A sketchbook tour of Scotland’s heritage, landscapes and gardens.

5th to 18th July 2023

For Sketchers and Garden Lovers alike. Although it’s not important to have experience in either.

This is a specially curated tour led by
International sketch tutor Erin Hill & expert gardener & broadcaster Kate Heffernan
The first tour of its kind - to visit and sketch (or just explore) some of Scotland’s most beautiful gardens and landscapes, to taste the regional dishes, hear the stories of castles and ruins wherever we go.

There is time to walk, sketch, learn or simply relax,
and take in the history of Scotland at its most dramatic and historic.
You will also stay in some distinctive hotels with magnificent settings, which will enable you to enjoy
well into the long, light-filled evenings.

If you’d like to know more about sketching on the tour - email Erin
erin@erinhill.com.au
If you’d like to talk about gardens and plants on the tour - email Kate
kate.heffernan6@bigpond.com

In Brief
Sample local whisky and learn about Edinburgh’s Enlightenment
Travel via the spectacular Cairngorms to Inverness.
Walk the haunting battlefield at Culloden
Cruise on Loch Ness.
Cross the highlands to the magnificent Isle of Skye and the village at Plockton.
Drive through dramatic Glencoe, past the Trossachs and Loch Lomond to Glasgow.
Visit magnificent gardens, meet the Lady Laird at Attadale House,
See Eilean Donan Castle and visit Dunvegan and Inveraray Castles, at a wonderful time of year.

Two incredibly knowledgeable Tour Leaders together

The tour leaders Kate Heffernan (The Gardener) and Erin Hill (The Sketcher) ensure travellers get the most out of this exotic tour.
Kate Heffernan leads garden tours, providing commentary and fascinating stories on gardens,
historic locations, plants and botanical history.
Erin Hill focuses on teaching sketching - beginners to advanced - making an enjoyable and fulfilling experience.

Kate Heffernan. Her career in horticulture spans more than 40 years working with botanic garden management and local authorities across Australia. Kate is a noted botanical writer, has published titles and presents ABC broadcast programs on gardens and gardening. Kate has a special interest in the Plant Explorers and Garden History, both of which are covered in this tour. A keen traveller with an emphasis on garden-based travel, and a great sense of humour.
She has led tours to gardens in France, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia.

Erin Hill. Travel sketching teaching has been her passion for more than two decades. A former advertising art director and illustrator, Erin has perfected the skills to simplify a visual story into an engaging, fresh and colourful sketch - in a limited time.
Erin then studied at the Julian Ashton School of Art before becoming a gallery owner and tutor.
Erin Hill tutors teach sketching in workshops and classes around the world
focussing on those who’ve never sketched and can’t believe that they can!
She takes easy to manage sketch tours to destinations in the USA, UK, France, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Cuba and Fiji.

We’ll find plenty of Scottish Thistles wherever we go - so let’s discover and sketch the different ways we see them.
I shall be wearing my own silver and topaz brooch (far right above) and you’ll have a chance to acquire your own piece of prized Scottish jewellery - and sketch it as well.

Itinerary 5 – 18 July 2023
1.Edinburgh.4 nights
2.Inverness.3 nights
3.Plockton.3 nights
4.Inveraray.2 nights
5.Glasgow.1 night

B = Breakfast / L = Lunch / D = Dinner

TOUR COST:

AUD $7,967 pp sharing
AUD $9,935 with a room to yourself

Bookings are filling. To make it easy -
just book and pay your deposit only, $550 pp (non refundable) to secure your place now
50% of the balance (after deposit) is 90 days prior to departure.
The second final 50% is due 60 days prior to departure.

Here’s a Hint:
We do have limited rooms, Scotland was very popular in 2022 and will be more so in 2023.

Bookings are made through Jon Baines Tours Melbourne and London

Your booking includes:

• Thirteen nights’ accommodation in twin- bedded rooms in first class, historic hotels

• Respected tour leaders - sketch tutor Erin Hill and botanical expert Kate Heffernan

• Three lunches, seven dinners, noted locations and cuisine

• All transport within Scotland in private bus, full-time driver and stunning viewing

• A visit programme to unique and special cultural sites with informative talks

• Daily sketching opportunities with friendly supportive instruction

• Surprise, specially arranged visits with specialist guides

• Admission fees are covered, throughout the tour

• All tips

  Excludes:

• Travel to / from Scotland and airport transfers

• Sketch Kit - Click to see the kit

• All personal extras such as portage, laundry, drinks and meals not mentioned

• Optional personal excursions and visits not included in the tour

• Your personal travel insurance

  Itineraries subject to change, according to local conditions

Good Reads.
For those interested in landscapes, gardens and country scenes large and small,
do take a look at David Gentleman’s ‘In the Country’.
You’ll be so inspired by his sketches.
Also Sheila Szatkowski (whom we’ll meet), author of Enlightenment Edinburgh.

TRAVEL MEALS and ACCOMMODATION

You will be accompanied by Kate and Erin throughout the tour as you travel in our own bus.
On days at leisure in Inverness, Plocktonand Inveraray, the bus will be available
for additional group activities.
Meals are marked on the itinerary, (to come) with B/L/D signifying breakfasts, lunches and dinners included in the tour.

Edinburgh. We have a glorious hotel to begin our magical tour. https://www.kimptoncharlottesquare.com/
Sophisticated charm in the heart of historic Edinburgh.

Inverness. The hotel is the 4-star Mercure on the river in the middle of the old town.
https://www.mercureinverness.co.uk
A wonderful location in Inverness, capital of the Highlands.

Plockton. The Haven is a family-owned guest house in with beautifully refurbished rooms.
https://www.thehavenplockton.co.uk/
A cosy guest house in the coastal village of Plockton.

Inveraray. A historic inn built in 1755 on the shores of Loch Fyne. The oldest and most
historic hotel in the region.
https://inveraray-inn.co.uk
As this hotel is a heritage building there is no lift.
Please consider requesting a ground floor if you are concerned about the stairs.

Glasgow. Grosvenor hotel is an upmarket city centre hotel opposite the botanic gardens and close to
Kelvingrove Art Gallery.
https://www.gghotel.co.uk/
A luxury hotel in Glasgow’s centre close to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Botanical Gardens.
This hotel includes a steak house, a gin bar and a lounge serving afternoon tea.

B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner

Itinerary at a glance

• Day 1: Edinburgh 5 July (Wed) (D)

• Arrive in Edinburgh and check into the hotel.
  By special arrangement we have a guided walking tour of Old Town Edinburgh and the historic buildings of the city with historian, Sheila Szatkowski, author of Enlightenment Edinburgh.
  Enjoy a local welcome dinner.
  

• Day 2: Edinburgh 6 July (Thurs) (B&D)

• Visit the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Set in over 70 acres of beautiful landscape, the garden offers superb panoramic views of the city skyline and Edinburgh Castle.

• Drive along the Firth of Forth to the Shepherd House Garden, one of the top ten small gardens in Scotland. Explore this constantly evolving artist’s garden with plants filling every border, spilling over arches and lining paths.
  Surprises include a shell house, lavender parterres, a rill and fountains.
  The garden is the inspiration of artist and owner Lady Ann Fraser. Many ideas have been borrowed from other gardens and all has been drawn together with an artist’s appreciation of colour, texture and form.

• Take a tour of the Scotch Whisky Experience, followed by a dinner with whisky pairing.
  
  

• Day 3: Edinburgh 7 July (Fri) (B)

• Drive out to Netherbyres to see the unique elliptical walled garden with attractive grounds with woods and gardens before continuing to the lovely fishing village of St Abbs.
  The surrounding Nature Reserve offers spectacular cliffs, seabirds galore and the St Abbs Lighthouse. Drive to picturesque Preston Mill, dating from the 18th century.

• The mill has a curious Dutch-style conical roof and is an architectural oddity that delights artists. Just across the River Tyne lies the unusual structure of Phantassie Doocot, built in the 16th century to house 500 pigeons.

• Day 4: Edinburgh 8 July (Sat)(B)
  Visit the Royal Botanic Gardens Dawyck, nestled in the picturesque Scottish Borders.
  Home to one of Scotland's finest tree collections and plant treasures from Nepal, Chile, Japan, North America and China, the gardens are known for their woodland and burnside walks and trails.
  Drive to Little Sparta, Ian Hamilton Finlay’s greatest work of art. This internationally acclaimed garden across seven acres of wild land was a partnership with stone carvers, artists and poets.
  The numerous sculptures and artworks created by Finlay integrate into the garden artwork.

• Day 5: Edinburgh / Inverness 9 July (Sun) (B&D)
  Leave Edinburgh to see the 100-year-old Branklyn Garden, with a wonderful plant collection grown from seeds collected by plant hunters, George Forrest and Frank Ludlow.

• Continue to Dunkeld via Birnam Oak in Birnam Woods for a short walk through the ancient oak forest featured in MacBeth.
  Visit the Scottish Plant Hunters Garden at Pilochry. Journey through the landscapes of the Cairngorms - home to lush forests, charming Highland villages, wild open spaces and an Arctic Mountain plateau - to Inverness. Check into the Mercure Inverness Hotel.

• Day 6: Inverness 10 July (Mon) (B&L)

• Visit haunting Culloden Moor, site of the Battle of Culloden of 1746, with an expert battlefield guide.
  Following lunch on the shores of Loch Ness take a cruise across beautiful Loch Ness and visit the romantic ruins of Urquhart Castle.
  

• Day 7: Inverness 11 July (Tues) (B)
  Full day at leisure to explore Inverness, including the art gallery, museum and Cathedral.
  

• Day 8: Inverness / Plockton 12 July (Wed)(B&L&D)
  Drive to the great house and wonderful botanic gardens at Inverewe.
  At the same latitude as Moscow, Inverewe benefits from the effects of the Gulf Stream, which enabled a lush paradise of unusual plants from across the globe to be established by a father and daughter amidst a barren wilderness on the Atlantic coast, more than 150 years ago.

• Light lunch at Inverewe. Drive to Attadale and meet with the Lady Laird of Attadale House, Joanna MacPherson, one of a new breed of lady landowners challenging tradition in Scotland. Take a specialist guided tour of the gardens followed by tea. Overnight at the Haven Guest House, located in the attractive coastal village of Plockton across the water from Skye. Dinner in a local restaurant.
  

• Day 9: Plockton 13 July (Thurs) (B&L)

• Travel across the Kyle of Lochalsh to the breathtakingly beautiful Isle of Skye. The largest of the Inner Hebrides islands, it is known for its dramatic landscapes.Visit Dunvegan Castle and gardens, ancestral home of Clan MacLeod. Lunch at Dunvegan Castle.
  

• Day 10: Plockton 14 July (Fri) (B)
  Full day at leisure in and around Plockton with the options to return to Skye.
  This is a wonderful day to sketch the village and views across to Skye or further explore.
  

• Day 11: Plockton / Inveraray 15 July (Sat) (B&D)

• Travel down the west coast and see Eilean Donan Castle, situated on the small tidal island of Eilean Donan, where three sea lochs meet - Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh.
  Continue to Glencoe with time to stop for a walk or sketch the dramatic landscapes.
  Continue to the Inverary Inn on the shores of Loch Fyne, Scotland’s longest sea loch.
  

• Day 12: Inveraray 16 July (Sun) (B&D)
  Visit Inveraray Castle, home of the Dukes of Argyll and the seat of the Clan Campbell since the 18thcentury.
  Take a tour of the castle, including the staterooms, armoury, kitchen and gallery.
  Explore the gardens, woods and parkland which extend to 180 hectares and form one of the most important designed landscapes in Scotland. At leisure.
  

• Day 13 Inveraray – Glasgow 17 July (Mon) (B&D)
  Drive through the Trossachs National Park and along the shores of Loch Lomond.

• Stop at the pretty lochside village of Luss. Arrive in Glasgow and check into the Glasgow Grosvenor.
  Visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery. Farewell dinner.

• Day 14 Glasgow 18 July (Tues) (B)
  Depart Glasgow. The Glasgow Botanical Gardens are opposite the hotel and there is an optional visit in the morning.

OUR TOUR ORGANISER - JON BAINES TOURS

To travel with us is to dig below the surface, revealing the deeper destination.
Of course, you will visit the great historical sites; marvel at the wonders of architecture and engineering;
be moved by the riches of culture and art;
and experience the most spectacular landscapes in the world.
What we also do is make sure that you see the country as it is today, giving you privileged access that independent travel
and other tour companies rarely get close to.
We give you a variety of experiences, from the sublime to the humble,
in the company of intelligent, curious, like-minded people.
And while we can be worthy, we also make sure that you have a lot of fun.

Jon Baines Tours (London)
Hyde Park House, 5 Manfred Road, London, SW15 2RS
Tel: +44 (0) 207 223 9485 / 5618 Email: info@jonbainestours.co.uk Website: www.jonbainestours.co.uk

Jon Baines Tours (Melbourne)
PO Box 68, South Brunswick, Victoria 3055
Tel: +61 (0) 3 9343 6367
Email: info@jonbainestours.com.au Website: www.jonbainestours.com

USA and Canada:
(Toll Free) 1-8777-398-764

Looking forward to having you on this very memorable and personal tour.

Looking forward to sketching and garden viewing with you in July 2023.

We’d love to spend time with you.