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See the sights of Edinburgh and Scotland, learn about its history, what makes the people tick and all the things that make us the "best wee country" in the world. Hi, we're Iconic Tours, a small group, all locals and we love to share our passion for Edinburgh, the Highlands, St Andrews, Fife and all of Scotland with the world. We offer walking tours, driving tours and photography tours (with profe
ssional photographers) and these are all on a small group and private basis to make sure you get a personal experience and see the best sights, learn about the things only locals know and for those on photo tours you can learn how to get photos that will help you get amazing photos for all your travels to come.
Last week when we headed up Inverness way we stopped by for some treats, some shopping at and the off to before some beers at in Inverness and finishing off the day with a wee wander round the gorgeous town of Inverness.
Which of these places have you visited?
Somewhere not a lot of tourists get to, but a great day out from Edinburgh is to visit North Berwick, especially if you are a food fan.
We went out to for breakfast, a wander through North Berwick to check out some of the Robert Louis Stevenson family links, check out local shops for some gift buying, a top notch lunch at the before heading off to .distillery for a tour. A stretch of road limed with pot holes resulted in a burst tyre and Glenkinchie very kindly allowed us to take a later tour as we were delayed by changing wheel in a mucky gateway. Despite turning up a bit mucky, the staff at Glenkinchie were most welcoming and accommodating. Thanks for that.
As always, no ads or invites, just fun experiences we paid for.
We had some family come visit Scotland for the first time and we had a grand wee mini-tour of Scotland. One day we went up to St.Andrews for a wee dander (wander) about, some history, some sights and some tasty food at the Tail End. Highlight of the day for everyone was watching the waves crash into the East Sands. Sometimes it's wee moments like that which give the best memories.
Happy Valentines day everyone. Today Mrs Iconic, her sister and her mum got some lovely chocs from . Always enjoy trying somewhere new, especially when they are as tasty as these are.
Even in dreich days like today Edinburgh has a bit of magic about it. Saying that though, I am looking forward to winter being over 😉
In a wee wander in the local vicinity recently I saw this on a pub door as I was passing. It seems a few pubs around the UK are trying to be "digital free" in that they don't allow phone calls to me made or taken, no texting, emailing, taking photos of viewing photos. Instead, they want people to be social and talk.
What do you think about venues being digital free? Would that be a plus or a minus for you?
So, who among you had some haggis tonight to celebrate Burns night? Maybe a wee dram to go with it?
Robert (Rabbie) Burns was born into a poor but hard-working family in Ayr just a few years after end of the last Jacobite rebellion. The family not only worked hard, but believed that education would bring about a better life for their children and set about educating all their children. Although young Robert was not seen as the smartest of the Burns children, he was seen as the most artistic and a great conversationist. Soon he joined a group of like minded fellows and they would debate, talk and even write some poetry.
This period witnessed massive changes in Scotland, the start of the enlightenment and the industrial revolution, people saw opportunity to better themselves and Burns after toiling on the land and not yielding much in the way of financial decided to head to Jamaica to work in plantations to hopefully make himself some decent money, but if he got to Jamaica, to pay back the cost of his transportation fees would be a years work alone, so to help pay his way he decided to publish some of his poems. He wrote about the life of working class people, extolled the virtues of honest work and he was witty, smart and very soon his repaution spread and he was a man in demand. Wealthy people were willing to pay to hear this young "ploughman poet" recite his verse and working class food such as haggis and whisky featured in his work and helped bridge the gap between the working classes and the upper classes and hundreds of years after his death we still eat some haggis, drink some whisky, recite some of his poems and maybe even have a wee ceilidh.
I do love a Central Highlands tour at this time of year. Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending a day with the lovely Amy and Tom and we headed off to the Kelpies, Stirling Castle, met some Highland cows, had some food at Mhor bread, stopped by Loch Lubnaig, missed on over to the Falls of Dochart in Killin, took an some great views of Loch Tay from Kenmore, swung by some 5000 year old standing stones and arrived at South Queensferry for just after sunset to see the Iconic Forth Rail Bridge. We walked a lot, they got a lot of great photos, we had .any laughs and even had time for a wee whisky tasting. We didn't see many tourists other than at the Kelpies either.
Scotland at this time of year is great, it's a great time to come visit.
Some of our customers this week have mentioned they chose to travel to Scotland after New Year as the prices drop in hotels, there are cheap flights and once you are out of the city the Highlands are very peaceful and lacking crowds. I have to agree, it is a great time to travel here.
Who has visited Scotland in the "quieter months" of Jan-March?
A good way to start the New Year here in Scotland if you had a few drinks the night before is the known hangover cure of Irn-Bru and a roll and square sausage. This however is no ordinary square sausage, this is a "black heart sausage" which has black pudding in the middle of this square of beef sausage goodness.
Who has tried square sausage and Irn Bru on their travels to our fair land?
I was off to the Central Highlands today, we stopped to meet some cows, toured Stirling Castle and got some great views, went to Loch Lubnaig, Mhor 84 for lunch, jad a walk near Rob Roy's grave and then had a whisky tasting before visiting Dean Village on our way back into town and the sun was going down. We can fit a lot of good stuff into the light we have at this time of year.
Santa's dram is poured so we are now officially in Christmas mode.
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas from Scotland.
Slainte.
Edinburgh
| Monday | 9am - 10:30pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 10:30pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 10:30pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 10:30pm |
| Friday | 9am - 10:30pm |
| Saturday | 9am - 10:30pm |
| Sunday | 9am - 10:30pm |
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Who has done a walk to the Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye? It's a pretty steep walk up, but the path and the steps are well maintained and if you time it right, you can get the place to yourself almost....which can be very tricky in the summer months tbh. Also, did you know it was used as a backdrop in the movie Prometheus as well as the BFG? It also featured in season 2 of The Witcher.
Who has tried some Deanston whisky before? If not, what would you like to try? #whisky #singlemaltwhisky #deanston
This week we have been out and about touring in Edinburgh quite a bit. We start off with the famous spots and then like to get people to the quieter spots that are harder to visit. Where would you like to see the most in Edinburgh?
Some nice views we had in Glencoe today. We dropped off to see Stirling Castle, Callander and Loch Lubnaig before heading up to Glencoe and Glen Etive to explore a bit before some lunch in the Clachaig Inn.
For the best coffee in Edinburgh you need to get yourself to the @thecobbledroaster on Thistle Street. #coffeeedinburgh #coffee #bestcoffeeinedinburgh
Some advice on how to go about getting a good view of the Jacobite Steam train passing. #harrypotter #glenfinnanviaduct
A nice little custom tour today, Stirling Castle, Dunblane Cathedral, Dunblane for some local lunch and a wander, Doune Castle, Midhope Castle and South Queensferry. Where would you like to see on a day trip out of Edinburgh?
Cherry blossom in Edinburgh's meadows are something else. #Edinburgh #cherryblossom
After a few days on Skye you could head to Inverness, Glencoe, or Oban to explore some other places. Each destination is roughly 3 hours from Portree and allows you to explore somewhere else. As we were in Inverness before Skye, we headed down to Oban for the night. #Oban #Glencoe #visitscotland #castlestalker
If you go to Neist point on Skye, be aware that: A. It's quite a big drive along a long winding road (but the views are worth it). B. When you get to the end or the road and park, there is an obvious path to the left, but if you head right along the worn paths in the grass along the cliff tops you get the glass view, so go that way. Just don't disturb sheep or fall over the edge 😀
If you are staying in Portree, there is a lot of great stuff you can do in the morning. Here are some highlights. #visitscotland #isleofskye #Quirang #walking in scotland #dinosaurs
I may be a creature of habit, but this is how I like to start a day in Portree. Our lovely customers did the same each day too. @birch.coffee #coffee #isleofskye #scotlandtour
Day 1/5, Dunkeld, Loch Morlich, Clava Cairns and Inverness for a wander, some food at Nar and a drink at Uile-Bheist and then Black Isle Brewing. Always good to take folks to local spots.
Where from here would you love to see the most?
Love a day out with the boys, off to Mhor Bread for breakfast and takeaway snacks and lunch, a walk in the hills or in this case, a cycle along the Glen Ogle Viaduct and then down to Loch Lubnaig for a wee splash about.
A nice wee wander from the Hermitage up to Pine Cone View today and we even ran into some Jacobites on the way.
Mrs Iconic and I had a nice wee dook in the North Sea yesterday. 40mph winds, cold water, so we weren't in too long and we stayed very near the shore. If I had hair it would have been blow dried by the wind in no time after it.
When up Inverness way we do love a walk along the River Ness to the Ness Islands, checking out the Victorian Market and Leakey's Bookshop, wandering into the grounds of Old Inverness Kirk, having a coffee at Grain and Grind and then later on after more walking, a few beers and pizza at the Black Isle Brewery. We also like to get some local seafood to cook ourselves when we have somewhere to stay nearby. Inverness is a lovely little town, the centre can be a bit "touristy" but just a few minutes away along the river on foot and having a car to get you to local shops away from the centre takes you to a lovely different world.
Hi, we're Iconic Tours, all locals and we love to share our passion for Edinburgh, the Highlands, St Andrews, Fife and all of Scotland with the world. We offer walking tours, driving tours and photography tours (with professional photographers) and these are all on a private basis to make sure you get a personal experience and see the best sights, learn about the things only locals know and for those on photo tours you can learn how to get photos that will help you get amazing photos for all your travels to come.
