This full day tour includes Stirling Castle, one of Scotland's most magnificent castles. After free time for lunch, you then visit Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.
After meeting your private guide at the pier you immediately depart for Stirling. En route you enjoy a short stop to see the Forth Bridge, a 19th century cantilever rail bridge regarded as an engineering marvel. It carries the two tracks of the North British Railway one and a half miles over the Firth of Forth between South and North Queensferry, at a height of about 150 feet above the high tide.
Next is the highlight of the day, a visit to Stirling Castle, built on a rocky outcrop offering commanding views for many miles around. It was built as an almost impregnable fortification, central to Scotland's Wars of Independence in the 1300s. In the Chapel Royal here, on 9 September 1543, the nine month old Mary, Queen of Scots was crowned Queen of Scots, an infant coronation so unusual it was the talk of Europe. She had been born just nine months earlier, on 8 December 1542, at Linlithgow Palace, her father James V dying only six days later.
Following the castle visit is free time for lunch in a typical Scottish pub.
Later this afternoon you visit Linlithgow Palace, where Mary was born and where her father James V had also been born in 1512. You will admire the Great Hall with its huge fireplace and the elaborately carved fountain, a wedding gift from James V to his wife in 1538. Standing in the courtyard of the palace, it is thought to be the oldest fountain of its kind in Britain.
Following this stop you return to the pier.
If you cannot find what you are looking for, our South Queensferry shore excursions can also be customized to fit your needs. If you have a larger group, we can offer you a private South Queensferry shore trip using a mid-size bus or full size coach. Please contact us with any questions or to receive a customized quote.
Review Location- South Queensferry (Edinburgh) 
