Iconic Experiences of Ireland and Scotland Itinerary

Land in Edinburgh and a memoir to the past look down upon you. The castle stands proudly and powerfully above the city, an ode to times of glory and occupation. This is where the city was founded, a military stronghold with dazzling views over everything else. After the airport transfer and some time to freshen up you head straight for the castle, driving up to the imposing stone then walking down the hill onto the Royal Mile. Along these medieval streets, you find many city secrets; pubs, markets, squares, a mysterious cemetery and cafes that spill the smells of a nation. The castle and the Royal Mile is the Edinburgh experience, and after a private walking tour, you have time to uncover more nooks and crannies.

Leave the city behind and start to see why Scotland is so revered. Countryside quickly arrives and the glens stretch onwards to the horizon, narrow valleys of muted colors and dramatic design. The landscapes seem to come from a fairytale; ruined stone churches, rolling and rugged peaks, sunlight casting beams through the clouds. In Culross, you experience 17th-century lifestyles in a merchant house of painted walls. At St. Andrews you find the home of golf and take a swing, the ball heading down the fairway or perhaps just a few meters from your toes. The city’s medieval cathedral stands majestic and you take a tour after lunch in an old-world St. Andrews pub.

Keep traveling, onwards into the Scottish Highlands. The river trickle through forests and old stone bridges juxtapose the trees. Loch Tay extends all glassy water and reflections. Kenmore awaits, a picturesque lakeside town dominated by tradition. Bagpipe music starts early, calling at the start of the evening. The piper plays, and you take a seat, listening to a history of bagpipe music, understand its role in local culture. There will be time to try playing the pipes – it’s difficult, but some first timers grasp the blowing technique – along with a dinner that also epitomizes this part of the world.

Scotland’s lochs are studded with crannogs, ancient defensive homesteads built on piers that extend over the water. Without mortar or modern tools these structures live on, remnants of a time of quarrel and early farming. Admire the inimitable crannogs, then walk through a towering forest and hear the tales of Scottish Romanticism at Black Linn Falls. Spend the afternoon doing Scotland’s most iconic experience, whiskey tasting. Tour a distillery, meet the distiller, inhale the fumes and learn about the process.

You visit a working sheep farm, watching a demonstration by the sheepdogs before learning the ins and outs of the wool industry. Lunch is warm and hearty at the farmhouse, so you may be in a soporific mood when touring the Culloden battlefield. Lively tales of 18th-century battle wake you from slumber, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the final days of the Scottish rebellion. This is a sublime landscape to explore and there are various options for a late-afternoon Highlands hike, from a short jaunt to a two or three-hour option; all have astonishing views. It’s a short drive onwards to your boutique hotel in Inverness, which is a lovely city for exploring on your own.

Monster sightings can’t be guaranteed but the scenery dazzles on a Loch Ness panoramic cruise. Green and purple hills punctuated by ragged rock; mountain reflections on a clear day; a sense of charm that’s ubiquitous across Scotland. Urquhart Castle stands in an evocative state of ruin as if it’s about to tumble down into the lake and land on the monster. Staying out in nature, you explore the Clava Cairns, antiquated burial chambers that suggest this country has secrets from years ago.

Cawdor Castle is nothing like Urquhart. Elegant and extravagant with its turrets in the air, this 15th-century monument would scare you from afar in a time of medieval warfare. Now it’s surrounded by magnificent gardens and the welcome doesn’t involve getting shot at by arrows; take a walk inside and you’ll hear your own footsteps echo through capacious rooms. Back in Inverness, you experience another of the country’s castles, a dramatic 11th-century fortification above the River Ness. While most of the castle isn’t open to the public you’re able to step beyond the red rope and see what really goes on in a Scottish castle.

A short flight to Dublin and a literary legend provides your first Irish experience. This is the city of James Joyce, as revealed in the single epic day of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses. So take a walk, living the character and the city, from the bells of St. George’s Church to the Parnell Statue and the GPO. Colorfully painted houses line Bachelor’s Walk before you reach Trinity College and see the Book of Kells. With Joyce as a lens you experience the famous sights and gritty side-street stories that make the Irish capital so intriguing. The legs will be tired so rest up with a pint of the good stuff, the creamy stout that has sold Ireland to the world. Have a pint of Guinness at the brewery, or if you want something a little more local, go to Temple Bar for your first proper Guinness.

Older than the pyramids, even older than Stonehenge, the ancient tombs of Bru na Boinne are Western Europe’s ultimate archaeological site. You explore the enormous passage tombs of Knowth and Newgrange, pre-Celtic Ireland as intriguing as the Irish Gaelic culture of today. After a free afternoon, you spend the evening with the storytellers, the traditional seanchaidhean who spin long humorous yarns punctuated by folk music and dancing. Just like the prehistoric tombs, the stories don’t seem real. But when you experience the cadence and quality of the storyteller you realize that anything can be real when you want it to be.

The landscapes of Ireland are as green as you imagined and more. You wonder around Glendalough, a majestic monastic settlement that takes you far back in time. From here it’s onwards towards Kilkenny, one of Ireland’s oldest settlements, where the 12th-century castle is a great introduction to Ireland’s history. Spend the night in this gregarious city, a place where you can wander off and end up making new friends inside an old pub or restaurant. You’re now really in the heart of Ireland, a place filled with folk tales and icons.

St. Patrick is a name known all over the world, and it’s at the Rock of Cashel where his story really starts, some 1,500 years ago. This rock has become the country’s spiritual heart, and there’s something about the vista that inspires the Irish in everyone. A crumbling cathedral and castle now stand here, juxtaposed with the endlessly green views. Continue through Ireland to Dingle, a small town surrounded by sandy beaches, walking trails, and wonderfully rugged scenery. It’s also a town steeped in folklore, experienced during a gourmet dinner that’s accompanied by Gaelic music and dancing.

Wild landscapes dominate the Dingle Peninsula, the trails leading you onto majestic cliffs, towards steep staircases and onto beaches without footprints. There are many ways to walk here, and the guide will tailor the day to your energy levels. Dingle has more attractions, not least a famous dolphin to be seen on a boat tour. Along with the hiking, you can take a drive along the Slea Head, perhaps the most sublime road on the whole of the emerald isle. It’s close to this road you get a personal look at an old Gaelic Blasket community, their literature, language, and daily life quite different from what you might expect.

Now the most famous of the Irish coastlines, where the Cliffs of Moher stand high above the tumbling waves of the Atlantic. This is the edge of Europe, and you can feel it, next stop America if you set sail from here. Like yesterday, there can be a mix of hiking and driving should you wish. Go for an adventure, or take it easy with visits to the thatched-roof village of Adare and other gems along the peninsula. It can be a fairly long day of driving but the Irish landscapes are superb, so you’re never bored, and there’s always a place to stop and inhale fresh coastal air. You spend the night in Ennis, where a warming dinner puts the gloss on this Ireland and Scotland tour.

Homebound, a final journey across Ireland as you head back to Dublin and depart. Dependent on your flight time there may be time to stop at attractions and villages along the way; perhaps a small country village for a final Irish meal.