Loch Ness, The Jacobite & Skye Guided Rail Tour

Departure Dates: 

21-Apr-2024 - Open for booking

05-May-2024 - Open for booking

19-May-2024 - Fully booked

02-Jun-2024 - Fully booked

07-Jul-2024 - Open for booking

28-Jul-2024 - Limited availability

11-Aug-2024 - Open for booking

25-Aug-2024 - Open for booking

08-Sep-2024 - Open for booking

22-Sep-2024 - Open for booking

06-Oct-2024 - Open for booking

Day one – meet and greet in Glasgow

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 arts 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 – and there’s a free mini-bar in every room to toast your forthcoming adventures!

Day two – the West Highland Line and Loch Ness  

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 17th century tale of bloody clan vengeance behind a very different monument.

Your accommodation in Fort Augustus

A stone’s throw from the southern tip of Loch Ness is arguably the finest hotel on Britain’s most mysterious patch of water. Whatever stirs below the loch’s surface, you’ll enjoy eco-conscious comfort in a beautiful Victorian building with gardens containing a wall built against rebellious Jacobites in 1715 and 1719. Should you choose to dine in the hotel, there’s fine food too from a chef taught Michelin panache by Albert Roux.

Day three – the mysteries and wonders of Loch Ness

Rise early if you fancy a short Loch Ness cruise before your group head to the historic village of Dores on the loch’s lesser-visited side. En route you’ll stop at the Falls of Foyers, tumbling 60m through sylvan woods. From Dores you can gaze 22 miles down the loch back towards Fort Augustus, watching as light and water ceaselessly shift into new patterns.

And if he’s at home rather than on the loch, you may also drop in on a celebrated local Nessie hunter!

You end the afternoon amid 1000 years of history at the ruins of Urquhart Castle. Imagine ancient feasts in the Great Hall, then take in some final loch vistas from atop the Grant Tower before returning to Fort Augustus.

Day four – history meets magic on The Jacobite

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.

After arrival, choose to explore atmospheric Armadale Castle (its 1790s manor house was clan home of the MacDonalds) or head for the new Torabhaig distillery to learn about a local dram expertly crafted to balance fruity notes and peaty smoke.

Your accommodation on Skye

Built as a 19th 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.

Day five – Skye’s the limit

Today your tour leader will wave you off for a day taking in the – literal – high points of this largest island in the Inner Hebrides in the company of a guide born and bred on Skye.

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.

As you explore the Trotternish peninsula, look out for the attractive crofting township of Staffin and the Museum of Island Life. In the thriving village of Dunvegan, admire a picture-perfect shoreline castle that has been ancestral seat of the MacLeods for eight centuries – longer than any other clan.

Day six – Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness

Heading back across the Skye bridge to the mainland, Kyle of Lochalsh marks the start of your 80-mile train ride to Inverness. Before boarding, though, you’ll 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. 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.

Poised where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth, Inverness styles itself the ‘Highlands Capital’. You’ll have much of the afternoon to enjoy its bustle, and sights like Britain’s first post-Reformation Cathedral, a stately 1830s castle plus an impressive contemporary museum and art gallery.

Your accommodation in Inverness

Set in four acres of gardens, your hotel combines elegant vintage style with “good old-fashioned Scottish hospitality”. There’s also a swimming pool – and a spa if you want to pamper yourself with a treatment.

Day seven – Inverness to Edinburgh

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.

Your tour leader will point you in the right direction for your onward arrangements – once again, do let us know if we can assist should you wish to extend your stay in Edinburgh or need recommendations for further exploration of Scotland.

The price includes:

• Six nights in hand-picked four star hotels on a B&B basis.
• Welcome dinner in Glasgow. Dinner on both nights on the Isle of Skye. Two light lunches.
• Rail travel from Glasgow to Fort William on the West Highland Line, a journey on the Jacobite Express steam train from Fort William to Mallaig, ferry to the Isle of Skye, train travel from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness on the Kyle Line and from Inverness to Edinburgh on the Highland Mainline.
• A day tour of the south shores of Loch Ness, entry to Castle Urquhart and full day tour of the Isle of Skye.
• The services of McKinlay Kidd’s tour leader, accompanying the group and providing expert guiding and assistance throughout.
• Transfers as described, including luggage transfer from Fort Augustus to Skye hotel so no need to bring cases aboard the Jacobite.

Not included:

• Meals other than those described above
• Drinks
• Gratuities and tips