Hebridean Adventure

Stornoway Harbour

Vatersay Bay

From £999 8 Days May & Aug

The wildly beautiful coast of Scotland is scatered with hundreds of islands and inlets shaped by the ever-pounding sea and ever-changing weather. Sublimely secluded and totally unique, our tour to the untouched Outer Hebrides is a never-to-be-forgoten experience, as we take in some of the most spectacular scenery Scotland has to offer. Rich heritage and unique wildlife combine with the rugged coastline, stunning mountains and unspoilt islands to create an enchanting place like no other.

ITINERARY

Day 1 Flight to Glasgow

We fly to Glasgow airport and take a short walk to the Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport where we stay overnight on a bed and breakfast basis.

Day 2 Isle of Skye & Isle of Benbecula

Leaving the hotel, we travel north to the pretty port of Mallaig and get a first glimpse of what Skye has to offer as we board a ferry for the short trip across to Armadale on the Sleat Peninsula. We make our way across the Isle of Skye, admiring the stunning scenery and rugged landscapes to Uig where we catch the ferry to Lochmaddy enjoying a two-course meal on board. We continue on to our hotel on the Isle of Benbecula, our base for the next two nights.

Day 3 Island hopping

Today’s island hopping begins by taking the causeway across to South Uist, where the west coast is an unbroken sandy beach in contrast to the east which is dominated by mountainous peaks. We then continue on to Eriskay, famous for the Eriskay Ponies and also for being the real ‘Whisky Galore’ island. It was just off Eriskay, between Great Todday and Little Todday that the SS Politician ran aground in 1941 with 50,000 cases of whisky aboard. The locals managed to save several hundred cases before the ship sank, providing them with a good supply of their ‘Water of Life’. From here, enjoy the short ferry crossing to the Isle of Barra which is considered by many to be the most beautiful little island in Britain. Its tranquil beaches, distinctive culture, where Gaelic is widely spoken, and an ancient history make any visit to Barra a memorable one. If time allows we also venture across the causeway to stunning Vatersay, the most southerly inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides.

Day 4 Stornoway

After a leisurely morning in Benbecula we collect a packed lunch and continue onward to North Uist, via the Benbecula causeway. North Uist is a relatively flat island covered with peat bogs, low hills and lochans. More than half the land is covered by water, making North Uist a birdwatchers’ paradise. We board the afternoon ferry for the one-hour crossing to Harris before travelling up the west coast past numerous unspoilt, white sandy beaches and some of the most breathtakingly beautiful scenery in the Western Isles. The final leg of today’s journey is to Lewis and our hotel in Stornoway where we stay for two nights.

Day 5 Isle of Lewis

The Isle of Lewis is the most northerly island in the Hebrides with a history that goes back thousands of years and where ancient standing stones can be found everywhere. We make the short journey over to the west coast and visit Callanish, where stands an awesome collection of stone circles known as the Hebrides Stonehenge. Other sights on today’s excursion include the moorland interior where peat is still cut for fuel, traditional croft dwellings and Dun Carloway Broch, one of Scotland’s best preserved defensive structures dating back over 2,000 years.

Day 6 Stornoway to Ullapool

Enjoy some time at leisure in Stornoway this morning, perhaps picking up some souvenirs, before we catch the ferry to Ullapool on the mainland and head to our overnight hotel in Pitlochry.

Day 7 Return to Glasgow area

We continue our journey, travelling via Stirling, arriving back at the Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport where we stay overnight on a bed and breakfast basis.

Day 8 Journey home

After checking out of the hotel, we take a short walk to Glasgow airport for our return flight home.

Eriskay Ponies YOUR BREAK INCLUDES

y Return flights to Glasgow y Airport taxes and luggage allowance (one piece of checked-in hold luggage per person) y First and last night at the Holiday Inn, Glasgow

Airport with breakfast y 2 nights at the Dark Island Hotel, Benbecula with breakfast plus 1 dinner y 2 nights at the Cabarfeidh Hotel, Stornoway with dinner & breakfast y 1 night at the Fisher’s Hotel, Pitlochry with dinner & breakfast y 1 dinner on the ferry between Uig and

Lochmaddy y 1 packed lunch y Island hopping excursion y Ferry fares y Escorted by a tour manager in Scotland

YOUR HOTELS

Selected hotels JG3 The first and last night of our break is spent at the Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport. We also stay at the Dark Island Hotel on the Isle of Benbecula, the Cabarfeidh Hotel in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and the Fisher’s Hotel in Pitlochry in the Highlands. All hotels offer modern en-suite bedrooms with tea and coffee-making facilities.

Hotel accessibility information

Please visit justgoholidays.com/accessibility or call our friendly reservations team for further details.

Single supplement £225

ISLAND IDYLL

A trip to Sark, the smallest of the four main Channel Islands, promises an unforgettable and idyllic experience. With no street lights polluting the night skies and no vehicles allowed (excluding tractors!), the island remains beautifully unspoilt and is best explored either by bike or on a traditional horse and carriage ride. The two different areas of Sark and Little Sark are connected by a picturesque isthmus called La Coupée, which offers lovely views of azure coves, rocky cliffs and pristine beaches below.

See page 36 for a tour of this region Jersey, Guernsey & Sark (by Air)