Most of our recent exploration of the Highlands have been by car (have I mentioned that we now own a car, after 8 years without one?), which has its advantages and disadvantages. One distinct disadvantage is that the driver has to pay attention to the road rather than enjoying the abundant scenery; another is that we have to put in the time and effort to plan our route ourselves.
So when the opportunity arose for us to try out one of the many guided Highland day tours that leave from Edinburgh, we were quite keen. We chose Highland Experience’s Castles, Lochs, and Whisky tour because it involved three destinations that we thought would be well worth a visit. [Note: we went on this tour free of charge.]
The mini-bus departed from the Royal Mile at 9:15am. The seats were small but comfortable, and all of them had decent views.
Our guide and driver Iain started telling us stuff from the very start of the tour. As we made our way out of Edinburgh, we learned some fun historical tidbits about the Old Town and New Town along the way.
After about an hour of driving and stories, we arrived at our first destination, Stirling Castle. It’s one of those tourist attractions that you hear a lot about when you live in Scotland, so we were looking forward to seeing it (plus we were excited to make some use of our Historic Scotland memberships, which got us into the castle for free).
I especially liked the queen’s rooms, which were furnished to look as they did when they were actually in use. I also enjoyed the actors/guides dressed in period costume who told us a bit about some of the rooms and happily answered questions.
Of the many castles we’ve seen in our years in Europe, Stirling proved one of the more interesting ones to visit. I could have spent more time here, but alas we had to hop back on the bus to make it to our next destination (in total we had about one and three-quarters of an hour at the castle, enough for a decent visit but no lingering).
During the next part of the drive, Iain regaled us with more local history and legends. We learned all about local heroes William Wallace and Rob Roy, the Scottish disposition, and hating the English (one of the Scots’ national passtimes).
Our next stop was the tiny village of Balmaha on the banks of Loch Lomond, Scotland’s second-most internationally famous lake.
The stop was long enough for a short, leisurely walk up to a viewpoint (Rob Roy’s Lookout) followed by lunch in the local pub. It felt a bit like we were seeing the lake to say we saw it, but to be fair it is quite a lovely lake to see.
The weather was a bit dull by this point in the afternoon, leaving us with views that were merely so-so. We enjoyed fantasizing about living on one of the lake’s many private islands as we hiked back down to the water’s edge.
Lunch was on our own at the Oak Tree Inn, the one and only eatery in town. The cute pub featured a cozy open fire and some tasty cask ales; food was adequate but not dazzling.
Then it was back in the van and on to our next destination. En route Iain continued to share fun facts and stories about the small towns we were driving through and past.
Glengoyne Distillery sits at the top of a hill in a quite picturesque way, even if it is gray and rainy by the time you get there. Glengoyne is one of the smaller distilleries we’ve visited in Scotland, and it’s one of only 14 that are still Scottish-owned (most of the others have been bought up by international drinks conglomerates). The tour (which cost £9 each and included two tastings) started with a short video in the visitors center before we headed out into the rain to get to the distillery itself.
We tasted the 12-year-old and the 18-year-old Glengoyne whiskies while we were there. They use completely unpeated malt, resulting in light, fruity flavors. Glengoyne is considered a Highland whisky although it’s technically in the Lowlands (by about 20 km).
On the drive back to Edinburgh, Iain taught us about Highland hospitality and answered all the questions that our whisky-warmed group could throw at him. We got back to Edinburgh around 6:30pm.
Who should go? Visitors to Edinburgh looking to get a taste of the Highlands in a compact and no-hassle way would enjoy this day tour, especially those who have limited time and have “visit a distillery” or “see Loch Lomond” on their must-do list.
Who should skip it? Tourists who strongly prefer to plan their own route and go at their own pace.
Thanks for sharing! We’ve been exploring Scotland on our own for the most part, but I think doing a tour like this would be fun when family and friends come to visit, especially since we’re not familiar enough yet to be the tour guides. 🙂
I can definitely see us sending visiting friends and family off on a day trip such as this one, too. We know they’d be entertained and in good hands (and we could have some time off from playing tour guides!).