THE WEST COAST, OBAN & THE 'HIDDEN' HIGHLANDS
4 days / 3 nights - Saturday to Tuesday
DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES FOR 2008
|
Tour
Code
|
Depart
Glasgow
|
Return
Glasgow
|
|
OBAN
|
Saturday
|
Tuesday
|
|
OBAN
01
|
10 May
|
13 May
|
|
OBAN
02
|
24 May
|
27 May
|
|
OBAN
03
|
07 Jun
|
10 Jun
|
|
OBAN
04
|
21 Jun
|
24 Jun
|
|
OBAN
05
|
05 Jul
|
08 Jul
|
|
OBAN
06
|
19 Jul
|
22 Jul
|
|
OBAN
07
|
02 Aug
|
05 Aug
|
|
OBAN
08
|
16 Aug
|
19 Aug
|
|
OBAN
09
|
30 Aug
|
02 Sep
|
|
OBAN
10
|
13 Sep
|
16 Sep
|
|
OBAN
11
|
27 Sep
|
30 Sep
|
|
OBAN
12
|
11 Oct
|
14 Oct
|
|
|
|
PRICES: GBP £460 pp twin share / GBP £480 single room
|
What
your tour price includes
- Your
accommodation for 3 nights while on the tour is included
in your tour price, and this includes both full breakfasts
and dinners
- Your
price also includes all entrance fees to attractions,
transportation, services of driver/guide-companion
and all taxes and tips other than those you may wish
to give your guide
- Airport
transfers and accommodation pre and post tour are
not included but can be reserved at a specially discounted
price.
|
|
|
TENTATIVE
ITINERARY
|
NIGHTSTOP |
|
DAY
ONE - SATURDAY
|
|
| As
we leave Glasgow we'll drive through the much-ignored town of
Paisley, seeing the Abbey which hides the secret roots of Britain's
present Queen, statues to the Coats brothers, whose business hung
on a thread, and the weaver's cottages where radicalism developed
alongside the famed Paisley pattern Shawl! We'll wander up the
west side of Loch Lomond, hear the real tale of the famous song,
ponder a Viking gravestone in the picturesque village of Luss,
before climbing up and over the Rest and Be Thankful, through
some breath-taking scenery to Inveraray with its fairy-tale Castle
and delightful layout. We'll lunch here, perhaps in the 18th Century
George Hotel, or in the inn where Bothwell, Burns, Keats et al
once dined. Perhaps we'll visit the old Jail, see the birthplace
of Neil Munro, author of Para Handy, then on we go, by some more
classic highland scenic routes to Kilmartin. Older than Stonehenge,
older too than the pyramids, the stone circles and burial cairns
of this ancient glen await us. |
Oban |
|
DAY
TWO - SUNDAY
|
|
| We
cross the Atlantic today! On our way to Easdale Island, we will
drive over the Atlantic Bridge, by the 18th Century Inn, Tigh
an Truish (the House of the Trousers) and drive across the beautiful
Seil Island, where Princess Diana's mother lived, to the little
ferry which will whisk us over to Easdale, the Slate Island. We'll
visit the little Island museum and take a walk around the Island,
with its fabulous views and rare wildlife. This is a typical Back-Roads
destination; few others have yet discovered it! A visit to an
Argyll Garden, and an evening of Scottish song and dance with
dinner will round off another great day. |
Oban |
|
DAY
THREE - MONDAY
|
|
| A
day of scenery, of history, of treachery! With a bit of Scottish
engineering thrown in for good measure! We'll start with a visit
to Dunstaffnage Castle, once home to the Stone of Destiny, once
prison for Flora MacDonald. Then we'll head for Loch Awe and the
Cruachan Power Station, built deep inside a mountain! We can ride
the visitor's train inside the mountain and marvel at the engineer's
feat! After this, a drive through the magical Glen Orchy, over
the brooding Rannoch Moor and into Glencoe, the Glen of Weeping.
We'll hear the true tale of the treachery of the Massacre which
took place here in 1692, the memory of which is as fresh today
as it was then. Then it's another beautiful drive as we follow
the coast road back to Oban, watching out for Sea Eagles and otters,
ruined castles and Highland Cattle! |
Oban |
|
DAY
FOUR - TUESDAY
|
|
| We'll leave Oban by the back roads, rejoining the main road at the Pass of Brander, where Robert the Bruce defeated the MacDougalls in the early 14th Century. Thence through classic southern Highland country of glen, loch and brae (valley, lake and stream). Aye, it's the very image of Scotland and what you've come for! Ye'll no be disappointed! Amidst the stunning and spectacular scenery, we'll find the tomb and tumbledown house of Highland robber and sometime 'patriot', Rob Roy. You'll hear local tales of fairy visits and the Minister who studied and wrote about them, before mysteriously disappearing! We couldn't pass this region by without a visit to a woollen mill, and you can't go home with a typical woolly jumper! Finally, we round off a perfect day and tour with the magnificent Stirling Castle, in the heart of 'Braveheart' country, then a return to Glasgow.
Accommodation tonight is not included. We can book additional arrangements as required.
>>Go to tours departing from Glasgow
|
Return Glasgow |
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