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Photo tours of the Highlands for visitors from China

As the first direct flight from China smoothly landed in Edinburgh, Scotland the new visitors must be asking themselves where they should visit .

The amazing scenery of the Highlands of Scotland should be at the top of their list . Photo tours of the Highlands can be booked online or by phone on 07305-294773 .  Photo Tours of Scotland are the ideal way to visit the outstanding natural beauty of the Highland landscapes .

glencoe , photo tours of the highlands
Glencoe , take a photo tour of the Highlands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edinburgh is the second only to London as the most popular UK destination for Chinese tourist, according to Gordon Dewar, the chief executive of Edinburgh Airport. Also, more than 10,000 Chinese students are currently studying at Scottish universities.

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kindom. /VCG Photo

Top experiences in Edinburgh

Recognized as the capital of Scotland since the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and the supreme courts of Scotland. The city of Edinburgh is divided in two by Princes Street Gardens. From the Old Town’s medieval street layouts and tenements, to the 18th-century New Town’s financial district, the city offers a respective but harmonious view. Take our five castles tour and visit 5 amazing ancient castles of Scotland .

Edinburgh Castle is a historic landscape which dominates the skyline of Edinburgh, Scotland. /VCG Photo

Edinburgh Castle

Located high on Castle Rock and dominated the view of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle has played a pivotal role in Scottish history, both as a royal residence – King Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margaret first made their home here in the 11th century – and as a military stronghold. It also was involved in many historical conflicts, making it an iconic place for the Kingdom of Scotland. Today it is one of Scotland’s most atmospheric and popular attractions, allowing the tourists to revisit history with present-day perspectives.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the Queen Elizabeth II’s official residence in Edinburgh and the home of Scottish royal history. /VCG Photo

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Situated at the opposite end to the Edinburgh Castle, this palace is the royal family’s official residence in Scotland but is more famous as the 16th-century home of the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots. Taking a self-guided audio tour, you may find yourself immersed in the stories of Mary. The best bedroom of Queen of Mary in Scotland, the famous 16th-century murder scene of Mary’s secretary David Rizzio and the ruins of the Holyrood Abbey may bring you back to the era of the mid-16th century.

A restaurant alongside the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. /VCG Photo

Royal Mile

The Royal Mile runs through the center of the Old Town, connecting the Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Alongside the Mile, tourists can visit numerous historical sites including the St Giles’ Cathedral and some of the best eating and drinking spots in the city. You may feel the heartbeat of this ancient city by walking alongside the Mile.

If you’re visiting Edinburgh and want some great photos of the city, there is nowhere better to get them than Calton Hill. /VCG Photo

Calton Hill

The Calton Hill is a hill situated at the east end of the Princes Street, providing you panoramic views of the whole Edinburgh city. The top of Calton Hill is a usually quiet place and is easily accessed. It takes no more than five minutes to get to the top of the hill through the staircases. By the way, don’t miss the sunset here. This place is included as one of the top five locations to photograph an Edinburgh sunset.

For Harry Potter Fans

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, no trip to Edinburgh would be complete without searching for a little bit of Harry Potter in Edinburgh.

The Elephant House in Edinburgh is where J.K. Rowling penned the Harry Potter books. /VCG Photo

The Elephant House

The Elephant House is a self-proclaimed “birthplace of Harry Potter,” where J.K. Rowling started her writing of the story. If you step into this café, you will find the store itself has nothing to do with Harry Potter. However, your visit isn’t complete without a trip to the restrooms. The white walls are covered in Harry Potter-themed graffiti, everything from raunchy HP jokes to heartfelt odes to Rowling. The cafe used to crack down on these scrawls, but it’s now accepted, and people will not stop doing this.

Victoria Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. /Photo via ewh.org.uk

Victoria Street / Diagon Alley

Lined with candy-colored shops, this curving cobbled street happens to be the main inspiration for Diagon Alley in the book. Victoria Street also featured in the Avengers Infinity War film.

Shops such as novelty joke shop Aha Ha Ha Jokes and second-hand bookstore The Old Town Bookshop should not be missed. Even muggles can see the similarities between the real-existing shops and the ones in the magic world.

Book your Highland tours     , Highland tours from Edinburgh    , Scotland tours from Edinburgh on 07305-294773

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Doune Castle Game of Thrones Castle in Scotland – Winterfell

Doune Castle was built in  1400 for the first Duke of Albany and provides the setting  for Winterfell in Game of Thrones and Monty Python’s Holy Grail. Visit Doune Castle on a unique private tour of the Game of Thrones Castle in Scotland – Winterfell . Phone 07305-294773 for more details or contact us online .

Doune Castle Game of Thrones tour costs £140 for up to 4 passengers on a private tour from Edinburgh .

 

doune castle tours, outlander
doune castle tours

Doune is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Scotland.
great hall ,doune , outlander

The Great Hall is 20 metres by 8 metres , and 12 metres high to its timber roof, again a 19th-century replacement.The hall has no fireplace, and was presumably heated by a central fire, and ventilated by means of a louvre like the one in the modern roof. No details of the original roof construction are known, however, and the restoration is conjectural.Large windows light the hall, and stairs lead down to the three cellars on ground level.

The hall is accessed from the courtyard via a stair up to a triangular lobby, which in turn links the hall and kitchens by means of two large serving hatches with elliptical arches, unusual for this period. The kitchen tower, virtually a tower house in its own right, is 17 metres (56 ft) by 8 metres (26 ft). The vaulted kitchen is on the hall level, above a cellar. One of the best-appointed castle kitchens in Scotland of its date, it has an oven and a 5.5-metre (18 ft) wide fireplace. A stair turret, added in 1581 and possibly replacing a timber stair, leads up from the lobby to two storeys of guest rooms. These include the “Royal Apartments”, a suite of two bedrooms plus an audience chamber, suitable for royal visitors.

Doune Castle has featured in several literary works, including the 17th-century ballad, “The Bonny Earl of Murray”, which relates the murder of James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray, by the Earl of Huntly, in 1592. In Sir Walter Scott’s first novel, Waverley (1814), the protagonist Edward Waverley is brought to Doune Castle by the Jacobites. Scott’s romantic novel describes the “gloomy yet picturesque structure”, with its “half-ruined turrets”.

doune castle , outlander

The castle was used as a location in MGM’s 1952 historical film Ivanhoe which featured Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor. The BBC adaptation of “Ivanhoe” in 1996 also featured Doune as a location. The castle was used as the set for Winterfell in the TV series Game of Thrones (2011–present), an adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels by George R. R. Martin. The castle was used as a stand-in for the fictional “Leoch Castle” in the TV adaption of the Outlander series of novels.

Game of Thrones Castle
Game of Thrones Castle

Find out more about Doune Castle tours – phone 07305-294773 or book online .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five castles tour
Our private group visits five castles used as film locations. This tour visits Doune Castle ( Winterfell in Game of Thrones and Castle Leoch ) ,  Midhope Castle ( Lallybroch ) , Linlithgow Palace (Wentworth Prison ) , Aberdour Castle and Blackness Castle
The Outlander TV series continues to be a smash hit in the UK and America .  Five Scottish castles in particular feature heavily in the story lines – Midhope Castle ( Lallybroch ) , Doune Castle ( Castle Leoch ) , Linlithgow Palace (Wentworth Prison ) , Aberdour Castle ( Sainte Anne de Beaupré’s monastery ) and Blackness Castle ( Fort William army headquarters ) .
1 Midhope Castle – Lallybroch
Those seeking a glimpse of the ancestral home of Jamie Fraser won’t find the real Lallybroch deep in the Highlands.
Scenes were shot at Midhope Castle on the fringes of the Hopetoun Estate near South Queensferry.
Midhope was built in the 15th Century and was built by John Martyne, laird of Medhope. It was rebuilt in the mid 1600s and remains much the same today.
Visitors are asked to admire Midhope from a distance as the interior remains largely derelict.