Thunder in the Glens HOG Rally

Day 1 Arrive Edinburgh Your first night will be in Edinburgh, Scotland’s Capital city. You will stay in a hotel located right in the heart of the city within easy walking distance of the castle and other major attractions.

Day 2 Free Day to explore Edinburgh. There’s so much to see and do in Scotland’s capital city, especially as the world’s largest arts festival, The Fringe, is on just now. The whole city is buzzing with street performers, and many comedy, dance or theatre shows are playing at a host of venues in the city. In the evening, the magnificent Castle hosts the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo,  spectacularly performed by  British Armed Forces, Commonwealth, and International military bands and display teams, all rounded off with a jubilant fireworks display. In the afternoon we will collect our bikes.

Day 3 After a full Scottish breakfast, we’ll ride up into the Highlands, with a brief stop at Balmoral Castle, the Queen’s favourite residence, on the way. Across the beautiful biking roads of the Spittal of Glenshee winter skiing region, we’ll take in a whisky distillery before continuing on to our Aviemore hotel, ideally situated right on site for the increasingly popular Thunder in the  Glens Rally. 180 miles.

Day 4 Free day to enjoy the Rally, including trade stalls, custom bike show, Chapter Games, and not forgetting a selection of cracking bands for your evening entertainment! It’s great fun to ride in The Parade, led by flag bearing bikes through picturesque glens of purple heather, and small towns and villages where the streets are lined with cheering onlookers! The procession pauses for a while at neighbouring Grantown on Spey, where a huge food festival proudly exhibits local produce, handicrafts and music.

Day 5 Why not join us on a ride to Loch Ness, home of the famous monster, Nessie! After a leisurely start we head off to the picturesque glens where we will circumnavigate Loch Ness. This is the second largest Scottish loch after Loch Lomond, and at it’s deepest point is 230 m (755 ft), deeper than the height of London’s BT Tower. It contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, and is the largest body of water on the Great Glen Fault, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south. We will stop for lunch at Fort Augustus, and watch the boats navigate the 5 locks of the Caledonian Canal. Riding the sweeping roads of the  north side of the loch we have a short break at Urquhart Castle, whose present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries. It’s turbulent history and picturesque setting on the loch make it one of the most-visited castles in Scotland. Continuing through the historic town of Inverness we return to the party at Thunder in the Glens. 135 miles

Day 6 Most of  the rally revellers are heading home today as we ride north in the direction of Inverness to visit the famous Battlefield of Culloden, where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Scottish forces were cruelly defeated by the English in 1746.  We will have plenty of time to take in the battlefield, and learn all about that terrible battle, the events leading up to it, and it’s consequences.  Riding on through the Spey Valley, we’ll take a whisky distillery tour to see how Scotland’s best known export is made. 140 miles  

Day 7 Heading back to Edinburgh today, riding south across the famous Forth Road Bridge with a lunch stop in the historic and picturesque town of Queensferry,  on the banks of the Forth of Firth. You will have a final night in Edinburgh city centre. 160 miles

Day 8 Departure day, but we look forward to riding with you again!

*BYOB = Bring your own bike price

What’s Included: Motorcycle rental**, all hotels (including breakfasts), fuel and oil, support vehicle and friendly tour guides!

**Prices above are for Harley-Davidson rental. Suzuki V-Stroms or BMWs are also available. please contact us for prices.