Day 1
We depart from Inverness airport or railway station. On arrival in Inverness we embark the MV Lord of the Glens at the Muir Town Locks, a short walking distance from the city centre. In the evening the Captain will host a welcome reception before dinner. We moor overnight in Inverness.
Day 2
After breakfast this morning we depart on an excursion to Aviemore and the Strathspey Railway. Here we will board the maroon-liveried coaches which will evoke memories of train journeys in the 1950s and 60s and the train will be hauled by a lovingly restored steam locomotive from the collection which is housed in the engine shed adjacent to the station here. The line crosses heather covered moorland with the Cairngorm Mountains beyond, scenes which have changed little in the last hundred years. We will return to the ship in Inverness in time for lunch before relaxing and enjoying a sail through Loch Dochfour and Loch Ness to Fort Augustus, pausing in front of Urquhart Castle for a photo opportunity. This is one of the most romantic ruins in the world, its intriguing shape reflecting the irregular outcrop of rock on which it is built. The castle has a long and complex history, having changed hands many times due to its strategic location. Of course, what makes Urquhart Castle that little bit special is the thought that at any moment the deep, dark waters that surround it on three sides may suddenly ripple and part as a monstrous creature appears…
We moor for the night at Fort Augustus, with dinner served on board.
Day3
Following breakfast, we depart this morning for a visit to the Loch Ness Visitor Centre, which tells the story of the myth and reality surrounding a certain 'local resident'. In the afternoon, following lunch, we will sail through various man-made sections of the Caledonian Canal, which was started in 1803 to plans produced by Thomas Telford following survey work by James Watt thirty years earlier. By the time the canal finally opened in 1822 it had taken 17 years and cost £840,000, but instead of the 20 foot depth in Telford's plans, the canal when it initially opened was only 14 feet deep, too shallow for many of the increasingly large ships being built at the time. A second phase of construction was undertaken between 1844 and 1847 and what emerged from this was the canal originally proposed by Telford. The irony was that by the time the canal was finally complete, steam ships could make the passage around Scotland much more easily than the sailing ships in whose era it was designed.
We continue through peaceful Loch Oich and Loch Lochy to Banavie, where we moor overnight. Dinner is served in the evening.
Day 4
Enjoy your breakfast. This morning we depart by coach for a visit to Glencoe, with a stop en-route at the Fort William Whisky Distillery. Glencoe has to be one of the most atmospheric glens in Scotland, a broad valley carved out by glaciers in the last ice age with towering mountains on either side. The tragedy of the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692 adds a poignant note to this hauntingly beautiful place. The distillery in Fort William is one of the oldest in Scotland and produces both malt and blended whiskies, using the water that tumbles down the slopes of mighty Ben Nevis in whose shadow it sits. After lunch on board we descend Neptune’s Staircase, an impressive series of eight inter-connected locks that lowers the vessel step-by-step to sea level, close to Fort William. In the evening we join the Captain once again for our farewell reception and dinner, mooring overnight here at Corpach.
Day 5
Following breakfast we disembark and return to Inverness airport or railway sation.