The Gang’ Scotland Tour

September 6 to 16, 2017

 

 

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY: Sept 6:  Leave US

 

Day 2: THURSDAY: Sept 7: Arrive Glasgow - You will be picked up at the airport and driven to the hotel.

20:00 Dinner together.

- Night in Glasgow - Hotel Indigo.

 

Day 3: FRIDAY: Sept 8:

10:00 - Visit McIntosh House and Hunterian Galleries - The Hunterian is

also home to the world’s largest permanent display of the work of James McNeill Whistler, the largest single holding of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and The Mackintosh House, the reassembled interiors from his Glasgow home.

12:30 lunch

14:00 - visit Lighthouse - the Lighthouse, Scotland's Center for Design

and Architecture, is a visitor center, exhibition space and events venue situated in the heart of Glasgow, just off the Style Mile. The Lighthouse acts as a beacon for the creative industries in Scotland and promotes design and architecture through a vibrant program of exhibitions and events.

The Lighthouse is the renamed conversion of the former offices of the Glasgow Herald newspaper. Completed in 1895, it was designed by the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The center's vision is to develop the links between design, architecture, and the creative industries, seeing these as interconnected social, educational, economic and cultural issues of concern to everyone.

17:00 -  Willow Tea Rooms for tea - The Willow Tearooms are tearooms

at 119 - 121 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, Scotland, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which opened for business in October 1903. They quickly gained enormous popularity, and are the most famous of the many Glasgow tearooms that opened in the late 19th and early 20th century.

On the menu for our tea time:

- (Selection of Homemade Sandwiches {fillings are: Scottish Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese

-Free Range Egg Mayonnaise -Ham, Rocket & Wholegrain Mustard Cream Cheese & Cucumber}

-Fruit or Plain Scone Served with Strawberry or Raspberry Jam and Clotted Cream -Buttered Shortbread

Your choice of cake from the Cake Cabinet {Selection includes: Willow Meringue, Strawberry Tart, Chocolate Fudge Cake, Victoria Sponge, Apple Tart, Toffee Apple Tart, Lemon Meringue Pie, Chocolate Brownie, Carrot Cake, Empire Biscuit}

Choice of Loose Leaf Tea, served with pot of hot water or Freshly Ground Coffee)

- Night in Glasgow - Hotel Indigo

The Tenement House is an ordinary middle-class tenement from the late 19th century, standing in Garnethill. The faithfully restored four rooms appear as if frozen in time and provide a rare glimpse into life in Glasgow in the early 20th century.

Shorthand typist Miss Agnes Toward lived here from 1911 until 1965, and preserved her furniture and possessions with love and care. She held on to all sorts of things that most people would have thrown away, and this extensive personal archive is a valuable time capsule for visitors today. The Tenement House also reveals what it meant to be an ‘independent woman’ at that time. 

 

Day 4: SATURDAY: Sept 9:  Arrive 10:00   Glasgow School of Art –

The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is Scotland's only public self-

governing art school offering university-level programs and research in architecture, fine art and design. The school is housed in one of Glasgow's most famous buildings, often considered the masterpiece of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, built 1897-1909. Severely damaged by a fire in May 2014, the building is now undergoing a careful restoration.

10:30 Guided tour of Glasgow School of Art.

12:00 Drive to Hill House in Helensburgh (45mn)

13:00  lunch  at Hill House then visit house and gardens – 

           Hill House - one of Charles and Margaret Macdonald

Mackintosh's most famous works, probably second only to the Glasgow School of Art. It was designed and built for the publisher Walter Blackie in 1902 – 1904.

In addition to the house, Mackintosh designed most of the interior, furniture and fittings. Mackintosh's attention to detail extended to prescribing the colors of cut flowers that the Blackies might place on a table in the living room. 

16:00– drive (2 hr) to Pitlochry, passing by Loch Lomond, a freshwater

Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest inland stretch of water in Great Britain by surface area. The loch contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles. Loch Lomond is a popular leisure destination and is featured in the song "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond". The Loch is now part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park which was established in 2002. Loch Lomond is a corruption of the Gaelic Lac Leaman, or 'Lake of the Elms'

18:00 - arrive at the Atholl Palace, a 135 year hotel and spa built as a giant manor house. 

- night in Piltochry at the Atholl Palace.               

 

Day 5: SUNDAY: Sept 10:

10:00 drive (15mn) to Blair Castle - 9:30 to 17:30  

Blair Castle stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl, though the current (12th) Duke, Bruce Murray, lives in South Africa. The castle stands in Glen Garry, and commands a strategic position on the main route (now the A9 road) through the central Scottish Highlands.

The castle is a category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.

12:00 - Lunch at Blair castle

 

13:30 – Go back to Atholl Palace and relax or visit the area’s gardens and manor houses.             

- night in Piltochry at the Atholl Palace.               

 

Day 6: MONDAY: Sept 11:  

10:00 - Drive (2:00) to Dufftown.

12:00 - Lunch in Dufftown

14:00 - Private and personalized visit Balmenach distillery makers

of Caorunn Gin with Kevin, who is the manager.

- Night in Dufftown at the Tullick House 

 

Day 7: TUESDAY: Sept 12:

Visit the area including private and personal visit of  famous Balvenie Whikey Distillery/Glenfididich with Dennis Mc Bain , the master who create the fabulous taste of the malt whiskey.  

- night in Dufftown at the Tullick House

 

Day 8: WEDNESDAY: Sept 13:  

9:00 - Drive (2:30) Glamis Castle - 11:00am - 17:30pm

11:30 – Glamis Castle has a fascinating and exciting history.  The

thaneage of Glamis was granted to Sir John Lyon by King Robert II (the first of the Stuart Kings) of Scotland in 1372.  Glamis was believed to be a royal hunting lodge at the time of its first grant and it was not until the first part of the 15th century that any part of the present structure was built.

Legends and myths have grown around the castle. King Malcolm II was said to have been murdered here in the 11th century. Lady Janet Douglas, widow of Lord Glamis, was burned at the stake as a witch in 1540 by James V. There is said to be a secret room where a nobleman played cards with the devil himself.

Glamis today looks more like a French Chateau than a medieval fortress, because it was extensively restored in the 17th and 18th centuries. The original tower house remains at the center of the castle today.

It has, of course, close connections with the present Royal Family, being the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (she being the youngest daughter of the 14th Earl), and Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret was born here in 1930.

It is the setting for Shakespeare's Macbeth and is referred to specifically :- "Glamis thou art" "and yet woulds't wrongly win: thou'dst have great Glamis" It is popularly believed that Duncan was murdered here by Macbeth

12:30 –  lunch at Glamis Castle

14:00 - drive (40mn) Scone Palace

14:40 - Visit Scone Palace - 10:00am - last admission 16:00pm  

Scone Palace was the crowning place of Scottish kings where Macbeth, Robert the Bruce and Charles II were once crowned.

Scone breathes history like nowhere else in Scotland. It is the family home of the Earls of Mansfield and the ancient crowning place of Scottish kings on the stone of Scone. 

Admire the needlework skills of Mary Queen of Scots bedhanging that she worked on while in prison on Loch Leven. Discover the desk at which Frances' tragic young Queen, Marie Antoinette, wrote her letters prior to the days when the guillotine beckoned. You can also see the State Rooms where Queen Victoria was entertained on her way to the Highlands in 1842, and the bedroom in which she slept. If you are a lover of fine things, Scone is a treasury of furniture and paintings, porcelain and objects d'art.

Scone Palace is surrounded by beautiful gardens and peaceful woodland, not to mention the unique 'tartan' maze of 2,000 beech trees half green, half copper, designed by the world-famous Adrian Fisher. The maze was planted in the shape of the heraldic Murray Star.

17:00 - drive (1hr) to Alloa

18:00 - Arrive Inglewood House and Spa

Night in Glenvedon at the Inglewodd House and Spa

Inglewood House and Spa is a beautiful Jacobean mansion house which was built in 1895 and designed by A G Sydney Mitchell & Wilson Architects. It offers beautiful architecture and features throughout including a two story galleried reception hall with full height stained glass window, south facing stone balcony and large inglenook fireplaces in many of the rooms. It was finished internally by the famous Glasgow Company, Wylie and Lochhead, interior designers and skilled cabinet makers, who are best known for designing the interiors for Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands. The house is set in 25 acres of land and even has its own duck pond and woodland.

 

Day 9: THURSDAY – Sept 14:

10:30 - Drive (30mn) to Kelpies – 10:00 15:00  

11:00 - the town of Falkirk is home to the magnificent Kelpies, the

world's largest equine sculptures. Designed by Scottish sculptor Andy Scott, these sculptures are each made with 300 tons of structural steel and are monumental tributes to the horse power heritage that was vital to the early industries of central Scotland.   

11:30 -  drive (15mn) to Falkirk Wheel.

11:45 - The Falkirk Wheel is an exceptional feat of modern

engineering and is already being recognized as an inspirational sculpture for the 21st Century. Designed to reconnect the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, this remarkable and elegant mechanical marvel is the only rotating boat-lift in the world.

12:30 - We will take a special "trip" boats to experiment the wheel. 

The site and the distinctive new visitor center gives a sensational viewpoint from which to see the Falkirk Wheel in action.

13:30 - lunch

14:30 - Drive (1hr) to Edinburgh

15:30 - Visit something we won’t have time to visit in the following two days.

- Night in Edinburgh at the Apex Hotel.

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Day 10: FRIDAY – Sept 15:

​10:30 - Visit Scottish Parliament

 Visit the home of the Scottish Parliament, in the heart of the Old Town World Heritage Site in Edinburgh. Formally opened on the 9th October, 2004, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the present building was designed by Spanish architect Enric Miralles. The project however proved controversial and the building remains a subject of debates among the Scottish people. During your tour, you will discover the Parliament's striking architecture, the debating chambers and learn how the Scottish Parliament is linked to the art of writing through poetry, prose and plays from Scotland’s past and present.

12:30 - Lunch at the Parliament building

14:30 - Visit the Edinburgh Castle - last entry 17:00 – close 18:00  

Edinburgh Castle is arguably the city's most iconic landmark and a great place to orient yourself. From its ramparts, you overlook Old Town roofs, grand Georgian New Town facades and, beyond all that, the Firth of Forth and the Pentland hills. There's plenty of Scottish history – mostly military history – in the castle exhibitions, too.

- Night in Edinburgh at the Apex Hotel.

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Day 11- SATURDAY - Sept 16: 

Another good day in Edinburgh:

Calton Hill - This small, steep hill is scattered with architectural oddities

and follies that were once supposed to make Edinburgh the 'Athens of the North'. They remain intriguing, but just as impressive are the views over Princes Street, the New Town and down to the large Leith neighborhood.

Princess Street - While busy with trams, cars, buses and all the other

usual city-center hustle and bustle, Princes Street is arguably Edinburgh's most important street. A major shopping strip beside the main railway station, it's another key orientation point, with plenty of interesting spots dotted along it, and fantastic castle views.

Princess Gardens attractively landscaped, run almost all the way along one side of the Princess street.

Old Town

There's much more to the Old Town than just the Royal Mile. Take a moment to explore its cobbled streets on your way from the castle to the National Museum, dropping down to Victoria Street (there's a shortcut down some stairs just downhill from the roundabout below the castle) to the Grassmarket, and then climbing back up along Candlemaker Row (at its eastern end). Along the way, you'll pass by small, interesting boutique shops and a series of good pubs.

The Fruitmarket Gallery, a gallery of art and a café and bookstore. The Fruitmarket Gallery shows the work of some of the world’s most important Scottish and international artists and helps people engage with it in a way that is meaningful to them – for free.

12:30 Lunch at the Fruitmarket Gallery

the Georgian House -

The north side of Charlotte Square in Edinburgh is Robert Adam's masterpiece of urban architecture. The Georgian House, with its elegant furnished interior, is located at No. 7 Charlotte Square. A heady vision of sweeping crescents, broad boulevards and elegant squares, the New Town of Edinburgh offered wealthy citizens in the late 18th century a means of escape from the overcrowded tenements of the Old Town. The house has been magnificently restored to show a typical Edinburgh New Town House of the late 18th to early 19th century. The fine collection of period furniture, porcelain, silver and glass reflects the lifestyle and social and economic conditions of the time

Scottish National Gallery - 

This Grand Neo-Classical art museum is relatively compact, but its collection of art is impressive nonetheless. Here, Old Masters rub shoulders with impressionists and some lesser-known, but accomplished, Scottish artists.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art - 

Jenners Department Stores - 

Edinburgh's answer to Harrods department store in London oozes timeless style and offers carefully-selected quality stock. The kids' toy section is particularly good for its size.

National Museum of Scotland –  

Its most popular attraction by visitor numbers (1.5 million annually) has two strong collections: The modern sandstone wing charts Scottish history in full, while the 19th-century main building is packed with natural history and curiosities from around the world. Because the museum is free, it's a great place to come for just an hour or so, without feeling guilty that you've not seen enough.

19:30 - Dinner together

- Night in Edinburgh at the Apex Hotel.

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Day 12 – SUNDAY Sept 17: we must go home. You will be driven to airport.

 

 

INCLUDED IN TOUR:

HOTELS

3 nights at Hotel Indigo in Glasgow

Two nights at the Atholl Palace in Pitlochry

Two nights at the Tullich House in Dufftown      

One night at the Inglewodd House and Spa in Glenvedon

4 nights at Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel in Edinburgh

 

Included Visits:

willow tea room, McIntosh house, Hunterian Galleries, the Lighthouse, Private visit Glasgow School of Art, Hill house, Blair Castle, Distilleries in Dufftown, Glamis Castle, Scone Palace, Kelpies, Falkirk with boat ride up, Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Adam’s Georgian House, Edinburgh Castle, National Museum Scotland plus any sights visited on spurs of moments.

 

Included meals:

10 breakfasts - 9 lunches – 10 dinners – coffees/teas & crumpets on the road at pipi-stops.

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Transportation:

Metro/Bus/Taxi in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Pick up at Glasgow airport and drop-off at Edinburgh Airport

Chauffeured minivan from Glasgow Saturday September 9th at 9am to Edinburgh Friday September 15th at 6pm.

 

OTHERS

Medical/Accident insurance

Books

 

$4975 per person.