TWO FANTASTIC WEEKS

IN

SCOTLAND

May 24 - June 5, 2008

A funny thing happened on the way from Chur to Tirano aboard the Bernina Express Train on our June 2007 Swiss Train Tour. A tour group from UK shared our carriage. Nothing unusual about this, but wait, there is more - the couple sitting next to us, Ian and Dot Archibald pictured below, were from Scotland, and since we know Switzerland like our pockets we gave them all sort of advice of what to do in the places they visit. 

After we got home we had a nice note from Ian thanking us for the advice we had given them. As we had found out on the train, Ian was the head of a local heritage group and a retired cartographer who knew a lot about Scotland and its history. Without much ado we asked him if he would be interested to be our host if we would set up a tour to Scotland.  And we are happy to announce that he loved the idea and now we are off to Scotland next May on a fabulous journey in the company of our Ian as our expert host who will show us all the nooks and crannies, the famous places and those not usual seen by tourists.

Best of all, the group will stay the entire two weeks in Edinburgh to explore Scotland, no packing and unpacking. Your home for 11 nights will be the Royal Scots Club, a deluxe hotel in a private club situated in one of Edinburgh's finest Georgian streets and within a very short distance of the center of town. The Royal Scots Club has the charm of a country house with a cozy club atmosphere. More personal than a hotel the Club is in the perfect location to relish the culture and character of Edinburgh Scotland's capital city. We do need however, 10 of you to join us. You can tell all your thousands of friends that we will pass this tour on at our cost! This tour is not about making a profit, it is something we want to do ourselves and we invite you to join us.

ITINERARY

May 25^th - After arrival in Edinburgh you will be met by at the airport and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure until we meet for dinner in the evening. D

May 26 - After a leisurely breakfast your Scottish tour host will take you by luxury coach on a comprehensive tour of Edinburgh, the historic capital of Scotland. The tour will take in many of the sites of this beautiful, compact city, with its stunning skyline and magnificent architecture. The castle clings dramatically to its rock as the ancient buildings of the Royal Mile tumble down the spine of the hill to the splendid Palace of Holyroodhouse. The heart of the city is a World Heritage Site which combines the medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town. Enjoy picture postcard views, wander among mysterious winding streets, elegant terraces and an abundance of shops, bars and restaurants.  After lunch visit Edinburgh Castle which looms over the city atop an extinct volcanic crag and has witnessed many defining events in Scottish history. The visit includes the Royal apartments, the Scottish Crown Jewels, the Great Hall and the Norman chapel. There is time to linger over a whisky before we meet for dinner. BD

May 27 - Your day starts with an early morning visit to the Royal Yacht ‘Britannia’ now permanently berthed at the Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh. ‘Britannia’ played host to some of the world’s most famous people, but above all was home for the Royal Family. Now you are welcome aboard, to experience this floating palace to discover the soul of a very special royal residence. After the visit we will return to the city center where the remainder of the day will be yours to explore the city’s many visitor attractions or to go shopping. B

May 28 - Our first trip out of the city takes us north over the Firth of Forth to Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire. At the castle we will walk through the baronial entrance hall with its extensive armory and take in the splendid rooms that display that reflect the grandeur of a bygone age.  Our return journey will take in some of the wild beauty of Perthshire’s surrounding landscape of lochs and glens. The evening is on your own. B L

May 29 - Today we travel to the south of Edinburgh for a private tour of one of Scotland’s oldest inhabited houses, Traquair House near Peebles. Dating back to 1107 it is a unique piece of living history which welcomes visitors from all over the world. At noon we pause for lunch in a country pub. Our trip  travels west by the River Tweed through the market town of Biggar to the World Heritage Village of New Lanark. Here by the Falls of Clyde you will have the rest of the afternoon to explore one of Scotland’s top visitor attractions. The impressive sandstone cotton mills were built over two hundred years ago by social pioneers to provide decent homes, fair wages, free health care and a new education system for villagers which included the first nursery school in the world. Today as you wander around the village it is easy to imagine how people lived and worked in this enlightening period. Dinner is in a nearby restaurant this evening. B D

May 30 - Today we will get an early start the first of our Highland tours. We pass the impressive ramparts of Stirling Castle en route to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland’s first National Park, one of Scotland’s largest inland lochs. As we continue to travel west over the dramatic ‘Rest and be Thankful’ mountain pass we get our first glimpse of Loch Fyne. On the shores of this large sea loch we come to the picturesque village of Inverary built by the 3^rd Duke of Argyll. Our circular route continues past more imposing mountains and rugged glens. (Aray, Lochy and Dochart) returning to Edinburgh by early evening where dinner is at the hotel. B D

May 31 - The Kingdom of Fife is sometimes overlooked by visitors heading northwards from Edinburgh but they miss a very special area. We travel to Fife today and will detour beneath the magnificent structure that is the Forth Rail Bridge. Once described as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’. We then make a brief stop at St Columba’s Parish Church, Burntisland. Here in 1601 an event took place that had a transforming effect on the whole world. Our journey continues along the coast passing through many Royal Burghs before we arrive at St Andrews. The university town was once the center of Scottish religion but today the town is more recognized as the ‘Home of Golf'  which had its origins in Scotland.  After free time in the town we will return to Edinburgh where the evening is on your own. B

June 1 - This morning we head for East Lothian for a unique insight into some of Scotland’s natural heritage at the Seabird Center in North Berwick. The  Center is a world leader in remote wildlife viewing. The Bass Rock at the mouth of the Firth of Forth is home to tens of thousands of seabirds and is one of the wildlife wonders of the world. After lunch we return to the south side Edinburgh to visit the historic enigma Rosslyn Chapel. The chapel is famed world wide for the beauty of its carvings; for the aura of mystery and magic that surrounds it; and the role it played in the book and film ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Dinner this evening is in a nearby restaurant. B D

June 2 - A visit to Scotland would not be complete without a trip to a whisky distillery. Today we visit one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries, nestled in the heart of the countryside just outside Crieff, which is the spiritual home of the Famous Grouse Experience. Here you will learn just how Scotch Malt Whisky is produced and taste it.  Lunch is in  nearby Creiff. Afterwards we continue on a scenic return journey via the Trossachs to Edinburgh where the evening is on you own. B L

June 3 - Our final visit to the Highlands begins with an early start. We head north to the wilds of Rannoch Moor and the dramatic Glencoe, scene of the infamous massacre. Our travels then continue through Fort William before heading east through Glen Laggan. En route we stop for lunch in a country inn. After return to Edinburgh the evening is at leisure. B L

June 4 -  Meet Andrew Carnegie today! Your final day brings you once again over the Firth of Forth the short distance to Dunfermline, once the ancient capital of Scotland and birthplace of Andrew Carnegie. Here in the shadow of Dunfermline Abbey you will find the birthplace cottage of Andrew Carnegie who became one of the richest men in the world and Dunfermline’s most eminent son. After return to Edinburgh the remainder of the day is at leisure before we meet in one of Edinburgh's nicest restaurants for dinner. B D

June 5 - After breakfast transfer to the airport for your return flight home OR  join us on a train journey to London and aboard the Eurostar Chunnel Train to Brussels to fly home from there on the 6th, or 7th, or 8th or however long you want to stay in Brussels - famous for chocolates and Lady Godiva!

LAND COST:  $3790 per person sharing a double room
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $910

INCLUDED:  11-nights deluxe hotel accommodation in Edinburgh, daily breakfast, dinners and lunches as per itinerary, transportation in a deluxe coach, airport transfers** , entrance fees to included attractions and the services of Posh Journeys and our Scottish host.

NOT INCLUDED:  International air fare, additional food, alcoholic drinks and soft drinks with meals and any item not specifically mentioned in this itinerary. ** We will have a scheduled flight on British Virgin Airlines, if  you arrive on another airline not coming in within half an hour of our scheduled flight, airport transfers are on your own. However, the airport in Edinburgh is near the city and you can easily take a taxi to the hotel.