Stirling Castle,Trossachs National and Loch Lomond Day Tour from Edinburgh
Description
A perfect introduction to Scotland on this small-group tour - history, legend, and breathtaking landscapes all in one. This journey takes you from striking modern art to ancient battlegrounds. We’ll start with The Kelpies, the world’s largest horse sculptures and a tribute to Scotland’s industrial past. Then, it’s off to Loch Lomond, the largest loch in Britain, whose beauty has inspired poets and painters for centuries. From there, we’ll venture into The Loch Lomond Trossachs National Park, a land of towering peaks and shimmering waters, before stepping back in time at Stirling Castle where kings met their fate, rebellions took root, and Scotland’s story was shaped. A little bit of everything, all in one unforgettable day.
Tour Options
Itinerary
After departing Edinburgh you will have the chance to visit and marvel at the stunning Kelpies, the world’s largest equine sculptures dedicated to the horse powered heritage of Central Scotland, designed by Andy Scott.
We head west through Scotland’s central belt towards the ‘Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond’ where we take time at Balmaha to admire views of Ben Lomond. Here, you will have the opportunity to go on a woodland walk that will afford you spectacular views of the loch. Standing on its bank you will understand why Loch Lomond has been immortalised in a world famous song.
Take the chance to discover impressive Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s most important structures both historically and architecturally. Many royals have been crowned at Stirling Castle, including Mary Queen of Scots, and it was central to William Wallace’s fight in the Wars of Independence. If you choose to not pay entrance to see the Castle and its splendour, you can visit the town of Stirling and experience the local shops and sights around town instead.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum age to travel is 5 years old, while anyone aged 5-17 must be accompanied by an adult.
- It is recommended to book transport to the departure point in advance. Please also allow extra time to get to the departure point for check-in. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the tour departure to allow time to check-in for the tour. Unfortunately, we are unable to hold the bus or refund for any late arrivals.
- Return times are approximate and subject to road conditions and weather. Please ensure you allocate sufficient time for any onward travel plans, allowing at least 3 hours after the scheduled return time for connections or activities.
- Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is accompanied by someone who can assist them to board and disembark.
- This tour may run in conjunction with our sister company, Highland Explorer Tours.
- Due to vehicle availability, there may be instances where this tour runs on a bigger bus.
- Please note that itinerary order may change.
- Travel insurance is recommended.
- If you are using an audio guide, please bring your headset.
Reviews(80)
A very nice trip with commentary from Ali. Lovely scenery and Stirling Castle is well worth the visit.
We enjoyed our tour and our guide Sophie was absolutely outstanding. It was a very nice experience and one that I would highly recommend.
Stirling Castle was definitely worth seeing; the rest, not especially. The tour guide was a former part-time actor and spent a lot of time talking about that (and his other personal experiences). He was an entertaining speaker but better on picturesque language - evidently pre-scripted and largely drawn from tourism websites - than facts. For some reason he told us the Kelpies represent Clydesdale horses and said nothing about their true meaning - making it even harder to understand why a modern outdoor sculpture is part of the tour at all. (Without the legend, which wasn't mentioned, it was nothing but a stop at a large souvenir shop.) Also, to start the tour we had to stand on line outside the tour office in a cold drizzle until almost time to to leave; we were not allowed inside except to pay our additional fee for admission to the castle.
Steve took us on an adventure that started at the Kelpies, continued to a breathtaking walk along the shores of Loch Lommond and went on to the iconic Stirling castle. From beginning to end, Steve infused Scottish history, music, culture and details into our day. He was funny, charismatic and had immense knowledge to share. We even did a sing along to the proclaimers “I’m gonna be (500 miles)” on our journey home. 10/10 recommend going on this tour with Steve!!!
An excellent day. Sophie was an excellent guide and driver. We learned a lot about Scottish history and other fun facts!
Thank you for leaving a review Laurie. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time on tour and found Sophie to be an excellent driver guide. We'd love to have you on tour with us again in the near future. Kind regards, Paige - Sales and Reservations
Absolutely amazing! Book it! The view were amazing. Our guide was friendly and informative. Played great music in between talking while we drove. He was very interactive. Love it.
Hi Kristin, Thanks for leaving us a 5 star review. We are glad you enjoyed your tour with us. We will pass your feedback on. We are glad you enjoyed the views and the locations and you found the tour informative. We hope to welcome you back on another tour with us soon. Kind Regards. Keith, Haggis Adventures
Torva was a great guide for my kelpies, loch lomand and Stirling tour. He was friendly and told stories on the bus with humour and enthusiasm! The Scottish music played during the tour was a lovely touch! The locations on the tour were brilliant- a great way to tick off some sights in a day. I’d use Haggis Adventures again!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review. The tour is a lovely wee snapshot of Scotland and Torva is a fantastic guide always bringing enthusiasm to his story telling. So glad you got the chance to enjoy it. Best regards, Louise
It was a great day to see Sterling Castle,Loch Lomond, and the Kelpies our guide Alister was great he knew the area well and gave us just the right about of information.
Hi Brad, really great to hear you enjoyed your recent exploration of the picturesque Trossachs and Loch Lomond national park, historic Stirling and the impressive Kelpies monument! Alistair is a very knowledgeable guide and we are pleased to have offered you opportunity to discover more about Scotland's turbulent history, culture and art whilst enjoying the tranquillity of Loch Lomond! Kind regards, Amy Haggis Adventures
Wendy had the best talk of any of several guides we've had in Scotland - clearly enunciated, informative and entertaining. Right amount of time at each site. Extra stops at the Firth bridges and a farm for a hairy coo. Excellent day!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely review! We will pass on your fantastic feedback to Wendi, it sounds like you had a great day. We hope to welcome you again soon. Kind Regards, EJ - Sales and Reservations
A great tour with a great and knowledgeable tour guide! He gave us so much interesting information about Scotland. I appreciate hearing the stories as we were driving. And the soundtrack of Scottish music playing while driving was awesome; a wonderful variety of familiar and unfamiliar tunes. The stops were well timed - interesting and allowed for bathroom breaks. The walk (little hike) at Loch Lomond allowed for a bit of an outdoor activity; it was beautiful! And Stirling castle was amazing. Three hours there was perfect! It was a great day!
Hi there, thank you for taking time to provide us with a review of your recent trip with us. We are delighted that you enjoyed our wonderful itinerary and the tales & history along the way! We are so glad that you enjoyed your tour guide's insights and were able to make unforgettable memories of Scotland! We sincerely hope to welcome you back on tour again soon. Kind regards, Rachel - Highland Explorer Tours
