Day 1:
Depart USA
Board your overnight transatlantic
flight.
Day 2:
Arrive in Edinburgh, Scotland
We arrive in Edinburgh this morning and
meet our Pilgrim Tours tour representative who will assist
as we aboard our motor coach and transfer to Check into your
hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax in Edinburgh. At
6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a
welcome dinner at your hotel. (D)
Day 3:
Edinburgh (1/2 day tour) + Military Tattoo Performance
Morning city
sightseeing with a Local Guide introduces you to the
200-year-old “New Town” and famous scientists, inventors,
and novelists. In the “Old Town,” drive up the narrow Royal
Mile to Edinburgh Castle to admire Scotland’s Crown Jewels,
then explore
Holyrood Palace (except when the Queen is in
residence). The afternoon is free to enjoy this “Prince of
Cities” at your own pace. This evening we will enjoy a
Military Tattoo performance based on prime seats. (B)
Day 4: Free day in Edinburgh
After breakfast we enjoy a
free day in Edinburgh to enjoy sightseeing and exploring on
your own. Tonight, don’t miss our optional Scottish evening
with Highland dancers, bagpipers, and the Ceremony of the
Haggis or go back to the Military Tattoo on your own. (B)
Day 5:
Free day in Edinburgh or optional St. Andrews & Perth Tour
(Full day tour) $100 per person
We enjoy a free day in Edinburgh on our own or an
optional morning tour to St. Andrews for touring. For those
that choose the extension we travel over the elegant Forth
Road Bridge and through Fife to St. Andrews, whose Royal and
Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, has given us the rules
of golfing. A fun inclusion is the opportunity to hit a
few balls at the St. Andrew’s Golf Practice center.
Continue on to Perth and a special visit to Scone Palace,
the stately home of the Earl and Countess of Mansfield.
During your welcome over coffee and shortbread, hear about
the crowning of Scottish kings here, then join your guide on
a private tour of the Murray family home. We will have
plenty of time later to explore the palace grounds before we
return back to Edinburgh with
free time to enjoy the Military Tattoo on your own.. (B)
Day 6:
Free day in Edinburgh or optional Carlisle–Abbotsford Tour
(Full day tour) $80 per person
We enjoy a free day in Edinburgh or
take part in an optional tour to Carlisle and Abbotsford.
First see a section of Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman
coast-to-coast defense against marauding northern tribes.
Vistas of wild Northumberland National Park on the way back
over the Scottish border, then glimpses of the house of
Mary, Queen of Scots, and Jedburgh and Melrose Abbey ruins.
Finally, a highlight visit to Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford
House for a fascinating guided tour. Overnight in Edinburgh,
the “Prince of Cities.” A unique optional experience: board
the former Royal Yacht Britannia, once the perfect
royal residence for the Queen’s glittering state visits and
family holidays. Tour five decks and see how the Royal
Family and crew of 240 lived and worked on board. We return
to Edinburgh with free time to
enjoy the Military Tattoo on your own.. (B)
Day 7: Free day in Edinburgh or
optional Stirling Castle and Loch Lomand Tour (Full day
tour) $80 per person
After breakfast we enjoy another free day in Edinburgh
or take part in a full day optional tour to Stirling Castle
and beautiful Loch Lomand. Stirling Castle is the grandest
of Scotland's castles and one of the most popular visitor
attractions in the country.250 feet above the plain on an
extinct volcano, Stirling became the strategic military key
to the kingdom during the 13th and 14th century Wars of
Independence and was the favourite royal residence of many
of the Stuart Monarchs. Many important events from
Scotland's past took place at Stirling Castle, including the
violent murder of the eighth Earl of Douglas by James II in
1452. Stirling Castle played an important role in the life
of Mary Queen of Scots. She spent her childhood in the
castle and Mary's coronation took place in the Chapel Royal
in 1543. Next we visit Loch Lomand and enjoy the natural
beauty of this region before returning to Edinburgh where we
will enjoy a farewell dinner and then
free time to enjoy the Military
Tattoo on your own.. (B, D)
Day 8:
Return to USA
After breakfast we check out of our
hotel and transfer to the Edinburgh airport in time to make
our homebound flight back to the USA. (B)
Also available:
Highlights of
Northern Scotland- Post Tour Extension
