THE CAIRNGORMS, INVERNESS & STRATHSPEY STEAM TRAIN

Day 1: Depart North Wales and travel north to Scotland and our hotel in Kingussie for a 4-night stay.

Day 2: This morning we travel to Aviemore and board the Strathspey Steam Railway, a heritage steam railway that runs for 10 miles along heather covered moorland with the Cairngorm Mountains behind, for a return journey to Broomhill. Spend the afternoon at leisure in the beautiful mountain town of Aviemore, with sights reminiscent of a Swiss ski village.

Day 3: This morning, we journey to Inverness, the cultural capital of the Highlands. See its 19th century Cathedral, stroll along the banks of the River Ness and browse the indoor Victorian Market. This afternoon, we return to Kingussie, where you can enjoy some time at leisure. A worthwhile attraction is Ruthven Barracks, standing on a hillock across the river. This former barracks was built by the English Redcoats as part of their campaign to tame the Highlands after the first Jacobite rising in 1715. It was destroyed by the Jacobites in the wake of defeat at Culloden to prevent it from falling into enemy hands, and it was from here that Bonnie Prince Charlie sent his final order which signalled the end of his doomed cause. Access is free and the ruins are particularly attractive at night when floodlit.

Day 4: Today we visit the town of Pitlochry, a tourist destination for over 150 years, due to its sparkling clean air, rich history and wonderful scenery. A classic excursion for any tour of Scotland is a visit to a distillery. Included is a Distillery tour of Blair Athol with tasting, located in the centre of town it is one of the oldest working distilleries in the country, producing 12-year-old single malt whisky drawing the crystal-clear waters of the Allt Dour Burn. Mid-afternoon we visit the nearby open-air Highland Folk Museum. With over 30 historical buildings and thousands of artefacts, visitors will learn how Highland people lived and worked from the 1700’s to the 1960’s!

Day 5: We depart Kingussie and make the return journey home. We will stop for lunch and there will be various comfort stops en-route.

The Duke of Gordon Hotel, owned by Cairngorm Travel, is one of the Premier privately owned hotels situated in the Heart of the Scottish Highlands in the village of Kingussie. The hotel looks out across the Spey Valley and the Cairngorm National Park to Ruthven Barracks, the site of an earlier stone castle, constructed in the 1300’s by the ancestors of the 1st Duke of Gordon.

With origins in the eighteenth century the hotel was originally built as a stop-over for passengers travelling by stagecoach along the old A9 to Inverness and the North of Scotland. The facilities and atmosphere now experienced in the hotel, combined with the hospitality of our staff make the Duke of Gordon the ideal place to stay when visiting the Highlands.

The Duke of Gordon’s truly traditional Scottish atmosphere proved to be an ideal filming location for the popular TV series MONARCH OF THE GLEN with a number of our guests appearing as extras.

As a result of extensive modernisation, the Duke of Gordon is one of the very few Highland hotels that can offer all the facilities and some comforts of a modern hotel combined with the traditional character and heritage of an old Scottish coaching inn. The hotel has 60 en-suite bedrooms, direct dial telephone, colour TV and tea/coffee making facilities.

The experience of dining in the elegance and splendour of our impressive Balmoral Restaurant with its heavily corniced ceilings and Peddie murals depicting Scottish Highland history and local scenes of great natural beauty is one not easily forgotten. Our menus are carefully selected and prepared to provide the best traditional Scottish fayre. These, combined with our very personal service, make dining at the ‘Duke’ truly a Jewel in the Highland Crown.

On several evenings guests are piped into dinner by a piper in full Highland dress. Entertainment takes place most evenings in the Ruthven Ballroom in the form of Ceilidhs, folk nights and dancing. The Duke of Gordon and the Spey Valley have enchanted Royalty through the ages dating back to the visit of Queen Victoria and her devoted Consort on 8th October 1861. Come and see why Her Majesty was so inspired that she made specific reference to her visit to the ‘Duke’ in her personal diaries.

• 4 Nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast
• Return Steam Train Journey on Strathspey Railway - Aviemore to Broomhill
• Entrance & Tasting Blair Athol Distillery
• Entrance to Highland Folk Museum