Standing Stones and Stone Circles of Kilmartin Glen
1 Day Tour from Glasgow
Overview
A superb day tour where we’ll take you on a journey through the history of Scotland. Explore one of Scotland’s richest prehistoric landscapes.
This area spans 5000 years with standing stones, stone circles, rock art, and the ancient hill fort of Dunadd.
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Small Group Tours
Max 16 Persons
Tour Duration
08:30 – 18:30
From Glasgow we head out of the city towards Loch Lomond. We’ll travel along the western side of the Queen of all Scotland Lochs. Next, we make our way up the mountain pass known as ‘Rest and be Thankful’. We will make a brief stop here at the viewpoint to take pictures.
We’ll have a break in the traditional county town of Inveraray for morning refreshments. Entering the town your driver guide will point out Inveraray Castle, one of Scotland’s most elegant castles. Inveraray Castle was also the location for the Downton Abbey Christmas special 2012 episode.
You’ll have time to explore the ancient hill fort at Dunadd. Occupied since the Iron Age, it was once the capital of Dalriada one of the early kingdoms of Gaelic Scotland.
Dunaad fort is also the site where the ancient Kings of Scotland were coronated. Would be Scottish Kings would place one foot in the stone footprint meaning their marriage to the land. It’s believed the first King of the Scots Kenneth MacAlpin who united the kingdoms of Dal Riata and Pictland in 843 was inaugurated at Dunadd.
Around 800 ancient monuments exist within a six mile radius of Kilmartin village. You’ll have around 3 hours to explore this incredibly special place. We recommend starting at the Kilmartin Museum. Here you’ll find a vast array of ancient artefacts including quartz tools used to make prehistoric rock art.
Not far from the Museum is Kilmartin Parish Church where you’ll find a remarkable collection of early grave slabs. Some of these slabs are of early Christian design and others are medieval. Nether Largie standing stones and Temple Wood are within walking distance from the museum.
Temple Wood’s 13 standing stones is the picturesque setting for the best-preserved stone circle in Kilmartin Glen. The Temple Wood Stone Circle’s use began some time before 3000 BC and continued into the Bronze Age, ending around 1000 BC. A timber ring pre-dated the stone circle you see today by around 2,000 years.
We’ll make the short drive to the rock carvings at Achnabreck. This massive rock outcrop is one of the finest examples of prehistoric rock art in Scotland. The carvings are extensive with spirals and massive multiple ring marks, some stretching a meter across.
On our return journey we’ll make an early evening stop for refreshments before reaching Glasgow where our tour will end.
1 Day Standing Stones and Stone Circles Tour from Glasgow
Departure & Return
Departs/Returns: Bus Stances 23-32, Buchanan Bus Station, Killermont St, Glasgow, G2 3NW
Tour Check-in 08:15 | Tour Departs 08:30 | Tour Ends 18:30
Late Arrivals
In the event you are late for any reason in arriving at your departure point and as result miss your tour, you will not be entitled to a refund.
Children
We regret that we do not carry children under the age of 5 on our scheduled tours.
What’s Included
Transport in a 16-seat mini coach
Coach Air Filtration System as standard
Air Conditioning as standard
Services of an English-speaking driver-guide
Kilmartin Museum
Meals & Refreshments
What to Bring
In Scotland we can get 4 seasons in 1 day, so we suggest bringing suitable clothing for all conditions, including a waterproof jacket and layers of clothing.
Shoes that are suitable for short walks on uneven paths and rough terrain. Don’t forget to bring sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and your camera to capture fantastic memories you’ll make on tour with us!
Most attractions & eating establishments we visit accept card payments, however we recommend bringing some cash with you.
Luggage
This is limited to one piece of luggage (like an airline cabin bag) with a maximum weight of 15kg per person. For guidance, measurements should be no more than 65cm x 45cm x 30cm / 25in x 18in x 12in. You are allowed one small carry-on bag for onboard personal items.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel this tour 48 hours or more prior to departure – you will be refunded 90% of the tour price.
Cancellations made less than 48 hours prior to departure – no refund will be due.
Cancellations must be made in writing. For further information please refer to our terms and conditions page.
Tour Highlights
Ben Lomond, Loch Lomond, Rest and be Thankful, Inveraray, Dunaad Fort, Kilmartin Glen, Nether Largie Standing Stones, Temple Wood and, Achnabreck Carved Rock.
Please have a look at some customer experiences with Discover Scotland Tours.
03/11/22 – Robert
We very much enjoyed our tour. Everything was on time with ample of time for sightseeing at each location. Our driver/tour guide was excellent – courteous, personable, witty and knowledgeable. Absolutely no complaints or suggestions.
07/09/22 – Julie
On the day of travel it was easy to find the minibus at the bus station. The minibus holds 16 people although our group was only 10. The driver/guide Karen was brilliant, she is extremely friendly and she kept us entertained all day with lots of facts and very amusing stories about the areas we travelled through. You can do an optional boat trip of Loch Lomond which Karen sorted out on our behalf and booked the tickets. We visited a couple of villages, one for morning refreshments and one for lunch with plenty of advice on food opportunities. Last stop of the day was Stirling Castle, with the town to explore for those who didn’t want to visit the castle. Most of the day was driving through extremely scenic countryside and I thoroughly enjoyed my day (despite the changeable weather!). I definitely want to return to Glasgow and I wouldn’t hesitate to book another trip through Discover Scotland.
20/08/22 – Carola
We had a great day and fitted so much in. Your driver Frank was cheery, professional, very helpful and knowledgeable. As a Scot I enjoyed it very much and so did the lovely people we met on the bus from all over the world. I would highly recommend your tours to Scots as well as world travellers and I will be booking with you again in the future.
13/08/22 – Cesar
We had a magnificent tour to Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle. Gary’s been a superb guide, provided great information, was funny, and extremely kind. With all best wishes and looking forward to another tour.
19/06/22 – Ornella and Marzio
A great experience! We greatly enjoyed two tours with your company, the Loch Lomond Tour on 19th of June and Glenfinnan Viaduct, Mallaig, Glencoe on 20th of June. The trip to Loch Lomond was fantastic, Karen, our driver guide, was very kind, professional, competent, engaging, informative (we learnt a lot of things) , travelling with her was a great pleasure. The second trip to Glenfinnan Viaduct, Mallaig, Glencoe, was interesting and amazing. We had a lot of fun with Scott, our creative driver, who involved us in the nature sceneries and provided us with all sorts of information, including popular local music. Both trips were delightful, everything (organization, times, means of transport, communication mails) was just awesome. Thanks and surely we are going to recommend your company to all the people who want to visit Scotland.
25/03/22 – Elva
I just wanted to write to you and thank you for our amazing tour. Everything about the tour was outstanding and perfect. I wanted to give a special thanks to Scott and John who were with us on our tour. They made the day even more perfect. In our group were 2 persons from the Icelandic search and rescue team and John provided us with so many information about the mountains and gave us great information about hiking options in the Highlands. He was also very well informed and has a good presence. Scotts commentary and sense of humor topped the day! He did so well this being his first day as a tour guide. We would all love to come again on his tour! 🙂 We would love it if you would send greetings and compliments to them from us and thank them ones again for the tour 🙂 You are very lucky to have them on your team 🙂
01/03/22 – Erin
Thank you for the lovely tour. We very much enjoyed Nick and his charming tour of loch Lomond and Sterling Castle. We loved the cleanliness and comfort of the bus and Nick’s hospitality. Since we are a large group and wanted to see more than just Edinburgh, but we’re afraid to drive on the left, we wanted just a day tour so we could do the rest on our own. Thank you again, it was magnificent.
31/10/21 – Palmina
I had a very nice time with an amazing driver to Stirling, one the most beautiful city in Scotland. As you know we could not visit the castle but I believe we had enough fun to cover this unfortunate event. Our driver, (I can not remember his name but I think it starts with F), was one the most expert divers with amazing knowledge in history and well traditional dress. He surprised us with a bag piped instrument and I would say it was one the most amazing music I’ve ever heard. He is extremely talented in music and I really enjoyed it. I would say it was one of the best trips I’ve ever had. I highly recommend travelling with Discover Scotland and I believe you are one the best team with the best tour guides.
11/02/20 – Sandy
The tour I took was most informative. Michael our tour guide kept enthralled with the history of the areas we visited. The weather played along and I had a great time wondering through the various sites. Many thanks to Michael for a most enjoyable time, you will see me again in the near future.
09/01/20 – Kamrul
We really enjoyed the trip. Mr. Nick was a fantastic tour guide, and we are looking forward to the next trip with Discovery scotland in near future.
FAQs
Seats are chosen on a first come first serve basis, we are unable to take requests for specific seats. Our mini coaches all have panoramic windows so the beautiful Scottish landscape can always be enjoyed, no matter where you sit.
If you suffer from motion sickness, then you may be affected by the roads in Scotland. They can be twisty and narrow. It’s best to come prepared with a travel sickness preventative, whether that be medicinal, wristbands or another option, to ensure it doesn’t impact your overall enjoyment of the tour.
It’s not required to reserve your tickets in advance, they can be purchased on the day.
You can read more about the museum on their website: https://www.kilmartin.org/.
As you will be exploring the monuments on foot we would recommend passengers wear suitable footwear and clothing. Some of the areas have grass and/or uneven paths so waterproof, sturdy trainers or walking shoes/boots would likely be most comfortable. We always recommend waterproof clothing due to the unpredictable nature of Scottish weather.
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