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Depart Edinburgh at 09.00 and travel north over the Forth Road Bridge, passing one of Scotland's great engineering wonders - the Forth Rail Bridge. Continuing north into the Kingdom of Fife you pass Loch Leven castle where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1567 and forced to abdicate from the throne.
Further on you will also pass Perth, the medieval capital of Scotland, before crossing the Highland Boundary Fault line, and the point where the scenery changes from the rolling farmland of the Lowlands to the forested hills and mountains of the Scottish Highlands. Surrounded by this beautiful scenery and on the banks of the River Tay is the Cathedral town of Dunkeld, your first stop of the day. Dunkeld was for many centuries the capital of the Christian Celtic Church, and its 13th century Cathedral reflects the once great importance of this quaint Highland village. From Dunkeld it's a short drive to the Hermitage, a fantastic woodland walk leading up to the Black Linn Falls where the River Braan cascades into a narrow gorge. Surrounded by some of Scotland's tallest trees and changing spectacularly in appearance throughout the seasons it's a great place at any time of year. You may even have the chance to see the spectacular sight of Salmon attempting to leap up the falls and on towards their spawning grounds.
Leaving the Hermitage you follow the wide valley of the River Tay towards the Victorian resort town of Pitlochry. You will spend around 1 hour here and you can visit the many great shops and restaurants or maybe even take a walk down towards Loch Faskally.
After lunch you take a scenic drive through the mountains of Highland Perthshire, first crossing over the Pass of Killiecrankie before a short stop at the Queen's View overlooking Loch Tummel. On a clear day the view here is stunning, looking over to the unmistakable peak of Schiehallion and beyond to the mountains of Glencoe. Continuing alongside Loch Tummel you then head over the hills and past the spectacular sixteenth century Castle Menzies towards the town of Aberfeldy and Dewars Whisky distillery**, where you can discover the secret of how Scotland's national drink is made. No visit to Scotland is complete without sampling a 'wee dram' and you will get the chance to taste some of the finished product. Known in the Gaelic as Uisge Beatha (or 'water of life') whisky has been produced for centuries in Scotland and the art is now close to perfection. Later you travel West into the ancient lands of Breadalbane, or the ‘High Country’ surrounding Loch Tay and make your way along the loch towards Killin. The small town is situated on the edge of the River Dochart and has the fantastic Falls of Dochart at its heart, flowing under the old bridge and past the ancient burial ground of the Clan MacNab who once dominated the area. After Killin you take a drive over the Braes of Balquhidder, the resting place of Highland outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor before passing Stirling Castle and Linlithgow Palace on your return journey to Edinburgh.
Return time - approx. 19.15
Photography Credits: Visit Britain, Visit Scotland, Britainonview, Mike Hasted, Luke Sheppard, Ingrid Rasmussen, Pawel Libera, Tony Pleavin, Craig Easton, David Angel, Martin Brent, Bob Berry, Paul Watts |
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Posted by David Palenshus on 26/04/2013
Well the weather wasn`t so good, but when our guide played the bagpipes in front of the waterfalls, that was great !
Posted by Claus Rief on 25/03/2013
Shellby was amazing and we loved her historical facts and stories - it was the best tour we had ever been on. Thank you so very much Shellby - you made it!!!!
Posted by Jane Redhead on 25/03/2013
I have been on lots of press trips with journalist all around the world but Allan was by far the best guide I have ever had on a tour!! He's brilliant! His knowledge about the history of Scotland is incredible... Besides this he is a very talented storyteller.. He is blessed with a very good voice and is very interesting to listen to. He made our trip a blast!
Posted by Esther Rosenhart on 21/03/2013
Eric was very friendly and gave a lot of information. There were no other guests apart from our group so he always offered to adjust the tour to our preferences. The whole trip gave a good impression of the Highlands without being too rushed or "touristy", the stops were very well-selected!
Posted by Katharina Moll on 04/02/2013
Thank-you so much Penny and Rabbies for a lovely day in the Scottish glens! We especially loved that you stopped to let us make a snowman and joined in with our snowball fight :) The whisky at "glencarrot" wasn't half-bad either!
Posted by Katya on 18/01/2013
Eric was amazing. He really made us feel like we were at home in Scotland. I thought the "singing" was going to be awkward... but he was so good it wasn't at all. Really awesome touch!
Posted by Janee Irvan on 07/01/2013
Driver guide, Ewan McLeod was fantastique!!! He was very good for Information, Knowledg and a brilliant Comidian/Narrator Greetings and many thanks to him.
Posted by Michael Pilgram on 07/01/2013
I just wanted to say thanks a lot!!! It's been an amazing tour! We saw very much, had much fun and an incredible Guide! Mike thank yu very much for all the information and fun! Good job! And I gonna come back again!
Posted by Thomas Oellers on 27/12/2012
Our tour guide Mike was fantastic with his knowledge of the area and willingness to attempt the whole tour despite the foul weather. He gladly took us to see the hermitage in pouring rain, and gave us extra time at the distillery. A great tour and guide.
Posted by James Liffiton on 26/12/2012
Paul was simply awesome on the entire tour. Amazingly friendly, depths of knowledge about everything we could ask and mixing with us was outstanding. If I ever come back to scotland or anywhere else, I will only reach out to Rabbies because of PAUL. He made the entire tour splendid. CHEERS to Paul.
Posted by Karanveer Parmar on 18/12/2012
The walk in the forest was very nice although there was alot of snow and was slippery. The driver was wonderful and friendly !
Posted by Tony Schembri on 17/12/2012
Really had fun and the guide was fantastic. A relly wonderful day and we were lucky it was snowing
Posted by Antonella Vella on 14/12/2012
we covered a lot of ground-- literally, and in the type of information our guide shared-- in a short amount of time. The variety was terrific.
Posted by Sarah Gerecke on 23/11/2012
We experienced the Highland Lochs, Glens & Whisky Day Tour and enjoyed every second - from the journey up to Dunkeld hearing the "true" history of Scotland (ie not what Braveheart told us), to a beautiful walk through the Hermitage, to Pitlochry for lunch, to the stunning Queen's View, to a fine tour and even finer dram in the whisky distillery, to a breathtaking journey down Loch Tay and finally a visit to Killin and Rob Roy country. If you would like a real showcase of some of Scotland's most beautiful landscapes and scenery then this tour will really tick those boxes! Our driver Barney kept us entertained for the entire journey - with stories, tales, myths and legends ranging from a lengthy Scottish history to the present day. We'd thoroughly recommend this tour and are looking to book another day trip soon!
Posted by Andrea McCallum on 15/10/2012
John our driver was amazing. Friendly, Knowledgable, He made the day. Sight seeing was amazing also the whisky tour. I would reccomend you to all my friends traveling to Edinburgh. Also when we visit again will buy another day out with you.
Posted by Claire Brown on 24/09/2012
the driver was very nice and connected the landscape we were driving by with history, stories and music.
Posted by Sven Ihrig on 18/09/2012
We decided to book this tour at the last minute, and we were delighted with the choice. Duncan, the guide, made the tour really worthwhile with his insights into the history and culture. His presentation on Scottish words and vocabulary was brilliant. On the way back into Edinburgh Duncan gave a brief 'quiz' of the places we had visited and awarded a bottle of whisky to the winner! Really well done. I would recommend this tour to anyone.
Posted by C Stewart on 11/09/2012
The rain was poring down, but Duncan made the tour enjoyable and interesting. I must say Ducan is the best tourleader ever! His knowledge and stories just made the day.
Posted by Gunilla Mattsson on 23/07/2012
Had the pleasure of being the only one on the tour that day and Michael was fantastic! He altered the tour to allow me to see Stirling Castle and even pulled over to the side of the road so I could take a picture of the sheep. He was lots of fun and we had a lot of laughs!
Posted by Tracilyn George on 22/07/2012
I enjoyed all our stops, but the time on the bus was also nice because of Neals historical knowledge. I can't say which stop was the nicest.
Posted by Lyssa de Vries on 17/07/2012
Driver guide, Ewan McLeod was fantastique!!! He was very good for Information, Knowledg and a brilliant Comidian/Narrator Greetings and many thanks to him.
Posted by Michael Pilgram on 07/01/2013
Our tour guide Mike was fantastic with his knowledge of the area and willingness to attempt the whole tour despite the foul weather. He gladly took us to see the hermitage in pouring rain, and gave us extra time at the distillery. A great tour and guide.
Posted by James Liffiton on 26/12/2012
Paul was simply awesome on the entire tour. Amazingly friendly, depths of knowledge about everything we could ask and mixing with us was outstanding. If I ever come back to scotland or anywhere else, I will only reach out to Rabbies because of PAUL. He made the entire tour splendid. CHEERS to Paul.
Posted by Karanveer Parmar on 18/12/2012
The walk in the forest was very nice although there was alot of snow and was slippery. The driver was wonderful and friendly !
Posted by Tony Schembri on 17/12/2012
we covered a lot of ground-- literally, and in the type of information our guide shared-- in a short amount of time. The variety was terrific.
Posted by Sarah Gerecke on 23/11/2012
John our driver was amazing. Friendly, Knowledgable, He made the day. Sight seeing was amazing also the whisky tour. I would reccomend you to all my friends traveling to Edinburgh. Also when we visit again will buy another day out with you.
Posted by Claire Brown on 24/09/2012
the driver was very nice and connected the landscape we were driving by with history, stories and music.
Posted by Sven Ihrig on 18/09/2012
The rain was poring down, but Duncan made the tour enjoyable and interesting. I must say Ducan is the best tourleader ever! His knowledge and stories just made the day.
Posted by Gunilla Mattsson on 23/07/2012
I enjoyed all our stops, but the time on the bus was also nice because of Neals historical knowledge. I can't say which stop was the nicest.
Posted by Lyssa de Vries on 17/07/2012
Sarah was fantastic! She was inspiring to listen to and she was full of enthusiasm about her highlands. 10 points!!!
Posted by PärJohan Zander on 03/05/2012