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| Map of Scotland | Self Drive Vacations | Scotland Golf Tours | Escorted Tours | Scotland Travel Guide |
| Scotland’s Haunted
Castles Day 1 Arrival Arrive Edinburgh Airport and pick up your rental car. Drive to Airth Castle where the staff may take you on a ghostly tour of the castle. Watch out for rooms No 3, No 9 and No 23 as they are all haunted by a small group of playing children. Even their ghostly nanny is still around and she sometimes looks after children whose parents have gone to dinner in the hotel restaurant! Do remember – rooms that are haunted by ghosts will feel chillier… Overnight at Airth Castle. Day 2 Stirling Castle & Linlithgow Palace Today you have the opportunity to tour two historic castles associated with Mary Queen of Scots. Stirling Castle stands on volcanic rock overlooking the town of Stirling. The Pink Lady, a beautiful woman in a pink silk gown, has been seen many times at the castle. Some say it is Mary Queen of Scots who was crowned in the old chapel in 1533, and others that it is the ghost of a woman searching for her husband who had been killed when Edward I captured the castle in 1304. A Grey Lady has also been known to appear and it is assumed that she was an attendant to Mary Stuart and saved her from certain death when the draperies on the royal bed caught fire. Unfortunately, every appearance of the Grey Lady heralds a disaster to befall the Castle! Last but not least, listen out for the mysterious footsteps that have been heard all over the Castle…Just down the road at Linlithgow Palace, where Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542, Queen Margaret’s Bower is said to be haunted by Margaret Tudor, waiting for the return of her husband, James IV, who was battling against the army of his brother-in-law, Henry VIII. James died on the battlefield and Margaret waited in vain –but not for too long, as she then proceeded to marry her husband arch enemy, the Earl of Douglas. So may be it’s a late regret that makes her appear in the Bower. Overnight at Airth Castle. Day 3 Glamis Castle Today make the trip through Fife to Glamis Castle, one of Scotland’s most beautiful and most haunted castles. It was the home of the Queen Mother in her youth and the birthplace of her daughter Princess Margaret. However, its history dates back to the mist of time and Glamis was once the hunting lodge of that most infamous of Scottish kings, Macbeth! The castle plays host to a plethora of ghosts, one of which is Lady Janet Glamis, who was accused of witchcraft by King James V and burnt at the stake at Castle Hill in Edinburgh in 1537. According to eyewitness reports, a mist arose from her funeral pyre and descended over all of Scotland. You may see her above the clock tower or sometimes in the chapel, where no one ever sits on the seat in the corner out of respect for Lady Glamis. There is also the spectral appearance of a small servant boy, who had frozen to death, a serving girl turned vampire and a tongue-less woman running through the grounds, but the most amazing mystery is the Missing Room. The window to the room can be clearly seen from the outside of the castle, but no entrance can be found and the window is bricked up. It is said that the Earl of Glamis played cards with his friends and did not want to stop when the clock announced the coming of Sunday. A black-clothed stranger entered the room and joined their game and when next a servant looked into the room he found his master and friends playing cards with the devil surrounded by a wall of fire. The room has been bricked up ever since, but on a quiet night you can still hear the men playing cards. Overnight at Airth Castle. Day 4 Cawdor Castle Today we journey north into the Highlands. You will have the opportunity to stop in one of the many picturesque villages on the way, but make sure you leave enough time to take in a different kind of spirit, Uisge Beatha. Take a tour of one of the many whisky distilleries in Speyside, learn about the Angel’s Share and get a taste of the Water of Life. Take a tour of Cawdor Castle, a superb fairy-tale castle romantically linked with Shakespeare’s Macbeth. There are reports of 3 ghosts at Cawdor – a mysterious appearance dressed in blue velvet and the ghost of John Campbell of Cawdor, but the saddest appearance is that of a young lady without hands. It is said that she was the daughter of one the Earls of Cawdor who had been in love with a man her father did not approve of. As a punishment her father had her hands cut off so that she “could never embrace her lover again”. Overnight in Tulloch Castle. Day 5 Dunrobin Castle Today you will visit Dunrobin Castle, the most northerly of Scotland’s great castles and home of the Earls of Sutherland. The upper floor of the castle is said to be haunted by the daughter of the 14th Earl. She had been imprisoned in the attic by her father for falling in love with the wrong man. When she tried to flee the Castle and elope with her lover, she fell to her death from a window. This castle also holds Falconry demonstrations in the afternoons. Overnight in Tulloch Castle. Day 6 Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle Travelling south along the banks of Loch Ness, keep your eyes pealed for its famous inhabitant, the loch Ness Monster. Your best vantage point is at Urquhart Castle, the ruins of one of the largest castles in Scotland which fell into decay after 1689 and was blown up in 1692 to prevent it being occupied by the Jacobites. Continue south through one of the most picturesque and haunting sites in Scotland, the valley of Glencoe, scene of the 1692 massacre of the MacDonald Clan by the soldiers of King William. Overnight in Airth Castle. Day 6 Edinburgh Castle It’s almost time to depart. Spend your remaining time in Edinburgh, doing some last minute shopping or, if you haven’t seen enough ghosts yet, tour the Castle which has many, including a headless drummer who only appears when the Castle is about to be attacked and a piper who disappeared in the tunnels between the Castle and the High Street. Recently, builders undertaking renovating works have been disturbed by ghosts said to be French prisoners of war, who were held captives in the Vaults underneath the Castle. Some more: Borthwick Castle, Lothian - an apparition of Mary Queen of Scots, dressed as a page boy, is said to appear; she escaped from Bortwick Castle in 1567 in a similar disguise. Braemar Castle - said to be haunted by a blonde haired, pretty girl, possibly a newly married bride who committed suicide because she thought her husband had abandoned her. (A sighting of her was reported in 1987). The spirit of John Farquharson of Inverey is also around - he is known as the "Black Colonel". Castle Fraser - a young woman who was murdered in the castle in the 19th century and dragged down the stairs before being buried. Her blood on the stairs could not be removed. Cawdor Castle, Invernesshire - the ghost of a lady in a blue velvet dress has been sighted and so has John Campbell, 1st Lord Cawdor. Corgarff Castle - ghostly screams have been heard in the castle, but nobody has hazarded a guess at who, or what, is making them. Craigievar Castle - the ghost here is of one of the Gordon family who was murdered by being pushed out of one of the windows of the castle. Culzean Castle, Ayrshire - a ghostly piper is heard when a Kennedy is getting married (the castle used to be a Kennedy stronghold). Another ghost seen here include a young woman dressed in a ball gown. Edinburgh Castle - needless to say many ghosts have been reported here, including a headless drummer (seen in 1960), a ghostly piper and one of the dogs buried in the pet's cemetery in the castle. Eilean Donan Castle, Wester Ross - A Spanish soldier, killed in the castle or in a nearby battle is said to haunt the castle. And one of the bedrooms is haunted by a Lady Mary. Kellie Castle - The spirit of Anne Erskine who fell from one of the upstairs windows is said to haunt a spiral staircase in the castle. Skibo Castle - although the present castle was built as recently as the 19th century, it is on the site of much earlier buildings. A ghost of a young girl used to haunt old castle. Bones were later found in the castle walls and once they had been buried, the hauntings were never seen again. Stirling Castle - Mary Queen of Scots appears here again - in the guise of the "Pink Lady". There is also a "Green Lady" who appears as an omen of bad news (green is an unlucky colour in Celtic mythology). Highland Games The precise origins of Highland Games is unknown but in all probability they derived from the trials of strength, speed, agility and skill which were commonplace at the various religious fairs, military musters and cattle fairs of medieval and early modern Scotland. The clans' warriors used these events to test their physical prowess in much the same way as modern soldiers engage in physical training. Yet these original competitions did not call simply for feats of strength since poets, bards and musicians also performed and competed. Happily, the more specialized pursuit of 'twisting the four legs off a cow for which a fat sheep is offered as a prize' does not feature in the modern games. This usually comprises running and jumping, throwing stones or hammers, tugs-of-war, tossing the caber, as well as a variety of piping and dancing competitions There is a full programme of Highland Games across Scotland throughout the summer season. One of the most famous is held in the late summer at the Braemar Gathering, traditionally attended by the Royal Family. Most Highland Games are on a far smaller scale, but featuring world Highland dancing championships, pipe band championships with over 150 bands, solo piping, track and heavy athletics, shinty championships, trade stands and children's activities. WHISKY TRAIL You explore the Whisky Trail, where Scotland's distilleries are located. This weaving road though the hills along the River Spey is the setting for Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and other distilleries. You stop at the Glenfiddich Distillery, where the Grant family has produced fine whisky since 1887. Glenfiddich is the only distillery in Scotland where malt whisky is bottled on the premises, so you can see the whole process for yourself. Then try a dram and discover the unique taste of traditional whisky. In ancient Gaelic "Uisge Beatha (pronounced ish-ge ba-ha) has become the modern Whisky. The Highland toast is "Slainte" (pronounced slawn-cha) or "to your health". Itinerary Celtic Sites in Scotland The highest concentration of ancient Celtic sites in Scotland is near Aberdeen and one the east coast of Scotland. Here are just a few: Arbroath is a large town on the east coast of Angus. It is home to the famous Arbroath Abbey where in 1320, Scotland's nobles swore their independence from England in the famous 'Declaration of Arbroath'. Arbroath is a large town on the east coast of Angus. It is home to the famous Arbroath Abbey where in 1320, Scotland's nobles swore their independence from England in the famous 'Declaration of Arbroath'. This the basis of the American version. Stones: Several very impressive single standing stones survive in striking locations, possibly covering burials or marking access points to significant areas of landscape. They appear to date from the Bronze Age (second millennium BC). Meigle If you have any interest at all in this little understood era of Scotland's history then a visit to Meigle is highly recommended. The collection is remarkable, We know most about the Picts from the carvings they left from the period between their conversion in about 650 to their eventual assimilation into Alba. These can be seen dotted spectacularly across much of the eastern side of Scotland north of the River Forth. And the largest single collection of Pictish Carved Stones in Scotland is gathered together in the Museum in the old schoolhouse in the village of Meigle, Perthshire. This can be found between Forfar and Coupar Angus on the A94. Here are our choices for: Scotland Travel - Scotland Tour,  short Scotland Vacations, and Scotland Tourism
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