Cruise Loch Ness, a 37-kilometre ribbon of inky water set within Scotland’s Great Glen Fault. Glide past forested slopes and watch for Aldourie Castle as peat-dark depths slip beneath the boat.

Hear how tectonic shifts carved this trench millions of years ago and why the loch’s low visibility feeds the legend of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Geology, folklore and Highland vistas combine on this atmospheric passage.

Stroll the complete circuit of Derry/Londonderry’s 17th-century walls with one of Northern Ireland’s finest raconteurs. Look down onto the Gothic Guildhall and elegant Shipquay Street as centuries of conflict, craft and community are brought to life.

From bastions and cannons to murals and bridges, this elevated walk reveals a compact city that has witnessed—and overcome—transformative chapters in Irish and British history.

• 10 Dinner (D)
• 21 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Lunch (L)

• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

• Business class coach with extended leg room
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• Premium regional accommodation

• Stratford-upon-Avon: Savour British cuisine with dinner at a local restaurant.
• Killarney: Choose from a fine selection of local restaurants on your Dine-Around evening.
• Dublin: Visit the Guinness Storehouse to learn about Ireland’s national drink. 
• Plymouth: Celebrate the culmination of your travels in style with delicious wine and local cuisine.

• Derry/Londonderry: There’s no better way to experience sightseeing than with one of Northern Ireland’s best storytellers, Ronan, as he takes you on a tour inside the city walls. See the Gothic Guildhall and the Georgian houses of Shipquay Street.
• Kilkenny: Visit Kilkenny Castle to learn the history of this magnificent castle and that of the powerful Ormonde family that came to call it home for so many centuries. Amble through the Picture Gallery, library, drawing room, nursery and bedrooms decorated in 1830s splendour as well as the rolling parkland formal terraced rose garden, woodlands and man-made lake.

• Dartmoor National Park: Visit Dartmoor to learn about the history of stone circles and indigenous traditions from your knowledgeable Local Specialist on a scenic exploration. 
• Plymouth: Set sail on a relaxing cruise from Plymouth harbour, where the pilgrims left over 400 years ago.

Insight Vacations

Explore the scholarly heart of Oxford with a guided orientation taking in the spires and colleges that have shaped centuries of learning. Stroll past honey-coloured quads, age-worn cloisters and bustling lanes where bookshops and cafés spill into the streets.

Hear how this university town grew from medieval halls into a global centre of research. Pause to admire landmarks like the Radcliffe Camera and the Sheldonian Theatre, and sense the quiet ritual of college life continuing behind oak doors and wrought-iron gates.

Visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace, a timber-framed house where the Bard first drew breath. Step through low doorways and creaking floors to see period rooms and exhibits that reveal the Tudor world which shaped his imagination.

Discover how Stratford’s market town character met the playwright’s rising fame, and find traces of everyday life—crib, bed and hearth—preserved with care. Outside, Tudor facades and iconic half-timbered streets complete a scene that connects literature with lived history.

Walk inside York’s medieval walls to see York Minster, the city’s limestone giant, and the crooked lanes of the Shambles where timbered houses almost touch. Follow remnants of Roman and Viking footprints across an intimate maze of streets.

Learn how guilds, merchants and pilgrims shaped this walled city. Your orientation highlights the city walls, arched gateways and market squares that still pulse with life, offering an evocative snapshot of northern England’s layered past.

Visit the stone-built village of Grasmere, where slate roofs nestle among green fells and William Wordsworth’s grave rests beside St. Oswald’s Church. Wander lanes scented by gingerbread and lake air, framed by crags and drystone walls.

Hear how the Lake District’s sublime scenery stirred the English Romantic poets. Between mirror-calm water and rough-hewn peaks, you’ll sense the same quiet drama that inspired Wordsworth’s verse and reshaped ideas of nature and beauty.

Visit storied Gretna Green, just beyond the Scottish border, where runaway couples wed under the watch of the village blacksmith. Step into the smithy to see the famous wedding anvil and hear tales of love defying parental consent.

Discover how 18th-century marriage laws in England sent sweethearts north to Scotland, where a simple declaration made vows lawful. The clang of iron and rustic beams set a scene that still speaks of romance and resolve.

Join a guided panoramic tour along Princes Street and the elegant New Town before climbing the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. Inside, view the Honours of Scotland, the ancient Stone of Destiny and the mighty cannon Mons Meg.

Absorb contrasts between Enlightenment facades and Old Town closes, with stories of monarchs, sieges and scholars. From the ramparts, look over spires and slate roofs to the Firth of Forth, a vista that anchors Edinburgh’s proud identity.

Discover St Andrews, where medieval quadrangles meet North Sea air and the Old Course unfurls beside dune-backed sands. Walk the curve of West Sands Beach and take in the skyline of spires and collegiate towers.

Hear how Scotland’s oldest university shaped the town’s rhythm and how golf’s traditions took root here. Ruined cathedral stones, wynds and waterfront views combine intellectual heritage with bracing coastal atmosphere.

Go behind the scenes at Arbikie Highland Estate near windswept Lunan Bay to learn how a pioneering team crafts spirits from field to bottle. Step into working spaces scented with malt and botanicals, and hear the story of the Stirling family farm.

Discover circular practices, from heritage crops to green energy, that make Arbikie the world’s first climate-positive distillery. This hands-on visit supports Responsible Consumption and Production and shows sustainability driving flavour and innovation.

Explore Orkney’s layered history, beginning at the delicate Italian Chapel, fashioned by WWII prisoners from humble huts into a sanctuary of faith. Continue to Skara Brae, where stone beds, hearths and cupboards still sit inside 5,000-year-old homes.

Stand among the megaliths of the Ring of Brodgar and wander through Kirkwall, a Norse-rooted town. Sea winds, ancient stones and wartime artistry reveal islands where time feels tangible in landscape and craft.

Pause for photographs of Eilean Donan Castle, poised where three sea lochs meet. Framed by tidal waters and rugged hills, its turreted silhouette reflects in calm conditions like a scene from Highland legend.

Hear how this island stronghold guarded clan territory and was rebuilt in the 20th century with faithful detail. The setting—and salt-tanged air—captures Scotland’s romance in a single, unforgettable view.

Travel a route of sweeping mountains and broad waters to the bronze figures of the Commando Memorial, gazing toward Ben Nevis. Continue into the volcanic walls of Glencoe, where steep ridges frame a valley steeped in clan history.

Skirt the shores of Loch Lomond, the “Queen of Scottish Lakes,” where islands dot the water under shifting Highland light. Military remembrance, wild geology and serene lochside scenes come together in compelling contrast.

Join a guided orientation through Glasgow’s bold Victorian grid, pausing at George Square before heading to St Mungo’s Cathedral. Its dark stone and ribbed vaulting hint at the city’s medieval soul beneath modern industry.

Learn how merchants, shipbuilders and artists reshaped Scotland’s largest city. Elegant civic buildings, fountains and the cathedral’s echoing nave reveal an urban story of ambition and resilience.

Walk onto the Giant’s Causeway, a dramatic pavement of some 40,000 interlocking basalt columns forged by ancient volcanic power. Trace hexagonal steps as Atlantic waves boom against the shore and seabirds wheel overhead.

Hear legends of Finn McCool beside explanations of cooling lava and crystalline geometry. This rare landscape blends myth and science in a setting that feels both otherworldly and ruggedly coastal.

Visit Donegal Castle, the restored stronghold of the O’Donnell chieftains beside the River Eske. Step into halls of carved stone and timber that chart Gaelic power, Norman influence and later plantation eras.

Wander the compact town where quays, craft shops and market streets meet Atlantic light. The castle’s great tower and bawn walls set the tone for a place where medieval heritage still shapes the present.

Explore Sligo with an orientation linking medieval lanes, riverside views and landscapes that inspired W.B. Yeats. Hear how limestone peaks, drumlin hills and open shorelines coloured the poet’s imagery.

From abbey ruins to breezy quays, the town’s layered character emerges in detail. The interplay of Atlantic light, literary legacy and everyday rhythm offers a vivid sense of Ireland’s northwest coast.

Journey across Connemara, where ragged mountains, mirrorlike lakes and bogland knit into a landscape of raw beauty. Watch sheep graze unfenced slopes and stone walls stitch fields under a vast, changeable sky.

Hear how Gaelic culture, fishing and smallholdings survived in this Atlantic-facing region. The phrase “savage beauty” rings true in every wind-rippled lough and heathered pass along the way.

Join an orientation in Galway’s historic core to visit the Church of St Nicholas, the Spanish Arch and lively Eyre Square. Hear sea shanties of trade, tales of clans and the pulse of street musicians.

Narrow lanes, colourful shopfronts and the River Corrib’s swift run create a city that feels both ancient and youthful. Stories of merchants and mariners mingle with today’s creative energy.

Survey King John’s Castle on its Shannon island strongpoint, the Gothic hush of St Mary’s Cathedral and the storied Treaty Stone that anchors 17th-century memory. Limerick’s elegant Georgian frontages frame this layered tale.

Learn how sieges, trade and poetry shaped a city with grit and grace. River views, old lanes and civic pride reveal an Irish urban landscape rich in character and history.

Stroll the main street of Adare, lined with thatched cottages and flower-bright verges. See how monastic ruins, manor estates and vernacular architecture earned this village a reputation for charm and conservation.

Hear stories of landlords and craftspeople, and how traditional thatching continues today. The combination of storybook cottages and ecclesiastical remains creates a uniquely photogenic heritage setting.

Follow the Ring of Kerry, 111 miles of Atlantic vistas, mountain passes and lake-dotted valleys. Watch sheep-grazed fields tumble to surf-cut coves and fishing hamlets tucked into sheltered inlets.

Hear how the Iveragh Peninsula’s geology and weather sculpt dramatic contrasts—from misted peaks to sunlit bays. Photo stops invite you to pause for photos and reflection amid some of Ireland’s most storied scenery.

Enter the grounds of Blarney Castle, a 15th-century fortress wrapped in gardens and myth. Climb the battlements to take your turn to kiss the Blarney Stone, said to grant the gift of persuasive speech.

Stroll leafy paths past limestone outcrops and curious rock formations. Legends, panoramic views and medieval masonry combine in a visit that blends ritual with real architectural interest.

Discover “Rebel City” with an orientation along the Grand Parade, South Mall, City Hall and the Opera House. Bridges cross the River Lee’s channels as markets and terraces animate Ireland’s second city.

Hear of monastic origins, Viking raiders and Norman merchants who shaped Cork’s maritime fortunes. The hum of cafés, Georgian facades and working quays reveal a confident, characterful urban heart.

Tour Kilkenny Castle, seat of the powerful Ormonde family. Step through 19th-century restored interiors—Picture Gallery, library and nursery—hung with portraits and furnished in Victorian splendour.

Walk terraces and parkland above the River Nore to appreciate how architecture, gardens and town grew together. A blend of Norman fortification and later comfort charts Ireland’s aristocratic story in stone, wood and water.

Explore the multi-level Guinness Storehouse to follow the brewing process from roasted barley to creamy head. Interactive exhibits trace advertising, cooperage and the global story behind Ireland’s most famous stout.

Finish in the Gravity Bar with panoramic views over Dublin’s rooftops, where a perfectly poured pint meets a sweeping cityscape. It’s a sensory tour that links flavour, craft and capital.

Join a Local Specialist to see Georgian squares with bright doors, O’Connell Street and the neoclassical Custom House. Stories of rebels, writers and statesmen unfold as you navigate elegant avenues and lively quays.

Understand how Viking foundations, Anglo-Irish grandeur and modern energy coexist in Ireland’s capital. Monument-lined vistas and lively neighbourhoods give a complete first look at the city’s spirit.

Visit mighty Conwy Castle, Edward I’s 13th-century fortress looming over estuary and town. Scale towers, walk curtain walls and step onto the unbroken town walls for vast views toward Snowdonia.

Learn how royal ambition and master mason James of St George delivered this UNESCO-listed stronghold in just four years. Granite mass, tidal light and medieval geometry create a fortress of rare completeness.

Orientate yourself in Liverpool where maritime grandeur lines the UNESCO-listed waterfront. See the Three Graces and docklands reborn into museums, galleries and promenades beside the River Mersey.

Trace how port trade, migration and music shaped the city’s character, from ocean liners to a beat that echoed worldwide. Red-brick warehouses and sculptural civic buildings set a proud urban stage.

Take an easy orientation of Wales’s capital, passing the Principality Stadium, City Hall and the National Museum district. Broad avenues, statues and civic facades showcase Cardiff’s confidence and culture.

Hear how coal wealth, industry and devolution shaped the modern city. Grand Edwardian planning meets contemporary Welsh identity in a compact, walkable centre.

See Bath’s Georgian crescents, Pulteney Bridge and soaring abbey before stepping inside the Roman Baths. Hear mineral-rich water spill into steaming pools first used nearly two millennia ago.

Discover how spa culture and Palladian elegance made Bath a fashionable retreat. Sacred Spring, temple fragments and museum displays reveal ritual, engineering and daily life under Rome—and the city’s enduring allure.

Enter Wells Cathedral, where pale stone and stained glass bathe the nave in soft colour. Marvel at the distinctive scissor arches supporting the tower and the tranquil Chapter House reached by worn medieval steps.

Learn how Gothic craft and liturgy shaped this small city’s identity. The interplay of soaring structure and intimate detail makes Wells one of England’s most compelling sacred spaces.

Explore Plymouth’s maritime heart, from Plymouth Hoe and the 17th-century Royal Citadel to the historic Barbican and Mayflower Steps. Sea breezes and quayside lanes frame the city’s seafaring story.

Hear how exploration, naval might and transatlantic journeys shaped Plymouth’s outlook. Fortified ramparts, cobbles and working harbour scenes reveal centuries of ocean-facing endeavour.

Head onto Dartmoor National Park to learn about prehistoric stone circles, granite tors and moorland ecology with a knowledgeable Local Specialist. Wind-shorn trees, grazing ponies and open horizons set a stirring scene.

Discover how people shaped this upland through farming, mining and folklore. This is an included “Choice Highlight”—you may select it instead of the harbour cruise during your time in Devon.

Set sail from Plymouth harbour for a relaxed cruise across historic waters where the Mayflower began its Atlantic voyage. Lighthouses, naval docks and bobbing fishing boats pass as gulls trace the wake.

Hear maritime tales that link exploration, war and trade to this broad natural harbour. This is an included “Choice Highlight”—you may select it instead of the Dartmoor exploration.

Visit Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, where megaliths rise from open grassland beneath a wide English sky. Walk the landscape to appreciate earthworks, alignment and the monument’s enigmatic presence.

Learn leading theories—from celestial observatory to ritual centre—while absorbing textured sarsen and bluestone surfaces shaped by time. It’s Britain’s most debated ancient site, powerful for its scale, mystery and setting.

Experience a lively evening of traditional Scottish music and dance with a convivial dinner in Edinburgh. Taste regional dishes before joining—or simply watching—the steps of a spirited ceilidh.

Hear fiddles, pipes and stories that fold Highland heritage into city life. This is an optional experience, at additional cost, and can be booked with your Travel Director on tour.

Witness the floodlit spectacle of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, where massed pipes and drums, precision drill teams and dancers perform beneath the castle’s ramparts.

Available on select August dates, this optional experience, at additional cost, celebrates Scotland’s pageantry with global military guests. Book on tour, subject to schedule and availability.

Join a storyteller for a ghost walk through shadowed snickelways and historic courtyards. Hear eerie accounts that link Roman legions, medieval plague and Georgian intrigue to lingering presences.

By lantern light, the city’s layered past takes on a chilling edge. This is an optional experience, at additional cost, and can be booked on tour.

Travel into the Wicklow Mountains to explore Glendalough, a serene glacial valley with a 6th-century monastic city founded by St Kevin. See its round tower, lakes and stone-built churches amid heathered slopes.

Monastic scholarship and rugged scenery combine in a contemplative setting close to the capital. This is an optional experience, at additional cost, bookable with your Travel Director.

Savour a convivial evening of traditional Irish music and dance with a hearty dinner in Dublin. Musicians, storytellers and step-dancers bring céilí spirit to the stage.

Expect lively rhythms, warm humour and audience smiles throughout. This is an optional experience, at additional cost, and can be booked on tour.

Trace the rise of The Beatles at key locations around Liverpool—childhood haunts, early venues and waterfront scenes—culminating in an immersive museum visit or curated sites linked to the Fab Four.

Hear tracks and tales that connect local streets to global pop culture. This is an optional experience, at additional cost, and can be booked with your Travel Director.