A week in a Scottish castle!

Rugged mountains fading into a blue haze, wooded slopes cloaked with ancient oaks and pines, valley bottoms filled with sparkling lakes. Combine this image with a distinctive culture, the tang of peat and whiskey, and the sound of soft accents, sheep and wildlife - this is the Scotland you have dreamt of.

July 19th: Collection at Inverness airport or rail station and travel to Aigas castle.  Inverness is well connected by air to London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glascow, all of which have international connections with the U.S. and European cities. It  is a busy, prosperous town at the mouth of the River Ness, and is considered the capital of the highland region. 

Accommodation is in comfortable cabins on the grounds of the castle, with all meals being hosted in the castle's great hall. After lunch we’ll take a light hike overlooking Loch Ness itself, arriving back late afternoon. 

Day 2: For those not suffering from jetlag, we'll take a full day hike into Glen Strathfarrar to learn about the area’s ecology and natural history. This must be a top contender for one of the most beautiful glens in Scotland. Here we will find the awe-inspiring, mountainous scenery that the Highlands are famous for. This is a wild place which belongs to the Red Deer and Golden Eagles. The glens are dominated by a wonderful, open mosaic of Scots Pine and old birch trees. On the higher slopes heather moor dominates, and a rich variety of wildlife abounds, including many species not found further south.

Day 3: We’ll explore the local area further today with a visit to nearby Glen Affric. This area contains one of the largest remnants of ancient Caledonian pinewood in Britain.  

Day 4: A change of scenery as we head east to the coast. Tarbet Ness and Portmahomack lie on the fascinating Fearn peninsula on the East Coast of the Highlands. This is an area rich in human history and wildlife. Here we can uncover the enigmatic tribe of the Picts who inhabited the North of Scotland from the 3^rd century AD to the 9^th century AD, leaving behind beautiful carved standing stones. There are several examples of Pictish stones here on the Fearn peninsula and we can visit these during the day. There are many charming east coast fishing villages including Cromarty, which has been referred to as “the jewel in the crown of Scottish vernacular architecture”. We will also spend some time at Chanonry Point, one of the best places in the UK to view bottlenose dolphins.

Day 5: The West Coast of Scotland is famous for its rugged mountain scenery and indented coastline broken by deep fiordic lochs.  Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve was the first of its kind to be designated in the Scotland.  It was created to protect remnants of Caledonian Pine Forest and the alpine flora and fauna of the high mountains.  There are a number of options for walking, but our preferred option will be the Mountain Trail. 

Day 6: South of Aigas lie the Cairngorm Mountains National Park. This has the largest area of arctic mountain landscape in the UK at its heart, with diverse communities around it. It is home to 25% of Britain's threatened birds, animals, and plants. A ski-lift will take us to the tops where our hike will introduce us to a very different landscape.

Day 7: The RSPB is Britain's largest conservation organisation and owns some wonderful tracts of land throughout Scotland. Corrimony Reserve has a great mixture of open moorland, deciduous and coniferous woodland, mountains, rivers and lochs and provides some superb views of the surrounding landscape, as well as the well-preserved Neolithic burial chamber of Corrimony. 

Day 8:  Depart early morning to Inverness for onward flights home.