We leave Belfast for Stranraer on the mid-day HSS and travel east through Dumfries and Galloway to our first base, the superb Hydro Hotel in Peebles, at the heart of Sir Walter Scott’s Borders - our first taste of traditional Scotland.

The Borders is rich agricultural land with more stately homes than any other part of the country. We spend a relaxing day here in the valley of the River Tweed, visiting Melrose, Selkirk, Jedburgh and Hawick, the home of Scottish knitwear.

Our travels today take us right through the heart of Scotland. We call first in the former capital, Stirling, in William Wallace’s Braveheart Country and then continue through the Trossachs, with a lunch stop in Callander. We drive over mystic Glencoe, stop for a while in Fort William and complete a memorable drive along the edge of Loch Ness to Inverness, the Highland capital.
Palace Hotel, Inverness *** (2 Nights)

We press on to the north coast today where we visit the late Queen Mother’s remote Castle of Mey, looking out at Orkney. We call at John O’Groats before returning along the coast to Inverness.

Turning east this morning, we call at Culloden, where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite Revolution fell apart at the last battle to be fought on British soil. We travel on through Aberdeen Angus country to the most north-easterly point, to visit the fascinating Lighthouse Museum at Fraserburgh Sticking with the coastal theme we turn south to our third hotel on the edge of the Granite City.

Hilton Treetops Hotel, Aberdeen ****
(2 Nights)

We have a much shorter journey today into nearby Royal Deeside, calling at some of the charming towns and villages which cling to the banks of the river, in the shadow of Balmoral Estate. We can relax in the city this afternoon before our final dinner in the hotel, as we near the end of our Caledonian adventure.

After our last Scottish breakfast we commence our return journey, travelling south past Dundee, Perth and Glasgow to Stranraer, where we catch the evening HSS to Belfast, arriving around 10.00 pm.