Edinburgh to Loch Ness: Private day trip

Scone Palace was founded as an early Christian church, which later developed into an Augustinian abbey, before becoming home to the Earls of Mansfield in 1600. Since at least the 9th century, Scone was the site of the coronation ceremony for Scottish monarchs, who would sit upon the legendary ‘Scone Stone’. The stone was captured by Edward I as spoils of war and taken to Westminster Abbey in 1296, where it is still used for royal coronations (though kept in Edinburgh Castle at all other times). The castle of today is an 18th century remodelling, where you can still walk the Long Galley where King Charles II strode to his coronation in 1661, inspect the needlework skills of Mary Queen of Scots in the bedhangings she worked while imprisoned on Loch Leven, and see the desk where Marie Antoinette composed letters, all of which are surrounded by a treasury of fine furniture and objets d'art. For more information, please visit scone-palace.co.uk

Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle are one of the most popular destinations in Scotland thanks in large part to the legendary monster that dwells beneath the lake’s waters. While the earliest mention of a monster at Loch Ness dates back to the 6th century, Nessie wasn’t brought to international attention until 1933. Decades of obsession have never turned up any conclusive results, but explanations for the monster range from tree trunks to a bathing circus elephant to a Greenland shark. And while you probably won’t see the beast, a boat trip on the lake is made more exciting by the legend. Overlooking the lake, the sprawling Urquhart Castle is one of the largest in Scotland, where visitors can enjoy a guided tour, or simply roam the ruins, to appreciate this majestic medieval castle, and great views of the Loch Ness.