Scottish Highlander has the atmosphere of a comfortable Country House with subtle use of tartan furnishings and landscape paintings, a reminder of the spectacular surroundings to be seen on your voyage through the Great Glen.
At 117 feet long, she is spacious and has every comfort needed for enjoying the magnificence of the Highlands during Spring, Summer and Autumn.
The warm and welcoming saloon features rich-coloured wooden panelling, large picture windows and comfortable leather Chesterfield sofas to relax in, perhaps with a mellow single malt whisky from the very well-stocked bar.
Accommodation for eight guests is in three twin/double staterooms and one larger twin/double junior suite, each one centrally heated and with en suite facilities.
There is a cosy observation area behind the wheelhouse where you can admire the passing scenery and chat to the Captain about life on the Caledonian Canal and its interconnecting lochs. On the forward deck area, there is more seating where you can take in the far-reaching views and take photographs as Scottish Highlander plots her course past landmarks such as Urquhart Castle perched alongside Loch Ness.
A cruise on mystical waterways aboard Scottish Highlander as you marvel at some of Scotland’s finest scenery will be one that stays in the memory for a long time.
Cuisine is traditional Scottish fare – salmon, game and seafood, prepared by your own Master Chef, and the hotel barge’s experienced crew of four will take care of your every need.
This morning we enjoy Cawdor Castle*, forever immortalised in Shakespeare’s “Scottish Play”, Macbeth. The picturesque gardens have been listed as being amongst the top 100 in the UK. The castle contains a superb collection of tapestries, pictures and furnishings and the Dowager Countess of Cawdor still lives there for part of the year. Then we take a tour through the Clava Cairns, a pre-historic clan chieftain burial site dating back to 2,000 B.C. Later, we cruise through Loch Dochfour and down Loch Ness, where en route we pass Urquhart Castle, navigating closely beneath its spectacular 13thcentury ruins, before continuing our cruise to Fort Augustus. Dinner on board.
Local transfers between Inverness and the hotel barge (the approximate transfer duration is 15mins or 1hr 30mins depending on the cruise direction), a luxury 6 night cruise, all meals on board catered for by the on board Master Chef, an open bar 24/7 with a large range of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks, all wines served throughout the cruise, excursions and admittance fees as per the itinerary, the services of 4 crew and use of barge facilities, which include bicycles and a sonic fish finder.