With a fascinating history, vibrant cities and an emerging gin scene, Scotland has a whole wealth of attractions. There are a number of fascinating tours to really get under the skin of this incredible country.
Scotland is always a firm favourite for travellers. It’s home to a wealth of different types of tours, from university grounds to museums and themed tours. Not to mention a heap of Harry Potter tours too! Prepare your Scotland holidays with us now!
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Rough Guides
Unsurprisingly for such an atmospheric city, Edinburgh is served by countless walking tours. As well as traditional historical tours (for which the family-run Edinburgh Guided Tour have one of the best reputations), there are myriad - and often highly acclaimed - specialist variations. They cover almost every conceivable theme from the inevitable ghosts to Harry Potter, gourmet food and drink, Inspector Rebus and, of course, Outlander. Scotland tours don’t get much better than this bunch!
Best for: Themed tours
Top tip: Small-group photography tours are also available with James Christie.
Drumlanrig Castle is not a castle at all, but the grandiose stately home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. Approached by an impressive driveway that sweeps along an avenue of lime trees, the seventeenth-century sandstone “Pink Palace” bristles with cupolas, turrets and towers. The highlights of the richly furnished interior are the paintings by the great masters, most notably Rembrandt, van Dyck, Holbein and Gainsborough. You can take a guided tour of this magnificent house.
Best for: History
Top tip: You can find a host of other attractions here, including formal gardens and a forested country park.
Rescued from exponential dilapidation by a consortium led by Prince Charles, the handsome Palladian villa of Dumfries House is an essential stop for anyone with an interest in domestic architecture. Lively tours illuminate the beauty of the furnishings: the house was built and decked out swiftly - between 1756 and 1760 - meaning its Rococo decorative scheme is in perfect harmony with the graceful sandstone exterior. You need to book a pre-guided tour to enjoy the building in all its glory
Best for: Domestic architecture
Top tip: Note that chief among the treasures is a huge collection of Chippendale furniture.
The Scottish Maritime Museum is spread across several locations down at Irvine’s carefully restored harbour. Free guided tours set off regularly for the nearby Shipyard Workers Tenement Flat. It was restored to its appearance in 1910, when a family of six to eight plus a lodger would have occupied its two rooms and scullery. Moored at the pontoons on Harbour Street is an assortment of craft that you can board, including the oldest seagoing steam yacht in the country.
Best for: A museum tour
Top tip: Don't forget to visit the Wellwood Burns Centre & Museum
In Glasgow, the florid splendour of the City Chambers, opened by Queen Victoria in 1888, occupies the entire eastern end of the square. Built from wealth gained by colonial trade and heavy industry, it epitomizes the aspirations and optimism of late-Victorian city elders. The only way to see the labyrinthine interior is to join a guided tour, where (depending upon council business), you get to see the ground floor, with its domed mosaic ceilings and two mighty Italian-marble stairwells. The council chamber is richly furnished in Spanish dark mahogany and embossed leather. Searching for Glasgow hotels? The city centre has some fantastic accommodation choices and exciting nightlife on offer.
Best for: A tour of a historic building
Top tip: There are plenty of eateries around for lunch after you’ve finished exploring.
Dominating the West End skyline, the turreted tower of Glasgow University, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the mid-nineteenth century, overlooks the glades edging the River Kelvin. Student-led guided tours of the campus begin at the University Visitor Centre & Shop, in the dark neo-Gothic pile under the tower. No buildings are entered, but the tour focuses on the university’s history, taking in the grounds and the like.
Best for: A university tour
Top tip: Don’t miss the notable statues and tombstones on the tour.
Forget the craft beer movement: the last few years have been all about Scottish craft gin, with St Andrews’ Eden Mill Gin Distillery in the vanguard. The first to distil gin in the area for more than 150 years, it has revived the city’s lost art on a historic site once owned by the Haig family, one of the country’s oldest whisky dynasties.
As well as gin, Eden Mill has expanded into whisky and beer. Lip-smacking tours are available to see each process come to life. Highly recommended is the gin tour, where after learning about locally sourced botanicals, you can try tipples such as a bourbon-aged oak gin or - playing to the crowds - a cannily marketed golf gin.
Best for: A gin tour
Top tip: Serious connoisseurs should also venture farther down the coast to Crail to see the converted Kingsbarn Distillery.
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