Itinerary for
Footprints In Stone
Ancient and Sacred Sites of Scotland

The following is the itinerary for the tour, “Footprints In Stone”. The specified sites which are included in the price of your tour are marked with an (i).

Day One: Saturday, June 14
Rendezvous at Edinburgh Airport at 10 a.m.
Rosslyn Chapel (i) – This lovely 14th century chapel is fascinating with its layers of legends. The interior is massively carved and mysteriously adorned with images from a broader aspect of the Spiritual. It was built under the influence of the Knights Templar and is believed to be the birthplace of the Masons. It was featured in the book and later in the film, “The Da Vinci Code” and to this day is believed to be associated with the Chalice legend.
Stirling Castle (i) – This mighty fortress sits a top a great volcanic rock and the lovely little city of Stirling rolls out below with its marvellous architecture and bustling streets. Stirling Castle played a huge part in the history of Scotland, from the great king, Robert The Bruce to William Wallace to Bonnie Prince Charles.
Leaving Stirling, we will pass through Doune with its ancient Doune Castle and eventually find ourselves in the Trossachs, a lush green area with beautiful mountain streams. The lovely town of Callander, home of Rob Roy McGregor is on our path as we head west toward The Highlands and eventually Oban, where we will spend the next two nights.
There are lovely places to have dinner in Oban. Our B&B is within walking distance of town centre.

Day Two: Sunday, June 15
Kilmartin Valley - Beyond Oban, to the south is the Kilmartin Valley, one of Scotland's longest lived in sites from Neolithic times. The Kilmartin Valley is full from one end to the other of amazing standing stones, temple sites, cairns and extensive designs carved into stones in the form of cup marks, ring marks and lozenges believed to be rudimentary writing and decorations. The people of the Kilmartin Valley were the scientists, astronomers and builders of great temples who must have lived for centuries in peace in this beautiful place.
The Kilmartin Valley Center (i) is a museum and cultural centre that teaches about the history of the valley.
Dunadd - This one time powerful and great Iron Age fort, Dunadd, the great Kingdom of Dalriada, where the Scottish nation was born. The Celts, the Picts, and the Scotti of Ireland came together here to create a warrior-based civilization, which dominated the area for centuries. It was at Dunadd that the great Kings of Scotland were crowned and ruled the west. Today, it is a peaceful rock outcrop with a holiday cottage at the base.
We will spend this night in Oban.

Day Three: Monday, June 16
Morning in Oban on your own - This is a great little town in which to spend time shopping or just watching the ferries leave for the ports of call in the Hebredes.
For those of you who would like, it is possible to take the early ferry to Mull and return by noon. The ferry ride through the Sound of Mull is only 45 minutes (1 and 1/2 hour return) and is well worth the ride. (The price of the ferry is not included in the price of your tour.)
Dunstaffnage Castle (i) – On the shores of the Firth of Lorne, this imposing 13th century stronghold of the MacDougalls was seized by Robert the Bruce & in time transferred to Clan Campbell. It is here that Flora MacDonald was imprisoned in 1746 for her role in safely seeing Bonnie Prince Charles, in flight after the defeat of the Jacobites and disguised as a maidservant, to Skye.
Glencoe - The crowning jewel of Scotland. Prepare for beauty. This incredible glacial area is purely raw, vertical beauty, is steeped in legend and history for it was in Glencoe that the Campbells massacred the McDonalds. From a more peaceful perspective, it is associated with Deirdre of The Spirits from the Druid tradition where it is celebrated as a Goddess site.
The Glencoe Centre (i) is a great place to start with your visit to Glencoe, as you will there learn about the physical and the human history of the spectacular glen. A visit to the centre may be a great way to end this day.
We will sleep in Glen Coe for the next two nights. There are some fine places to find dinner in the Glen.

Day Four: Tuesday, June 17
Hike in Glen Coe –This area is renown for its world-class climbing and trekking and in the winter for ice climbing. There are however some lovely trails throughout the Glen that are easily accessible for a shorter, reasonable hike without the need for extensive climbing gear.
Explore Glen Etive - one of Scotland's best-kept secrets, Glen Etive. This wild, beautiful Glen Etive is only reached via a one lane road that dead ends at Lock Etive. Because it is so remote, it is a great place to see deer and other wildlife.
Fort William - This little town at the base of the Nevis Range offers civilization and you may enjoy a ramble through the shops.
The chairlift to the top of Aonach Mor - If it is a clear day, you may enjoy going up Aonach Mor on the chairlift. Aonach Mor is the second highest mountain in the Nevis Range and on a clear day the views from the top are spectacular across the Highlands and the Hebredes.
We will sleep in Glen Coe again this night.

Day Five: Wednesday, June 18
Ferry to Skye (i) – As we leave Fort William, hopefully we will be able to see Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British mainland, but honestly, even on a clear day, Ben Nevis seems to always be able to catch a cloud or two.
The journey from Fort William to Mallaig is along a gorgeous stretch of white sand beach where aqua water will make you think you are in the Caribbean. This is where the film Local Hero was made.
This gentle ferry ride from Mallaig is only about 20 minutes but through some gorgeous scenery as we pass through the Sound of Sleat with the Isles of Run and Eigg in the distance.
From the ferry port at Armadale we will ramble up through Skye toward Portree passing some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet from the Black Cuillin Mountains and Red Cuillins Hills to the spectacular views toward the mainland from Skye.
Portree – This, the largest town on Skye is so lovely with a pretty harbor, beautiful views and great shops. It was named Portree, Portrigg in Gaelic, in the 16th century when the Scottish King James came for a visit. Portree or Portrigg means, Port of Kings.

We will sleep in Portree for the next two nights. There are some great restaurants within walking distance of our B&B.

Day Seven: Friday, June 20
Today we leave the Isle of Skye and travel across the mainland toward Inverness. There are several interesting places in our path. Here are some suggestions for the day.
Eilean Donan Castle (i) – After crossing spectacular Bridge from the Isle of Skye, you may enjoy visiting Eilean Donnan Castle. This is home to the McRae Clan and is quite a lovely place to view the Black Cuillin Mountains of Skye for the last time. Eilean Donan was a Jacobite strong hold and in the early 1700's was destroyed by English war ships. It was rebuilt back in the late 1800's and is a “movie star” in so many films. If you have seen the film, The Highlander, you will recognize it as the ancient home of the main character.
Kintail Mountain Range - We then make our way through the Kintail Mountain Range, some of the wildest country in Scotland where for miles you may not even see a sheep.
Loch Ness - Loch Ness is the riff of the Great Glen fault where Scotland almost broke in half. This is the land of legends and monsters and great natural beauty. Along the banks of the Loch is the beautiful ruin of Urquhart Castle (i). It was from this site in the 6th century that St. Columba watched one of his followers be chased by boat across the loch by the "Monster". His account of this event was the first time anyone had actually written about “Nessie”.
There are back roads and little villages all around the area in which to ramble as we make our way to Inverness.
We will sleep these next two nights in Inverness. As you can imagine, there are some wonderful places to have dinner in and around this lovely city.

Day Eight: Saturday, June 21
Summer Solstice
Clava Cairns – Set in a beautiful Victorian beech grove, this ancient burial ground has rested peacefully for over 4000 year. It would be a great place to celebrate Summer Solstice.
Cawdor Castle (i) – This lovely, ancient Campbell site with its fascinating history has a beautiful garden and a wonderful interior. This is one of Scotland's famous haunted castles and is associated with the Campbells.
Findhorn (i)– This settlement of like minded folks was started in the 60’s by four people who were inspired to start a conscious community with organic gardens and homes built of recycled materials. Today, Findhorn is a Mecca for folks who live “closer to the earth”. There is a very interesting tour of Findhorn.
Culloden Battlefield (i)– Sacred ground to the Scots. This is where the last battle was fought on the British mainland. It was where the Scots, lead by Bonnie Prince Charles, lost Scotland to the English until 1999 when they quietly, peacefully voted to establish Scotland as a separate state.
We will sleep this night again in Inverness.

Day Nine: Sunday, June 22
Heading south from Inverness we will travel through the beautiful Cairngorm Mountains, said to be the highest land in the British Isles. These mountains are spectacular.
Croft Moraig Stone Circle – This lovely site started out as a wooden temple 5,000 years ago but eventually was made of large stones set in a circle. There is a large recumbent stone with cupmarks which supposedly marks moon settings. There is also an opening in the circle with an orientation toward the sunrise at summer solstice.
Crannog Centre – Located very near Croft Moraig stone circle, this interesting museum shows the importance of the structures called crannogs which were built throughout the British Isles to protect family and food from invaders, two legged and four legged.
Glamis Castle (i) – This ancient storybook castle, steeped in history and haunted as can be, is where the Queen Mum, mother to Queen Elizabeth II was raised and Princess Margaret, sister of Elizabeth II, was born. It is a lovely palace in a gorgeous setting and would be a great way to end our tour.
We will sleep this night near Edinburgh.

Day Ten: Monday, June 23
Today we part. We end where we started, at The Edinburgh Airport. It is from here that you can get your flights back to the US or if you are spending time in Edinburgh, you can easily reach City Centre either by the Park and Ride Bus or by taxi.