Orkneys & Highlands
4 Days / 3 Nights
Departs Inverness Thursdays: 27 May; 10, 24 Jun; 08, 22 Jul; 19 Augl 02, 16 Sep 2010
One of the world’s most evocative journeys, this tour takes you right back to the stone age. Undoubtedly one of the most interesting places on earth, Orkney offers a mix of outstandingly rugged coastal scenery (teeming with bird and sea-life), the greatest single collection of pre-historic remains in the World, 'contemporary' sites dating from the two great World Wars of the 20th century, castles, interesting harbours, and a complete range of 'folk' sites.
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from $A1190
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Tour Inclusions
- Traditional accommodation with private facilities
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Driver/Guide companion
- Transportation by 16-seat mini-coach
- Overnight transportation Orkney ferry
- Scottish Breakfast daily and 1 Dinner
- Entrance fees: Maeshowe, Broch of Gurness, Earl's Palace and Bishop's Palace Kirkwall, Skara Brae, Brough of Birsay, Castle of Mey
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Day 1 Orkney
Departing Inverness, we journey northward through the Scottish wilderness, passing the Dornoch and Cromarty Firths and Loch Fleet. We see historic sites such as Dunrobin Castle as well as some of the small fishing settlements of this remote region. We catch the early-evening ferry journey to the stunning Orkney Islands. (B)
Day 2 Orkney
Orkney is renowned for its amazing archaeological sites, and we explore the Neolithic stone circles of the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness. We enter the tomb of Maeshowe to see artefacts left by Stone Age man, and visit Skara Brae, a collection of ten stone-age houses. We travel on through time and explore the Picts’ huge fortified brochs in the region. If the tide permits, we walk to the Viking Village on the island of the Brough of Birsay. (B)
Day 3 Orkney (Overnight Ferry)
We spend some time in the Viking settlement of Kirkwall, whose sites include St Magnus Cathedral, the Earl’s Palace, the Bishop’s Palace and the Tankerness House Museum. As we travel down through the southern Orkney Isles we will see Scapa Flow, a huge natural harbour and once a naval base. There is also an Italian Chapel, decorated by Italian Prisoners of War. We board our ferry, sleeping aboard in comfort so we may take advantage of the morning views as we set sail the next day. (B,D)
Day 4 Inverness
Arriving back on the mainland, we travel through the wonderfully unspoilt Caithness. Precariously hugging wind-swept cliffs, there are literally hundreds of castle ruins, and we have time to stop at one of the spectacular cliffs between John O’Groats and Wick. Also in this area lies the Castle of Mey, summer home of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. We meander back to Inverness at the end of our stunning tour.The tour ends back in Inverness late afternoon at our tour hotel. (B)
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