Isle of Bute - 1 day tour # 15

Isle of Bute

1 day tour

-stops and route along the way flexible and personalised depending on your preferences, interests, the weather and your tour start off pick up/drop off location

Isle of Bute

1 day tour # 15

click here for further info/itinerary/details:

1D#15 - Isle of Bute - 1 day tour - Unicorn Tours

Price for a full 1 day private (with driver/guide/8 passenger seats 10 hours per day) tour

• 10 hour full day winter tour is £240

(if only 1 person = £240 for the tour / for a couple it is £120 per person / for 3 it is £80 per person / for a group of 4 is £60 per person / if 5 = £48 pp / if 6 = £40 pp / if 7 = £34 pp / for 8 passengers is £30 per person - these are the discounted winter prices from November up to February

• 10 hour full day standard/mid-season (March, April & October) tour is £300
• 10 hour full day high-season (May - September) tour is £360

+

inexpensive ferry return ticket for Caledonian MacBrayne, footpassenger (as Unicorn Tours covers the vehicle ferry rate)

https://www.calmac.co.uk/

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• Departures from the Scottish Central belt (Stirling, Falkirk, Dunfermline, etc. area & pick ups up to 1 hour drive away from our Alloa/Clackmannanshire base)

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1 day tour

for your private, flexible tailor-made small group

sample past itinerary 1D#15

(the group was based at Stirling Uni, which was our start/end point)

Places, we will visit on the Isle of Bute:

(*** sample past itinerary/timings see below***)

• Kilchattan bay
• Blane chapel, iron age fort with best views of Arran
• Scalpsie bay beach and walk to the seal colony
• Ettrick bay beach
• Scenic Kyle of Bute
• Port Bannatyne
• Rothesay, pier, gardens, towns and castle (entrance fee applies)

Optional, also subject to opening hours (generally closed throughout the winter low season/advance bookings required):

• to visit - summer & by appointment only - the amazing Mount Stuart 

• Many different pick & drop off options along the way, incl. from Stirling/Uni

Key point to remember

• unlike most of our other tours, which you can also book last minute, subject to availability
• for this tour due to the ferry involved we recommend to book this tour with us at www.unicorntours.co.uk early in advance
• Sample departure time on our most recent tour, was 07.15 am from Stirling
• ferry – return fare per person for the ferry was £6.30 in addition to the tour price

Extras to pay on top of the tour price::

* + £6.30 per person for the return ferry to the Isle of Bute, food, drink, entrance fees (castles, museums, attractions, etc.)

1.5 hours journey time, including the scenic coastal Gourock – Lauderston – Inverkip route

• Driving on the motorway right through the centre of Glasgow
• We will be able to see some of the famous landmarks, especially when we cross the Kingston bridge over the River Clyde
• We pass Glasgow airport on the right and the historic University town of Paisley on the left
• We finally have the River Clyde on our right and on our opposite side can see Dumbarton rock & castle, capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, the ancient Britons, before they were conquered by the Vikings after 900
• We drive past the former dockyards and the power house of the industrial revolution, James Watt was from Greenock, where from the 1800s up until the 1960ies a large part of British ships were built.
• Past Greenock & its scenic promenade, one of Scotland’s largest cruiseship ports, the River Clyde widens and we have stunning views across over to Helensburgh, Kilcreggan and the mountains in the Highlands on the Cowal peninsula – we pass Gourock from where regular ferries travel over to Dunoon/Cowal peninsula and Kilcreggan
• Past Gourouck the views across the Firth of Clyde become more and more spectacular, drive past Lauderston the Kip marina, with its many yachts and great views

whereas on the itinerary below, 

we are offering the very best & many places & most stunning itinerary on our way back:

Sample round trip route – out on the Wemyss Bay/Inverclyde to Rothesay/Isle of Bute ferry and return via the Rhubodach/Isle of Bute to Colintraive/Cowal peninsula ferry

*** Sample past itinerary/timings***:

(1) Scenic drive along the coast and Ascog gardens to Kilchattan bay 30 minutes

• Mount Stuart opens at the end of March to October (reservations required)

(2) Arriving into Kilchattan Bay around 10.10 am

(3) Beach and southern end of the West Island Way, great walking options / leave by 10.30 am

(4) Around the coast by the ancient St. Blane’s church (that is the same saint Dunblane is named after) and Dunagoil Fort you have an absolutely spectacular view south and across to the Isle of Arran and Goatfell its highest 900 m high mountain, optional walk arriving there around 10.45 am / leave by 11.15 am (the alternative is just a photostop from the main road and gain an extra 30 minutes for all else)

(5) Around 11.25 noon we arrive at Scalpsie Bay and

• The beach
• The walk to the seals
• The awesome views over to the Isle of Arran, Goatfell and the scenery all around are our highlight

(6) We should give ourselves 1 hour+ for this, aiming to leave Scalpsie bay around 12.30 noon

(7) It is another 20 minute drive to Ettrick Bay, with the Ettrick bay & beach tea room / for a photostop / leave by 1pm

(8) We head via the stunning coastal route along picturesque Port Bannatyne and would arrive into Rothesay for a late afternoon lunch, around 1.20pm to include a walk along the pier, the esplanade, the “famous Victorian WC”, the tourist info has a great exhibition, the castle, the historic precinct, the wee shops, soaking up a bit of the atmosphere and leave by 2.40 pm

(9) Scenic drive towards the Kyle of Bute, stunning mountains all around, coastal scenery is awesome, we arrive around 3 pm in Rhubodach for the 3.10 pm ferry

(a) Same route as on the outbound journey, so from Rothesay/Bute back to Wemyss/Bay on the mainland.

Depending on the weather and if still have one more Ayrshire/Clyde coast beach or another stop or so after arriving back on the mainland at Wemyss Bay

*** On the way back we also have another optional alternative return route via the Cowal ferry and via Loch Lomond back to Stirling – we could return the same route via Greenock/Inverclyde/Glasgow but this is Scotland’s largest urban area and on the way back on a Sunday afternoon roads are a busier and our quiet 1.5 hour journey outbound is likely to be closer to 2.5 hours after we arrive back off the ferry in Wemyss Bay on the mainland and stuck in traffic on motorways and on the motorway right through the big city,

(10) 300 m ferry journey – arriving on the dramatic Cowal peninsula at 3.15 pm in Colintraive

(11) Spectacular drive to one of the most spectacular viewpoints in Scotland overlooking the Isle of Bute, the Kyle of Bute, the mountains and the sea all the way to the horizon above Tighnabruich 3.35 pm to 3.45 pm

(12) Dramatic journey through the Cowal peninsula, up rest and be thankful, the Loch Long seafjord, Arrochar and up to Tarbet/Loch Lomond to Luss – great place to go for a beach/pier/village/church/Viking stone/pilgrimage way – walk / arrive 5 pm – it is starting to get dark – leave 5.30pm

(13) Sunset overlooking Loch Lomond and the islands

(14) If there is still any daylight left, drive via thescenic route via the Campsies and Fintry back to Stirling, but it is dark

Back in Stirling around approx. 7.15 pm – 7.30 pm

Isle of Bute

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At Unicorn Tours we offer over 45 one day and short day tours -personalised, flexible, private small group tours for up to 8 passengers:

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Choose from one of our 28

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1 day tours (unicorntours.co.uk)

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Short day tours

Price for short day tour:

• 5 hour half day short day tour is half the price of a 1 day tour

(or more if the tour is longer/or less if the tour is shorter)

(see prices for full 1 day tours above)