2024 SCOTLAND'S WESTERN ISLES TOUR

DATES: 2024 May 22nd-30th ( 8 days/ 8 nights )

TOUR COSTS PER PERSON  £2,950 based on two people in a car sharing a hotel bedroom

 

 

The costs include the following:

  • Accommodation in 3-star or 4-star stylish hotels ( 8 nights )
  • 3-course dinners each evening
  • Breakfast daily in hotels
  • Rally plate
  • Comprehensive road book with daily itineraries and detailed route instructions
  • Michelin map of Scotland with the route highlighted
  • Services of a Tour Director throughout the tour

NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING :

  • Lunches, snacks, coffees, etc.
  • Drinks with dinner
  • Entry to places of interest eg. castles, museums, gardens, villas, etc.
  • Ferry tolls

 

TOUR SUMMARY

An 8-day tour of Scotland's Western Isles, including Arran, Islay, Jura, Mull and Skye

Our tour starts in Balcary Bay on the coast south of Dumfries where participants arrive on the afternoon of our first day and ends on the banks of Loch Lomond.

DRAFT ITINERARY

Day 1 Wednesday, 22nd May 

Participants make their way to our hotel, in Balcary Bay, on the coast, 20 miles  southwest of Dumfries  

Dinner tonight is in the hotel,

 

Day 2 Thursday, 23rd May

Balcary Bay to Brodick, Isle of Arran via Ardrossan  

We drive a scenic route northwest via New Galloway to Loch Doon then on to Ayr where we follow the coast up to Ardrossan.

At Ardrossan, we catch the ferry to Brodick on the Isle of Arran.

Upon arrival on Arran, we drive a clockwise tour of this small island before arriving back in Brodick where our hotel is located overlooking the sea.

Day 3 Friday, 24th May

Brodick, Isle of Arran to Oban, via Mull of Kintyre 

We leave Brodick and drive north along the coast to Lochranza where we take the ferry to Ciaonnaig on the Mull of Kintyre.

Once we arrive in Ciaonnaig we then proceed to drive clockwise around the  Mull of Kintyre up to Tarbert in the north.

From Tarbert, we continue north along the coastal road to Lochgilphead.

From Lochgilphead, we drive up to Ford and then up the southern shore of Loch Awe to Stronmilchan.

At Stronmilchan we take the A85 west to Oban

Our hotel overlooks Loch Fiocchan

 

Day 4 Saturday, 25th May

Oban to Tobermory, Isle of Mull

At Oban, we take the ferry to Craignure on the Isle of Mull.

Once on Mull, we drive up the eastern coast to Tobermory where our hotel for the next two nights is located

 

Day 5 Sunday, 26th May

A tour of Mull starting and finishing in Tobermory 

With an option to visit Iona and Fingal's Cave+

 

Day 6, Monday  27th May

 Isle of Mull to Isle of Skye 

We drive down the coast and catch the ferry to Lochaline.

From Lochaline we drive north to Strontian and then turn west along Loch Sunart on the A861 up to Lochailort.

Here we turn left along the A630 then up the coast to Mallaig.

At Mallaig, we take the ferry to Ardvasan on the Isle of Skye.

Once on Skye, we drive up the eastern coast to the colourful port of Portree where our hotel for the next two nights is located.

 

Day 7 Tuesday  28th May

A tour of the Isle of Skye 

 

Day 8 Wednesday  29th May

Portree to Loch Lomond

Today, we leave Skye and take a scenic route to Loch Lomond where our hotel for the last night of the tour is located overlooking a scenic bay

 

Thursday, 30th May

The tour ends here and clients make their own way home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we drive to Dunblane where we take the motorway southwest around Glasgow then south to Penrith.

At Penrith, we leave the motorway and drive to Pooley Bridge, on Lake Ullswater, then down the lake and over the Kirkstone Pass to Lake Windermere where our hotel for the last night of the tour is located.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continue through Glen Carron to Achnasheen

 

 

Next, we drive east, via Loch Luichart and Black Water to our hotel in Contin

 

Day 4 Friday 3rd September

Contin to Invergordon, via Loch Ness ( 115 miles )

 

We then visit the nearby Glen Ord Distillery before continuing via Beauly alongside the Beauly Firth to Inverness

At Inverness, we detour from the North Coast 500 route to drive down the west shore of Loch Ness via Urqhart Castle to Fort Augustus, our lunch stop.

Fort Augustus is at the bottom of the Loch where the Caledonian canal joins Loch Ness

We then turn around and drive back up the remote eastern shore of Loch Ness back to Inverness where we visit the Pringle Factory shop.

We then rejoin the North Coast 500 route on the A862 alongside the Beauly Firth.

We then drive, via Beauly, to Mayburgh where we leave the NC500 Route to take another detour and drive around the Cromarty Peninsula stopping to visit the pretty Cromarty.

Back at Maryborough, we rejoin the route along the Cromarty Firth to Saltburn Dingwall. We then drive along the Cromarty Firth

Day 7 Monday 6th September

Inverness, local excursion to Dunrobin Castle  (  miles )

After leaving our hotel we drive across the Cromarty Firth to the  Glenmorangie Distillery in Tain.

 

We continue on the A9  north across the Dornoch Firth to Golspie, a red sandstone town

 

Here we stop to admire the Sutherland Monument, a 30ft high statue on a 79ft column on the summit of Ben Bhraggie created by the Duke Of Sutherland who forcibly evicted 15,000 crofters from his million-acre estate in 1834!

A mile north of Golspie, we visit Dunrobin Castle, the largest house in the Highlands and modelled on a Loire valley chateau.

Dunrobin was designed by Sir Charles Barry,  the architect behind London's Houses of Parliament. It is the seat of the Sutherland family, once Europe's largest landowners, with 1.3 million acres!

 

After our visit, we leave the A9 and travel inland to Lairg then take a scenic route down via Bonar Bridge to Alness where we re-join the A9 back to our hotel in Inverness.

 

 

 

Just offshore is Handa Island is host to one of Europe's largest seabird colonies.

We then continue down to Unapool then take a minor road to the pretty village of Drumbeg where we stop to visit the Little Soap and Candle Company, where all products are handmade on-site and exclusive to this shop.

We then continue to the beautiful strand at Clachtoll

And on to Achmelvich where the tiny bay cradles a white sand beach lapped by azure water.

We then continue to Baddidarach where our hotel is located just a couple of miles away in Lochinver.

 

Tonight, we are using two hotels and the second hotel is a few miles away in Achiltbuie overlooking the Summer Isles.

 

Day 7 Sunday 23rd May

Lochinver to Contin ( 140 miles ) 

Our morning route takes us via Ullapool along Loch Broom to the Corrieshalloch Gorge where we visit the spectacular 160ft Falls of Measach.

Here we turn north-west along one of the most scenic roads on North Coast 500 along Little Loch Broom

We then drive around Gruinard Bay to Aultbea, one of the best places for a marine wildlife Safari.

Next, we drive down Loch Ewe

Our lunch stop is the Inverewe and Attadale gardens. a subtropical oasis of colourful foliage created by Osgood MacKenzie.

 

We then continue along Loch Gairloch and along Loch Maree, one of the area's scenic highlights, to Kinlochewe.

 

At Kinlochewe we continue along the North Coast 500 route through Glen Torridon then take the scenic coastal route via Shieldaig and Applecross then over the Bealach-na-Bo Pass to Strathcarron.

We then drive through Glen Carron via Achnasheen then via Loch Luichart and Black Water, back to our hotel in Contin where we stayed on our 4th night.

Day 8  Monday 24th May

 Day 9 Tuesday 25th May  ( 230 miles )

Pitlochry to Lakeside, Lake Windermere

Our scenic route takes us southwest along Loch Tay and then south-east over the Leny Pass to Stirling where we join the motorway south via Glasgow and Carlisle to Penrith where we leave the motorway. We then drive down Ullswater lake and over the Kirkstone Pass to Lake Windermere where our hotel is located at the bottom left-hand corner of the lake.

Dinner tonight, the last night of the tour, is in the hotel's restaurant.

Wednesday 26th May

After breakfast, we say our farewells and make our own way home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continue to Shieldaig,

We leave Shieldaig and drive along the Applecross Peninsula where we hug the coastline around to Applecross and then over the Bealach Na Ba, the Pass of the Castle, at 2,054ft  and the steepest road ascent in the UK with a 1.5 gradient and hairpin bends reminiscent of the French Alps !

 

Driving along Loch Kishorn and Loch Carron we arrive in Lochcarron where we stop to celebrate the end of the North Coast 500 route as this is where we joined the route 5 days ago. We then take the A890 for Strathcarron

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