Timberbush Tours News
STIRLING UNIVERSITY (ISS) TOURS
**THESE TOURS ARE FOR STIRLING UNIVERSITY ISS STUDENTS ONLY**
We have created two fantastic tours of Scotland especially for the ISS students travelling to Stirling University this year. Please see the tour descriptions below, and the dates they are running, then click on the PayPal "BUY NOW" button to secure your place on your selected tours.
TOUR 1
Scottish Highlands: Lochs, Mountains, Castles and History
DATES: Saturday 23rd June 2012
Saturday 21st July 2012
Start time: 08.30 hrs from Stirling University (Alexander Court)
Return time: 19:45hrs at Stirling University
Enjoy a wonderful and fascinating journey through a beautiful part of the Highlands. Experience scenic lochs, impressive mountains, historic castles and Scotland’s bloody past.
From Stirling you will travel North, passing Doune Castle built for Robert Stewart, the Duke of Albany over 600 years ago and used in more recent times during the filming of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. You will then travel through the historic territory of the outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor, made famous by Sir Walter Scott and played by Liam Neeson in the Holywood blockbuster Rob Roy. You will visit his final resting place at Balquhidder where he lies with his wife and two sons, the graves marked with three flat stones. Turning North West to drive through the desolate landscape of Rannoch Moor you will reach the scene of the 1692 massacre of the Clan MacDonald in the dramatic glacial valley of Glencoe. You will have a short stop in Glencoe to stretch your legs and admire the stunning scenery.
Continuing via Loch Linnhe, the tour will drive through the Highland town of Fort William and continue North East, travelling along the Great Glen (a geological fault running across Scotland) and the Caledonian Canal to Fort Augustus on Loch Ness. Loch Ness is 24 miles long and 700 feet deep and is most famous for its sightings of the Loch Ness monster known as Nessie.
It is interesting to note that this part of Scotland in past geological times was actually part of the landmass which is now North America. The Fort at Fort Augustus was built by General Wade after the Jacobite uprising in 1715 as a means to try and pacify the Highlands and the unruly Scottish clansmen.
After a lunch stop at Fort Augustus, the tour will retrace its steps back to Fort William, heading South, crossing Loch Etive and passing through the Pass of Brander where in 1308 Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, fought one of his battles on the road to Scottish independence from England culminating in the Battle of Bannockburn outside Stirling in 1314.
Once through the Pass, the tour will see one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, Kilchurn Castle, built in about 1450 for Sir Colin Campbell, first Lord of Glenorchy and former home of the Campbells of Breadalbane. After a short photograph stop, the tour will drive down to Loch Fyne to Inveraray town and its castle. The present building dates from 1744 and has been the historic seat of The duke of Argyle, chief of Clan Campbell. Entrance to Inveraray Castleis included.
After spending time exploring the castle and grounds, the tour will head back to Stirling via the ‘Rest and Be Thankful and the ‘Bonnie Bonnie banks of Loch Lomond’ stopping briefly at the pretty loch village of Luss with its quaint houses and views across the loch.
The cost for this tour is £42.00 per student
DATES: Saturday 23rd June 2012
Saturday 21st July 2012
Please select your preferred tour date below and click on the "BUY NOW" button to book your space
**THESE TOURS ARE FOR STIRLING UNIVERSITY ISS STUDENTS ONLY**
TOUR 2
Da Vinci Code, Knights Templar, Robert the Bruce and the Scottish Borders
DATE: Saturday 4th August 2012
Departure time: 08.30 hrs from Stirling University (Alexander Court).
Return time: 19:00hrs at Stirling University
Departing Stirling, your first stop will be Rosslyn Chapel, most recently famous for being part of the plot in Dan Brown’s book and subsequent Holywood blockbuster, The Da Vinci Code. Founded in 1446, the collegiate Chapel of St Mathew was built by Sir William St Clair. The beauty of its setting and the mysterious symbolism of its ornate stonework have inspired and intrigued artists and visitors for centuries.
There are supposed connections to North America, Knights Templar, the Masonic Order, hidden treasure and the Holy Grail. You will have a guide explain the fascinating history and myths of this wonderful building during an hour long tour.
Leaving Rosslyn you will continue into the heart of the Scottish Borders to Melrose and its great Border Abbey, founded by the Cistercian monks who had very close links with the Knights Templar. Melrose Abbey is also the burial place of King Robert the Bruce’s heart, brought back from the crusades in Moorish Spain. King Robert the Bruce had supposed connections with the Knights Templar and legend has it that they fought on the Scottish side at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, helping to win independence from England.
Following lunch in Melrose, you will make your way along the historically disputed border between Scotland and her ‘auld enemy’ England, to the often fought over town of Berwick upon Tweed (in England). This town changed hands 13 times in the wars between Scotland and England, eventually being captured and held by the Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) in 1482, ending over 400 years of bloodshed. The town still has its walled defences built by Elizabeth I of England in 1551 to defend the town against the newest form of warfare, namely artillery.
After a short stop in Berwick, the tour will head North hugging the East coast to drive through the town of Dunbar, birthplace of John Muir, founder of the ‘Sierra Club’ and saviour of Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park.
The last stop on the tour will be a short stop to visit North Berwick, a 19th century holiday resort. Famous past residents have been Willie Anderson who won the US open golf championship four times and Ben Sayers, also closely associated with golf.
Archaeological evidence shows that Berwick Law, the hill behind the town, had been occupied for over 2000 years. North Berwick also shares some history with Salem in Massachusetts, as in 1590 it was the scene of perhaps Scotland’s most notorious witch trials. The tour will then head back to Stirling for around 19.00 hrs.
The cost for this tour is £42.00 per
DATE: Saturday 4th August 2012
Please click on the "BUY NOW" button to book your place on the tour
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THIS TOUR IS FOR STIRLING UNIVERSITY ISS STUDENTS ONLY**
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Private Group Tours
Flexible itineraries, small group tours in comfortable and contemporary Mercedes vehicles and personal, attentive driver-guides. More information on all of the above available soon: email tours@timberbushtours.com for details.
Where to find us
And don't forget, as well as booking securely online or from several locations in Edinburgh or Glasgow, you can buy tour tickets in person from our Castlehill ticket office next to Edinburgh Castle.
Call us daily on 0131 226 6066 from 7am to 10pm to make a reservation or book securely online.
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