Silver Jubilee Highland Fling Scotland 5 – 15 September 2019

Silver Jubilee Highland Fling

Scotland

5 – 15 September 2019

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Highland Fling Tour

Highlights • Edinburgh • Highland Park distillery (most northern UK distillery) • Scapa Flow, Italian Chapel • Scara Brae • Smoo Cave • Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle) • Loch Ness • Glencoe • Eilean Donan Castle • Inveraray • Glenfinnan viaduct • White sandy beaches of Arisaig • Fort Augustus • Commando Memorial

Our accommodation varies in type and quality but has been handpicked for this tour by Chris.

Highland Fling is open to all riders and the pace is set to ensure you enjoy the scenery.

Why Scotland? • A country of great variety and natural beauty, with some of the best biking roads available. • Each corner offers a changing landscape to ride through. • From history to world renowned visitor attractions Scotland has something for everyone.

Why Scotland with H-C Travel? • Our local tour guide has 14 years motorcycle Join us for one of our H-C Travel / Orange & Black Silver touring experience. Jubilee Special tours – our first ever tour of Scotland, • Support vehicle to carry all your luggage. th Highland Fling – and celebrate our 25 anniversary in style. • Extremely varied riding with stunning areas that we picked out just for you to ride through. We’ve designed Highland Fling to give you a taste of what • Small group size for maximum enjoyment. Bonnie Scotland can offer, led by our very own Chris Smith. (maximum 9 motorcycles) If you have been on one of our guided tours already, you will know just how much value we place on having a local expert in charge of your holiday – and what great benefits they bring. Let Chris show you many of the roads and places he Your guide loves.

From the sweeping hills of the Cairngorms National Park to the white beaches of the west coast. Come see if Nessie will say hello as you ride along the famous Loch Ness or sample the live bands in Inverness while having a wee dram (or two). Riding through Scotland is unlike any other European country - and Chris has guided tours through a lot of them - where the landscape can change at every corner. Come with us and see that there is far more to Scotland than just the North Coast 500 and let a local show you the roads.

Chris ‘Madscots’ Smith is from Edinburgh and has been running bike tours since 2004. Prior to converting to two wheels, Chris ran tours for car clubs so has some 26 years touring experience - not only in the UK but across Europe. Over the last 10 years Chris has also been a customer on several Orange & Black (H-C Travel) tours in the USA so has plenty of experience to look after your needs. He will be on hand at all times whilst you are on tour.

Chris has picked some of his favourite locations to give you a personal feel for Scotland and to see where local bikers ride. The Highland Fling motorcycle tour is not only about what you can see and ride through in the stunning Scottish Highlands - it is also about making new friends and having a

laugh at the same time.

Day 1 Arrive Edinburgh - meet and welcome dinner Your guide Chris will meet you at the hotel welcoming you to “Auld Reekie” - Scotland’s capital Edinburgh. Drop your bags into your room then come along with Chris for your welcome dinner. At dinner Chris will tell you of the amazing places you will visit and you’ll get to meet your fellow riders.

Day 2 Edinburgh - Inverness Picking up hire bikes (if needed) we start our journey North with a stop at the Forth Rail Bridge and the views over the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry. From there we head up to Perth and pick up the amazing road to Glenshee passing through the ski slopes. After riding over the passes we head down into Inverness “the highlands capital” where you can sample local fayre and live music.

Day 3 Inverness – Kirkwall (Orkney) From Inverness we ride up the A99 (watch out for seals playing near the water’s edge as we ride along the coast) to the most north-easterly corner of the UK - John O’ Groats. After a photo at the world famous sign we then head along to the ferry to sail (1hr) up to Orkney. If time allows we will visit Orkney’s Highland Park distillery before heading to our hotel.

Day 4 Orkney (free day) Orkney has a wealth of history from ancient sites such as Tomb of the Eagles, Scara Brae and amazing standing stones through to WW1&2 areas such as Scapa Flow, the Italian Chapel and the Churchill Barriers. You can do as much or as little as you wish as Kirkwall also offers a relaxing time to walk around the town should you choose to park your bike.

Day 5 Orkney - Ullapool We take the early morning ferry and then head along to Smoo Cave where you can walk down into the caves and gaze at nature’s power as it has carved into the cliff face forming a waterfall at its rear. From there we follow the coast to Ullapool on a great motorcycling road. Spend the evening overlooking the harbour having a nice - locally sourced - meal and drink while the sun sets over the water.

Day 6 Ullapool - Kyle of Lochalsh We’ll spend the day on some wild and very scenic roads but keep an eye out for the local Hairy Heighland Coos (highland cattle) that graze and roam along the route. We ride along the coast to famous Applecross where we will head over the amazing Pass of the Cattle (Bealach na Ba) which is never to be missed. Today is one of the most scenic motorbike rides you will ever do and you will see why Scotland is an amazing place to ride.

Day 7 Kyle of Lochalsh – Loch Ness In the morning we ride over to the Isle of Skye for a loop around this amazing island. It is a very visually different landscape to previous days. From Skye we head south to the world famous Eilean Donan Castle, home to James Bond’s Scottish HQ. The tour stops here so you can visit the castle then walk back along the causeway in the footsteps of Connor McLeod of Highlander fame. We then make our way down to the hotel for the night at Loch Ness.

Day 8 Loch Ness – Fort William You can’t visit Scotland and not try to find the Loch Ness Monster so we take a run along the side of the loch and pay a visit to the Exhibition Centre dedicated to its reclusive resident. From here we head South to Fort Augustus for lunch and a walk along the loch gates to watch the boats heading down into Loch Ness. Next stop, Spean Bridge, to visit the Commando Memorial erected in remembrance of the original soldiers that trained in the area during WW2. This site also offers a fantastic view over the Great Glen to Ben Nevis. From here we ride to the white sandy beaches of Arisaig via the Glenfinnan viaduct of Harry Potter fame before finishing the day at our central hotel.

Day 9 Fort William - Oban Heading South from Fort William we ride into the world famous Glencoe and get to meet the Three Sisters. You will have the opportunity to stop and soak in the visually breath-taking views before riding through the passes down to Tyndrum for a stop at the Green Welly. From here we ride along amazing roads to Oban for a scenic evening walk along the harbour before dinner.

Day 10 Oban – Edinburgh Heading south along the coast to Inveraray we stop at this stunning town for a break before heading to the top of Loch Lomond. We then skirt the north side of Loch Earn for a late lunch near Tullybannocher. From here it’s an easy ride along to Crieff before riding through the world famous Gleneagles Golf Course – home to the Ryder Cup - heading for Edinburgh and our farewell dinner.

Day 11 Depart Edinburgh Our Highland Fling has flung, and your tour is over. Thank you for joining us for our silver jubilee celebration. And before you head home, why not spend a day or two exploring Edinburgh?!

Distance c. 1300 miles

Silver Jubilee Rider + passenger (per person 2 riders (per person in twin or Rider (single room) Highland Fling in twin or double room) double room) 05 - 15 Sep 2019 £1,695 £1,745 £2,545

Price includes: • 10 nights hotel accommodation • Welcome & Farewell Dinners • 10 breakfasts • Ferries • Entrance fees for Highland Park, Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Ness Visitor Centre • Local transfers • Support vehicle for luggage • Scottish tour guide (must be returned unharmed)

Price excludes: • Motorcycle hire - we have something to suit everyone with motorcycles by Harley-Davidson, Indian, KTM, Suzuki and Yamaha. Please ask for prices • Fuel • Personal Items and expenses • Additional activities • Riding gear • Travel / medical insurance • Flights, stopovers and additional accommodation which can be arranged through H-C Travel

This tour is restricted to a maximum 9 motorcycles