Just returned home from the June 30 tour. We (DH, DD14 and I) thought the scenery was spectacular! Scotland is a beautiful country!
Overall, our trip was good. We think ABD is working out the kinks in what is a pretty extensive tour of the country. Our travels included the capital city and the far-off Isle of Lewis, so we covered a lot of ground. Our guides did their best, I think, but they seemed distracted at times.
I have a few observations about our tour. I don't know if my opinions will apply to all scheduled tours. Just wanted to get this information out there since I haven't found much specific tour-related details on the boards.
First, this definitely is a "Brave" adventure. If you're looking for a historical tour of Scotland, this isn't it. (As someone else pointed out during the trip, this is the "Brave" adventure, not the "Braveheart" tour.)
Next, as some of you already found out, your schedule in Edinburgh is determined by what or who is in town. We weren't able to go to Holyroodhouse because the Queen was in town. My family was disappointed, but, hey, it's her house, right? We were taken to St. Giles' Cathedral instead. The church is beautiful and full of history. Our local guide gave us a brief tour of the Thistle Chapel, and we were on our own for the rest of our visit there. We received a free guide book, which was a wonderful souvenir.
Speaking of itinerary changes, this tour had several of them. I assume most were done for convenience or to save time. To be honest, though, I didn't realize most of the changes had been made until after the fact.
For instance, if we wanted to see everything at Edinburgh Castle, we had to go on our own. The guides told us on the first day that the last day of the tour included a visit only to the Scottish Crown Jewels, which are housed at the castle. We were lucky that we arrived a few hours before our welcome dinner so we could see the rest of the castle.
The Adventure Handbook we received from ABD before our trip said the Junior Adventurer dinner (at Portree on Skye) was going to include "mini-highland" games with events such as Wellie Boot Toss and Ring Toss. DD said that no such games were held. (She didn't mention this until we were in London on the way home.)
We didn't stroll on the Staffin Beach on Skye as was promised, and we didn't "line up for some Ceilidh dancing" (thank God). We did, however, see a group of cute and talented girls perform!
Other changes to the schedule, which were not mentioned or explained by the guides, included a switch of restaurants from Callanish Standing Stones Cafe to the Digby Chick restaurant in Stornoway, and an indoor restaurant meal at Glamis Castle instead of a picnic lunch. I didn't realize revisions had been made because I didn't refer to the handbook those days.
I did read the handbook the day our group went to Rothiemurchus Estate. I wanted to find out what alternate activity was offered for those who didn't want to bike or go horseback riding (I don't bike), and read that we could expect to "join a guide for a casual hike on the gentle forest trails." Unfortunately, a group of 10 or so of us were left behind, sitting on the grass as the guides took off with bikers/horse riders, making no mention of a guided hike. Another adventurer tracked down an Adventure Guide to ask if there was anything else we could do in the meantime. We were then given maps and shown where to go on our own. (Most of the 10 eventually ended up taking a tour of the grounds by Range Rover, which they enjoyed.)
The inconsistencies didn't ruin our trip, but I think those on future adventures should know that the schedule is fluid, and you may not be told in advance that it is changing.
So I don't come across as too whiny, I should add that the Farewell Dinner was awesome! Being the only people in the castle was unbelievable, especially since we were fighting the crowds there a week before!
Despite the schedule changes, the tour showed us a lot of Scotland in eight days. We regret not scheduling an extra day in Edinburgh. It's a beautiful city with a fascinating history!
I hope you take up archery as a hobby, you are a natural!! We were lucky enough to have a private session at Adare Manor when we went to Ireland and even got to shoot at moving targets (they used a skeet type launch with foam discs - hard to hit but lots of fun).
recipe here..
, baking and hiking in the highlands. Almost half of our trip members won it which seemed unusual. We had three people with disabilities that seemed to manage okay. It is an active trip. 
We loved it!
