A selection of walking tours of Edinburgh and coach tours outside Edinburgh. All tours include the services of a qualified Scottish Tourist Guide.

To ensure your place on a tour we would advise you to book early.

DAYTIME TOURS

MONDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

PALACE OF HOLYROOD HOUSE & WALKING TOUR OF THE OLD TOWN
Tour starts at 0900hrs and ends at 1300hrs.
Meet your guide at the entrance gate to Holyrood Palace, at the end of the Royal Mile.
We will start the morning with a visit to Holyrood Palace, the Queens official residence in Scotland. Take a tour around the State apartments and see how the Royals lived in days gone by.

After the visit we continue with an enjoyable and informative stroll through the characterful 16th century Old Town with its cobbled streets and tenement buildings. From the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the Castle is the cobbled old High Street, which is believed to measure an old Scots mile in distance - hence its name The Royal Mile.

We will take a walk up this street and explore the hidden alleys and courtyards, which lie behind it.
We will hear tales of the exploits of some of Edinburgh's well-known dubious characters; Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, the grave robbers Burke & Hare amongst others...

Cost of tour: £17.00 per person, includes entrance to Holyrood Palace.

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TUESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

ALNWICK CASTLE AND GARDENS
Tour starts at 0900hrs and ends at 1730hrs.
Coach departure point is from the West side of Charlotte Square (opposite side of the Roxburghe hotel)
This morning depart Edinburgh and head south along the A1 road to Northumbria. Transfer direct to Alnwick Castle and gardens.

Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited Castle in England, the first being Windsor Castle, and has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096 when Yves de Vescy became baron of Alnwick and erected the earliest parts of the Castle. The castle has a superb collection of antiques and paintings.

There is the opportunity to visit the impressive gardens. The Duchess of Northumberland's vision is to create a beautiful public space accessible to everyone. A garden which is a place of contemplation, a place of fun, a place of inspiration and education. This vision is now being taken forward by The Alnwick Garden Trust.
Return to Edinburgh in the afternoon.
Cost of tour: GBP 47.00 per person, includes entrance fee to Alnwick Castle and Gardens. Please note lunch is not included in the price of the tour.

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WEDNESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER

CAITHNESS GLASS FACTORY AND PERTH
Tour starts at 0900hrs and ends at 1300hrs.
Coach departure point is from the West side of Charlotte Square (opposite side of the Roxburghe hotel)
Leave Edinburgh and cross the Forth Estuary via the famous Forth Road Suspension Bridge. We travel north into Perthshire where we will stop to visit the Caithness Glass Factory, where you can learn how this glass is designed and manufactured. You can watch and marvel at the skills of glassmakers, turning molten glass into beautiful paperweights. Their Factory Shop has many bargains in glass, crystal, paperweights, jewellery and Royal Worcester and Spode.

On the way back to Edinburgh, we will be stopping in Perth. Perth enjoys a beautiful position on the banks of Scotland's longest river - the Tay Once Scotland's Capital City, you will find that Perth enjoys an air of elegant prosperity and retains the genuine atmosphere of a true county town with a rich history and tradition of welcoming visitors. Reminders of medieval times are plentiful and in the city centre you will find the striking 15th C St John's Kirk, scene of John Knox’s momentous sermon in 1559.
Cost of tour: GBP 20.00 per person,

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FRIDAY 9 SEPTEMBER

NEW LANARK CONSERVATION VILLAGE
Tour starts at 0900hrs and ends at 1300hrs.
Coach departure point is from the West side of Charlotte Square (opposite side of the Roxburghe hotel)
We head southwest towards the conservation village and world heritage site of New Lanark, which is spectacularly located on the banks of the River Clyde.

Within the conservation village of New Lanark, there are several different buildings where visitor facilities and exhibitions are open to the public. The village was founded in 1785 by David Dale as a completely new industrial settlement. Cotton-spinning mills, powered by water from the River Clyde, and tenement style housing for the workforce were built from local sandstone. By 1820, the population of the village was around 2,500, and it was one of the largest cotton-manufacturing centres in the country.

The village has survived with few physical changes; it is now designated as an Outstanding Conservation Area, and is in the care of an independent charity, New Lanark Conservation Trust. New Lanark has also been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The village still has a resident population of about 180 people. Today, as you wander around the village, it is easy to imagine how people lived and worked two centuries ago. New Lanark has been beautifully restored as a living, working community where visitors are welcome.

Cost of tour: GBP 24.00 per person, includes passport ticket to all areas of the village.

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SATURDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

GLENKINCHIE WHISKY DISTILLERY & EAST LOTHIAN
Tour starts at 1400 hrs and ends at 1800hrs.
Coach departure point is from the West side of Charlotte Square (opposite side of the Roxburghe hotel)

From Edinburgh we drive to East Lothian, a region well-known for its fertile farming land and here we will firstly visit Glenkinchie Distillery.

Glenkinchie is set in 17 acres of such farmland and there has been a distillery on the same site since 1825. For some years, Glenkinchie distillery produced a malt whisky only for blending purposes, but it now markets its own single Malt as part of the “Classic Malts” range which features 6 very diverse malts from the best whisky regions of Scotland. In the old malting house there is also a museum containing old equipment and models relating to the region’s rich farming heritage as well as artefacts connected with whisky-making.

We will make a tour of the distillery and see the different processes involved in making Scotland's national drink, from the initial ingredients to the end product - there will of course be time for a taste of this Malt.

Our journey will then take us eastwards to North Berwick on the coast from where we will see the Bass Rock - a seabird sanctuary before continuing to Dirleton where we can visit the ruined castle and wander around the beautiful award-winning gardens, before returning back to Edinburgh.
Cost of tour: GBP 24.00 per person, includes entrance fee to Glenkinchie Distillery and tasting of 1 whisky.

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SATURDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

FALKIRK WHEEL TECHNICAL VISIT
Tour starts at 1400 hrs and ends at 1800hrs.
Coach departure point is from the West side of Charlotte Square (opposite side of the Roxburghe hotel)
As the world’s first and only rotating boat lift, The Falkirk Wheel is quite simply unique.

The Falkirk Wheel is the spectacular centrepiece of the £84.5 million ‘Millennium Link', the UK’s largest canal restoration project, developed by British Waterways to reconnect the Union Canal with the Forth & Clyde Canal, re-establishing east to west coast access for boats. The operations team will give you a private tour of this engineering and design wonder.

Cost of tour: GBP 24.00 per person, includes entrance fee to Falkirk Wheel.

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EVENING TOURS

MONDAY 5, TUESDAY 6 & THURSDAY 8 SEPTEMBER

GHOSTS AND GORE EVENING WALKS
Tour starts at 1830hrs and end at 2000hrs.
Meet your guide outside the Witchery Restaurant, Castlehill (Royal Mile).
A unique and highly entertaining walking tour in the Old Town of Edinburgh. You will hear well researched stories and visit the scenes of horrendous tortures, punishments and executions common in days gone by.
There will be a demonstration of several props of torture on route, and you will meet costumed characters summoned from the mists of time...
Cost of tour: GBP 7.50 per person

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