Day 1: Arrive in Edinburgh
Check into your hotel which is comfortable, modern, and very well situated for both access to the city of Edinburgh and for collecting your bikes. You are free to sightsee in Edinburgh on your own.
Top suggestions are pen top bus tour, Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyrood House, The Royal Yacht Britannia, The National Museum of Scotland, The Royal Mile, and more. You are advised to buy a mobile phone as well as the SIM card. Your guide will meet you at your hotel in the evening and brief you on your trip.
Day 2: Fort William via the Falkirk Wheel and Glencoe
You will visit the Falkirk wheel, a spectacular rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. After that, you will visit Glencoe visitor center, the site of the infamous massacre. Your guest house dates from the 1890s and is an attractive Victorian villa which enjoys a magnificent location beside Loch Linnhe and is just a five-minute stroll from the bustling town center and its fine selection of shops, restaurants, and pubs.
Day 3: Ullapool
Cross to Skye via the Skye Turntable ferry, the world's only manually operated turntable ferry. This is not to be missed. Afterwards, you will visit a picturesque castle on the banks of Loch Alsh before traveling up the west coast to Ullapool. Your stay will be in a beautiful hotel, to a high standard, located on the harbor's edge.
Day 4: West Coast to Tongue
Ride to the rugged West Coast. Multiple photo stops as you travel through this breathtaking scenery to the tiny Village of Tongue which is closer to the arctic than to London. This is part of the famous North Coast 500. You will stay in a picturesque hotel in this remote spot.
Day 5: Inverness via John O'Groats
Ride the North Coast of Scotland to John o’ Groats (still on the Nort Coast 500). Take your photographs at John o’ Groats before traveling south to Glenmorangie to enjoy a tour of one of Scotland's most famous distilleries. You can and even have a little taste.
Day 6: Journey to Pitlochry
Travel along the banks of Loch Ness to Fort Augustus for lunch and see the water locks which are a great spectacle particularly if you are lucky enough to see a boat coming through. You will also travel on to the Commando memorial monument located in the training area for these great men. Your hotel is a beautiful coaching inn dating back to 1695 on the outskirts of Pitlochry which has its own microbrewery!
Day 7: Pitlochry
You have a range of options today, including going to the The Atholl Higlanders Parade. Experience the amazing spectacle of Europe's only private army parading on the castle forecourt to the sound of the pipes and drums.
Following the parade, His Grace the Duke of Atholl will undertake the annual inspection of his men in front of the crowd. The parade is open to all castle and grounds visitors. Alternatively, for those who want to ride, tour of Speyside the famous whisky region and visit the beautiful town of Elgin.
Day 8: Return to Edinburgh
Attend the Blair Atholl Highland for the morning by joining His Grace the Duke of Atholl and his private army at the Atholl Gathering. You will leave by 2:30 p.m. and return to Edinburgh to drop your bikes off. Then, you will return to the same hotel in Edinburgh you used on the first day.
Day 9: Depart
You will have the chance to sightsee Edinburgh same as day one if you have time. Afterwards, you will depart for your next destination or home.
Skill level
Intermediate
- can ride for three to four hours
- average riding experience
- little assistance required
- comfortable with extreme curves and leans
- average experience with unsurfaced roads
- steep ascents and descents
