Thursday 1 July 2021
On arrival in Inverness we will be met by our local coach and will travel north, stopping en-route at Timespan - a local history museum, art and craft shop and outdoor café - for lunch (not included). Please note they are currently accepting card payments only. We continue to our accommodation at the comfortable, family-run
Mackay’s Hotel, Union Street, Wick, KW1 5ED (Tel: 01955 602323). All rooms are en-suite with television, complimentary WiFi, hairdryer and tea/coffee making facilities. A welcome drink is served prior to dinner in the hotel.
Friday 2 July 2021
Following breakfast this morning we depart for nearby Gills’ Bay and catch the 09.30hrs Pentland Ferry to St Margaret’s Hope in the Orkney Islands. The crossing takes an hour but is full of interest as we cross the Pentland Firth, with its eddies and whirlpools. Keep an eye out for wildlife such as porpoises, seals and dolphins as well as the abandoned gun towers and lookout posts that guarded the entrance to the strategically important naval base of Scapa Flow.
We drive to one of Orkney’s most famous archaeological sites, the prehistoric settlement of
Skara Brae. Uncovered by a severe storm in the winter of 1850, the site was excavated over a number of years and is now believed to date from 3180BC with occupation continuing for about six hundred years. The dwellings contain a number of stone-built pieces of furniture, including cupboards, dressers, seats, and storage boxes and a primitive form of toilet, giving a fascinating insight into the way of life of a long-vanished people.
We continue to great stone circles of
Brodgar and
Stenness, lying to the north side of the Orphir Hills. To this day the monuments’ age remains uncertain, however they are generally thought to have been erected between 2500 BC & 2000 BC. Nearby lies
Maeshowe, the finest chambered tomb in Western Europe. Built before 2700 BC. Maeshowe was raided by Vikings in the 12th Century. It houses the largest collection of runic inscriptions to be found in any one place in the world. Due to current restrictions, we are unable to visit Maeshowe, however we will enjoy an informative talk from Clive on Maeshowe and the Ness of Brodgar.
Lunch is included today in a local hotel.
In the late afternoon we return to St Margaret’s Hope, crossing the
Churchill Barriers which were built after the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak in October 1939. The causeways are built of 5 and 10 ton concrete blocks and have good roads on the top connecting Burray and South Ronaldsay to the Orkney mainland. We also stop off at the beautiful
Italian Chapel, built on the site of a former prisoner of war camp. Several hundred Italians, captured during the North African campaign of World War II were sent here to work on the Causeways and converted two huts into a chapel. The marvellous paintings in the interior were done by Domenico Chiocchetti, one of the prisoners who has returned several times to restore and repaint parts of the building.
We return by the 17.00hrs ferry to the mainland and travel back to our hotel, where dinner will be served in the evening.
Saturday 3 July 2021
This morning, after breakfast, we will visit the private garden
Langwell, a beautiful old walled garden with spectacular borders situated in the secluded Langwell Strath.
We continue with a visit to
Dunrobin Castle - the château-style ancestral home of the Dukes of Sutherland. The castle is a wonderful early 19th-century fantasy castle with a touch of the Loire and a dash of Bavaria. Below the castle is a magnificent example of a formal nineteenth century garden. The gardens are laid out on terraces which descend to the sea. Lunch is available here (not included).
Following our visit we will return to our hotel for dinner.
Sunday 4 July 2021
Today after breakfast, we visit
Duncansby Head, the north-eastern tip of the Scottish mainland. The single track road from John O’ Groats emerges at the lighthouse which was built in 1924 and became automated in 1997. With views north over Orkney and west to John O’ Groats and Dunnet Head, a well-trodden path brings us to the first sight of the Geo of Sclaites, a huge cleft bitten deeply into the cliffs with a natural arch. Further along the cliff top there are stunning views south to Thirle Door and the jagged rocks and arches known as the Stacks of Duncansby.
Our next visit is to
John O’ Groats, the landmark at the “end of the road”, the northernmost corner of Britain, 874 miles from Lands End. There are shops, ferry, exhibitions and a museum (of sorts) but the scenery is what it is all about here and it is magnificent with panoramic views over the stormy waters of the Pentland Firth to Orkney. This is a seabird haven with puffins, shags, fulmars, kittiwakes, gulls and gannets and many more species nesting in their thousands on the rock ledges.
We continue to
The Castle of Mey the former holiday home of the late Queen Mother. Originally Barrogill Castle it was first seen by the late Queen Mother in 1952, while mourning the death of her husband King George VI. Falling for its ruined, isolated charm she declared she would save the castle from ruin. Having acquired the most northerly castle on the British mainland, she renovated and lovingly restored it and for over half a century she spent her summers here and created the beautiful gardens you see today. Due to current restrictions, some parts of the Castle remain closed.
We continue to
Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on mainland Britain with some of the most extensive views to be found anywhere in northern Scotland.
We return to the hotel in time for dinner.
Monday 5 July 2021
This morning, after breakfast, we check out of our hotel – please ensure any extras are paid for prior to departure. We head south for the
House of Aigas, near Beauly, just west of Inverness. Around the picturesque, high Victorian country house an arboretum and woodland walk with a sizable collection of specimen trees - all named - overlook the River Beauly; there is also an extended garden of rockeries, shrubberies and herbaceous borders. Here we will enjoy lunch using produce from the estate (included).
We continue to Inverness Airport in time for the group flight which is due to depart at 1755hrs. For those of you with no flights, you are free to make your own onward arrangements. For those of you with flights, please refer to the attached Travel Information page for flight details. On arrival in Manchester, please collect your luggage and make your way outside the terminal building where your coach will be waiting to collect you.
