Scottish Highlands Retreat

Four nights in your own car behind a lead car, from the Trossachs over Dukes Pass and Glencoe to a castle in the Cairngorms and the coast road to Kylesku Bridge.

The group meets on a Tuesday evening at a spa hotel in the Trossachs National Park, over a welcome dinner. From there it is three days of driving in convoy, with a guide in the lead car choosing the roads and the stops.

The route climbs over Dukes Pass, runs through Glencoe and crosses to the Cairngorms for a night in a castle. Then it heads north-west over the mountains to the far west coast, where you spend the last two nights at a country lodge.

The first driving morning starts on Dukes Pass – PDDUK says it’s one of Richard Hammond’s favourite roads in the UK – before the long drive through the Glencoe mountains. There is a private tour at the Ben Nevis Whisky Distillery and a group lunch at Inverlochy Castle. In the afternoon the convoy turns east into the Cairngorms National Park, and you spend the night in a castle.

Day three is the longest. The guide takes the group through the Cairngorms on the old military road over the mountains, with coffee and cake stops along the way to get out, take photographs and look around. Lunch is booked at a café above a loch.

The afternoon crosses the central Highlands towards Scourie, with another coffee stop at a quiet spot looking out to sea. By late afternoon the traffic has thinned, and the convoy runs down the coast to Kylesku Bridge on what PDDUK calls the best driving road in the country. You stay two nights at a country lodge and eat with the group in the evening.

The last driving day goes out along the west coast, past snow-covered mountain tops. Lunch is at a small hotel on the coast at Gairloch, whose owner is a car enthusiast and always welcomes the groups. In the afternoon you stop in Ullapool to look around before heading back to the lodge for the final night.

This is a guided convoy in your own car. A professional guide drives the lead car, and you also get maps and a detailed itinerary. Four nights in hotels, breakfast every morning, three-course dinners throughout, the distillery tour, the Inverlochy Castle lunch and event photography are all included.

The price is £2,100 for a single occupant or £2,400 for two sharing. A non-refundable £500 deposit secures your place, and the balance is due six weeks before the tour starts.