We leave Belfast on the early morning HSS and sail to Stranraer, from where we continue by coach directly to the Highland capital, Inverness.

We start this morning with a brief look at the fascinating series of lock-gates which form the northern end of the Caledonian Canal. We board the Jacobite Queen for a morning boat trip along Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle, now a dramatic ruin on a rocky peninsula, on the banks of the loch (a superb look-out point for monsters!).

After two days travelling by boat and coach we take a rest today with time to enjoy both the excellent hotel facilities and the city. There is an optional short trip to visit Fort George this afternoon. Built just after the battle of Culloden, it is both a museum and home to the Black Watch regiment.

We have an early breakfast before commencing our trip to the far north coast, where the main attraction is the late Queen Mother’s Castle of Mey, overlooking the Penland Forth and the Orkney Islands. We call briefly at John O’Groats before turning south, along the edge of the North Sea and back to Inverness.

We go east today, calling first at Culloden Battlefield where, in 1746, ‘Bonnie’ Prince Charlie’s Jacobite Rebellion came to an end at the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil. We pass through the small cathedral city of Elgin and follow the coast to Fraserburgh, where we visit Scotland’s Lighthouse Museum, a marvellous portrayal of two centuries of service to shipping. Time permitting, we will call at one of the many traditional north-coast fishing villages on our way back to Inverness.

We leave the Highlands and the Highlanders today and return through beautiful countryside all the way to Stranraer, where we catch the evening sailing back to Belfast. We arrive at the Europa Buscentre around 10:00 p.m.