A two day tour encompassing the very best of the Scottish Highlands and St Andrews. Highlights include the ‘Harry Potter bridge’ (Glenfinnan Viaduct), Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle, Inverness, Culloden Battlefield and St Andrews.

Day 1 – Wednesday

Leaving Edinburgh we pass Stirling Castle, the National Wallace Monument and Doune Castle (a 'must see' for Monty Python fans) before our first stop in the Trossachs. Time for coffee and some photos of a living legend, Hamish the 'Hairy Coo'!

As we continue north the mountains and lochs provide a dramatic backdrop for our journey to Glencoe, perhaps the most famous of all Scotland’s glens. This narrow valley is where the bloody massacre of the Macdonalds took place in 1692.  On a lighter note you may recognise this part of the Highlands which was used in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Glenfinnan Monument

After lunch the Harry Potter theme continues as we visit the most famous bridge in Scotland. The Glenfinnan Viaduct features in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as the Hogwarts Express train crossed the bridge. It also stars in two subsequent Harry Potter films, The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire.

We drive into the Great Glen, stop for a photo of Britain’s highest mountain (Ben Nevis) and along the banks of Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle...eyes peeled for monsters!  Our final stop is the capital of the Highlands, Inverness, to drop you off at your accommodation.

Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness

Day-2 - Thursday

After being collected from your accommodation between 8.30 and 9.00 we head straight to Clava Cairns - 4000 year old stone circles and burial mounds.  It’s then on to Culloden Moor where the Jacobites were finally defeated by government soldiers in 1746. As we drive south through the Cairngorm National Park it’s a chance to talk about this wonderful wilderness and the animals that live here.

Lunch is in Pitlochry, a delightful little town on the edge of the Highlands. Since the arrival of the railway in 1863 the town has flourished as one of the premier tourist destinations in Scotland. After lunch and some shopping we head to St Andrews.

St Andrews

We tour around the beautiful little ‘city’ starting with the famous
'Old Course ' (venue for the 2010 Open Championship) then past the ancient cathedral ruins and castle. St Andrews University is the oldest in Scotland, founded in 1413, and there will be time to explore on foot or stroll along the beach.

As we return to Edinburgh we cross the River Forth and stop for a photo of the Forth Rail Bridge. It amazed the world when it was completed in 1890 and has become an enduring symbol of Scotland’s engineering heritage.