Photograph: Hidden Scotland
Tours from Edinburgh · Run by Timberbush Tours
Doune Castle · Rest · Inveraray · King's Knot
Loch Lomond, Inveraray and the Argyll hills, a big West Highland loop from Edinburgh.
This loop shows you the lochs and hills of Argyll without going as far as Glencoe. The first visit is Doune Castle, then you pass Stirling and the Wallace Monument on the way west to Luss on Loch Lomond. The road climbs over the Rest and Be Thankful pass to Inveraray on Loch Fyne for lunch, with the option of the castle. Then it comes home past Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe, through Glen Ogle and by Loch Lubnaig, with a last stop at the King's Knot below Stirling Castle. It's back at about 7.45pm.
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 9.15am
A stop
A courtyard castle of the late 1300s above the River Teith, built for the Duke of Albany and filmed for Monty Python, Game of Thrones and Outlander.
Entry optional
More about Doune Castle
Seen from the coach
The great royal castle on its crag above Stirling, where Mary, Queen of Scots was crowned, with the Great Hall and the Royal Palace.
More about Stirling Castle, Wallace Monument and the Kelpies
A break
A conservation village of stone cottages on Loch Lomond, rebuilt by the Colquhouns for their slate workers, with a pier and a beach.
More about Luss, Loch Lomond
A photo stop
The pass at the head of Glen Croe, 803 feet up, where travellers have stopped to rest since the military road of 1749.
More about Rest and Be Thankful
Lunch
The Duke of Argyll's white Georgian town on Loch Fyne, rebuilt from 1745, with a church divided in two.
Inveraray Castle optional, April–October, Thursday to Monday
More about Inveraray
Seen from the coach
The Campbells of Glenorchy's castle at the head of Loch Awe, with the oldest surviving barracks on the British mainland.
More about Kilchurn Castle, Loch AweSeen from the coach
A break
A photo stop
Where it ends
Back at about 7.45pm
Photographs: Timberbush Tours
Castle Terrace, outside the NCP car park
Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2EW
Leaves at 9.15am. 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.
9.15am to 7.45pm from Edinburgh, from £57 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 Edinburgh10 hoursBack 6.45pm
The Kelpies · Loch Lomond · Trossachs village · Stirling Castle
A shorter Highlands day from Edinburgh: the Kelpies, Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle.
About 5 hours of it on the roadUp to 53 on a coach
From £52 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
From Edinburgh12½ hoursBack 8.30pm
Glencoe · Fort William · Urquhart Castle · Clansman Hotel
The big one: Glencoe, Fort William and Loch Ness in a single day from Edinburgh, if you don't mind a long time on the coach.
About 9½ hours of it on the roadUp to 53 on a coach
From £56 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
