CLASSIC ITINERARY – SCOTLAND

Sunday, Day 1: Muirtown

Guests are met at our designated meeting point in Inverness and transferred by private chauffeured minibus to Scottish Highlander. Champagne Welcome and perhaps an early evening stroll to the sea lock with wonderful views over the Moray and Beauly Firths. Dinner on board

Monday, Day 2: Muirtown to Dochgarroch

Our first cruise will take us up the Muirtown lock flight and through the Tomnahurich swing bridge, with an option to walk alongside River Ness to the hamlet of Dochgarroch. After lunch on board, we visit Culloden Moor, scene of the last major battle on British soil in 1746 where English Government troops faced the Highlanders of “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. Next, it’s on to Tomatin Distillery, established in 1897 in the hills south of Inverness. We are given a fascinating description of the maturing and ageing process of their whiskies, each with its distinctive characteristics, followed by our special tasting of several single malts. Dinner on board.

Tuesday, Day 3: Dochgarroch to Fort Augustus

This morning we enjoy a visit to Cawdor Castle*, forever immortalised in Shakespeare’s “Scottish Play”, Macbeth. The picturesque gardens have been listed amongst the top 100 in the UK. The castle contains a superb collection of tapestries, pictures and furnishings and the Dowager Countess of Cawdor still lives there for part of the year. If time allows, then we take a tour of Clava Cairns, a pre-historic clan chieftain burial site dating back to 2,000 B.C and setting for the Outlander TV series. After lunch onboard, we cruise through Loch Dochfour and across Loch Ness, where en-route we pass Urquhart Castle, navigating closely beneath its spectacular 13th century ruins, before continuing our cruise to Fort Augustus. Dinner on board.

Wednesday, Day 4: Fort Augustus to Kytra

After breakfast, we visit the private Highland Club, a spectacular exclusive set of residences and a former 19th century Benedictine Monastery. Here we are treated to a falconry and birds of prey demonstration*** on the banks of Loch Ness, and the majesty of the swooping birds against the backdrop of the sweeping Scottish Highlands is not easily forgotten. There is time to explore the pretty village of Fort Augustus before lunch on board, after which our cruise takes us up the “flight of locks” and then on to our pretty mooring at Kytra. This evening we dine ashore at a local restaurant.

Thursday, Day 5: Kytra to Laggan

This morning’s cruise can be partially walked as we cross the very scenic Loch Oich, perhaps stopping en route for a spot of fishing, and onto the pretty Laggan Avenue. As we approach Laggan, our Highland Piper may greet us with a stirring rendition of traditional Scottish music. After lunch on board we take in some of the finest scenery Scotland has to offer as we drive to one of its best known and most photographed castles, Eilean Donan, which has featured in movies such as “Highlander” and James Bond’s “The World Is Not Enough” and overlooks three sea lochs. Dinner on board.

Friday, Day 6: Laggan to Banavie

Our final cruise today will see us cross Loch Lochy to Gairlochy, where we rejoin the canal and continue on to Moy Bridge, the last fully hand-operated bridge on the waterway. From here it is a short cruise to our mooring at Banavie beneath Ben Nevis and a stroll from Neptune’s Staircase leading down to Loch Eil. After lunch on board, our tour today takes us to the dramatic scenery and mystical battlefield of Glencoe, famed for one of the darkest days in Scottish history when soldiers of the Campbell clan massacred 30 members of Clan MacDonald. If time permits, we can also visit the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle. Captain’s Farewell Dinner on board.

Saturday, Day 7: Banavie

After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to their choice of location in Inverness**.

* Please note, the excursion to Cawdor Castle is only possible between early May and the end of September. A visit to Fort George will replace it either side of these dates.

This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change. On alternate weeks the cruise will be in the reverse direction.

*** Weather Permitting

Cruise Package includes all meals catered for by the on board Master Chef and an open bar with a large selection of regional wines. Chauffeured and guided sightseeing plus the use of all barge facilities such as bicycles is also included.

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