Sample Itinerary

Sample itinerary Highland Highlights The following itinerary has been planned for a university group of 20 intermediate and advanced violinists desiring a week-long intensive immersion in music and culture in the heart of the Highands on Loch Ness, with one less-structured day on the Isle of Skye before returning home.

Musical instruction will be provided by a prominent fiddler, teaching popular types of Highland traditional music (reels, jigs, airs, 2/4 marches, strathspeys) played today, along with the unique bowing styles and techniques that make the tune sound decisively Scottish. The course will also look at learning melodies by ear, improving techniques and rhythms, and incorporating harmony.

Students will be provided two opportunities during the week to take the tunes they've learned into the community and play at sessions with other local musicians. Note that in addition to the primary musical instruction, the experience is complemented by additional opportunities to learn Gaelic song, whistle and step-dancing.

The fèis can be customised to meet your needs in group size, number of days, choices of instruments and voice, varied skill levels, tour destinations and activities. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Day 1

Arrive at 5-Star Aldourie Castle on the shores of Loch Ness, your home for the next 6 days. You will be welcomed by your tour leader and given a guided tour about the castle.

Spend the afternoon unpacking, relaxing and exploring the castle and grounds.

Dinner will be served in the formal Dining Room, followed by an introduction to Gaelic language and song.

Day 2

Wake up to a hearty Scottish breakfast served in the Laird’s Room. We will spend the morning in musical instruction on the fiddle.

After a quick lunch, a short bus trip brings us into Inverness for a walking tour of the historical town, seeing Inverness Castle, St Andrew’s Cathedral and Old High Church where Christianity was first preached in the Highlands by St. Columba in the 6th century and a millennia later was used to execute Jacobite prisoners.

We will have a guided tour of Inverness Museum to learn about the Picts, Vikings, Gaels and their influence on the Highlands in the dark ages, and learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite supporters.

Before returning to the castle, we will be sure to visit the Music Shop where sheet music, instruments and forgotten accessories can be purchased.

After dinner we will be taught popular local tunes on the whistle, with each guest receiving their own to keep.

Day 3

Our second morning of music instruction with our tutor, learning more tunes we will be able to play tonight.

The afternoon will take us back 4,000 years at the Clava Cairns, a very significant and well-preserved set of Bronze Age burial cairns, surrounded by standing stone circles.

Nearby we’ll explore Culloden Battlefield where 1,500 men were slain in less than an hour, and the destruction of the Highland culture began. The Visitor Centre has an informative display on the events leading up to the battle, and the audio tour about the battlegrounds will leave even the most stoic of visitors moved.

From here we visit Cawdor Castle and Gardens, Scotland’s most romantic castle.

We’ll have free time in Inverness for dinner, followed by a Highland Malt Whisky Tasting at MacGregor’s Bar, followed by a live music session with Bruce MacGregor of Blazin’ Fiddles.

Day 4

Falconry demonstration at Dunrobin Castle

Day three of our music instruction at Aldourie Castle in the morning.

In the afternoon we head north on the famed North Coast 500. Our first destination is Càrn Liath, an Iron Age Broch (defensive farming settlement) on the North Sea.

We will spend most of the afternoon at Dunrobin Castle, one of Scotland’s largest castles with 189 rooms. The castle is unique to the Highlands in its French château architectural style, and the gardens were inspired by the gardens at the Palace of Versailles. We’ll be treated to a falconry demonstration of the different hunting methods used by owls, hawks and falcons.

After dinner we’ll get a lesson in traditional Highland step dancing at the castle.

Day 5

After our music instruction in the morning, we’ll spend the afternoon on Loch Ness. A private boat will pick us up from the castle grounds and take us on a cruise of the loch in search of Nessie.

The boat will drop us off at Urquhart Castle, where we spend a couple of hours exploring these 800 year old castle ruins. The visitor centre offers a brilliant 8 minute video that summarises the history of the castle from the earliest Pictish settlement, through the repeated merciless attacks by the Lords of the Isles, right up until it was blown up by the residents to prevent a military occupation by the Jacobites.

When we’ve finished at Urquhart, we’ll take a scenic drive up to see the 12th century Beauly Priory, and top off our afternoon with a tour of Glen Ord whisky distillery.

After dinner at Aldourie Castle, we’ll head back into Inverness for a late night music session at Hootananny’s pub.

Day 6

After a slightly later start today, we’ll have our final morning of music instruction.

The afternoon will be spent touring the Black Isle just north of Inverness, and will include a trip to the superstitious Clootie Well, a walk around the ruins of Fortrose Cathedral (once the seat of the Bishops of Ross), and if we’re lucky, a bit of dolphin watching from Chanonry Point. There are over 200 resident Bottlenose Dolphins that live here in the Moray Firth, and many catch their lunch at this spot each day.

We’ll drive over to the other side of the Black Isle for fish and chips in the beer garden at Culbokie Inn, with spectacular views over the Cromarty Firth.

We’ll end our Highland immersion with lots of dancing and music at a ceilidh hosted by the fun-loving Full Tilt Ceilidh Band.

Day 7

We’ll leave the castle early in the morning to head off to the dreamy Isle of Skye, stopping at Eilean Donan Castle on the way.

Once on Skye we’ll stop at Bride’s Veils Falls for another photo opp, then head up to see the Old Man of Storr and hike the Quiriang.

We’ll return to the colourful harbour of Portree for a fresh seafood dinner, then catch the sunset at idyllic Neist Point Lighthouse.

Sample 7 Day Itinerary - Highland Highlights