Photograph: Hidden Scotland
Tours from Edinburgh · Run by Timberbush Tours
The Kelpies · Loch Lomond · Trossachs village · Stirling Castle
A shorter Highlands day from Edinburgh: the Kelpies, Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle.
This is a good choice if you want a taste of the Highlands without spending the whole day on the coach. It starts at the Kelpies, the two giant horse heads outside Falkirk, then heads west to Balloch on the shore of Loch Lomond, where you can take a cruise on the loch. Lunch is in Aberfoyle in the Trossachs, and the afternoon is at Stirling Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned, with views from the walls over the battlefields below. You're back in Edinburgh at about 6.45pm. Castle entry is extra, so add it when you book.
The places it stops at, in order. Routes can change with the weather and the traffic.
The day
Where it starts
Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2EW
Leaves at 8.45am
A photo stop
Andy Scott's two 30-metre steel horse heads beside the canal at Falkirk, the largest equine sculptures in the world.
More about The Kelpies
A stop · 1-hour cruise optional
Britain's largest inland stretch of water, with more than thirty islands and the Highland Boundary Fault across its middle.
More about Loch Lomond (Balloch)Lunch
Seen from the coach
The busy gateway town on the River Teith where the road enters the Highlands, with a Roman fort, the Crags and the Rob Roy Way.
More about Callander and Doune Castle
A stop
The great royal castle on its crag above Stirling, where Mary, Queen of Scots was crowned, with the Great Hall and the Royal Palace.
Entry optional
More about Stirling CastleWhere it ends
Back at about 6.45pm
Photographs: Timberbush Tours
Castle Terrace, outside the NCP car park
Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2EW
Leaves at 8.45am. Opens 15 minutes before departure and closes 5 minutes before.
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Children aged 4 to 16 pay less; their price shows when you book.
Run by
Timberbush Tours has been taking visitors round Scotland since 1998. June and Gary Voy, a husband and wife team, started it with a single coach, and it now runs its own fleet, with driver-guides who have been with the company for years. Their tours leave every day from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, and from Portree on Skye, and you book with them directly.
Timberbush Tours answer them, and you book with them directly.
8.45am to 6.45pm from Edinburgh, from £52 an adult.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before a day tour, and up to 7 days before a tour of several days, by Timberbush’s own terms.
Booked with Timberbush Tours, or call them on +44 (0)131 226 6066
From Edinburgh or Glasgow4 days
Luss · Rest · Inveraray · Culloden Battlefield
Four days that include the Jacobite steam train over the Glenfinnan Viaduct and two nights on Skye.
About 17½ hours on the road in allUp to 16 on a coach
From £329 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
From Edinburgh9 hoursBack 5.45pm
Anstruther · St Andrews · Falkland · South Queensferry
St Andrews and the fishing villages of the East Neuk, a gentle coastal day from Edinburgh.
About 4½ hours of it on the roadUp to 53 on a coach
From £53 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
From Edinburgh9 hoursBack 5.30pm
Tuilyies Standing Stones · Culross · Doune Castle · Midhope Castle
Outlander filming locations and royal palaces, all close to Edinburgh so the driving is short.
About 3½ hours of it on the roadUp to 37 on a coach
From £54 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
