THE HEART OF SCOTLAND - SELF GUIDED SHORT BREAK

Explore the heart of Scotland on foot. Discover the history, castles, lochs and rivers of Highland

Perthshire on our Heart of Scotland short break. Highland Perthshire is arguably one of Scotland’s

most beautiful parts and there is no better way to discover the rich fertile glens and wild hillsides

than on foot. The glens are home to rich farmland, ancient forest, historic castles and tranquil

lochs, while the heather covered hills are full of wildlife.

Blair Atholl, nestled on the banks of the River Garry, is your base for the first two nights. Blair Castle and

the walking on Atholl Estates are both first class. You then walk south via Killiecrankie and Ben Vrackie to

Pitlochry where you spend the last two nights of your holiday.

Highland Perthshire is a favourite destination of many of our experienced walk leaders and they have put

together a selection of their favourite walks for your to enjoy at your own pace. Welcoming country hotels,

baggage transfer, detailed route notes, maps and emergency support are all included in your holiday. ,

should you need it.

Enjoying the huge range of suggested walks.

Exploring Blair Castle and Atholl Estates.

Walking through one of Scotland’ finest landscapes.

Visiting Edradour, Scotland’s smallest distillery .

The prolific wildlife and bird life of the area.

WHY CHOOSE A SELF GUIDED SHORT BREAK WITH US?

At Macs Adventure we want to make sure that you have the very best walking experience in Scotland. Our

walk leaders carefully research and plan our walking itineraries so you can experience the very best

Scotland has to offer. They are backed up by an experienced office team dedicated to finding the best

accommodation and making sure every last detail of your walking holiday is perfect. .

“Everything from Macs' planning advice to its willingness to make an advance adjustment to our

itinerary, smoothed our way, enabling a hassle-free, invigorating, and memorable family

adventure”. David Myers, USA

“ I just wanted to let you know that it was a fantastic adventure and apart from a few blisters it

went without mishap. We even had excellent weather after the first few days, including a magic day

across the Rannoch Moor. Your organisation was excellent and all of the accommodation was just

great” Bill Lyndon, Australia

THE HEART OF SCOTLAND

A SHORT BREAK IN HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE

SUMMARY

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

Accommodation: Hand-picked hotels.

Meals: A hearty breakfast included.

Lunch and dinner not included but al-

ways available at accommodation or

nearby.

Baggage Transfer: Door-to-door bag-

gage transfer.

Information Pack: Comprehensive Map

and Route Notes.

IS IT FOR ME?

Welcoming traditional country hotels, highland history, romantic castles and a choice of great walks! If this is your

idea of the perfect walking break then you can’t go wrong with this walking holiday.

Tour: The Heart of Scotland

Code: WSSHS

Type: Self-Guided Walking Break

Price: See website

Single Supplement: see website

Dates: All Year

Walking Days: 3

Nights: 4

Start: Blair Atholl

Finish: Pitlochry

Distance: 20-30 Miles

Grade: Easy to Moderate

HIGHLIGHTS

TESTIMONIALS

Day 1: Arrive Blair Atholl

Blair Atholl is the quintessential highland village

and offers real highland hospitality to visitors. It is

the perfect walking base complete with beautiful

scenery and a network of excellent trails.

Blair Atholl is on the main Glasgow/Edinburgh to

Inverness rail, bus and road routes. Journey time

is about three hours.

Day 2: Atholl Estates Walk

The area surrounding Blair Atholl is an amazing

part of Scotland and you have an entire day to

enjoy the delights of this truly special part of the

country.

Start by visiting Blair Castle, its imposing white

facade dominates the area. It is home to the

Atholl Highlanders, one of Europe’s last private

armies and exploring the castle and gardens is

enthralling.

The afternoon is best spent exploring one of the

many way marked tracks available on Atholl

Estates, although you can choose from several

walks which we provide including challenging hill

walks or gentle river strolls.

Day 3: Blair Atholl to Moulin

Start your journey with a relaxed walk on

riverside paths to Killiecrankie, site of the first

battle of the Jacobite victory and home of the

unbelievable “Soldiers Leap”. From Killiecrankie

you have the choice of three equally appealing

routes to Moulin, by mountain, moor or river.

Moulin is a tiny village to the north of Pitlochry

nestled on the slopes of Ben Vrackie. You will be

staying at the Moulin Hotel, a delightful haven of

Highland Hospitality well known for its beer and

food.

Day 4: Pitlochry Walking

Choose from a number of outstanding walks in

and around Pitlochry and the surrounding area.

Mountains, rivers, lochs and local attractions will

inspire and delight you. Your biggest problem will

be which route to take and which sites to visit.

Choices include Edradour and Blair Athol

Distilleries, the Festival Theatre, the Salmon

Ladder and the Black Spout Waterfall.

Alternatively if you are feeling more energetic

you may wish to tackle Ben Vrackie, the highest

hill in the area which is sure to reward your

efforts with fantastic views in all directions.

Day 5: Depart Pitlochry

Again, Glasgow and Edinburgh are easily

accessed from this central location and should

you need to return to Blair Atholl it is a short

journey by local transport.

Tour: The Heart of Scotland

Description: Three days of excellent walking

based at two of our favourite highland hotels.

Walking Days: 3

Nights: 4

Walking Distance: 5 -10 Miles Daily

Grade: Easy to Moderate

Navigation

The majority of the walks follow waymarked

footpaths, although for some sections of the

walks and the more challenging options you will

need to follow route notes and read a map. The

route follows clear trails and footpaths at all

times.

Grade

We suggest a range of walks each day which

range from easy to challenging, which you

choose is up to you.

Accommodation

One of the highlights of this tour is the high

standard of the accommodation. We specifically

choose the accommodation to ensure that you

enjoy every minute of your stay. They all offer a

warm welcome to walkers, traditional hospitality

and delicious local food.

Single Rooms

Single rooms are available, although they do

attract a single supplement.

Solo Walkers

This tour is available to solo walkers although

there is a solo walker supplement payable to

cover the additional baggage transfer costs.

Meals

A choice of full Scottish or continental breakfast

is is included each morning. Lunch and dinner

are not included so you are free to choose from

the available options. Most of your

accommodations will be more than happy to

provide a packed lunch on request and this can

be booked on arrival.

Day Route Miles

1 2 3 4 5

Arrive Blair Atholl Atholl Estates Walk Walk to Pitlochry

Pitlochry Walking

Onward Travel

5-10 10

5-10

HOLIDAY INFORMATION

THE HEART OF SCOTLAND

WALKING IN HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE

SUMMARY: WSSHPSB

DETAILED ITINERARY

Alternatively your info pack includes details of

local shops and convenient lunch stops on the

way. Dinner is available either at your

accommodation or nearby pubs and restaurants

and your info pack will of course have details.

Baggage Transfer

Your bags will be transferred from your

accommodation as per your itinerary and moved

onto your next overnight accommodation. We

ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to

15kg per person.

Equipment

Your information pack has a detailed equipment

list which includes standard walking gear such as

good walking boots or shoes, warm and

waterproof clothes and a day pack.

Dogs

Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate

walkers with dogs.

Recommended Reading

The Guide to Mysterious Perthshire

by Geoff Holder

Atholl and Gowrie: A Historical Guide

by Lindsay J. MacGregor

Rob Roy

by Sir Walter Scott

A History of Scotland

by Neil Oliver

I never Knew That About Scotland

by Christopher Winn

Useful Websites

Blair Atholl Tourist Guide

Guide to Pitlochry

Atholl Estates & Blair Castle

Availability

This short break is available all year and you can

start on any day of your choosing subject to

availability.

Spring and autumn are our favourite times of

year in Perthshire. We would recommend you

book as far in advance as possible.

Price

Current prices are available on our website

here...

Included

Hand picked bed and breakfast and hotel accommodation in ensuite rooms.

Door to door baggage transfer.

A detailed info pack, route notes and map for the group leader.

Emergency telephone support from our office in the event of a problem.

Excluded

Travel to the start or from the finish of the walk.

Lunches, dinners, snacks and drinks.

Travel Insurance.

Personal Equipment.

Taxi transfers or public transport should you need to skip a stage.

Travel Insurance

We strongly recommend taking out travel

insurance to cover cancellation or curtailment of

your holiday.

Getting to Blair Atholl

Blair Atholl is 80 miles north of Edinburgh on the

main transport route through the highlands. By

car the journey from Edinburgh takes 1.5 hours

and Blair Atholl is well signed from the A9. The

village also has excellent public transport

connections and is served by First Scotrail trains

and Citylink Bus services from Glasgow/

Edinburgh to Inverness.

Getting from Pitlochry

Pitlochry is located close to the A9 motorway.

There are several trains per day to Glasgow and

Edinburgh with Scotrail and similarly there are

several bus services with Citylink.

Should you wish to travel back to Blair Atholl,

simply take the train which takes around 10

minutes or the local number 87 bus, which takes

around 20 minutes.

Minimise Impact & Maximise Benefit

Our operating policies, office policies, holidays

and tours are all designed to minimise impact

and maximise benefit to the environment and

local communities.

Action & Advocacy

We believe that by engaging our team and

clients in environmental and community projects

we can make a real difference.

Carbon & Communities

Travel and our business activity does of course

contribute to carbon output and climate change.

We have put several policies in place to minimise

our carbon footprint.

AVAILABILITY & PRICE TRAVEL INFORMATION

THE HEART OF SCOTLAND

A SHORT BREAK IN HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE

M.A.C.S RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL

Sensitive & Sustainable

Macs Adventure has worked hard to ensure that

our holidays are sensitive to the community you

are visiting and sustainable over the long term.

More about M.A.C.S. Responsible Travel

Policy...

We are justifiably proud of our reputation for

outstanding holidays on the Heart of Scotland

trip. You can read numerous customer reviews

on our website to get a good idea of what to

expect from Macs Adventure in the Heart of

Scotland.

Once you have read all the information in this

factsheet or on our website and decided on your

preferred itinerary, visit our website or give us a

call to confirm availability. You can then book by

any of the following methods:

Book Securely Online: www.macsadventure.com

Telephone: +44 (0) 141 530 8886

Fax/Post: Download or request a booking form

and post it to Macs Adventure, 44 Speirs Wharf,

Glasgow, G4 9TH, UK or fax it to +44 (0) 845

527 5688

Please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone on

+44 (0) 0141 530 8886 or email:

info@macsadventure.com if you have any

queries and one of our expert customer service

team will be happy to help.

Financial Security

In accordance with "The Package Travel,

Package Holidays and Package Tours

Regulations1992" all passengers booking with

Macs Adventure Ltd are fully protected for the

initial deposit and subsequently the balance of all

monies paid to us, including repatriation if

required (this insurance will not cover repatriation

to the country of origin for the passengers

outside of the EU), arising from cancellation or

curtailment of your travel arrangements due to

the insolvency of Macs Adventure Ltd

There is no requirement for Financial Protection

of day trips, and none is provided. This

insurance is only valid for packages booked that

DO NOT include flights.

Book with Confidence. We are a member of

ABTA which means you have the benefit of

ABTA’s assistance and Code of Conduct. We

provide full financial protection for your money.

This Insurance has been arranged by

International Passenger Protection Limited and

underwritten by Insurers who are members of the

Association of British Insurers & Lloyds

Syndicates.

ABTA Member

Statement

Macs Adventure Holidays

is a Member of ABTA.

ABTA and ABTA Members help holidaymakers

to get the most from their travel and assist when

things don’t go according to plan. We are obliged

to maintain a high standard of service to you by

ABTA’s Code of Conduct. For more information

on ABTA, the Code of Conduct and the

arbitration scheme available to you if you have a

complaint, contact ABTA, 30 Park Street, London

SE1 9EQ, tel 020 3117 0581 www.abta.com

Activity Scotland Code

of Conduct

Macs Adventure is a

member of the Activity Scotland Association, the

trade association which supports and promotes

activity providers in Scotland. Macs Adventure

abides by the Activity Scotland Code of Practice,

which ensures that your activities are safely and

professionally organised, comply with the law

and are financially protected.

“Everything from Macs' planning advice to its

willingness to make an advance adjustment

to our itinerary, smoothed our way, enabling

a hassle-free, invigorating, and memorable

family adventure”. David Myers, USA

“ I just wanted to let you know that it was a

fantastic adventure and apart from a few

blisters it went without mishap. We even had

excellent weather after the first few days,

including a magic day across the Rannoch

Moor. Your organisation was excellent and all

of the accommodation was just great” Bill

Lyndon, Australia

HOW TO BOOK

THE HEART OF SCOTLAND

WALKING BREAK IN HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE

TESTIMONIALS

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE