Castle & Garden Highlights Tour - 6 Nights

From £825

As with the longer grand tour, the highlights self-drive tour gives you the opportunity to combine visits to both castles and their superb gardens as well as other exotic and interesting gardens throughout Scotland.  Tour a variety of some of Scotland's best castles, from imposing fortresses to fairytale confections, from grand and royal residences to picturesque loch-side ruins - they all tell of a dramatic history and continue today to delight visitors with the legends that are embedded within their walls.  Many of these castles stand in unrivalled and breathtaking positions in the Scottish landscape and some have beautiful formal gardens which are delightful to wander through.

Your tour starts with 2 nights in Perthshire where you are spoilt for choice in the number of local castles and gardens to visit.  You can discover castles and gardens which have featured in films such as 'Rob Roy' and 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (Drummond Castle and Doune Castle).  Other castles in the area have an interesting history which continues today such as Blair Castle with its excellent armoury and which has the only private army in Scotland.  After 2 nights in Perthshire, drive to Aberdeenshire passing by famous Balmoral Castle, summer home to the Royal family, and spend the next 2 nights near Banchory where you can visit beautiful local castles and gardens such as lovely Crathes Castle.  Continuing your tour, drive to Inverness-shire for your last 2 nights and you can visit famous Cawdor Castle made famous by Shakespeare.  This also has wonderful gardens, or you may like to take a drive down Loch Ness to see the ruins of Urquhart Castle standing on the shore.  From your Highland base you can also visit beautiful Dunrobin Castle at Golspie which is a fairytale French chateau-style castle where Queen Victoria has slept and enjoy its wonderful formal gardens.

Included in your tour package which is PRICED PER PERSON SHARING A ROOM FOR 2 -

• 6 nights in our carefully selected hand-picked hotels including full breakfast each day
• Dinner on 2 nights
• Historic Scotland and National Trust for Scotland passes which will give you entry into many of Scotland's famous castles and gardens which you can visit on the tour
• General information on what there is to see and do in each area you will be visiting
• Information on castles for each area
• Information on gardens for each area
• A map marked with your route and places of interest highlighted and directions to your accommodations with their contact details