Guided Tours of Scotland
Guided Tours of Scotland
Private Tours With Driver-Guide Greg Kain
Private Tours With Driver-Guide Greg Kain
Wes Highland 2 Day Tour
Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Oban, Kilmartin Glen & Inveraray
West Highland 2 Day Tour
West Highland 2 Day Tour
The West Highland Tour is one of my most popular tours because it takes you into an accessible area of the Highlands which can easily be done in a two day trip from Glasgow, Edinburgh or Stirling and surrounding areas.
DAY ONE
This road trip itinerary will take you through the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, initially through the south side of the NP including the conservation village of Luss, along the banks of Loch Lomond to Tarbet and then loops around the head of Loch Long before climbing up the 'Rest and Be Thankful' pass in the Arrochar Alps. Descending on the other side of the pass takes us down to Long Fyne, Scotland's longest sea loch at 44 miles, and the whitewashed 18th Century town of Inveraray. This is the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, who is still resident at Inveraray Castle (as seen in Downton Abbey), a baronial chateau style castle that is open to the public. The town is also host to an old town jail museum and maritime museum as well as the George Inn, an old coaching inn, full of character and a good choice for lunch.
A few miles west of Inveraray is the crofting township of Auchindrain, an open air museum which has been preserved almost exactly as it was when abandoned to show the life of a tennant farming community as practiced in Scotland for centuries. Further west again is the administrative capital of Argyllshire, Lochgilphead, where the Crinan Canal starts, creating a shortcut for shipping between the Firth of Clyde and the Atlantic. Passing Dunadd, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Dalriada, the original Scots who migrated from Antrim in Ireland, we arrive in Kilmartin Glen. This area is one of the most important pre-historic sites on mainland Scotland as it is home to a linear series of standing stones and bronze age era burial cairns. There is a very good museum in the village of Kilmartin which interprets the landscape through pictures and archaeological finds.
Heading north up the Argyll coastline your tour takes you to Oban, the self-proclaimed Seafood Capital of Scotland and your overnight location. This is a busy harbour town of 10,000 people and is home to a small fishing fleet and ferry services to the Inner and Outer Hebrides islands. As you would expect there are some fine fish restaurants as well as a plethora of hotels and B&B accommodation. Oban's main attraction is its whisky distillery of the same name, built right in the town centre in the 19th Century, as well as the castles of Dunollie and Dunstaffnage which once protected the area for Clan MacDougall, the town is crowned by a collisseum type tower known locally as McCaig's Folly which makes for an excellent viewpoint, along with Pulpit Hill above the harbour.
DAY TWO
Leaving Oban the West Highland Tour turns east before crossing the Connell Bridge, towering above Falls of Lora,cascade (depending on tide) created by a tidal rush at the narrowest point of Loch Etive where it meets the open sea. Driving up the North Argyll Coast with stunning views over to the Isle of Mull. Next stop is Castle Stalker (better known to Monty Python fans as 'Castle Aaaaaaaargh'!), one of the most photographed Scottish castles, it sits on an island, accessible only by boat and in the right light is a photographers dream, backdropped as it is by Loch Linnhe, the Isle of Lismore and the mountains of Morvern.
Further north is the village of Glencoe which sits at the bottom of a steep, moody valley of the same name, often known as the 'Valley of the Weeping' owing to the infamous massacre that took place here in the winter of 1692 where dozens of resident MacDonalds were slain in their own homes by British government soldiers led by members of Clan Campbell. Ascending up onto remote Rannoch Moor, there is a good chance to see some of the herds of wild red deer that populate this desolate landscape, little changed since the end of the last ice age. Weather permitting, there is the option of taking the chairlift up Glencoe Mountain Ski Resort, but wrap up well, even in Summer! The tour from here follows the route of the West Highland Way, a long distance hiking route down to the village of Tyndrum, home to Scotland's last working gold mine.
The last part of the itinerary takes us through the north side of the Loch Lomond National Park, known as the Trossachs, once home to the Scottish Robin Hood, the outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor, often called the 'Highlands in Miniature'. As you leave the Highlands and re-enter the Lowlands you have the option of visiting two of the country's most famous but very different castles; Doune and Stirling, the former famous as the main movie location for Monty Python's 'Holy Grail' as well as the Outlander and Game of Thrones series, the latter was Scotland's ancient capital 500+ years ago and features a Jacobean period royal palace.
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