Experience the passion, the beauty, the history, the wildlife, without the crowds
Hello! My name is Colin and I’ve been a tour guide for over 13 years.
It’s a job that I truly love.
Meeting new and interesting people, showing them around, sharing stories and laughs while exploring a truly beautiful country - what is there not to love?
I look at our tour as an adventure, and experience, something we’ll all treasure for the rest of our lives.
The part of the job I love most of all though is when we go round a bend on the road, and I hear the quiet gasps and whispers of “wow!”, as the magnificent and achingly beautiful Scottish landscape reveals itself out in front of us.
Little magical moments are around every corner!
...which means there’s a lot more flexibility for you. Unlike coach and minibus tours, we can adjust our itinerary to suit your needs. For example; do you want to spend an extra hour truly exploring Glencoe by foot? (Now that you’re there and have fallen in love with the place!) Sure! We can amend the itinerary for that. Fancy going “off the beaten track”? We LOVE that. In fact, we believe this is where the real magic is, so yes! We can oblige.
Of course it's all about you - What do you want to see and experience? Castles? Ancient monuments? Or do you prefer nature and dramatic landscapes? We tailor-make the tour for you so that you get the most out of your experience.
...take you to the more familiar tourist attractions also. We can go looking for the monster at Loch Ness, we can visit some of the filming locations for TV shows such as “Outlander” and movies such as “Braveheart”. We can visit famous castles (there are far too many to mention here!). There is an abundance of options for you when we plan your tour.
For a custom route - choose areas you want to see and let us do the rest. Below are a few examples of tours which again, can be tweaked and amended depending on what you want. More “off the beaten track” options are available also. Just let us know!
Decide the duration - From 1-10 day tours. Travel in style on your own, or with up to 7 of your friends! We deliver your tour with passion and enthusiasm. We love what we do and we love showing you around.
Overnight accommodation - can also be booked by us or we can leave that up to you (although we do advise that if you book your own accommodation please discuss this with us on planning your tour!)
Choose your route - When you contact us about your tour, we’ll talk you through everything you need to know. We plan the tour with you. We offer suggestions of places to visit, suggest routes and advise on journey times etc.
ONE day tour examples:
Ancient Kingdom Tour
A full day exploring the ancient Pictish Kingdom of Fife. Highlights include:
Culross - A royal burgh since 1588 with much of its 16th and 17th century charm very much intact. It’s also a filming location for “Outlander” tv show.
The conservation village of Falkland - home of the magnificent Falkland Palace, a 16th century renaissance palace constructed by the Royal Stewarts. Falkland is also another filming location for “Outlander”. A VERY famous scene was filmed here!
St Andrews - the home of the oldest university in Scotland (over 600 years old!). It is where Prince William met Kate Middleton. And of course, anyone who’s ever “teed off” will know that St Andrews is the “Mecca” of golf!
Stirling, Braveheart, and the Trossachs Tour
A day of exploring castles, ancient battlegrounds, and the beauty of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Highlights include:
Stirling Castle - arguably our most important castle historically speaking. It was considered the “gateway to the highlands” in times gone by and held key strategic importance.
The Wallace Monument - See where Scottish freedom fighter, Sir William Wallace, guardian of Scotland, stood before his famous battle against the English in 1297.
Doune Castle - Famous filming location for “Outlander”, “Game of Thrones”, and Monty Python’s “The Holy Grail”!
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (“Trossachs” means “wooded valley”) - An area of outstanding natural beauty with mountains, forest walks, and many “lochs” (lakes). The park sits right on the highland boundary fault line and is of great geological importance also.
TWO day tour example:
Loch Ness and Beyond
Two days of waterfall walks, ancient monuments, battlegrounds, monsters, epic scenery. Highlights include:
Day1:
The Hermitage. - A beautiful woodland and waterfall walk near the ancient town of Dunkeld.
Clava Cairns - 4500-3000 year old early bronze age standing stones and burial tombs. This little place is both incredibly interesting and enchanting!
Culloden Battlefield - Where the Jacobite rebellions took their last stand against the British Government forces in 1746, and the site of the last battle fought on British soil.
Overnight stay: Inverness (or surrounding area).
Day 2:
Loch Ness - Explore the banks of the world famous “loch” (the Scottish word for “lake”). Who knows? Perhaps you’ll catch a glimpse of it’s most loved resident! There is an optional boat trip and visit to Urquhart Castle. On the other side of the loch there are beautiful waterfall walks and hilltop views.
Glencoe - It is here where the MacDonalds of Glencoe were massacred in 1692 by government forces and is regarded as one of Scotland’s most tragic historical events. Glencoe is also a place of jaw-dropping beauty, with stunning views and a beautiful walk up to “the Lost Valley”! (optional for experienced walkers).
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THREE day tour example:
Skye and the Western Highlands
Incredible views as we drive through the western highlands, overnight stays in truly picturesque towns and villages, a day spent exploring the ancient landscape and folklore of the Isle of Skye. A tour of natural wonder, myths and legends. Highlights include:
Day 1: Glencoe - It is here where the MacDonalds of Glencoe were massacred in 1692 by government forces and is regarded as one of Scotland’s most tragic historical events. Glencoe is also a place of jaw-dropping beauty, with stunning views and a beautiful walk up to “the Lost Valley”! (optional for experienced walkers).
Eilean Donan Castle - Excluding Edinburgh Castle, it’s arguably our most famous and picturesque. Still a residence and is the seat of the Clan MacRae.
Overnight in Plockton - a stunning village tucked away from the main tourist route.
(or) Overnight in Portree - the colourful capital town of Skye.
Day 2: Around the Trotternish Peninsula - the northern part of the island. Here we can find spectacular views and walks (for the more experienced) as we pass The Old Man of Storr (an ancient rock pinnacle situated up on a mountain ridge), and drive up to the Quiraing (the site of a massive ancient landslip). Here is where great dinosaurs once roamed the land and we can still see their footprints at nearby Staffin beach.
Glenbrittle and the Fairy Pools - set beneath the ominous Black Cuillin Mountains these waterfalls and pools are well known for the striking blues and greens of the mineral rich water. The entire setting is like something from Lord of the Rings.
Sligachan viewpoint: Where the jagged Black Cuillin Mountains meet the more rounded Red Cuillins. Here the river Sligachan runs and local folklore says that the river’s water has magical properties!
Overnight in Plockton - a stunning village tucked away from the main tourist route.
(or) Overnight in Portree - the colourful capital town of Skye.
Day 3: We say goodbye to Skye and head East to Loch Ness to indulge in a bit of monster hunting!
Clava Cairns - 4500-3000 year old early bronze age standing stones and burial tombs. This little place is both incredibly interesting and enchanting!
Culloden Battlefield - Where the Jacobite rebellions took their last stand against the British Government forces in 1746, and the site of the last battle fought on British soil.
The tours mentioned here are as examples and to give ideas of itineraries etc. Remember that we’ll work with you to tailor-make your experience as magical as possible.
We also do 4, 5 and up to 10 day tours to the Western Isles (Harris & Lewis) and to Orkney. To book or for more information please use the contact us form
I first got into tourguiding just over eleven years ago. It wasn’t a career path that I had planned. I simply saw a job advertised to train as a tourguide and work for a company which specialised in minibus tours around Scotland. It seemed like a fun thing to try out and I’m sure glad that I did! ......... Read More
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Caledonian Maverick Tours
7 Sandyriggs Gardens, Dalkeith, Scotland EH22 2ED
+44 (0) 752 300 2838
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