September 15–23, 2028

We meet in Edinburgh on the morning of the 15th and head north by coach. The land gets bigger and emptier the farther we go, until the road drops down to Loch Broom and the white houses of Ullapool. That's home for the next seven nights.

Home is Ardvreck House, an old stone house on the hillside just outside the village, looking back across the loch to the harbour and the hills. There's a lounge with big windows and binoculars ready (seals and dolphins sometimes come up the loch), a proper Highland breakfast every morning by the best hosts I've found, and a hill out back that seems made for watching the sun go down. You unpack once and stay put. No hauling luggage onto a coach at eight in the morning. 

Ullapool was built as a herring town in the 1780s, and it still feels like a working harbour. Ferries leave for the Outer Hebrides, fishing boats come in, and fish and chips taste better with a sea wind. You can take the long, slow walk along the shore from the house into the village, find music at The Ceilidh Place, and have the space to wander on your own if you like.

Then there are the days out. We head north into Assynt, some of the strangest and loveliest country in Britain, where lone mountains rise out of rock some three billion years old and white-sand beaches look like they belong somewhere much warmer. We'll stand in the ruins of Ardvreck Castle on the shore of Loch Assynt, which shares its name with our house. Let's take a boat trip out to the Summer Isles and visit the gardens at Inverewe. 

There will be time with local guides, a private concert or two, and plenty of room for the slow things too: a long lunch, a walk on the beach, a pint where the locals drink. By mid-September the bracken is turning rust, the midges have mostly given up, and on a clear night the dark skies up here can put on quite a show.

On the 22nd we wind our way back south for a last night together in Edinburgh with our traditional farewell dinner. On the 23rd you head home with a full camera roll and at least one story nobody will quite believe.

Woven through the nine days

• Seven nights at Ardvreck House, above Loch Broom

• Ullapool's harbour, the shore walk, and evening music

• The mountains and beaches of Assynt, and the ruins of Ardvreck Castle

• Corrieshalloch Gorge on the drive north

• A boat trip to the Summer Isles

• trip to Inverewe Garden

• A private concert

• September light and dark Highland skies

• A final night together in Edinburgh

Did you know?

Our tours are different than most. We follow a model of Regenerative Tourism, meaning we strive to leave a place better than we found it. Tours are carefully curated to support Scottish communities and be mindful of areas that are overtouristed. You will be seeing Scotland with local guides and friends who show up to share music, food and stories. You will not be seeing this enchanting land through a coach window with quick stops. We take our time and a portion of every tour goes back to conservation efforts in the areas we visit. Thanks for supporting small businesses and community efforts around Scotland!