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Travel:
Seeing Scotland In Style...
Aboard the Royal Scotsman
by Don & Bonnie Woodland
The Royal Scotsman is the most
luxurious train journey in the world-the trip of a lifetime. Many return to
repeat the wonderful experience. Such
repeaters are referred to affectionately
by train host Ian Gardiner, as "serial
train buffs.” He adds, “I had one couple
from France that have been back five
times."
These “train buffs” are a niche
market. They can tell you stories about
all the great trains of the world: the
Orient Express, South Africa's Rovos
Rail, as well as the Blue Train (which
stops at Victoria Falls), the Trans
Siberian (which traverses Russia), the
California Zephyr, the Rocky Mountaineer, The Royal Canadian Pacific,
the Eastern & Oriental Express, and Al
Andalus (which begins and ends in
Seville, Spain). But these train
afficionados universally consider the
Royal Scotsman to be the best.
The Royal Scotsman is a 9-car train
(the legal limit of cars in Scotland).
Aside from the engine car, there's two
dining cars, an observation car, plus
Pullmans that contain 5 rooms--each
complete with one or two beds, a desk, a
good-sized closet and window, plus
drawers built into the bedframes. The
latter were built in the 60's and
reconditioned to look like 1920's cars.
The oldest car was built in 1945.
The train stables each night during
the journey, so there's no difficulty
sleeping, and the beds are quite
comfortable.
The bathrooms are surprisingly
good; the shower delivers a substantial
amount of water and there's no
deviation of temperature. Such luxurious showers aboard a train are
possible because the Pullmans each
have
250-gallon cisterns that are
refilled twice daily when the train stops
for passenger activities.
There's also a call button to ring for
room-service, as well as turn-down
service. And every time we looked, our
used towels were replaced with clean
ones.
The huge distillation containers at the Glen Grant Distillery, in Elgin
The Royal Scotsman offers several
tours, but their most popular is "the
Classic." 50% of all those that travel
with the Royal Scotsman take this tour.
You get a sampling of Scotland's facets,
from the Southern Highlands to the
Western Lowlands. It's a four-day tour
that begins in Edinburgh and ends up
Highlands have always been economically depressed. The rocky hills are so
acid, it's hard to grow anything. It can
take a family a whole generation to get a
crop out of a croft--a small patch of
highland farm.
The other reason for the vacancy of
the Highlands is the 18th century
“Clearances” that any Scot can tell you
about. Many Scots still hold powerful
feelings about this part of Scottish
history, the way some Americans still
feel strongly about the Civil War.
During the Clearances, covetous
lowlanders and Brits evicted thousands
of Scots from their Highland homes,
literally burning them out, in many
cases.
You'll see an occasional castle or
Victorian gaming estate built in the
highlands to take advantage of its
legendary hunting and fishing, but the
wealth represented came from other
areas.
All meals are taken on board the
train. Breakfast and lunch are served as
usual. There's afternoon tea with heavy
appetizers and sweets and supper is
usually around 8:30 pm. You have your
Elgin Cathedral
there as well. In between time, you take
choice of seating at each meal in one of
a route that's roughly counter-clockwise
two dining cars. Food quality,
around central and northern Scotland.
presentation, and staff service is
The train makes stops along the
impeccable. And dietary restrictions
way and a Royal Scotsman Motorare absolutely no problem.
coach shadows the train. When the
Since train travel invariably intrain stops at certain towns along the
cludes leisure time and chit-chat, the
route, the Royal Scotsman’s passenRoyal Scotsman provides a wonderful
gers can transfer to the motorcoach in
chance to meet people from all over the
Strathisla Distillery, in Keith, producer of Chivas Regal
order to take in highlights like: three
world--both passengers and crew. On
castles, two distilleries, golf, fishing,
our trip there were 16 Americans, 2
shopping, and other sight-seeing.
Belgians, 2 Austrians, 2 Germans, 3
The most surprising sight is the
Brits, and a couple that had flown all the
sheer amount of beautiful open land in
way from Melbourne to take this train.
Scotland. One forgets that there are
The crew is made up of: Germans,
more people living in London than in all
Polish, Finnish, Hungarians, French,
of Scotland. The entire population of
Australians, and Scots.
Scotland is only 5 million, and half of
Day One: Edinburgh - Keith
that lives in the short corridor between
You leave Waverley Station in
Glasgow and Edinburgh. The HighEdinburgh and cross the Forth Railway
lands--the part of the country north of
Bridge over the Firth of Forth. You
Perth--are sparsely populated, except
enjoy afternoon tea as you continue
by sheep and heather.
your journey through the former
Indeed the inevitable question is
Kingdom of Fife and across the Tay
'why is there so much open land in the
Bridge. Our tea consisted of clootie
Highlands?' The answer is that the
dumpling, scones, pannetone, and
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breads topped with either: thai salmon
and avocado, smoked venison and
chutney, or Gorgonzola, basil and sundried tomato. Following the east coast
you pass through Arbroath, Montrose
and Aberdeen before arriving in Keith,
where you disembark for a tour of
Strathisla Distillery, producers of
Chivas Regal. There's a tour, gift shop
and a lovely demonstration on local folk
dance including the "Gay Gordon",
where passengers can participate. You
rejoin the train for an informal dinner.
Day Two: Keith - Kyle of Lochalsh
After stabling at Keith for the night,
breakfast is served as the train proceeds
to Elgin (pronounced with a hard G),
where the northeast lowlands meet the
highlands. You disembark in Elgin
where the Royal Scotsman motorcoach
takes you along the "Whiskey Trail"
(There's 40 distilleries within an hour of
Elgin.) before arriving at the Glen
Grant Distillery for a tour. Do take time
to walk their Woodland Garden. At
Elgin, you can visit Elgin Cathedral
and Johnston’s of Elgin Visitor Center,
which has a wonderful selection of
cashmere clothing.
You return to the train before
heading west to Inverness, the capital of
the Highlands. Afterwards you continue westwards towards Kyle of
Lochalsh, on what is arguably the most
scenic route in Britain. Lunch is served
as you pass through Dingwall and
Garve. You pass through Achnasheen,
and climb to Luib summit and
Achnashellach forest before descending to Strathcarron. You then follow the
edge of Loch Carron through Attadale,
Stromeferry and Duncraig.
The bus takes passengers to the
picturesque, lochside town of Plockton. 200 residents populate this idyllic
place. A row of neatly painted cottages
hugs the shoreline following the curve
Glamis Castle, in Angus, is the childhood home of the late H.M. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
of the tiny harbor where you can look
across to views of the Isle of Skye and
the Applecross Mountains. Find your
way to the woodland walk that's right
behind the shops and you'll get a
stunning overlook of the loch.
Alternatively, visit the local art gallery
or simply wander through the charming
village. You'll rejoin other passengers at
the pub in the Plockton Hotel and the
drinks are on the Royal Scotsman. You
return to the train in Kyle of Lochalsh
for overnight stabling. Dinner this
evening is formal and afterwards you
enjoy entertainment in the Observation
Car.
The Kyle of Lochalsh is located
across a narrow waterway (that's what
Kyle means) from the Isle of Skye, one
of the most popular vacation spots in
Scotland, and reputedly one of the most
beautiful places in the world. Formerly
accessible only by ferry, the Isle of Skye
is now accessible by bridge.
Day Three: Kyle of Lochalsh - Boat of
Garten
After breakfast, the motorcoach
takes you to Eilean Donan Castle, the
most photographed castle in Scotland.
The castle, built around 1220, stands on
a rocky promontory at the meeting
point of three sea lochs. It survived
story goes that until the beginning of the
eighteenth century there was no point
at which the River Dulnain could be
crossed when it was full, and funerals
from the south side going to the church
at Duthil were often delayed. A bridge
was commissioned in 1717. Damaged
by floods in the 18th century, it was
Even Low tide is photogenic at Plockton
many bombardments, until in 1719 it
was razed to the ground during the
Jacobite rebellion. You may have seen
the castle in the film "Highlander" and
also the Bond film: "Never Say Never
Again." Roads in this area mark the
Gaelic history of the region, as road
signs are both in English and Gaelic.
You depart Kyle and retrace part of
yesterday's route as far as Dingwall.
Traveling round the edge of the Beauly
Firth, you cross the northern end of the
Caledonian Canal shortly before
reaching Inverness.
You continue south to Carrbridge
where you pass the Old Packhorse
Bridge. Remarkably, it still stands. The
Eilean Donan Castle is the most photographed castle in Scotland.
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finally brought to its present state by the
flood of 1829.
The motorcoach continues on for
your visit to Ballindalloch, one of
Scotland's most romantic castles. Set in
the magnificent surroundings of the
Spey valley, Ballindalloch has been the
home of the Macpherson-Grant family
since 1546, and exemplifies the elegant
and comfortable country house so
beloved of Victorians in the Highlands.
This 26,000-acre Spey valley estate,
is privately-owned by Clare Russell (her
married name) who inherited the
estate, which is operated by both her
and husband Oliver Russell. What is
surprising is that the couple greet you
personally when the Royal Scotsman
The Old Packhorse Bridge in Carrbridge
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visit to Glamis, Seat of the Earl of
Strathmore and Kinghorne, and childhood home of the late H.M. Queen
Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The
Bowes Lyon family have lived at Glamis
since 1372, when Sir John Lyon was
granted the thaneage of Glamis by King
Robert II. The castle's grounds include
16,500 acres.
You board the train again in Perth
and enjoy an informal dinner as you
travel to the historic town of Stirling,
dominated by its magnificent royal
castle, for overnight stabling. Alert
passengers note when the train passes
the famous Stirling Bridge, site of
William Wallace's great battle for
Scottish independence--a bridge that
was so noticibly absent when staging the
movie "Braveheart.”
Ballindalloch Castle
Day Five: Stirling - Edinburgh
After breakfast you leave Stirling and
motorcoach arrives at the castle, and
they personally show you around. The
couple is very engaging and unpretentious, and it's clear they've maintained Clare's birthright as a labor of
love. The castle and grounds are
immaculate, kept up with revenues from
the estate's 65 properties, which are
rented, a golf course, and corporate
retreats that the family opens the castle
to, even though this is also their home.
Those who come on these retreats relish
the estate's incredible salmon fishing
where the Avon and Spey Rivers
intersect, as well as deer, grouse, duck
It seems impossible at the end of
this tour that it was only four days ago
that passengers were all led out to the
train to board by a kilted bagpiper. It's a
lot packed into four days; but it's also
restful. You’ve seen incredible sights,
eaten incredible food, made new,
wonderful friends, and wish it would
never end.
The excellence of the experience is
due to a wonderful crew on-board, and
especially to the Train Manager:
Vincent Gullon, and the Train Host: Ian
Gardiner.
“The Train Manager is like a hotel
manager," explains Gullon. "My job is to
Passengers embark on their journey
greeted with the pipes.
Ballindalloch’s Clare & Oliver Russell
and pheasant hunting.
The Russells are also building a
wind farm in a less visible area of the
estate. And they raise a few head of
Aberdeen Angus cattle.
No one knows how long the
Russell's will be allowed to retain
private control of their estate. According to Clare Russell, "The government
in Scotland is very socialist and they
really don't like the idea of private
Crew member Anna Simchek
A cocktail shared prior to formal dinner
return through Larbert and Linlithgow
ownership of large estates. There's no
to arrive in Edinburgh at 09.35 am--the
telling how much longer things will
tour's end.
remain as they are." The couple remain
exempt from inheritance taxes by
remaining open for corporate retreats
at least 90 days a year.
make everyone's journey relaxing, even
though there's intense logistics
involved."
The young Frenchman was hired
out of the hotel industry and oversees
everything that happens on the train.
Regarding the crew, he explains, "It's
quite an adjustment for the crew living
on-board. The crew is working at close
Day Four: Boat of Garten - Stirling
You depart the train at Boat of
Garten where you can choose from a
number of different options. Golfers
can enjoy a round at Boat of Garten
Golf Club. Or there is the Highland
wildlife park, which contains 180 acres
of drive-through park and 80 acres of
walk-through park. It's an incredibly
beautiful area that provides a
wonderful natural habit for a myriad of
animals. Or you can choose to fish at a
fishing camp on the River Spey.
One of two dining cars
You rejoin the train in Aviemore
and enjoy lunch as you continue south
through Blair Atholl and Pitlochry to
Perth, where you disembark for your
One of the bedrooms aboard the Royal Scotsman
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buy an adapter for the wall plug.
- A few American cell phones
actually do work in Europe. Check with
your cell company. If you do take one,
be sure to get an electrical converter for
your recharger.
- Don't forget the travel insurance.
- Passports are required, Visas are
not.
- Vaccinations are not required.
- Tipping: Europeans are used to
less tipping. 10% is normal for good
service. On the train, folks agonized
about this: "What should we tip the
crew?" The consensus was that about
40-50 pounds for the whole crew is fine.
Either give the tip to the host or the
train manager, and he'll dispense it to
the crewmen.
- Language is obviously English;
but you're gonna hear a whole nyuu wa
of speakin it. There's a whole different
set of nouns, too. Like if you want a
hotel room with two beds, don't ask for a
"double," ask for "twins." A double gets
you one full-size mattress.
The spectacular Edinburgh Castle
quarters and their days are 14-hour
days.”
Not everyone can do this train
journey. Those who are obese or wheelchair bound, or others that are seriously
immobilized are screened and discouraged from going. "However," Vincent
explains, "The crew makes provisions
for passengers with moderate disabilities, i.e. a bad leg or hip, etc. In
cases like that we'll book the passenger
so that his cabin is close to the dining
car, to minimize walking.”
The nicest discovery in this journey
is that you're not just "on the train."
There's a wonderful balance of activity,
being on the train, being on the bus,
shopping, golfing, fishing and visiting
quaint towns. The Royal Scotsman does
a nice job mixing things up and this
diversity of activity makes everything
seem fresh. Very few train tours have
such a comfortable tour bus shadowing
the train and coordinating activity with
it.
The Royal Scotsman has been in
operation for 20 years. And it continues
to flourish in spite of obstacles beyond
its control: England's Mad Cow scare,
the Foot In Mouth scare, and of course-what has happened to the exchange
rate. Almost all of their business in the
past has been from America, being
booked entirely by Abercrombie &
Kent Travel. However, with the
strengthening of the British Pound
currency (a U.S. dollar now buys what
.55 Pounds does), more and more
Europeans, Russians, Japanese and
Australians make up Royal Scotsman’s
clientele. It's STILL mostly Americans,
however.
Host Ian Gardiner is one of the
most charming gentlemen one is ever to
meet--a pleasure to travel with. Though
only on the crew for a few months, he's
also a part-time lecturer in Edinburgh -a Scot who knows the history of the
different regions, and you learn a lot
from him. He also has great wit when
demonstrating the different ways of
speaking (dialects) you find in the
different areas of Scotland. You can
really tell he enjoys the interplay with
passengers, about which he comments,
"You meet some very accomplished
people on these trips. Unlike a lot of
other great train tours, there's no 'class'
sections on the train. There's just the
one price.”
Where you really appreciate
Gardiner’s contribution is on the
motorcoach portions of the trip, where
he serves as narrator. He has a keen
sense of how much to say and when to
let the scenery speak for itself.
Travel Points:
- Many take the train ride in
St. Giles Cathedral, in Edinburgh
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conjunction with a Queen Elizabeth 2
cruise, or a trip through Europe.
- The price of the Royal Scotsman
Classic Tour is $4,790 per person. This
includes everything, even the expenses
associated with golfing, fishing, etc.
- For those just doing the train ride,
you should try to get a direct flight to
Edinburgh. Getting a London
Edinburgh:
For those that don't want the
experience to be over, you should really
plan on spending at least a day taking in
Edinburgh. You won't want to miss the
Edinburgh Castle, and the Royal Mile,
the shopping on Princes St., the
Museum of Scotland, St. Gile's
Cathedral, the Palace of Holyrood-
A typical Edinburgh side street
Heathrow connection isn't fun. The
airport terminals are way too small for
the level of traffic they handle, it's
poorly laid out and very inconvenient. If
you take an evening flight, you'll land in
the morning, which is perfect to catch
Royal Scotsman's 2 pm departure on
the “Classic” tour.
- Ask your travel agent about the
leg room of the airline you choose. The
economy section in Virgin Atlantic's
747's will have you kissing your knees.
Most uncomfortable.
- There's two formal nights on the
Classic tour. That means tuxedos for
the gentlemen and gowns for the ladies.
This feature adds tremendous elegance
to the whole experience.
- No need to bring your own
umbrella on the journey. Royal
Scotsman provides a great heavy-duty
one for all their passengers.
- If you're going in the spring or fall,
plan for somewhat colder weather than
we have here. Pack layers.
- Remember that their electricity is
220 volts. Most hairdryers and travel
irons made these days can switch to the
higher voltage setting, but you'll have to
house (the Royal residence), or the
Royal Yacht Britannia. The National
Gallery has the finest painting
collection we've seen, and the
admission is free. Also, one of the
hottest attractions these days is Mary
King's Close; it shouldn't be missed.
Start by taking the bus tour of the city,
which lasts one hour. If you want to get
the local flavor, try eating in the pubs,
not the restaurants (thankfully by
November they should all be nosmoking), and look for the smaller,
privately-owned hotels downtown, as
opposed to the big Americanized ones.
There's lots of B&B's too.
For more information about the
Royal Scotsman and a complete tour
listing, go to www.royal-scotsman.com
or call 800-922-8625 and request their
lovely brochure.