On our 7-day self-drive Heritage Scotland self-drive tour, wind your way through Fife’s picturesque fishing villages and ancient towns, explore traditional Royal Deeside, scour the shores of Loch Ness and drink in the splendours of the glorious West Coast.

Day 1

From Capital to Kingdom

Ford the Firth of Forth to enter the ancient ‘Kingdom of Fife’ famed for its bulging food and drink larder and impossibly pretty fishing villages.The ‘pilgrimage’ ends in celebrated St Andrews, Scotland’s oldest university town and cradle of golf.

Day 2

Royal roots

Cross the silvery Tay to Dundee with its feted V&A museum. Drop in on Glamis Castle, the Queen Mother’s childhood home before taking the Old Military Road through layered heathery landscapes to Balmoral, the Royals’ beloved summer home.

Day 3

Epic mountains, lochs and legends

Take on one of Britain’s most mountainous roads across the country’s largest national park pausing in Speyside, a mecca for malt whisky lovers. Discover the quieter side of Loch Ness where fantastical tales of a mythical creature come to life.

Day 4

Discovering the Great Glen

A monstrously sized loch adorned with crumbling castles and snug waterside inns begs careful exploration. Cruise the loch, marvel at the Caledonian Canal or venture into Scotland’s most beautiful glen amongst ancient pinewoods and reclusive wildlife.

Day 5

Highland history and heroes

Trundle through classic Highland scenery glimpsing lofty Ben Nevis and the puffing Hogwarts Express atop an iconic viaduct to reach Glenfinnan, where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s call to arms sparked the Jacobite Rising. Retire to sleepy Port Appin.

Day 6

The wonderful West Coast

With Oban, ‘Gateway to the Isles’ on the doorstep, a plethora of islands including magnificent Mull and cute Kerrera are visitable in one day. Go car-less to tiny Lismore or over the bridge to sleepy Seil to discover that ‘less’ is generally ‘more’.

Day 7

Return to Edinburgh

Ease back into ‘civilisation’ by taking either the ‘high road’ through Glencoe with its hauntingly scarred, arresting landscape or the ‘low road’ to the natural beauty of lush Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park where both routes meet.