaped setting of stones, centred on a circle of tall stones. At its heart stands a solitary monolith 15 feet high. Lines of smaller stones radiate from the circle to east, west and south. From the north runs an avenue 175 feet long, formed by two lines of stones that narrow as they approach the circle. Within the circle is a chambered tomb. We will Stop for Lunch and then visit Dun Carloway Broch, the best preserved broch in the Outer Hebrides! We will also visit the Arnol Blackhouse Museum. No. 42 Arnol is a unique and precious relic and once the home of a Hebridean Crofting Family and their animals, the thatched house is preserved almost as the family left it when they moved out in 1965. For hundreds of years it was the norm in rural Scotland for man and beast to live under the same roof. No. 42 Arnol is all that remains of a vanished way of life. We then make our way to Stornoway, the largest city on the island where you can do some shopping and explore and then find some dinner before we make our way back to Tarbert. Dinner and Overnight Harris. (B,L,D)

Day 9 - This morning we take some time in Tarbert to visit the Harris Tweed Shop and Warehouse of Family Weavers before taking the ferry to the Isle of Skye. The shop an Aladdin's cave of Harris Tweed and Hebridean Wool items, from tea cosies to beautifully tailored Harris Tweed Jackets, iPad covers to hand knitted Hebridean Wool socks. Across from the shop is the warehouse where you will find the largest choice of Harris Tweed available. A rainbow of colours and designs stretch from floor to ceiling. There are Checks and Tartans, Plain, Herringbone and Overchecks, Houndstooth and the Kaona Collection all on show for you to browse through. While on the ferry you can get some lunch before we dock at Uig. Once on Skye we will do a bit of exploration and visit Skyeskins before getting checked into our accommodation and settling in before dinner. Visitors to Skyeskyns are transported back in time to witness how real sheepskins are made using time honoured methods of leather making - one of the oldest crafts known to man. Dinner and Overnight Skye. (B,D)

Day 10 - This morning we journey to Dunvegan to visit Dunvegan Castle which has been the stronghold of the Chiefs of MacLeod for nearly 800 years and it remains their home. Built on a Rock once surrounded entirely by salt water, it is unique in Scotland as the only house of such antiquity to have retained its family and its roof throughout the centuries. We will have lunch in Dunvegan before we journey round the Trotternish Peninsula with its spectacular coastline. We will stop at the grave site of Flora MacDonald at Kilmuir. Flora is best known for her brave act in helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape after the battle of Culloden, We will also visit The Quiraing being one of the most exciting natural rock formations anywhere in Scotland We will also stop to see some of the other natural rock formations on the island. Next we visit Portree, meaning port of the king. You will be able to explore a bit before we find some dinner in this delightful harbour village. Dinner and Overnight Skye. (B,D)

Day 11 - Leaving Skye behind today we make the long journey north to Ullapool. We will take the Skye Bridge back across to the mainland to Loch Duich where we stop for a photo op of Scotland's most photographed castle, Eilean Donan. Originally built in 1220 by Alexander II as a defence against the Vikings. It subsequently became a stronghold of the Mackenzies of Kintail who installed the MacRaes as hereditary keepers and they rebuilt the castle as you see it today. We then make the short journey to Plockton. This peaceful Highland community in the Gaelic heartland was once based on fishing and crofting but now draws artists and photographers from all over the world. We often see Highland Cows traveling through town and they are often a favorite. We then continue into the Applecross area, one of the most beautiful areas of Scotland. With amazing panoramas to the Outer Hebrides and South to the Kintail Mountains you will understand why they call it "the Sanctuary". This afternoon we make our way to Loch Ewe at one of the most dramatic and remote locations on the north-west coast of Scotland, with breath-taking views across the Minch to the Isle of Skye, the Shiant Isles and the Outer Hebrides. We then make our way to our accommodation to get settled before a late dinner. Dinner and Overnight Ullapool. (B,D)

Day 12 - This morning we start our drive north toward Scrabster and then to the Orkneys. I love the drive through the Assynt Mountains and Loch Assynt with its spectacular viewpoint. We continue through the mountains before we travel the Scenic Coastal Route to Thurso with some of the most spectacular scenery to be found anywhere in Scotland. Have your cameras ready as there will be several wonderful photo ops. On this coastline you will see some of the most amazing Beaches and Cliffs you have ever seen! We will find a cozy place to stop for lunch along the way. Much of the coastline is composed of sea lochs and kyles and including Loch Laxford, Kyle of Durness, Loch Eriboil, Loch Hope and the Kyle of Tongue. Our journey will eventually end up at the ferry terminal in Scrabster and you will be able to get some dinner onboard after we get under way on the short crossing to Stromness on Orkney. Overnight Orkney. (B,L)

Day 13 - Our first stop this morning is Maeshowe, the finest chambered tomb in Western Europe. Built before 2700 BC, it was raided by the Vikings in the mid-12th century and plundered of its 'treasures'. Maeshowe is interesting because of the various runic inscriptions carved into the walls. This is one of the best known collections and includes the Maeshowe Dragon - a very well known Orkney icon. Next we visit Skara Brae a neolithic village dating from 2,500 BC which has been hidden under sand dunes, perfectly preserved, for thousands of years and was only rediscovered 150 years ago. We will also visit the Broch of Gurness, one of the most outstanding surviving examples of a later prehistoric settlement that is unique to northern Scotland. The Vikings who settled in Orkney from around 800 often used the mounds of earlier settlement sites as burial places, and this was the case at Gurness. Next is the Ring of Brodgar, a stone ring built in a true circle originally containing 60 megaliths. Finally we visit the Standing Stones of Stenness dating from 3,100BC making the stones complex one of the earliest stone circles in Britain. Dinner and Overnight Orkney. (B,D)

Day 14 - This morning we will take the short journey to the Isle of Hoy. Synonymous with the world famous sea stack the Old Man of Hoy, Orkney's second largest island rises dramatically from the sea. With mountainous moorland and glacial valleys, you will encounter a dramatic highland landscape. Hoy is unlike anywhere else in Orkney. Once on Hoy we visit Dwarfie Stane, a huge block of sandstone in which a Neolithic Burial Chamber has been cut. It is believed to date from around 3000 BC and the tomb was formerly sealed by the blocking stone which now lies in front of the entrance. Hoy is also famous for its birdlife, including the much loved Puffin! We will have a Packed Lunch Picnic before we visit Hackness Martello Tower and Battery, part of the extensive military remains on the island. The tower and battery were built in the early 19th century to provide defence for British convoys at the height of the Napoleonic War. Barrack room furniture and other military memorabilia give an idea of life at the barracks and you can stand on the tower and take in the view towards Scapa Flow. Then back to the mainland for dinner. Dinner and Overnight Orkney. (B,L,D)

Day 15 - First thing this morning we will visit the Tomb of the Eagles on South Ronaldsay Island. Perched above the dramatic South Ronaldsay Cliffs, the Isbister Chambered Cairn - better known today as the ‘Tomb of the Eagles’ - is one of Orkney’s top archaeological sites. Discovered by chance by a local farmer in the 1950s, this Stone Age Tomb revealed an amazing collection of bones and artefacts, placed here some 5,000 years ago. We will have lunch before we stop at Highland Park Distillery for a Distillery Tour. This whisky is made with the same enduring belief and integrity, to the same exacting standards, as it has been since 1798. We will have a tour of the distillery followed by a wee dram and then you will have some free time in Kirkwall, the largest city on the islands. While here you may want to visit St. Magnus Cathedral. Begun in 1137 this cathedral built from alternating bands of local red and yellow sandstone is one of the finest and best preserved medieval cathedrals in Scotland. You will be able to find some dinner in Kirkwall before we take in an Evening of Peatfire Tales before we board a ferry that will take us on an Overnight Voyage to Shetland. Overnight At Sea. (B,L)

Day 16 - Shetland, a natural world where wildlife is truly wild and where you can watch otters and seals at play and where the air is filled with the sound of seabirds crowding extraordinary cliffs in huge, noisy colonies. 6,000 years of human history have endowed the islands with some of the finest archaeological sites in Europe. Our journey today will take us to the very most northerly point in the Shetlands on the Island of Unst. Our journey will take us north on Mainland Shetlands to Toft where we board a wee ferry to cross the Island of Yell. We travel northward to the top of yell to Gutcher where we board a wee ferry for the crossing to Unst. We will explore the wilds of the Shetlands and drive to the most northerly point of Unst where we can look out to Out Stack, and uninhabited island that is the last land mass before the North Pole! After a lovely days outing of exploring and amazing photo ops we make our way to our accommodation back on Mainland Shetland for dinner. Dinner and Overnight Shetland. (B,L,D)

Day 17 - This morning we travel to Eshaness and the Eshaness Lighthouse in the area of Northmavine. Eshaness boasts one of the highest energy coastlines in the world. Blasted by the full force of the North Atlantic it displays a stunning array of stacks, blowholes and geos (narrow inlets). The area of Northmavine boasts a wonderful range of wildlife and habitats. Seals, Otters, Porpoises and occasionally Dolphins and Whales can be seen from the shore. Inland expanses of peat and heather are home to Mountain Hares, Rabbits, Polecats and a multitude of birds, including the elegant Red-throated Diver which can be seen on many lochs. The lighthouse, which is visible for miles, is perched on the rim of fabulous volcanic cliffs where the full Atlantic fury has shaped some of Shetland's most dramatic cliff scenery. You can walk along to the head of Calder's Geo, where the sea has gouged out a deep inlet along a line of weakness in the rock. Fulmars float on air currents above the surging waves and nest among the crannies of the vertical rock faces, which are transformed into hanging gardens. Overnight Shetland. (B,L)

Day 18 - Today we make our way to Lerwick where we join a Seabirds-and-Seals 3 Hour Boat Trip around Bressay and Noss National Nature Reserve, where you will get to enjoy Shetland's abundant Seabirds and Seals. The views are awesome, giving us photographic opportunities with the awesome Noss Cliffs in the background. You won't believe how close they'll take us to the 25,000 Gannets, thousands of Guillemots and Hundreds of Puffins, Razorbills, Black Guillemots, Gulls, Shags and Skuas! We sometimes even meet Porpoises and occasionally Whales, Otters and Dolphins! We’ll sail through the magnificent rock of the Giant’s Leg and then into the beautiful Orkneyman’s Cave. Once back in Lerwick we will visit the Shetland Museum and Archives which sits on the restored historic Hay's Dock providing a gateway from which to explore Shetland's rich heritage and culture. The ground floor concentrates on the history of Shetland up till 1800, from environmental, geological, and geographical factors, early settlers in the islands, through early agriculture, fishing, early boats, and the rich folklore of Shetland with exhibits from the last 200 years. Dinner and Overnight Shetland. (B,L,D)

Day 19 - This morning we take in the multi-period Jarlshof Prehistoric Norse Settlement. Jarlshof lies at the most southernly tip of Mainland Shetlands and provides an insight into the way of life of the inhabitants at particularly interesting periods – the late Bronze Age, Iron Age, Pictish era, Norse era and the Middle Ages. It includes oval-shaped Bronze Age houses, Iron Age Broch and wheelhouses, Viking long houses, medieval farmstead and 16th century laird’s house. We will have a tour of the site before we make our way to Lerwick, the largest town in the Shetlands. After lunch we will visit the Clickimin Broch on Clickimin Loch, an outstanding example of a sophisticated type of stone-built round house found only in Scotland. Clickimin Broch has evidence of settlement spanning over a thousand years. You will then have some free time to wander around Lerwick where the harbour is an excellent location to seal watch and where we will board the overnight ferry back to the mainland at Aberdeen. After boarding the ferry you will be able to find some dinner on board. Overnight at Sea. (B,L)

Day 20 - We dock this morning in Aberdeen and then make our way south to Arbroath and Arbroath Abbey, founded by William the Lion in 1178, in memory of martyr Thomas Becket. Here we explore the origins of the most famous document in Scottish history – the Declaration of Arbroath. Scotland’s nobles swore their independence from England in this letter to the Pope, sent from Arbroath Abbey in 1320. The abbey remained one of the nation’s grandest monasteries for almost 400 years and much later, the Stone of Destiny had a starring role in Arbroath Abbey’s story. You can find some lunch in Arbroath before we make our way to Helix Park near Falkirk to see the Scottish Kelpies, the world's largest equine sculptures. We will have a Guided Walking Tour that takes us through the vision of artist Andy Scott and how history and industry impacted on his designing of these breath-taking sculptures. The pinnacle of the tour is that you get to experience a Kelpie from the inside, and see for yourself the breathtaking engineering and design of the Kelpies. Farewell Dinner and Overnight near Glasgow. (B,D)

Day 21 - May 14th - We return to the Glasgow International Airport for the journey home.