Scotland has been on our travel bucket list for quite some time and this year we made it happen. We spent Easter weekend in Edinburgh, including two days devoted to touring the Scottish Highlands. While I loved everything about the entire weekend, I especially loved the tours we booked with Discreet Scotland. If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you know we are not “tour group people.” I dread the thought of being stuck in a large group, straining to hear the tour guide, and competing for the best photograph. While this can be an economical choice, it can also mean riding in a cramped motor coach, having to tolerate disrespectful tourists, or in the case of wine tours – the ever present wine snob/know-it-all (insert eye roll). If at all possible, I prefer a very small group or even a private tour. If you’re looking for a bespoke itinerary designed for a more personal experience of Scotland, I highly recommend Discreet Scotland. 

Things to Love About Discreet Scotland

• Family-run business based in Edinburgh
• Private guide/chauffeur (he may be wearing a kilt, too!)
• Pick-up and drop off at your hotel in a luxury 4×4 vehicle (in our case a Range Rover and Mercedes SUV) 
• No time restrictions – stay as little or as long as you wish in a location
• Day tours are a full day and multi-day tours are available as well
• You can bring your own refreshments/snacks (with the exception of alcoholic beverages)
• Completely private – no big groups, no long lines, no motor coaches

Here’s how our Scottish Highlands tours with Discreet Scotland went:

Day One – Stirling Tour

Our guide, Matthew, picked us up from our hotel in Edinburgh at 10:00 am. We drove out of the city to Stirling Castle. Matthew is from Edinburgh and had lots to share about the city and its history. We passed by the famous Kelpies sculpture, the largest equine sculpture in the world. According to Scottish folklore, a Kelpie is a large white horse that entices travelers to ride it only to lure them to a watery death by drowning them in the loch. I love mythological tales but had never heard of the kelpies. 

Our first tour of the day was Stirling Castle, most of which that can be seen today was built in the late 1400s to mid 1500s. A statue of Robert The Bruce seemingly greets you, while he gazes south towards the location of the Battle of Bannockburn, where he defeated the English army to regain Scotland’s independence in 1314. Matthew was a wealth of knowledge about Scotland’s history, so if you’re a history buff you’ll really love this tour.

Stirling Castle was definitely one of the best castles we have been to. It’s incredibly well intact with lots of rooms to explore. Colorful tapestries and paintings depicting hunting scenes and unicorns decorate it throughout. We learned that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland and the only creature that can defeat the king of beasts, the lion. You can join one of the ongoing tours of the castle or roam freely and speak with one of the highly knowledgeable docents dressed in period attire. The views from Stirling Castle are so beautiful. We had perfect weather and could see for miles. An unexpected treat was seeing the Mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Corporal Cruachan IV, a black Shetland pony equally as regal as he is adorable. 

After touring the castle we visited the smallest whisky distillery in Scotland, Stirling Distillery. This tiny distillery is creating some great whisky (even for those of us who aren’t big whisky fans). The friendly staff helped us to a tasting and we purchased two of their branded glencairn whisky glasses. 

After a “wee dram” at the distillery we had an appetite and the option of a quick “grab-and-go” or sit-down pub lunch. We opted for the quicker option to see more things. Matthew took us to a local bakery where we grabbed sandwiches and the best Scottish meat pies. I could have eaten way more than the one I had – so good! During lunch we made a photo stop at The Wallace Monument, commemorating William Wallace. I hate to break it to you my fellow Americans, but the movie Braveheart, while entertaining and with a great soundtrack, is not all that accurate. 

Our next stop was Tullibardine Distillery where we sampled more whisky and yours truly finally started to get the hang of it. The delightful staff invited us to a relaxed tasting and we enjoyed more conversation and learning with Matthew. This marked the end of our first day with Discreet Scotland. On our drive back to Edinburgh the skies produced the most incredible rainbows I think I’ve ever seen. It was a magical day to say the least.

Day Two – Highlands and Glencoe Tour

Matthew picked us up at 8:00 am for a slightly longer day, as we had a bit more driving to do. We would really be getting into the Highlands today as we made our way out to Glencoe. The lochs and glens (lakes and valleys) are a spectacular part of the mythical landscape of the Scottish Highlands. We stopped at Loch Lubnaig, part of The Trossachs National Park. It is stunning! I loved seeing the morning fog hovering just above the trees. I was hoping for weather like this and Scotland delivered. The water was incredibly clear and the surroundings are so peaceful. 

As we continued our journey we traveled to Glen Etive, known popularly as the area where James Bond Skyfall was filmed. It was here that we turned off the main road and traveled down a single lane path, mouths agape at the extinct volcanoes making up the dramatic landscape all around us. We saw waterfall after waterfall and loved hearing the rush of the rapids. Multiple stops were made to get out and explore on foot. It truly felt like we had Scotland all to ourselves. We managed to come upon some red deer grazing in the wild. I also finally saw a unicorn! Ok, it was a Highland pony but I choose to believe.

For lunch we stopped at Clachaig Inn for burgers and beers in a cozy pub-like atmosphere. Afterwards we stopped at the Three Sisters of Glencoe. These steep ridges still had snow on their peaks. This area is notable as it was the location of the tragic Massacre of Glencoe where in 1692 government troops slaughtered members of the the Macdonald clan.

We next explored St. Fillans, stopping to admire the loch there. We continued our trek to Comrie where we visited Cultybraggan, Scotland’s last remaining prisoner of war camp. We discovered several movie trailers and set equipment for the show Outlander, another unexpected surprise! 

In our search for the hairy coos (Highland Cows – they were not out today) we explored the Ardoch Roman Fort, an archeological site in Perthshire. Here are the remains of a Roman fort, said to be one of the most complete Roman camps in Britain. You can see the trenches that were dug to protect the fort from attack.

We ended our second day with a picturesque drive back to Edinburgh punctuated by more rainbows. Each day was unique and completely worthwhile. We had an amazing experience and memories to last a lifetime, or until our next visit to Scotland. I would not hesitate to book a tour with Discreet Scotland again. Thank you, Matthew, for making our tour the best it could be!

You can follow me on Instagram for daily updates on stories!

For exclusive off-blog content, subscribe to my monthly newsletter!

xo – Erin

Scottish Highlands Tour with Discreet Scotland appeared first on CathedralsandCafes.com. If you see this content published anywhere else, please email cathedralsandcafes@gmail.com.

You might also like: