Loch Ness, The Jacobite & Skye Guided Rail Tour

Make your own way to Scotland’s largest city, perhaps arriving a day or two early to experience its myriad pleasures in your own time – the architectural jewels of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and brilliant contemporary art for starters. Just let us know if we can help with such arrangements.

Join your fellow travellers this evening for a welcome dinner hosted by your tour leader.

Your Accommodation in Glasgow

Relax before your journey in elegant style just yards from where you’ll catch your morning train. You can also enjoy spectacular views over the city from the rooftop area – there’s even a free mini-bar in every room to toast your forthcoming adventures!

Leaving Glasgow’s cosmopolitan bustle behind, your train will skirt the Firth of Clyde onto wooded slopes above Gare Loch, Loch Long and Loch Goil, before gliding effortlessly around Loch Lomond’s famously bonnie banks. White-flecked rivers accompany you through remote gorges, while viaducts swing past peaks like Ben Doran. Rannoch Moor provides an almost Zen-like meditation on wild tranquillity distilled from peat, river and lochan.

Stepping off the train at Fort William, you can glimpse nearby Ben Nevis on your transfer to the southern shores of Loch Ness. Following a soup-and-sandwich lunch stop, stretch your legs with a walk to a stirring memorial for WW2 commandos who trained locally. Pause too by lovely Loch Oich to discover the 17^th century tale of bloody clan vengeance behind a very different monument.

Your Accommodation in Fort Augustus

Not far from the southern tip of Loch Ness is arguably one of the finest hotels on Britain’s most mysterious patch of water. Whatever stirs below the loch’s surface, you’ll enjoy stylish comfort in a beautiful Victorian building. Dinner in the hotel is included on both nights in the well-regarded restaurant where only the freshest of local ingredients is used.

You’ll begin your Loch Ness odyssey by following the low road to Urquhart Castle. Captured by both Edward I and Robert the Bruce, laid siege to by 500 Jacobites and blown apart by a hundred barrels of gunpowder, this once mighty stronghold still inspires awe. Imagine ancient feasts in the Great Hall, then take in the loch vista from atop the Grant Tower.

In the afternoon its on to the historic village of Dores on the loch’s lesser-visited side. From here you can gaze 22 miles down the loch back towards Fort Augustus; on the shore where it happened, hear of St Columba’s first visit and his confrontation with both the King of the Picts and a large water serpent.

You then head along the cascading beauty of the high road. Stop at the Falls of Foyers and see why they’ve inspired poets and artists for hundreds of years. The road rises into the mountains where few dwell except the pine martins and red deer. Exclusive to McKinlay Kidd, the day ends with a visit to the Natural Capital Laboratory and Birchfield rewilding project. Among the Scots Pines and Mountain Ash trees, experience this verdant pocket of Scotland’s resurgent Great Caledonian Forest.

Returning to Fort William, it’s ‘All Aboard’ the Jacobite steam train to complete your trip on the West Highland Line, a journey starred with film associations. Rattling past the silver sands of Morar you’re on the set of  Local Hero and Highlander, while this is the train for wizard passengers in the Harry Potter movies, memorably puffing across the Glenfinnan Viaduct en route to Hogwarts rather than Mallaig.

Tick off Britain’s deepest freshwater loch (Loch Morar),  shortest river (River Morar) plus the deepest seawater loch in Europe (Loch Nevis) along the shore where Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in 1745 – and fled a year later after defeat at Culloden. On a clear day, you can glimpse the islands of Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna – plus your day’s final destination, the Isle of Skye.

As a working fish port, Mallaig offers superlative seafood for your lunch – including a spot Scotland’s Sunday Post hailed as “one of the best fish suppers in Scotland!”. Suitably fed, it’s time for the half hour ferry jaunt “over the sea” to Skye. As you approach, enjoy distant previews of the jagged peaks of Cuillin, the epic mountain range that crowns the island.

Once on Skye, it’s time to explore the mature gardens and forests of Armadale Castle (it’s 1790s manor house was clan home of the MacDonalds). The recently refurbished on-site MacDonald Museum has an excellent collection of artefacts tracing the story of ‘Scotland’s most powerful clan.’ From here it’s only a short transfer to your accommodation for the next two evenings.

Your Accommodation on Skye

Built as a 19^th century hunting lodge, your characterful locally owned hotel blends period features with contemporary style. Locally sourced food and a grand location make this a wonderful stop. Dinner is included on both nights of your stay here.

Today take in the – literal – high points of this largest island in the Inner Hebrides and discover Skye’s culture, history and traditions. Commanding a remote ridge, the Quiraing’s almost supernatural aura made it a dramatic setting for the 2015 film of Shakespeare’s Macbeth while the splintered majesty of the Cuillins honed the skills of Victorian mountaineers for more far flung peaks. Ask your guide about the 19th century Gurkha who came here, and the hill race still run in his honour. Hear stories of the warrior queen and the fortress of shadows, travel through one dramatic scene after another, then have a wander round Portree. This will be a day of rich natural beauty and poignant history as you explore the Misty Isle.

Stops and sites are at your guides discretion to make the best of the conditions on the day.

Heading back across the Skye bridge to the mainland, Duirinish (home of Scotland’s best trained Highland cows) marks the start of your 80 mile train ride to Inverness. Before boarding, though, you can stop to admire the 13th century Eilean Donan Castle, perched exquisitely on a loch islet.

Completed in 1897, the Kyle Line was the most expensive rail project of its era, with the opening 10 mile stretch to Stromeferry clinging to a crinkle-cut shore via 31 cuttings and 29 tunnels blasted through solid rock. Here pretty coastal villages like Plockton jostle for attention with deserted beaches and mountain views, while the sharp-eyed may spot seals, otters or hunting eagles.

On arrival in Inverness, you embark on a tour of key sites in the development of the ‘Highland Capital.’ A couple miles outside the city is the Battlefield of Culloden where Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites made their final stand; it is as atmospheric today as it was on the 16th April 1746. End the day with a wander around the enigmatic Clava Cairns. The great stone monuments of this 4,000 year old cemetery hold neolithic mysteries still only partially unravelled.

Your Accommodation in Inverness

Nestled where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth, your hotel is located in the heart of Inverness – conveniently close to the city centre where you can enjoy a variety of shops and restaurants. 

Your rail tour concludes with another grand train journey. Departing Inverness station, mountains dominate as you cut Southward past Aviemore and the rugged slopes of the Cairngorm National Park. Look out for waterfalls and scour the hills for ‘Monarch of the Glen’ stags.

Beyond the ancient city of Perth – Scotland’s capital for five centuries – rolling fields and lush woods usher you towards the Firth of Forth, crossed within the distinctive metal filigree of the iconic Forth Rail Bridge. Grab a glimpse of Edinburgh Castle as you arrive in the heart of Scotland’s capital and journey’s end.