Mystery Tour 1996 went to the Cotswolds. Mystery Tour 1998 went to the West Country. Mystery Tour 2000 went to Yorkshire. Mystery Tour 2002 went to East Anglia. Mystery Tour 2004 went to Yorkshire again, by popular demand. Mystery Tour 2007 is going to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Those having any interest should contact us early, as these trips are prepared for only a small group, making the trips friendly, comfortable, and manageable.
Sept 4/Tue The coach will pick us up early this morning for a 7:35am departure to Inverness, birthplace of Josephine Tey. Upon arrival in Inverness we will board our original coach and off we go to Plockton, home of the BBC Hamish Macbeth series (Beaton). Located on the main street featured in the series, The Plockton Hotel, will host us for a Highland lunch overlooking Loch Carron. On the way to the Isle of Skye, we stop for a visit to Eilean Donan Castle for a guided tour (The World is Not Enough, Highlander, movies). The most photographed castle in Scotland and home of MacRaes and MacKenzies. Continue to Isle of Skye (Over the Sea to Death, Moffatt, Dragonslayer, The Land that Time Forgot, movies), to the haunted Rosedale Hotel, Portree. Dinner at the hotel. B,L,D Sept 5/ Wed A little free time this morning to enjoy the pretty seaside town of Portree (Deadly Code, Anderson) before we depart for Skeabost and a Nature Walk. Stockbroker-cum-ghillie, Derek Dowsett, will tell us about his efforts to protect the wild Skye salmon and will give us a fly fishing demo (Gently in the Highlands, Hunter). We will lunch at the Stein Inn, oldest inn on Skye, setting lochside down a country road. A visit to Dunvegan Castle, home of the Macleod clan and their precious Fairy Flag, said to possess supernatural power to protect the clan from harm. We return to lovely Portree and the Rosedale Hotel. Dinner at the Hotel. B,L,D Sept 6/Thur This morning's departure takes us to the south of Skye, past the Armadale Castle ruins, home to the Macdonalds, to catch ferry across to Mallaig. Once across, we are on the Road to the Isles, an area of incredible wild beauty. We will pass the Glenfinnan Monument and Viaduct (Harry Potter movies, Charlotte Gray, movie). At Glencoe, called the "Glen of Weeping" because of the cold-blooded murder of the Macdonalds by the Campbells, leaving it haunted of course. Now famous for all the movies that have been filed here, a Ranger will lead a Guided Movie Location Walk, followed by lunch on your own at self serve Glencoe cafeteria. We continue the scenic Western Isles drive, along the shores of Loch Linnhe and Loch Creran to arrive at Oban ferry for crossing to Isle of Mull (When Eight Bells Toll, Entrapment, Eye of the Needle - movies). Arrive Craignure at the haunted Isle of Mull Hotel, our rooms facing the loch. Dinner at hotel. B,D Sept 7/Fri Today we spend on the Isle of Iona, tiny, isolated, and haunted, but so full of history. Home of a bloody massacre of the monks by the Vikings. Ghostly Viking longboats are sometimes sighted, as are the long-dead monks. To get to Iona, we drive the winding back road along the rugged south coast, used for the movies I Know Where I am Going and When Eight Bells Toll. At Fionnphort, we will board the passenger ferry for the five minute ride to Iona, (Holy Terror in the Hebrides, Dams) where our guide will meet us for a walking tour of the island. Our locally grown, organic lunch will be at the lovely Argyll Hotel, and after a bit of free time to enjoy the village, we go to the Abbey, for a tour. In the late afternoon, we retrace our steps back to the Isle of Mull Hotel for dinner and overnight. B,L,D Sept 8/Sat There is a short but lovely woodlands trail from town to Torosay Castle (I Know Where I am Going, movie), which the enthusiastic walkers may take by leaving just a bit earlier, but the rest of us will go by coach. Torosay, more of a Victorian mansion than a castle, is known for its beautiful gardens, which we can stroll through before entering the house for a tour. Home to Clan Maclean. Return to the ferry to cross to Oban (Morvern Callar, movie) on the mainland, where we tour the Oban Distillery, similar to the one in Now May You Weep, Crombie. Afternoon stop for tour of Inveraray Castle, (Bullseye, Rob Roy, movies) home of the Campbell Clan and the Duke of Argyll, and the ghost of a murdered servant boy - similar to the murdered servant boy in Dead Souls, Rankin. Arrive Glasgow airport hotel for overnight. End of tour Sept 9 Individual departures This is priced for land only, based on two people per room. A single supplement is available. Air is additional and you may book your own or I will be happy to assist you. Insurance is additional and highly recommended, as the penalties near departure are high. You will need to arrive into Glasgow by 9:00am on August 31.
SPACE WAS LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF 24 PEOPLE ON THIS LONGER, MORE IN-DEPT MYSTERY TRIP! CALL NOW, DON'T BE LEFT OUT OF THE NEXT ONE!
